You know, we don’t get nearly enough Hawaiian weddings here at DIY Bride but whenever we do, they’re always amazing. Just like this one from Dan and Jen.
In Hawaii family (ohana) comes together whenever there’s a need and Jen and Dan had an abundance of helpers to create this lush and beautiful day. Handmade details like the large Japanese crane display and the flower arrangements were from were the result of the generosity of talented friend and family.
Jen & Dan
Sunset Ranch Hawaii, Hawaii
Event Date: November, 2013
Today’s wedding fulfills a little fantasy of mine. I’ve always wanted to visit Hawaii and I had always secretly dreamed of a destination wedding. Well, after today’s spectacular wedding, a vow renewal in Hawaii is definitely on my bucket list! Captured by Eye Expression Photography, the scenery, fantastic crafts and the awesome love of a great couple have traveled to create a truly dazzling destination event.
From the bride:
I really enjoyed doing a lot of DIY projects for my wedding, as well as getting my family, bridesmaids, etc involved! 🙂 I have always loved the ocean and wanted the wedding to reflect the colors of the sea. In Hawaii you can get away with bright colours, so I decided on blues for the bridal party, many shades of pink for the decor, and purple for the flowers! I love orchids and Jonathan always sent them to me when we were apart, so we chose orchids as our flower, which was fun
to keep the tropical theme going too =)
Jo-ann lived in Asia for a while and added special Asian touches through the food, Korean chopsticks table setting, and paper fans at the reception. Since they met in Africa, in addition to setting up a donation registry, J+J shared their generous hearts with their guests by creating favor bags that explained a donation www.handsonhouses.com. Jo-ann and Jonathan even chose ethically conscious, conflict-free rings from Brilliant Earth. They also made sure to create fun loving crafts that reflected their personalities too; like all of the chalk-painted glasses, chalkboard signs and paper suite.
DIY and destination can present a boat full of challenges. A DIY wedding should be fun and reflect all of the things that are special and unique to every couple Luckily, Jo-ann and Jonathan rose to the challenge and created an eclectic mix of projects that suited the venue, vibe and values of a truly amazing couple. Better yet. They enjoyed the process. Thanks to Eye Expression Photography for capturing this meaningful and memorable day. Congratulations Jo-ann + Jonathan!
Since we had so many spontaneous disasters last week on the site, I thought we should put some good mojo out there to make sure we get off to a groovy start this week! What better than a spur of the moment elopement! Photographer Charity and Ricky, received a panicked call form the suddenly bride to be Shannon. She and DH-to-be needed someone to capture an intimate ceremony that night. Despite an upcoming wedding later that year in Hawaii, they went with a “Why Wait?” I, for one, am so glad they did!
Lucky for Shannon and Jared, Charity and Ricky had an upcoming workshop so a super jazzed styled elopement was born! From the photographer: “Shannon chose a Ruche dress that I had put aside for an upcoming workshop. Then added an Urban Outfitters fascinator, Anthropologie earrings, Target shoes, and a bouquet of colorful roses….she was ready to elope. Jared chose a Target ensemble along with their 3 Beautiful kids.” Shannon has such a hip and happening vibe going on, and for a tiny event the emotions captured are ginormous! You have to feel the coolness of this Wyoming event in the whole gallery.
We can’t thank Charity and Ricky for layin’ this one on us. Right on! Congratulations Shannon and Jared. We hope you had a groovy second, first wedding in Hawaii too!
Weddings need not be extravagant to be beautiful. A gorgeous setting, a few DIY projects, and a happy couple are the perfect recipe for a wedding day to remember.
