From a tropical chic welcome dinner to a seaside ceremony dripping in blooms from Of The Flowers – just consider this Hawaiian wedding weekend planned by Moana Belle Events your one way ticket to paradise. To the delight of their guests, the adorable couple incorporated sweet personalized moments throughout their wedding weekend – like a sunset beach walk each night (with Mai Tais in hand of course), a family tradition of the groom’s when visiting the Mauna Kea Beach Resort. If you’re craving tropical wedding inspo – look no further than the full gallery, and don’t miss out on one of the most creative escort displays we’ve seen yet, all captured by Rebecca Yale!
From Rebecca Yale… Janine and Alex were married on October 26th at the Mauna Kea on the big island of Hawaii. The 3 day bash included an all white Rehearsal Dinner, a tropical chic Welcome Party and then the gorgeous wedding day! Guests were invited to the day first with a vintage postcard Save the Date designed by Ashling of Lotus & Ash, who went to Stanford with the bride. The postcard was tucked inside an orange envelope, the color of the Mauna Kea, with the hotel’s logo lining the envelope. A little map of the Hawaii islands was subtly printed on the envelope. The Save The Date was followed by a gorgeous tropical invitation suite featuring letterpress green leaves on the back and front, a pink details card, a photo strip of pictures of the bride and groom at the Mauna Kea, and in lieu of a traditional RSVP card they included a die cut double sided leaf with their wedding address where guests could RSVP online.
The entire suite was wrapped in a tropical leaf printed vellum wrapper and was tied with a wooden tag with their wedding logo. Guests were welcomed to the Mauna Kea with lei’s, fresh juice and a welcome note from the bride and groom with the itinerary of the weekend’s events, which included not just the parties, but yoga and beach activities during the day. The weekend started off with the Rehearsal Dinner with just their wedding party and families joining them for a white party in the hotel’s luau space next to the beach. Alex’s family has been visiting the Mauna Kea for generations and their family tradition is to grab Mai Tai’s at sunset and walk along the beach as the sun goes down. They invited all of their friends to join in on the Mai Tai walk every evening, which was a highlight of each day. Lotus & Ash created a cloth sign that hung from a wooden stand with their wedding logo and date, which was used at each event to help guests find where they were going on the large property. The decor of the first evening was kept simple, rattan chargers on white tablecloths with white plates and napkins wrapped in rattan holders with a simple green place card tucked into each napkin ring. The tables were decorated with tropical leaves and twinkle lights were strung above to set the mood.
The second evening kicked off the Welcome Dinner with all of their guests sporting their chicest tropical wear on the great lawn of the hotel next to the water. Guests were serenaded by a guitarist and enjoyed a luau style buffet before grabbing their Mai Tai’s and walking down the beach at Sunset. Guests were treated to an absolutely incredible sunset and then returned to the lawn for a surprise performance of fire dancers arranged by the bride and groom. The morning of the wedding, the groom’s sister led guests in a yoga session on the lawn to get ready for the day. The bride and groom each got ready with their friends. The bride gifted her bridesmaids pouches that said “Aloha Beaches” with orange sarongs and a bracelet and hair pin inside The pouches were made in Costa Rica and had “Pura Vida” written on them, a nod to the bride who grew up there. The groom gifted his groomsmen each with tropical suspenders that they all wore on the wedding day. The bride and groom chose to write their own vows in beautiful white blind embossed vow books. The bride and groom had been intrigued by the idea of eloping, but also knew that they wanted to include their closest friends and family in their weekend celebration. They found a way to have their cake and eat it too by planning a secret ceremony right after the First Look. They invited their officiant, who was a friend, as well as their parents and siblings to join them on the beach and surprised them telling them they were really doing the ceremony there now.
They read their vows to each other as well as vows they made to each other’s family and there wasn’t a dry eye in the house. Janine embraced the tropics with a whimsical and light gown that moved beautifully in the wind, but was also incredibly intricate and detailed in the beadingwork. She paired the dress with natural pearl earrings and pearl shoes and a chic modern ponytail, later converted into a bun for the ceremony when she put on her veil. The groom rocked dark green pants with a white tuxedo jacket and a green bowtie, while the groomsmen all wore dark green suits. The bridesmaids all chose their own dresses or jumpsuits in a mix of tropical colors resembling a tropical fruit salad and each carried a unique tropical bouquet created by Of the Flowers. Janine carried a similar more elaborate tropical bouquet featuring a mix of traditional flowers like ranunculus and roses with tropical leaves and tropical florals like ginger and anthuriums. Guests enjoyed a seaside ceremony getting a break from the heat with parasols and fans at each seat- especially enjoyed by the bride’s adorable nieces and nephews who served as flower girls and ring bearers.
The couple didn’t want to block the view of the ocean so chose to have a low semi circle of tropical leaves and flowers instead of a traditional arch or altar. After the ceremony the guests made their way back to the lawn from the previous evening and enjoyed the couple’s two signature cocktails- an Aperol Spritz and Lilikoi Margarita. Guests snacked on light bites while they drank and signed the guest book, two coffee table books selected by the couple for their home. Guests once again kicked off their shoes and grabbed their cocktails and headed to the beach for a Mai Tai walk. Moana Events created shoe valet stations where the guests could leave their shoes and purses and then sit afterwards to put them back on with baskets of towels to wipe off their sandy toes.
As the sun set, the guests made their way onto another hidden lawn for the great reveal of the beautiful reception space, which featured an outer and inner ring of tables with a dance floor in the middle and a canopy of string lights overhead. As guests entered they found their names calligraphed on anthuriums in bud vases as a living escort card board. The outer ring of tables featured blue tablecloths with white chairs and white plates with tropical pink napkins printed with birds of paradise folded over the plate with the menu on top. The inner ring of tables had coral tablecloths and featured rattan chargers with the menu placed atop and the same printed napkin to the side of the plate.
The menus also served as place cards, tucked inside an envelope and the bride and groom surprised their guests by writing hand written thoughtful letters to all 160 of their guests, including to each other. As guests enjoyed dinner the singing duo Truly Medley Deeply made their way around the tables taking song requests and serenading guests with their guitar and maracas, singing everything from classic Motown to Cardi B. The bride and groom saw them at a wedding she was photographing in France and knew instantly she had to fly them out from London for her wedding. After cutting their cake and thanking their guests, the bride kicked off dancing with an upbeat choreographed dance with her step-father, followed by a sweet mother-son dance by the groom. Then they surprised their guests one more time with an incredible choreographed first dance before inviting everyone to join them on the dance floor to dance the night away.
Photography: Rebecca Yale Photography | Videography: McDuff Productions | Floral Design: Of The Flowers | Gown: jinwang | Gown: Zuhair Murad | Engagement Ring: Trabert Goldsmiths | Makeup: Mia Moriguchi LLC | Groom's Attire: The Black Tux | Escort Display Flowers: Grace Flowers Hawaii | Flower Girl Dress: Saks Fifth Avenue | Location: Mauna Kea Beach Resort | Paper Goods: Lotus & Ash | Planning: Moana Belle Events | Reception Music: Truly Medley Deeply | Rentals: Blaze Entertainment | Rentals: Big Island Tents | Slatted bar: Hawaii Island Events | Vow Books: Wedding Story Writer | White coupe plates: Hawaii Island Events | White rattan chargers: Hawaii Island Events | White wire chairs: Hawaii Island Events