Today's real wedding post has been a joy to put together. It's stylish, it's beautiful and it's romantic, but it's also pretty unique too.
Kyra & Kale are Hawaiian dancers who married in Maui with an intimate ceremony in the hills and a colourful reception by the beach.
We're always fascinated with wedding rituals and cultures from around the world, so we're pretty excited to share their traditional Hawaiian celebration.
Choosing not one, but two photographers to capture their day, Maui Maka Photography were on hand for the morning ceremony, while Dmitri & Sandra documented the evening festivities.
Kyra & Kale also recruited their friends, and some of Maui's top wedding vendors, to help create their perfect day, among them, Bliss Wedding Design, Rio Event Design and Maui Catering Services.
With eclectic style (we love Kyra's Bo & Luca gown), stunning florals (Hawaiian weddings always have the most gorgeous blooms) and serious doses of joy, romance, and the personal touch, if you thought traditional weddings were boring, prepare to think again!
Wedding Day Snapshot
Our Love Story
We met as performers on The Star Of Honolulu, a dinner cruise boat 10 years ago.
Last year Kale proposed to me at the Maui Wedding Expo after dancing a Tahitian Otea on the main stage.
It was a total surprise and he wore the ring on his pinky finger throughout the whole performance before asking me…
The Inspiration
Greens, deep reds, creams, peach, gold… we wanted it open, eclectic, earthy and a bit wild.
Visually we tried to blend inspirations of old Hawaii with colors and aesthetic of Morocco… sounds kinda random but it came out beautifully.
Our Wedding in Three Words
Love, family, magical.
The Ceremony
Our parents each lead a part of it- representing earth, air, water, and fire.
I danced a hula, Lani Kau Keha composed by Kaumakaiwa and sung at the ceremony by Ron Kuala'au.
We gave our parents lei hulu that we made and offered our families coconut cups that we made with awa to drink.
Favourite Moments
There were many magical moments. Something that really stood out was the fact that the majority of our vendors are also friends.
So the whole day we felt surrounded by people we love who also happen to be amazingly talented – BLISS BOYS!
Personally my favorite parts were the ceremony and the first dance.
It felt like a dream! …a dream that took a whole lot of effort from everyone involved to make a reality.
We are so thankful to everyone who came and was a part of making it happen. We strongly feel that it's not just about us, it's about everything and everyone that lead the way for our relationship to grow and to be what it is.
Our wedding was held in honor of all those relationships that mean so much to us and have allowed us to make it to this point.
Much of my memories are of the making of gifts for different people and, although it took a lot of effort and sometimes stress, it truly extended our wedding from just a one day event to a year of preparing and celebrating.
The Photography
They're amazing!
Also they have different styles that really complimented the different parts of our day since the ceremony was in the morning up country (Maui Maka -dreamy, bohemian, light & airy images) and the reception was that evening at Olowalu (Dmitri & Sandra – crisp color, more documentary style).
The Flowers
It was a gorgeous wild-ish bouquet with lots of color and texture.
The Venue
Our venue was Olowalu Plantation House.
We lived at Olowalu at the time so it was not only an incredibly special and beautiful place, it was home.
The Refreshments
We had a combination of family-made entrees and food from Maui Catering Services.
Tiff also made sushi at the reception which is one of our favorite foods!
Our friends prepared a four-flavors tasting in which we tried different flavors that mirror the different experiences a relationship goes through – sour, hotness, sweet…etc.
The Music
‘Lani Kau Keha' – the song I danced hula to.
‘I Wanna Be With You' by Bootsy Collins – our ‘entrance song'.
‘Work Song' by Hozier – Our first dance.
The Honeymoon
We went to Tahiti and would definitely recommend a post wedding trip to other couples.
There's so much going on in the months prior that it can become overwhelming and a honeymoon is a perfect way to soak it up, relax, and enjoy each other after a big celebration.
Such a special wedding, the ceremony looks so authentic and meaningful (I love that it was conducted by their parents) and the reception sounds like a particularly fun one too!
Thanks so much to Maui Maka Photography, Dmitri & Sandra, Bliss Wedding Design and of course, gorgeous newlyweds Kyra & Kale, for sharing their romantic Hawaii wedding with us.
