We’re still in awe over how amazing our wedding day was! We were blessed to have everything come together just so to create something even more magical than our wildest wedding dreams. There’s honestly no other way to describe the day but as PURE MAGIC!
Since we were planning a destination wedding we knew we wouldn’t see everything until our actually wedding day and we were prepared for that, but it didn’t end up feeling like we were planning from afar. Our amazing planner Evie and the team at Moana Belle Events (formerly Belle Destination Weddings and Events) went above and beyond to make us feel like we were with them in Maui every step of the way. We were so lucky to have found them and so grateful for their attention to detail and all their hard work before, during, and even after the wedding.
When most people picture a wedding in Hawaii they picture a beach wedding. In fact there were three other couples getting married on the plane with us to Maui from Seattle, all of which were getting married by the ocean; however, that’s not us. We found a gorgeous Tuscan-inspired villa in the upcountry Maui district of Kula on the western-facing slopes of Haleakalā.
Situated amongst a grove of silvery olive trees and rowed grapevines, the two bedroom villa features a terra-cotta roof, tawny yellow facade, warm stoned exterior, manicured lawn, wood-fire oven, and hard-to-beat views of the West Maui Mountains and Pacific Ocean. We fell in love with the venue because we still got to relax in Hawaii but have our special day feel like we were in the Italian countryside. Plus the cool upcountry breeze was greatly appreciated for our mid-Summer affair.
A major priority for our wedding was to make the affair an unforgettable experience for our guests, and with the help of all our amazing vendors, we did it! It was memorable, unique, and 100% us. I’m so love just thinking about it.
In the morning LeBrauna and the boys met up at our hotel suite while the ladies and me met up at my parents' place to get ready. My talented sister had colored my hair a few days prior and spent the morning styling it and making me B-E-A-utiful! :) Around 1:15 p.m. we (the ladies) loaded up the van and headed upcountry. Note: We only had 1 minute down the road before realizing we had forgotten my DRESS! Thank goodness we noticed it quickly because the drive was about 40 minutes. Whew! Forty-five minutes later the boys' van headed up and even closer to ceremony time another van took our guests upcountry.
Once at the venue, my mom helped me into my dress. It was a really special moment, despite the time-crunch we had created for ourself. Haha
When the boys arrived, I gifted my father his wedding tie which had a fabric patch with a photo of us on it, as well as a koa wood tie. Koa wood is a lovely rich, grained wood found in Hawaii. That was our little Hawaiian nod for the outfits. Note: I found the tie patch on Etsy here—you just send a photo over and they send the patch back.
After we were all ready we went ahead and knocked out bride + bridesmaid photos and groom + groomsmen photos before the ceremony to save time after. No one wants to spend the whole time taking photos and not getting to enjoy the fruits of all the hard wedding planning.
WHO WAS IN OUR WEDDING PARTY
While we were planning everyone had opinions on doing a “first look.” More people are choosing to do a first look before the ceremony to create a special moment just between the couple and reduce some of the angst and bustle of the wedding morning.
We opted for a “first-not-look” as an opportunity to chat and exchange gifts before the ceremony without losing the magic of the first look being down the aisle. I would 100% recommend this. Neither of us felt nervous or rushed prior to the look so it wasn’t about the relief, but instead about the excitement of what we were about to do—say our vows in front of our family and friends.
Guests were greeted at the venue with tropical lemonade and flavored waters before making their way to down the gentle slope to the edge of the olive grove, our ceremony site. We opted for three heavy European wrought-iron trellises as our backdrop. We loved that they created a special alter space for us while still allowing us the depth and views of the groves behind us. Note: The trellises were actually advertised as escort card displays, but once we saw them we knew they would be part of our ceremony site.
Gorgeous, ultra-romanic florals and loose, ethereal greenery by Teresa Sean Designs brought out relaxed, sophisticated desires to fruition. As soon as we met Teresa back in March we knew she would be our florist. She just got our vision and us so we let her run with her imagination and the result was above and beyond our wildest expectations.
