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From the bride… The beginning of our wedding planning journey started with the search for the perfect location. After all, the location would set the tone for the stationery, the wedding attire, the details and pretty much everything else! There was no question about us joining in holy matrimony on the date of October 7th, the feast day of Our Lady of the Rosary, which holds a special religious significance to us. For fun, we decided to start our search looking for churches that were named after Our Lady of the Rosary in cities and towns where we wouldn’t mind traveling. Our search took us to the town of Lahaina on the island of Maui to a quaint little historic church established in the late 1800s called Maria Lanakila Catholic Church. Maria Lanakila, meaning “Our Lady of Victory” in Hawaiian, is another name for “Our Lady of the Rosary” with the same feast day, so we thought it was providence and decided that this cute, historic church would be it! The interiors of the church were clean and white as well — an added bonus!

We actually found our reception site by chance. On a scouting trip to Maui last summer, we walked by Pacific’O restaurant after a surfing lesson one afternoon and absolutely fell in love with it!  We loved that it had views directly to the ocean and to the neighboring islands of Lana’i and Moloka’i. And what’s more, the outdoor patio of the restaurant was only a few feet from a small sandy beach! The design inspiration for our wedding started with the color gray. We LOVE the color and wanted to tie it in with yellow for a modern feel with laid-back touches. Since I do some graphic design on the side, I designed everything from the wedding stationery and ceremony programs to the reception décor and welcome bags with simple fonts and twine. Maui has a lot of country-like scenery, so we wanted to tie in natural materials like yellow twine and gray linen table runners, while also creating clean lines with white sake bottles and white frames for table décor. While tropical flowers are abundant on the island, we opted for billy buttons and white ranunculus as our accent flowers instead.  All the little details — striped straws and tablecloths, fun cocktail stirrers, and escort buttons (color-coded yellow for bride’s guests and gray for groom’s guests) — just came together after that!

Jason has a thing for singing — he started a singing group in high school and loves to belt out 90s love songs and seasonal Christmas tunes. So he decided that, as part of our first dance, he would gather up his old high school singing group and sing our song, “Bigger than Us,” by Andy Davis, which I found on MySpace years ago when we first started dating. Before the performance, the group started to have “technical difficulties” and “needed someone’s help, maybe someone with a guitar.”  Out of the bushes emerged Andy Davis himself, guitar in hand — I was absolutely floored!  As Jason and Andy took turns singing the verses with the group singing back up, I just sat in awe with a puddle of happy tears. That moment was so surreal and caught me off guard for the surprise I had for Jason later on in the reception! Back in high school, I used to dance hula and hip hop in talent shows and weddings. Jason will occasionally ask me to dance a number for him, and I typically refuse out of embarrassment. Friends and family were encouraging me to dance a hula number for Jason, but I refused, citing a busy schedule in between a full-time job, wedding planning, and stationery design. Two weeks before the wedding, I decided to surprise him with a hula dance to “Lucky” by Jason Mraz and Colbie Caillat. He was absolutely in shock! And for weeks before the big day, our poor wedding squad had to sneak around the both of us and our surprises for each other!

Photography: Encarnacion Photography / Ceremony: Maria Lanakila Catholic Church / Reception: Pacific’O Restaurant / Cinematography: ARIA Studios / Flowers: Bella Bloom Floral Boutique / Event Design: The Bride / Day-Of Planning: Malate Events (jennifermalate@sbcglobal.net) / Wedding Stationery, Programs + Welcome Bags: The Bride / Wedding Dress: Allure Bridal / Shoes: Seychelles / Hair: Bridal Hair on Maui

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Post tags: Allure Bridal, Aria Studios, Bella Bloom Floral Boutique, Bridal Hair on Maui, Encarnacion Photography, Gray, Hawaii, Lahaina, Malate Events, Maria Lanakila Catholic Church, Maui, Pacific'O Restaurant, Seychelles, Yellow
Post categories: Destination, The Blog

