Susan and Duke had a destination wedding on the island of Maui at one of the most lovely venues I've seen, Haiku Mill. Their wedding was full of life, and I love all the cultural touches they included! From the bagpiper that played as Susan walked down the aisle as an ode to her Scottish ancestry, to the daunting task of creating 1000 paper cranes as a nod to Duke's Japanese heritage, it was all so unique and deeply personal. Their beautiful day was captured by Matthew Alvarado of Beloved with second shooting by Jana Morgan. They make a pretty incredible team if you ask me:)
More from the bride, Susan:
We decided to marry in Hawaii for a couple of reasons. First, Duke is from Los Angeles, and I am from New Jersey, and we've both gone to school all over, so we knew anywhere we had it, most people would need to travel (so why not make it somewhere people would want to vacation to?) Also, Duke has a lot of family in Japan, so Hawaii is a good half way point. But mostly, the date we chose was also my parent's 50th wedding anniversary (not coincidentally), and ever since I remember, my father had been telling my mother that for their 50th they would go to Hawaii. Why not kill two birds (and ensure that they would have their special anniversary trip). In addition, Duke's parents have been married almost 40 years, and they had honeymooned in Hawaii -- it just seemed a great fit!
Neither Duke nor myself had ever been to Hawaii (and as his best man noted in his speech, Duke had stated that he never particularly wanted to visit the state), but nonetheless, we were faced with having to find a location for the ceremony and reception. We didn't want a typical beach or resort wedding -- that just isn't our style. Karen-Faye, my maid of honor, was actually the one who found information on the Haiku Mill and from the website, we knew this could be a perfect spot.
That narrowed the search to the island of Maui. We took a long weekend about a year before the big day to check it out in person. We also visited a few other sites, but nothing could compare to the beauty and uniqueness of the Mill -- and both of us being architects, we appreciated the history of the building.
We had a wishing tree. We made quite a few cards, stamped with palm trees or flowers, and invited guests to write their wishes to us on a card to hang on the tree. This was actually the florist's idea, and it was a good one, because I liked the idea of an alternative to the guest book. It also is reminiscent of Buddhist traditions of writing prayers or wishes on pieces of paper to deposit at a place of worship.
Duke is Japanese and Buddhist, and I am Scottish / German and Catholic. We knew if we were going to incorporate bits of all of our mixed traditions, it would end up being a very nontraditional (even schizophrenic) wedding. But that was okay.
I walked down the aisle with my Scottish father to the tune of a bagpiper, Duke's uncle (a Buddhist minister) provided an opening chant in Japanese, the Catholic priest performed the ceremony, and in addition to readings from the Bible we included a poem by Khalil Gibran.
In Japan, the crane is a symbol of good luck and longevity because cranes were believed to live 1000 years and mate for life. Duke and I decided to follow through with the Japanese tradition of folding 1000 origami cranes together before the wedding, a time-consuming task that is said to help a couple learn patience and endurance for their marriage. Since we started this task about 9 months before the wedding itself, it forced us to decide on the color scheme and some decorating ideas early. We chose fuchsia and orange (with some yellow accents) and bought the paper in various shades of these colors.
Then, we spent 6 or 7 months folding cranes (they take about 5 minutes each to make, we gave ourself enough time that we didn't have to go crazy, but each folded a few every night). We then strung the cranes, in alternating colors, on fishing line, with clear crystal beads acting as stoppers between each one. Our planner Allie and her staff had the daunting task of hanging each of these strings from the antique glass and iron canopy that sits above the dance floor. This would have been easy, but for the wind! Luckily, by the end of the night the wind died down and the strings of cranes could be viewed as we intended.
The color theme carried throughout, the napkins were all in orange, and the tables were set up as three long "family style" dining. Each table was decorated with flowers in either pink, orange or yellow hues. The favors also acted as place cards -- they were wooden fans with our names and date printed on them, each adorned with pink and orange ribbon and a name-tag.
The little suitcases were for our two two-year-old guests. We filled them with crayons, games and books to keep them entertained both at the wedding and on the plane ride back home. We didn't want to give our guests anything too bulky to pack as everyone was on vacation, so the small old fasioned suitcase that the little ones could carry themselves.
Wedding Vendors:
Photography: Beloved + Jana Morgan
Ceremony Venue: St. Rita's Roman Catholic Church
Reception Venue: Haiku Mill
Make-up: Jessica Waite
Hair Stylist: Dan Sanchez
Florist: Dellables
Cake: Maui Cake Store
Catering: From Soup to Nuts
Bar Service: Maui Bars are Us
Bagpiper: Maui Celtic
Congratulations to Susan and Duke, and a big thanks to Matthew for sending this gorgeous wedding over!!!