The florals were romantic and whimsical yet with the industrial twist we were hoping for. She didn't our trellises to look like they were placed there just for our wedding day but that they’ve always been there with natural, loose full petal blooms in creamy white, blush pink, and dusty rose, grey-green draping foliage, and deep dark green touches organically climbing up from the ground. A complete dream, right? She definitely has a gift for florals!
Throughout our wedding we looked for opportunities to create contrast—whimsical and industrial, soft and hard, light and dark…so Teresa and her team used metallic accents of copper throughout their arrangements. Whether it be copper vessels or even wire wrapping around the boys’ boutonnieres. Like I said earlier, she just got us!
The ceremony site was so peaceful and serene. I’ve never felt so much comfortable, warm and tranquility in one place. It felt like I was floating down the aisle and when I got to the alter, like I never wanted to leave.
We ended up writing our wedding ceremony ourselves since we only met our officiant at our rehearsal the day before, which I think made it that much more personal and special. It said everything we wanted it to and was a genuine reflection of us and our relationship. We got to include elements like recognizing everyone who made the journey to celebrate with us and asking them to be guardians over our union. We are blessed to have so many amazing people in our lives and so many wonderful relationships to look to for guidance in our own.
To celebrate the beautiful place and the natives of the island, we wanted to add some Hawaiian flair to our day. Nothing over the top but little elements to pay tribute to the place we were lucky enough to be married in.
For music we had a fabulous trio—The Matagi Trio—who played a wonderful selection of classics as well as some Hawaiian favorites. We loved the touches of ukulele throughout the day. It was perfection!
Traditionally Hawaiian brides and grooms exchange leis with each, welcoming each other with Aloha and showing affection, respect, gratitude and love. We decided to offer leis to each others parents to symbolize the joining of our two families. It was a really special moment.
I’ve highlighted these more in-depth (and some of the other Hawaiian elements we added) in my posts Adding Personal Touches to Our Wedding Events.
During the ceremony my aunt/godmother and our sister-in-law honored us with special readings, our fabulous trio serenaded us with a special song, and my eldest brother performed our handfasting.
One of my favorite moments from the entire day was talking our first steps together as husband and wife back down the aisle through a shower of rose petals tossed by our guests.
After the ceremony we took photos with each of our guests and then the traditional wedding photos (wedding party, families, etc.). Our guests enjoyed our extended cocktail hour on the lawn overlooking the Eastern side of the island with a selection of delicious pups (Hawaiian slang for appetizers), music from The Matagi Trio and His + Hers drinks…LeBraun’s drink was “The Samantha” - a white cosmo + mine was “The Half-Ass” - a Tennessee Mule.
Aloha Bars Maui was professional, relaxed, and created TONS of fantastic drinks for us. Let’s just say they has their work cut out with our group. You’d be surprised how much booze 34 people can put away, and Aloha Bars Maui handled it perfectly.
At this point we stepped away to take some couple photos with our amazing photographers, Teale and Justin from Teale Photography. Yes, the same team that took our stunning engagement photos. If you missed them, check out my post Our Engagement Photos in Nashville. Then we were introduced and enjoyed our first dance to Elton John’s “Your Song” on the lawn as the sun began to set. Note: It’s tricky to dance without bustling your dress. :)
After enjoying the sunset we retreated to the back lawn for dinner. We fell in love with the idea of an alfresco dinner on a long family-style table and with the help of Signature Boutique Event Rentals and Set Collections our dream became reality.
Our long elegant wooden French Farm table was strewn with aromatic assortment of ivory and blush blooms and loose greenery and accented with magnolia leaves. Beautiful layered linen textured earthenware plates, copper flatware, and gorgeous vintage blush pressed glassware completed the fairytale setting. It was the most laid-back yet sophisticated ambiance and Maui gave us the perfect evening weather-wise. We were so grateful. It was just such a special experience with our loved ones.
Now the dinner was something we had been looking forward too since our tasting in March because it was honestly one of the best meals we had ever eaten. And it was just as amazing the second time around. Seriously Chef Brian and Cutting Edge Catering knocked it out of the park! It was unique, fresh and Hawaiian-inspired. Chef Brian is also a commercial fisherman so they caught the fish for our dinner that morning. The vegetables came from local farms. Even the goat cheese came from Surfing Goat Dairy a few miles down the road.
