Maui, Maui, Maui. When will your lovely landscapes ever stop stealing my heart away? Judging from my fluttering heartbeat, it looks like it will be no time soon and that is perfectly alright with me. This wedding from Anna Kim Photography is equal parts charming, adorable, and oh-so-beautiful and definitely causing some serious gushing over here. Nestled amongst the gorgeous monstera leaves and orchids backdrop from Maui Floral on the jaw-dropping Molokini Lookout, every bit of this wedding is well-deserving of some (and by some, I mean quite a few) moments of your Monday morning to be spent in our gallery right here.
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From the Bride… Having grown up in Maui before moving to California to pursue college and a career, I always dreamed I would have a Maui wedding. I remember Ted mentioning before we were together that he would want a destination wedding, so when we started talking about our wedding plans, it was a given that we would get married in Maui. With my parents in Maui to help with the planning on island, we chose not to hire a coordinator and most of our vendors ended up being family friends or referrals from close friends. We wanted a setting that featured the beauty of Maui while still being private. After visiting Molokini Lookout, there was no question that we wanted to be married there atop the hill looking out at the Pacific with Molokini, Kahoolawe and the West Maui Mountains as our backdrop — it was just stunning and peaceful that it felt very spiritual, despite not having our ceremony in a church. Gannon’s restaurant also provided the chic, island vibe we were going for with its modern Red Bar and beautiful open-air dining room. The ease of having our reception at a reputable restaurant with food by one of Maui’s greatest chefs and a location that provided everything for the evening took a lot of the stress away from the sometimes daunting task of planning a destination wedding.
It was really important to us to make sure our guests made the most of their time on Maui and enjoyed all the island has to offer. We welcomed our family and friends to Hawaii with a luau at the Polynesian Village and gifted each out-of-town guests with a welcome bag full of Maui treats, beach necessities and travel info handpicked and assembled by Ted and me. We wanted the wedding style to be elegant yet casual, focusing on the beauty of Hawaii and natural decor. From day one, I knew I wanted monstera leaves and orchids throughout the wedding decor, and the monstera leaf became our central design element in our stationery and floral design. The other key element in our decor was wood. My father is an artist and works with wood, so Ted and I worked with my father to incorporate this natural and meaningful element to the wedding design. Using native monkey pod wood from Maui, my father made all of the vases for our centerpieces, display trays for our escort cards, the monstera leaf ring tray and the base for our wedding cake. These wood elements helped us to complete our laid-back yet elegant Hawaii style, and having my father’s touch throughout our wedding decor added a unique and sentimental element.
With such an amazing view, we kept the ceremony decor simple with white orchids leis lining the aisles and draped from our bamboo archway with our monstera leaf accent. The lookout point had enjoyed a nice cloud cover all day, but just as we were to begin our late afternoon ceremony, the sun came out, and our guests made wonderful use of our fan-shaped programs and parasols. Our officiant opened the ceremony with a Hawaiian chant and blessing, and we did a traditional Hawaiian lei exchange as well. Our reception was held just below the lookout point at Gannon’s Restaurant. The food was delicious, and DJ Blast of Chill Town Productions, who happened to be the same DJ at my youth dances and prom, was amazing and had the dance floor full the whole night! With a few breaks for great speeches, the obligatory bouquet and garter tosses, and dessert of guava and lilikoi wedding cake and Gannon’s amazing chocolate cups, the energy of the celebration was just great, and it was so rewarding to see everyone enjoying themselves. Our DJ ended the night by playing Iz’s “Somewhere Over the Rainbow” and having all of our family and friends make a circle around Ted and me — the memory of our closest loved ones singing that song to us it is a memory we will always cherish.
Wedding Photography: Anna Kim Photography / Ceremony: Molokini Lookout in Wailea, Maui, Hawaii / Reception: Gannon’s in Wailea, Maui, Hawaii / Floral Design: Maui Floral / Officiant: Rev. Joe Miles / Wedding Stationery: Sugar Press Invitations & Stationery / Ceremony Music: Kanoa / DJ: Edward Gallartia of Chill Town Productions / Favors: Maui Macaroons / Wedding Dress: Casablanca Bridal / Hair: Sugandha Ferro Black / Makeup: Heather Green of On Location Styling / Sunglasses: Oakley