Megan and Paul wanted to have a non-traditional wedding to reflect their own unique style, so they choose to fly from Seattle to Maui and get married, barefoot on the beach… just the two of them. At least that was the original plan. Once their family found out about their beach wedding they bought tickets to tag along!

Megan didn’t see herself making the grand entrance all by herself, so she and Paul walked down the “isle” together, as all their guests sung “All You Need is Love.” They went for Hawaiian-based vows, and, when it was time for the kiss, Megan surprised everyone by leaping into Paul’s arms.

Their wedding fashions were also as non-traditional as their wedding: Converse shoes, Ed Hardy slippers, a short bridal dress for Megan and a cool green tie for Paul. And the use of funky props for their wedding pics just topped it all off: a rainbow umbrella pulled from a trashcan, a bright yellow Jeep and lots of sparklers! The main prop, of course, was the couples’ obvious love (awwwww). And all of it captured beautifully by their photographer, Wendy Laurel.

Megan’s thoughts:

Did your wedding location and date hold a special significance for you?

We are a free spirited, fun loving, casual couple and love the mellow, laid-back lifestyle of the Hawaiian Islands. Getting married barefoot on the beach was just our style. It was beautiful, warm, breezy, stress free and perfect. We planned to get married the summer of 2010 and kind of just stumbled upon the date of 8/9/10 it just flowed… even though it was a weekday, it didn’t matter, we were in Hawaii… every day was a weekend!

Tell us about the details of the day.

We were staying just a few miles away from our wedding beach (Kapalua Beach in North West Maui) at the Royal Lahaina Resort. During our stay we rented a bright yellow soft top Jeep, this was our transportation everywhere and I never wanted to give it back. Our wedding day was pretty simple, I had an appointment to get my hair done in the morning, we got dressed, threw on our Chucks and were off to go get pictures. We met our wedding photographer, Wendy Laurel, at another beach just a few minutes away, took a bunch of fun pictures there with our Jeep, my bright yellow plumeria bouquet and even a few with a rainbow umbrella that I saw stuffed into a trash can! Why Not?! As soon as we were done there, we drove to Kapalua beach kicked off our shoes and walked down the warm sandy beach hand in hand towards our family, who (accompanied by a solo ukulele musician) were singing the chorus of “All you need is Love” by, The Beatles.

Our wedding ceremony was performed by Reverend Laki Ka’ahumanu. Laki was amazing and added those special Hawaiian touches that only a native Hawaiian could. We had a Ukulele player who played, “Better Together” by Jack Johnson and “Somewhere Over the Rainbow/Wonderful World” by IZ We exchanged leis, rings, kisses, and vows at sunset and even shed a few tears. After we were officially husband and wife I did a little impromptu run in place and Jumped into my new husband’s arms. Luckily he caught me! We shared a dance to “Stay With you” by John Legend, under a shower of sparklers, a champagne toast, a few photos with our family and walked down the beach to Merriman’s Restaurant to celebrate, with amazing wine and food overlooking the ocean at night and sharing laughs by the outdoor fire pit.

How was the wedding day?

Our wedding day was perfect, everything that a nontraditional bride and groom could have ever hoped for. I have amazing memories of looking back on what seems like a dream, and the best part is that I get to spend the rest of my life with my best friend in the whole world, my husband. One year later we are anxiously awaiting Baby Girl Reid, and cannot wait to return, this time as a family.

Do you have any advice for couples planning their wedding?

Don’t stress out, do what makes you happy and what you want to do. It’s your day and you want to look back and remember how blissfully happy you were that day. I love looking back at my wedding photos and getting lost back in those moments. Nothing was over the top, I was not worried about little details and it was celebrated with just our close family (8 people) and each other.

Any final thoughts?

If I were to go back in time to do it all over again. I wouldn’t change a thing.

Vendors

Photographer: Wendy Laurel

Wedding dress & Groom’s tie: Bellevue Bridal Boutique

Groom’s suit: Macy’s Men’s Clothing

Officiant: Reverend Laki Ka’ahumanu