Mai Tai’s on
us... We are getting married
again... in Hawaii
Picking the perfect destination for your wedding could be
considered harder than picking your wedding dress, especially since you have
had a picture of your dress etched in your mind since you were 6 years old, and
if you are a boy, you have no idea what I am talking about and just remember
your mother always telling you that when you meet the right girl, make sure to
strive to keep her happy.
(That’s a good mother and makes for a very happy daughter-in-law!!!)
When I got married, my now-husband, then-fiancé,
opted for the traditional church wedding with 200+ guests, a deejay, and the
hokey pokey. We do not
regret the choice one bit because we get to remember my mother drinking way too
much champagne before the ceremony to calm her nerves or how my brother really
does have two left feet on the dance floor or when we came down the stairs
everyone in the reception had on funny nose glasses! But, when we boarded the plane for Hawaii the morning after
our wedding, we sat down, sighed, and agreed that if we ever renewed our vows
we would opt for a destination wedding!
Why wait for the honeymoon when you can be on it during your wedding!?!
My husband and I have been married for 9 years and we have decided
to renew our vows next year. We
have two children and a boatload of family members who sware
that they would not miss our renewal ceremony no matter what. Between you and me, they are looking for
the top shelf open bar we had 9 years ago and homemade cupcake towers with
take-out containers next to them!
Not so sure who will commit to flying somewhere around the world but we
know they all own tropical print shirts since they wore them proudly to our
backyard rehearsal dinner luau!
It is no surprise to our families that we are renewing our
vows in Hawaii
since that is where we went for our honeymoon and it is where we vacation ever
year with our girls. After sending
out the save the date coconut magnets, we started the destination wedding
planning!
A few weeks after we sent the save-the-date coconuts, we
discovered a great condo complex on the island of Kauai
that had a block of vacation rentals available for the date of our vow renewal
ceremony. We put together a
mini-travel guide kit for our guests which included an
island map, photos and contact info of the vacation rentals that we secured
discounts with the owners already, and some macadamia nuts. Our little foursome booked a
vacation home right on the Hanalei
Shore about 40 minutes
from our guest. Don’t get me
wrong, we love our family but why can’t we have our cake and eat it
too? Have our closest family and
friends on the island
of Kauai with us but at a
distance? Sounds like a great
vacation to me. If it were up to my
husband, we would be in a 3 bedroom villa on the Big
Island while our family was on Kauai!
Since I planned my wedding the first time around and have
assisted many brides after, I knew the drill. Time to pick color
scheme. I opted for a breezy
crisp white sundress with a short train and white sequined hibiscus embroidered
all around the sweetheart neckline.
Stunning! I decided to keep
with the freshness of white and let our surroundings be the color. Blue skies, turquoise
ocean water, white sandy beaches, and a rainbow of plumeria
flowers, orchids, and lilies.
Sounds nice so far, huh?
My girls begged me to let them be barefoot