On the eve of our wedding day, we celebrated with all of our guests by treating them to a quintessential Hawaiian experience—an authentic Polynesian luau at Old Lahaina Luau!
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#shabraun | Our Unforgettable Fresh, Hawaiian-Flair Wedding Dinner Menu
How many wedding have you been to where the meal was chicken with mashed potatoes and a side of asparagus? Too many is the answer. Or if you can't remember what you ate a wedding, then it was probably that. Haha
One of our priorities for our wedding day was the menu. We wanted the meal to be unique, memorable and locally-sourced! We wanted guests to look back and remember exactly what they enjoyed because it was so delicious. LeBraun wanted it to be “one of the best meals they’ve ever eaten,” and our dreams became a reality when we went to a tasting by Maui’s Cutting Edge Catering.
Cutting Edge’s owner and chef Brian Etheredge was the owner of renowned Maui favorite Capische before deciding to focus more on family and enjoy the world of catering and private cheffing.
He is a strong advocate for sustainability in the kitchen and also a commercial fisherman. Note: The fish we ate on our wedding day was caught by Brian the morning of. It doesn’t get much fresher than that!
Each dish was vibrant, colorful and pulled in the Hawaiian-flair we were hoping to spoil our guests with! It was a tasting dream and honestly we dreamed about the meal everyday till we got to enjoy it again on out wedding day.
Typically wedding menus are all encompassing, making sure the meal will satisfy a wide range of taste preferences and people. Fortunately with an intimate ceremony you can tailor the dishes to a much smaller group. Since our guests were our closest friends and family we knew what everyone would be interested in and therefore knew this menu would be a hit!
One caveat of our menu was that everything should be gluten-free and cow dairy-free, and the team at Cutting Edge Catering was more than happy to oblige.
Oh and our site also had a wood fire pizza oven so we wanted to take advantage of that during cocktail hour. Who doesn’t love pizza?
Otherwise we were just looking for a memorable meal utilizing fresh, local ingredients and perhaps incorporating some Hawaiian/Polynesian flair. Cutting Edge Catering delivered ten-fold!
Our fish was caught the morning of our wedding from the surrounding waters, our vegetables were pulled from Chef Brian’s own garden, and even the goat cheese was from a farm less than a mile from our venue. That’s locally-sourced if I’ve even seen it.
Even writing about this now I wish I was eating all of this again. Our menu definitely ending up being a highlight of the day if that’s even possible—the whole day was highlight! But no one left hungry and everyone got to enjoy an unforgettable meal in a beautiful setting.
For Our Passed Appetizers
Fun Fact: In Hawaii bite-size appetizers are called “pupus.” :) The appetizers are important as they welcome guests to cocktail hour and are the first edible impression of the event. We decided on a selection of twists on Polynesian classics—instead of the traditional kalua (“to bake in the ground oven” known in Hawaii as an imu) pig, we opted for chicken as I don’t eat red meat; traditional musubi is made with spam which we switch for hamachi; lastly a poke bowl served in a puffed rice crisp instead of on top of a bed of rice. I’m drooling just remembering all of these!
- Kalua Chicken with Guava Rose Emulsion and Molokai Sweet Potato Chip
- Fennel Flatbread with Big Island Mushrooms, Surfing Goat Cheese and Caramelized Onions
- Hamachi Misoyaki Musubi with Seaweed Salad
- Ahi Poke "Bowls" with Sesame Sambal and Puffed Rice Crisp
Calligraphy by @studioist
For Our Dinner
After cocktail hour which included our first dance, drinks, and a beautiful sunset, guests were welcomed to the backyard at one long table to enjoy dinner al fresco.
First Course (plated salad)
- Watercress Salad with Carrot Ginger Vinaigrette, Shaved Kula Cucumbers, Radish, Cherry Tomato
Second Course (entree)
During our tasting we were enamored with both entree options. Our initial plan was to have items served family style where guests could pick and choose what and how much of everything they would enjoy. However Brian’s plating blew us away so we decided on a duo-plating option which meant that our guests got two entrees (just smaller portions) so they didn’t have to choose.
