• Real Weddings

The overall feel that Linda and Hugh wanted for their wedding can easily be summed up in one word: ohana (family in Hawaiian). Which is fitting seeing as how they tied the knot on the sunny shores of Honolulu, Hawaii! One thing we totally loved is how Michelle Garibay created a Pinterest board and they literally brought it to life. See the board below here, and then see how it magically turned into a wedding.
They brought rustic charm to the already lovely venue, Lanikuhonua, for a stunning effect. For wedding colors they each picked a color and it just so happened to work out: Hugh chose grey and Linda chose Mustard/Canary Yellow. Don't stop now! Get nice and cozy and treat yourself to even more images from this ohana wedding in Honolulu in the full gallery here, wonderfully photographed by Stephen Ludwig.

We chose a beautiful outdoor wedding venue on Oahu called Lanikuhonua. It provides wide open spaces of greenery right by the clear blue waters. We thought it to be perfect to have a ceremony, tea ceremony (to honor elders/moms), and reception there. We are having a destination wedding on Oahu with the closest of friends and family. We did not have family vacations growing up, both our single moms worked real hard to raise us and our siblings and thought both moms and younger siblings deserve to have a REAL family vacation...and what better reason than when we all officially become ONE family? Finally, Hugh and I are very relaxed and laid back in personality, so we thought the island reflected much of that feel and perspective.

Our tea ceremony was an ode to our Asian culture. We poured tea for the elders and our moms as a sign of gratitude in exchange for traditional red Chinese envelopes.Wedding Tea Ceremony:
In a traditional Chinese wedding, the tea ceremony is one of the most significant events. It includes very formal introductions of the bride and groom and shows respect to their families. Historically, after they exchanged vows, the couple would serve tea to the groom's family (the bride would have served tea privately to her own family that morning). Today, many couples choose to show respect to both the bride and groom's families by hosting tea ceremonies for both sides. The earliest written record of tea ceremonies emerged during the Tang Dynasty over 1200 years ago. It was initially called cha dao, 茶道, or the way of tea. Since the early 1900s, Chinese weddings have modernized and partly following western practice. However, the tradition of tea ceremonies in Chinese weddings has remained, and is still highly treasured today.

So many personal details, including a custom monogrammed marquee sign made by the groom!

Linda and Hugh are true high school sweethearts with so much love between them. They were so much fun to work with and we clicked from the start. They had a specific vision and knew the type of experience and ambiance they wanted to create for their guests, from the food and beverage and carried through to the quirky DIY photo booth. They wanted an intimate family-centered wedding in a gray and yellow rustic, elegant decor combination. The dark wood elements and wood stumps in the cake stand and ceremony decor gave the organic feel they were looking for with touches of elegance that I brought in through the crystal chandelier, glass charger plates and nicer linens.

The stars of the event were the sushi and espresso bars which were a hit with the guests. Hugh and Linda have a mutual love for coffee which was prevalent in their engagement photos and in their guest favors which were small bags of Kona Coffee beans. My favorite detail about their wedding, however, was their monogram. Their initials "H and L" were designed into a logo that resembled a postage stamp which is also a play on the Honolulu airport code HNL. This logo was used as a dance floor logo, etched on their cocktail mason jars and stamped on their favors and paper coffee cups. It is those little details carried throughout the event that have such an impact. Those details are key to creating a personalized wedding.

We love the idea of a coffee bar, especially if they have custom cups for your guests drinks.

What was disguised as a dinner date in LA turned into a whole vacation in an instant! Hugh took me to the Andaz hotel to have dinner, only to find that we had a room there as well! As hospitality majors, we have been eyeing this hotel for quite some time so it was already special enough to eat dinner here. I was floored when he walked me to our hotel room that was illuminated by candles (everywhere) and to hear our song looping in the background. The closet and drawers were lined with all of my clothes, while the bathrooms had all my toiletry essentials including my retainers! Hugh proceeded to tell me that he has taken care of all the details (caretaker for my mom, requested days off my work, etc) and that we were free to vacation without a hitch. Speechless, I just listened as he told me how much I meant to him asked me to watch a movie reel he made of our 10 years together. At the end of this nostalgic video, he was on his knee with a teal blue box. My re-telling the story never does it justice. He later told me the reason he chose to propose this way was because some of our best memories have been on vacations together. He thought to make this memory one of them. I concurred with this notion, and it also had a lot to do with why our wedding is also a vacation/destination.

• Event Planning & Design: Michelle Garibay Events
• Cake: A Baked Romance
• Cakes & Catering: Memoirs
• Flowers: Marie Blooms
• Groom: Banana Republic
• Photography: Stephen Ludwig
• Rentals: Event Essentials
• Rentals: Accel Rentals
• Venue: Lanikuhonua
• Wedding Dresses: Essense of Australia