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From the bride… Jake is from Cocoa Beach, Florida. He came out here with a friend for a 3 week vacation almost 4 years ago, got a job as a landscaper and never went back. I was born and raised here in Lahaina. I left for a bit for some school and some traveling, but came back in January 2010. When I got back, my little sister, Bridget, insisted that I meet one of her youth group/Young Life leaders, but I didn’t jump at the chance. I did finally meet him a couple of times in April at church events, and he got my phone number from Bridget. For 2.5 months, he called or texted me a couple times each week asking me out, but I never agreed. Finally, Bridget sort of embarrassingly forced a date upon us, and we’ve been together ever since. By September, after two requests and a camping trip with my family to Lanai, we were “official.” By Christmas, we were deeply in love and knee deep in planning a 4-day hike through the Haleakala Crater. By February everything was wonderful, and while I was getting excited for Valentines Day, Jake was busy. He met with my mom & stepfather to ask them permission to marry me. He got ahold of my father in Thailand, who I rarely speak with, to ask his permission and very secretly designed a ring with a tiny jeweler in Wailuku. Valentines Day came, and Jake came over to my apartment to make me breakfast before we went to work. When I got home, he had purchased 140 potted orchids (one of my favorite flowers) and decorated my 400-square-foot home! It was incredible. He pickled me up later & took me to Merrimans for dinner. Then he asked if I wanted to look at the stars, I of course agreed. We drove down to Slaughterhouse. When we got to the beach, there were tiki torches set up with a blanket, champagne, candles and rose petals. I thought someone had paid to have that set up and that we better move away quickly. Jake gave me a hug, said it was for me and got down on his knee. It was so amazing, romantic & more than anything I had ever dreamed of.    Our favors, the stemless wine glasses, had “Eat, Drink & be Married — Rachael & Jake — September 9th 2011″ printed on them in my own personal handwriting. My “old” was a bracelet and hair pin I got from my favorite vintage shop, Hula Gypsy; my “new” was my dress; “borrowed” was a beautiful necklace with a cross on it from my godmother; and my “blue” was my shoes! Our cake was made by a friend of our, Lindsay Hunt. She offered to help us with that, and it was wonderful! It was a Blue Velvet cake with buttercream icing and a great paisley design. We had jugs of margaritas & mojitos, which I made little medallions for. Along with that, the food and drink reflected our tastes: my favorite red wine, mini pizzas and spinach salad, along with Jake’s favorite beer and sliders. I love hydrangeas, so when I contacted Maui Floral to order flowers in bulk, they were great with helping me figure out an array of flowers to compliment them. (Lisianthus, Matsumoto Asters, Spray Roses, Dendrobium Orchids and Delphinum) Our style is very relaxed, so going with the usual structured, ornate, perfected florals wasn’t an option. We got quite a few quotes from florists on the island but in the end, what Jake and I had in mind was so simple and sleek we realized it made no sense to pay someone to do them. So a couple friends and I put them all together. Our ‘theme’ was sort of vintage chic, and I love the look of variation so I started collecting vases and jars from thrift stores in March. Everyone made fun of me for have dozens of them all over my house, but it worked out perfectly! Wedding Photography: Wendy Laurel / Second Shooter: Alisa Greig / Flowers + Program Fans: DIY / Bulk Flower Supplier: Maui Floral / Wedding Venue: Kapalua Resort (The Bride’s Step-Father is the Property Manager) / Earrings: Hale Zen (808-661-4802) / Wedding Gown: Vera Wang / Shoes: Anthropologie / Bridesmaid Dresses: David’s Bridal / Hair: Bride’s Godmother / Makeup: Bride’s Best Friend / Stemless Wine Glass Favors: Kim Williams of Williams & Associates

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Post tags: Alisa Greig, Anthropologie, Blue, David's Bridal, Hale Zen, Hawaii, Kapalua Resort, Lahaina, Maui, Maui Floral, Vera Wang, Wendy Laurel, White, Williams & Associates
Post categories: Destination Weddings, Hawaii Weddings

Click here for the FULL wedding!

From the bride… I wasn’t the girl that dreamt about my wedding day when I was little. Of course I looked forward to the day that I would meet the person I would spend the rest of my life, with but as far as the specifics of my wedding day went, I never really thought about them. Had I dreamed of what this day would have been like though, our wedding experience would have exceeded those dreams by far. Everything about our wedding experience was perfect. Absolutely perfect. Jason and I knew early on that we wanted to have a destination wedding. We love to travel, wanted to have a relaxed experience, and thought — what better way to celebrate this exceptionally special day then by traveling to one of our favorite places (Maui) with our family and closest friends? There’s always such excitement when you go on vacation and then add a wedding to that — the excitement goes to a whole new level! All of the days leading up to the wedding were wonderful. Everyone was able to relax, transitioning from mainland pace to island pace, and play in the warmth of the Maui sunshine. With most of our hard work and preparation taken care of before we got there, Jason and I were able to be right there with everyone. Sunshine, beach time, dinners, shave ice, great conversation — this time spent with our family and friends was something we treasured and was what made this special time in our lives even more unforgettable.