- Hawaiian Catch with Edamame Puree, Angry Pears, Sake Butter
- Five Spice Duck Breast with Molokai Sweet Potatoes, Star Anise Citrus Emulsion, Ume Plums and Vegetable Stir Fry
Photography by Teale Photography
Find out more about our destination wedding in Maui with these posts!
#shabraun | Why A Destination Wedding Was Right For Us
LeBraun and I had always pictured a late autumn / early winter wedding. We’ve never been summer people and the majority of our personal events, like birthdays and anniversaries, are in the spring. We always wanted to add an event to the fall for us to celebrate. Well that and the fact that my favorite month has always been October. Additionally I naturally run hot and anything above 75 degrees is almost too much for me.
So when our families gave us a date range of end of July through mid-August (mostly due to my dad’s job and the fact that the kids involved would be on summer holidays), we were thrown for a loop.
Luckily we’d discussed and always had our heart set on a small destination wedding.
We’ve been to several large-scale weddings, including my now brother and sister-in-laws wedding September 2017, where it felt like we didn’t get to chat or at least say “hey” to the majority of people in attendance, fully enjoy the meal, or spend enough time on the dance floor. And we were just guests.
We wanted to be able to fully enjoy our wedding day, eat the meal we had been craving since the tasting, have meaningful conversations with the guests that made the journey to celebrate with us, and not feel like we missed out on time with friends who we don’t see as often as we would like.
But the biggest draw was that we L-O-V-E new adventures and wanted to share out passion with those closest to us.
Why We Choose Maui
The short and short is that the weather is consistent and it felt exotic without being out of reach for most guests.
If you’ve ever been to Hawaii, it doesn’t feel like you’re still in the U.S. The Polynesian culture, breathtaking nature, surf and sand make it feel like you’ve found a private escape.
During August the weather ranges between mid-70s and 80s, much more bearable than the 100 degrees/100 humidity nightmare that Nashville experiences when summer rolls around.
Several major airlines offer flights to Maui (OGG-Kahului Airport) from the mainland and any U.S. guests won’t need a passport. And being able to celebrate with our nearest and dearest was very important to us.
One phrase we kept using during planning was “a memorable experience” for our guests, and not only does just the word “Hawaii” make people happy, it’s a great excuse for some time off and to check the islands off their travel bucket lists. Maui has something for everyone so no one will get bored. They can relax on the beach, try surfing, snorkel with sea turtle, go hiking in rainforests, take a catamaran around the island, and much more. All of our guests stayed at least six days. We ended up joking that the plan was actually to vacation with all our friends, with a wedding thrown in. :)
Weddings, in nature, often tend to be stressful so why not take a cue from the locals, slow it down, and enjoy the events on “island time.”
Another location we were seriously considering was the Okanagan Valley in British Columbia because it holds a special place in our hearts. It’s a place we’ve spent time every summer since we started dating; however, over the past couple years they have suffered terrible forest fires during the summer months. Since we wanted an outdoor wedding and to roast s’mores for dessert (which you can’t do with a fire ban) it wasn’t working.
Don’t let that discourage you though, they are tons of beautiful vineyards, orchards, lakeside and/or mountain-side spots for weddings in BC.
You’re In Maui, Why Not Have A Beach Wedding?
“Oh, yeah, wedding in Hawaii- real original!” - Peter Bretter, Forgetting Sarah Marshall
Getting married in Hawaii is not an original idea. There were even two other brides on the plane to Maui with us, both of which were getting married at beachfront venues.
As a couple we've just never been beach people, preferring ski trips to beach trips, and winter weather to summer weather. Not that we don't love the beach, there’s almost nothing better than walking barefoot on a beach and letting the sand squish between your toes.
Though to each his own. If you are considering a beach wedding do take in account that the sound of the breeze and the waves crashing does make it quite loud. But toes in the sand still does sound lovely…:)
All photography by [Teale Photography][1]
