Our Kauai Wedding

As some of you who follow me on IG may know, Daniel and I got married In Kauai in July. We both grew up traveling to the island often and love the island so much that we plan on one day calling it home - so we knew when we got engaged last year that we wanted to share its beauty with our friends and family.

As soon as we got engaged I immediately reached out to Heather Singleton of Tie The Knot Hawaii - she had planned a few of my friends weddings on the island and I knew there was no way I was planning a destination wedding without some help. We connected immediately and throughout the whole process it felt like I was planning my wedding with a good friend. I had a very specific vision in terms of aesthetic (shocking, I know) but what was so great about working with Heather is she brought such unparalleled knowledge about ways we could weave local elements into our wedding day - from the Wailua Shave Ice truck bar and an outrigger filled with coconuts, to local offering our guests local treats like fresh malasada donuts (seriously, yum).

We initially had our heart sets on the North Shore (where we spend most of our time) but when we went to visit Waimea Plantation we were sold. It's the most incredible property and feels suspended in time - the cottages dotting the property were once homes to the sugar cane plantation workers, and each cottage is named after its former residents. It evokes that nostalgic Hawaiiana vibe (rare to find these days) and I wanted the aesthetic and decor of the wedding to reflect that. I scoured flea markets for a year collecting vintage brassware and lace, kilim pillows and rugs, and worked with local vendors to feature some killer retro rattan pieces. I then had to figure out how to ship a crates work of decor over the Pacific (luckily my Dad is a saint). I also worked closely with local (superstar) vendor Hilight Installation to create basically a friken greenhouse in the tent - we sourced some really cool macrame pendants to add to their inventory and they created the most amazing greenery and lighting installations - it was beyond what I could have dreamed!

Sharing our personal connection to the island with our guests was really important to us so we wanted to feature as many of our favorite local vendors as possible. The Wailua Shave Ice truck was one of my favorite details - they served up boozy shave ice and amazing cocktails with fresh pressed juice mixers from Kauai Juice Co. We also had a morning after CBD coffee bar courtesy of our favorite roastery Java Kai (much to the appreciation of our guests!)

The day after the wedding we took a zodiac trip with our guests to explore Kauai’s Napali Coast - as we filled our eyes with the Na Pali’s emerald green cliffs and perfect cobalt water, we were surrounded by a pod of 50 dolphins. It felt like the sweetest wedding blessing from Mother Nature! It was pure magic.

Some little tidbits of advice to anyone getting married....

1. No matter how hard you try, you can't do everything perfectly. Focus on a few things you really care about and go all in on those. For me it was decor (obvi), food, and making sure our guests felt our gratitude for their presence.

2. The day goes by SO. FAST. Try as much as you can to get little moments with your partner to pause and soak it all in.

3. Have someone save you a piece of wedding cake! We literally only got a bite of ours (it was so, so good).

4. Hire a planner or at least a day of coordinator. I can't imagine how different the day would have been if I had to organize and keep things on schedule. You do NOT want to be doing that on your wedding day!

5. Do a test session with your photographer - we met up with Julia to do our engagement photos and not only clicked with her personally but loved her aesthetic. It's also great to know your photographer before the day of so you feel comfortable with them following you around all day.

I had so much fun putting these photos together - post-wedding blues is REAL and I think I'm still a little sad its over. Luckily our photographer Julia captured the essence of this day so perfectly so I'll always have these amazing photos to look back on. I hope you enjoy! xx

Photography by Julia Kathleen Photo