The day of the wedding we shuttled our guests from Ka’anapali and Lahaina up to Haiku where our wedding and reception took place at Haiku Mill. This venue is absolutely stunning. When Jason and I first saw this venue, we knew we had found our place. The beautifully-aged stone walls surrounded by lush greenery and lovely Hawaiian flowers are utterly breathtaking. In this gorgeous venue everything came together completely — food, flowers, linens, music, etc. The perfect mix of elegance and romance with personal touches along the way. We chose the month of June to get married in Maui because that’s when they’re supposed to get the least amount of rainfall. The weather is something that we certainly cannot control, and the warm Hawaiian rain graced us with its presence that day. We didn’t skip a beat though. In Hawaiian culture rain is considered a blessing, so we were truly blessed that day. All of our guests agreed that the warm rain was terribly romantic and created a truly intimate experience. It added an element of romance to the evening that we were so thankful for, making that day even more unforgettable.

Our wedding day surpassed our hopes of what it would be. It truly was an unbelievable time in our lives that we will remember and forever cherish. This experience in its entirety was extraordinary. It marked the point from which I would spend the rest of my life with my best friend, the man of my dreams, and person in this world that is so perfect for me — there truly are no words. Thank you to all of the vendors that did an absolutely stunning job with everything. Each of you is truly skilled at what you do and we are amazingly grateful for all that you did for our wedding day. Everyone did an incredible job, creating a lifelong memory for all of our guests
and us. 

Photography: Beloved Photo Boutique / Venue: Haiku Mill on Maui, Hawaii / Caterers: Aloha Events / Floral Design: Bella Grace Flowers / Bar: Maui Bars Are Us / Rentals: Island Rents / Gluten-Free Cake: Marie of Ghiselani Designer Cakes / Officiant: Pia Aluli / Hair: Dan Sanchez / Wedding Dress: Sally Crew via La Belle Elaine’s

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Post tags: Aloha Events, Bella Grace Flowers, Beloved Photo Boutique, Dan Sanchez, Ghiselani Designer Cakes, Haiku Mill, Hawaii, Island Rents, La Belle Elaine's, Maui, Maui Bars Are Us, Pia Aluli, Sally Crew
Post categories: Destination, Destination Weddings, Hawaii Weddings

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Ami & Poai met in Japan while Poai was training to go into the UFC as a pro Jiu Jitsu fighter.  Speaking not a word of Japanese, somehow the two were able to communicate with the few words Ami knew in English.  Ami fell in love with the kindness and gentleness of Poai, and began teaching him Japanese. After 2 years of dating, the two of them moved to Poai’s hometown of Hilo, Hawaii.  After such a big move, having a big wedding was not in the cards, so they decided to elope.  One of the most important aspects of the elopement was to have a film photographer who was familiar with the natural outdoor setting of Hawaii.  Poai reached out to Lacie Hansen Photography & they instantly connected.  For beauty and wardrobe, Poai sought out Mar R. of TEAM Hair and Makeup. Together they collaborated on a clean, soft, natural look.  Mar brought several wardrobe options to the location on the day of, and the BCBG was a perfect fit!  Ami & Poai are a beautiful couple and you can see the love between them in each shot.

Wedding Photography: Lacie Hansen Photography / Hair, Makeup & Wardrobe: Mar of TEAM Hair and Makeup / Bride’s Dress: BCBG / Turquoise Jewelry: Vintage

In case you missed any, here are all of the pretty posts from the week…

a beyond gorgeous Michigan soiree
fabulous engagement party inspiration
a stunning Chicago soiree
a pretty, pretty Copenhagen affair
a breathtaking Napa Valley wedding
a beautiful Palm Springs affair
a day filled with eight gorgeous weddings
an amazing Nashville elopement
a gorgeous interior design inspired photo shoot
a romantic Santa Barbara affair
a rustic chic California soiree

Some fabulous links from around the web…

gorgeous gilded thank you cards via Camille Styles
sweet mini moss gifts via {frolic!}
a fabulous DIY surprise lantern via Oh Happy Day!
SMP featured on Home Depot via The Apron

We’d like to extend a warm welcome to our newest Little Black Book members…

Oblation Papers & Press
Elizabeth Lloyd Photography
One True Love Vintage Rentals
Small Impressions
An Affair to Remember
T-Square Production
heidi-o-photo
Tweed Weddings
Carte Blanche Design

To apply to become a member of our LBB click here. We’d love to hear from you!