With a small, close-knit group we didn't need a full band for the entire evening but simply created some Spotify playlists for dinner and dancings. Shoutout to my sister’s girlfriend Liz for the rockin’ playlists!
Between courses our siblings honored us with toasts. They were all incredibly thoughtful and beautiful. Some tears were definitely shed. It was extra special as we’ve all been family to each other for 13 years at this point, just not legally family till this evening. And each of them had 13 years worth of material to work with so it was wonderful to see how we’ve all woven into each others’ lives and memories, even unknowingly affecting decisions our younger siblings as they grew up.
Stuffed, we retired to the front lawn again which was illuminated by a few strands of bistro lights, the stars and our firepit. The vintage style lounge seating strew across the lawn created cozy pods for everyone to take in everything, enjoy drinks and then dessert of course.
We mixed it up for dessert. Our cake was a 8-inch round, layered pineapple upside down cake with two flamingos as our topper. We also had mini individual pineapple upside down cakes. Y’all these cakes were THE BEST! When we visited in March we enjoyed and incredible tasting with Sugar Beach Events. Selecting the caterer was the second hardest wedding decision we had to make (the first being where to get married in the first place!) Though we ended up going with Cutting Edge Catering, the gluten-free, dairy-free pineapple upside down cake Sugar Beach Events’ created for us was one of the most delicious cakes we’ve ever eaten.
Additionally we made sure to rent a firepit because our other favorite dessert is s’mores! Who doesn't like s’mores? We all sat around the fire pit chatting, reminiscing, roasting marshmallows and eating ooey, gooey s’mores. It was a definitely a highlight of the evening.
When we were all hyped up on sugar and the alcohol really kicked in, we danced the night away. My youngest brother and I even shared a dance to “Beauty and the Beast,” his favorite. Since we were all riding back to the hotel together and didn’t need a traditionally send off, we had guests circle us with sparklers for our last dance to our favorite James Blunt’s “Bonfire Heart.” Then of course we closed it down with Sir Mix-A-Lot’s “Baby Got Back.” Haha.
Everything was surreal. It was the best dream, yet it was reality. It was the stylish, sophisticated, and easy-going day we were hoping for. We can’t thank our parents, family, friends and vendors enough helping us create the most magical and unforgettable day! We will forever be grateful and cherish the memories we made always.
All photography by Teale Photography.
VENDORS
Videographer // Dallas Wilson Wedding Films | @dallaswilsonweddingfilms
Photographer // Teale Photography | @tealephotography
Venue // The Villa at Calasa Olive Farm
Planner // Evie Aguayo of Moana Belle (formerly Belle Destination Weddings & Events) | @moanabelleevents
Florals // Teresa Sena Designs | @teresasenamaui
Paper Goods, Calligraphy & Signage // Studioist | @studioist
Entertainment // The Matagi Trio
Officiant // Rev. Tino Rosete
Caterer // Cutting Edge Catering | @cuttingedgecatering
Cake // Sugar Beach Events | @sugarbeachevents
Bar Service // Aloha Bars Maui| @alohabarsmaui
Rentals // Signature Event Rentals | @signaturemaui
Tableware // Set Collections | @setmaui
Linens // La Travola Fine Linen | @latavolalinen
Bride's Gown // Watters | @watters
Bride’s shoes // John Fluevog | @fluevog
Bride’s jewelry // Engagement ring - Lindell Jewelers in Brentwood, TN; Wedding band - Express Jewelers in Arlington, VA; Bracelet - Sassabella Boutique in Paia, HI; Opal Ring - Coober Pedy, South Australia
Hair & Makeup // Tiana Trotz Studios | @tianatrotz
Bridesmaids’ Dresses // Monique Lhuillierfrom Bella Bridesmaids Nashville | @moniquelhuillier | @bellabridesmaids
Junior Bridesmaids’ Dresses // Tulle & Chantilly | @tulleandchantilly
Groom’s Formalwear // Custom Suit by Johnny Gregory Executive Apparel
Groomsmen’s formalwear // Assorted