Some lucky winners from the week…

The winner of the Noritake giveaway of 4 place settings of the formal china pattern of your choice is Megan W! Congrats!

Congratulations to our SMP Canada reader, Mackenzie, for winning the free engagement photo session from Vasia Photography!

We are excited to announce the SMP Georgia winner of Tessa Marie Weddings‘ giveaway. Congratulations Bridget!

Thank you to all of our SMP New York brides who entered for a chance to win in our recent giveaways! We have two lucky winners to announce this week:

Congrats to Marcela for winning a LOVE-shoot from Tory Williams Photography!

Karen is the lucky winner of Gabriella New York Bridal Salon’s giveaway for a silk Chiffon garter, silk hankie and jewelry bag.

And, last, but certainly not least…

Attention all SMP Canada brides!  Win a chance for 2 VIP Tickets to Meet Randy Fenoli (with photo op and autograph), hear his presentation and enjoy the Style Lounge’s free beauty treatments and fashions shows at Style & Strut at Sutton Place in Vancouver this Sunday, the 22nd at 11:00am. Please type “Say Yes to the Dress” on this post for a chance to win! All entries must be submitted by January 21st by 11AM PST.

Have a happy, happy weekend, lovelies!  See you back here Monday morning!  xoxo

© Style Me Pretty : The Ultimate Wedding Blog, 2012. | Permalink | 6 comments | Add to del.icio.us
Post tags: BCBG, Elopement, Hawaii, Lacie Hansen Photography, TEAM Hair and Makeup
Post categories: The Blog

Click here for the FULL wedding!

Be sure to take a minute or two and watch this gorgeous wedding come to life with the talent of 10th Letter Media.

From the bride… The beaux arts 1900 architecture of the Moana Surfrider, also known as the First Lady of Waikiki, has always been our favorite venue in Hawaii. With a beautiful green lawn right next to the ocean, and a gorgeous ocean front BeachHouse restaurant on the property, we decided that it would be the perfect location for our wedding. Eric was born in Honolulu and I have fond memories of regularly traveling to the rainbow state with my family as a child. Even though we now live in Brooklyn, New York, we thought it would be the perfect meeting place for our family and friends from all over the world.

Style Me Pretty really helped me throughout the entire process as I looked for design inspiration, and liaised virtually with our local planners, florists and the hotel staff. I decided to use a simple white, ivory and light peach color scheme for the entire outdoor ceremony, and then add all different colors into the floral palette for our indoor reception. We hired a wonderful philadelphia-based calligrapher  to write all our table/name cards, and ordered delicious handmade cookies from a local Brooklyn-based vendor. My sister also designed an eco-friendly tote bag for our guests to bring home at the end of the night.  And because our reception was held at the hotel restaurant, our guests could see the kitchen through an open glass window and everything came out hot on the plate. Our beautiful hula dancers swayed to the music of Elvis Presley’s Hawaiian Wedding Song while the sky was changing colors outside, and the whole entire event was the result of true team effort. It was a magical, unforgettable night.

Event Planning: Finishing Touch / Flowers: Yvonne Design / Photography: Steven Lam Photography / Cinematography: 10th Letter Media / Ceremony + Reception Venue: The Moana Surfrider / Invitations: Mr. Boddington / Dress: Pronovias / Bridesmaid Dress: Amsale / Calligraphy: Neither Snow / Favors: Whimsy & Spice

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Post tags: 10th Letter Media, Amsale, Finishing Touch, Hawaii, honolulu, Mr. Boddington, Neither Snow, Pronovias, Steven Lam Photography, The Moana Surfrider, Whimsey & Spice, Yvonne Design
Post categories: Destination Weddings, Hawaii Weddings

Before we release the reigns though, we wanted to take a minute to remind all of you aspiring event designers out there that Jill, the design guru herself, is hosting a workshop on the beaches of Maui in just a few short weeks where she’s gathered the best in the biz to teach you how to really launch your brand the right way. Yours truly will even be doing a skype workshop. And lucky for you, she’s made some last minute room for a few more warm bodies. Hurry though, the spaces are sure to go soon!

Click here for the FULL photo shoot!

From Jill of La Fleur Weddings… When Simply Bloom approached me to style their Photographer’s Workshop on Oahu, I was excited and honored to be a part. We had done some beautiful work together before and we work so well together.  They have such a lovely softness and femininity to their images that I decided to create my inspiration around the soft colors that I love and that they show off so well.  I wanted to make sure they were able to capture that while still using the beautiful surroundings at Makapu’u Beach on Oahu. I decided to go with light pink and tourquoise blue as the main colors with elements of seafoam green, natural palm, natural coral and blue glass thrown in. With the help of Yvonne Design, I envisioned and then created a large tee-pee on the sand with a pink and ivory honeycomb fabric and had a low table inside of it with an intimate table setting and long cushions on a woven rug topped with comfy pillows. I wanted to create a romantic, intimate space for a small wedding party to celebrate a private beach wedding or vow renewal.  I introduced elements of the sea that included sea fans and turquoise sea glass. The place cards and menus were created by Chelsea Petaja and attached to beautiful individual shells on woven shell and palm mats.  The flowers were soft, fluffy texture in blushes, sages and creams colors. I had a blast working with the local couple from Oahu that even brought along their restored ’64 VW bus as a prop for our shoot!  My favorite was the seafoam green colored Ramona Keveza gown that just seemed to flow right into the sea itself…the color was perfect!  Paired with handmade jewelry from Maui, the bride was stunning!  The groom wore a simple JCrew casual linen pant and crisp white shirt…perfect for a Hawaiian beach wedding.

Planning + Styling: La Fleur Weddings / Photography: Simply Bloom Photography / Florist: Yvonne Design / Dress: Romona Keveza / Hairpiece: Mignonne Handmade / Hair and Makeup: Jacque Rojas /  Invitation Suite + Calligraphy: Chelsea Petaja

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Post tags: Beach Wedding, Chelsea Petaja, Hawaii, Inspiration, Jacque Rojas, La Fleur Weddings, Mignonne Handmade, Oahu, Photo Shoot, Romona Keveza, simply bloom photography, Yvonne Designs
Post categories: The Blog

Click here to see the entire gallery of images!

From La Fleur Weddings & Events…Mariah & Todd are all about fun! With vibrant pops of pink, yellow, blue and green throughout the wedding, this was one of the most colorful weddings I have ever been apart of! Local islanders, Mariah & Tod own a zip line company in Maui, and their sense of excitement, and love of life came through in all aspects of their wedding. It a blast working with the two of them! Thank you to all of the vendors to did a wonderful job creating the perfect wedding for Mariah & Todd. Garnish Events created beautiful specialty cocktails, Dellables captured the couples fun loving spirit in the floral decor & Rebecca and Jonathan of Tamiz Photography did an amazing job capturing all of the colorful details, and the joyful couple!

Wedding Photography: Tamiz Photography / Wedding Coordinator: Jill La Fleur of La Fleur Weddings & Events / Venue: Haiku Mill / Floral Design: Dellables / Hair + Make-up: Maui Mira / Bar Service: Garnish Events / Catering: Maui Executive Catering Company

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Post tags: Dellables, Destination Wedding, Garnish Events, Haiku Mill, Hawaii, La Fleur Weddings and Events, Maui Executive Catering Company, Maui Mira, Tamiz Photography
Post categories: Destination Weddings, Hawaii Weddings, Whimsical

Photography: Red Heart Photography / Photobooth: Shakabooth / Flowers: Flowergirls & Mango Muse Events / Event Design: Mango Muse Events / Event Planning: Mango Muse Events / Ceremony Location: Lanikuhonua / Reception Location: Lanikuhonua / Musician: John Cruz / Rentals: Accel Rentals / Catering: Chai’s Island Bistro / Desserts: Sweet Stop / Hair & Makeup: Maleana Cosmetics / Bartenders: Aloha on the Rocks / Plant Rentals: Kamaaina Plant Rentals / Invitation Designer: Upton Designs / Wedding Gown: Nicole Miller / Bridesmaid Dresses: Maggy London / Earrings: George H. Sasaki Jewelers / Brides Rings: The Diamond Specialist Inc.

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Post tags: Accel Rentals, Aloha on the Rocks, Beach Wedding, Casual Elegance, Chai's Island Bistro, Chandelier, Color Palette Green White, Floral Chandelier, Flower girls, Flowergirls, Green Wedding, Hawaii, John Cruz, Kamaaina Plant Rentals, Lanikuhonua Estate, Maleana Cosmetics, Mango Muse Events, Oahu, Outdoor Ceremony, Outdoor Wedding, Red Heart Photography, Ring Bearers, Shakabooth, Sweet Stop, Tented Reception
Post categories: Casual Elegance, Little Black Book Blog