Love Notes

Wedding Decor: Light the Way

 

Colorful votive candles placed strategically throughout a wedding reception will create a naturally romantic ambiance and more importantly, offer soft lighting for your guests. Arrange them on the welcome table or present them to each guest at their place-setting. I've selected my favorite pastels and tropical tones from which to choose. Illume's candle offerings are continually changing— a good thing for you savvy online shoppers. The candles in the Twenty-Three Collection are made of 100% soybeans, blended with essential oils and smell really yummy! My personal favorite is pictured here, coconut milk mango. Simply use the fragrance selection tool on their site to match your wedding color palette! $20 each.

Calypso Christiane Celle has become just as well known for their earthy and exotic summer tunics as their exotic candles. The wax candles, pictured above are available in a range of scents from geranium and sage to gardenia and musky driftwood. gardenia. $38 each.

These vintage-style glass votive candles are perfect for an island style wedding. The botanical palms give them just the right touch of tropical. A set of 3 is just $17. On the same tropical note, the colorful "flip-flop" floating candles are fun and festive for a beach wedding!  A set of 5 is $15. Both available at Pacific WEDDINGS.

xo Shaunna

Island Cuisine

First impressions are everything, especially when it comes to fine dining. The first visual impact of a  passed appetizer and that first savory bite will set the tone for the entire menu. Keep this in mind when it comes time to select the food for your wedding menu. While it is easy to feel overwhelmed by the options, there are innumerable resources to assist you in your culinary search. The local cuisine is one of the highlights of hosting a destination wedding in Hawaii. And since the Hawaiian culture is known for serving up as many tastes as possible, your guests will thank you! Michelle Nakaya, owner and chef of Ginniberries, is one of Honolulu's most in-demand caterers. She thrives on creating delicious contemporary cuisine using healthy, fresh ingredients. Michelle will arrange all of the fine details of your wedding menu where presentation is just as important as flavor. Ginniberries is also committed to using as many organic and local sustainable products as possible. 

If your wedding celebration calls for an intimate dinner, your discerning dinner guests will love an invitation to Tommy Bahama's Tropical Cafe. The atmosphere is at once elegant and relaxed, offering unique island-inspired dishes. Here are a few of my favorite picks from the menu:

Appetizer: Tommy's world famous coconut shrimp with papaya-mango chutney, pictured above.
Entree: North Shore Pacific Snapper encrusted with macadamia nuts
Dessert: The pineapple upside down vanilla cheesecake served with caramel sauce, pictured above.

Hawaii Locations:
Mauna Lani
68-1330 Mauna Lani Drive #102
Kamuela, HI 96743
(808) 881-8686

Wailea
3750 Wailea Alanui Drive
Kihei, HI 96753
(808) 875-9983

Wedding Love Songs We Adore

Jack Johnson's sweet songs make it easy to be a hopeless romantic. With the release of his new album, Sleep Through the Static, I couldn't resist thinking about that one song that can represent all the romance shared between two people. Jack Johnson is the perfect soundtrack for a barefoot-on-the-beach wedding just as Frank Sinatra belongs in a grand reception hall aglow with candlelight. Jack's gentle rhythms are inspired by life's simple pleasures— the nature of his idyllic Hawaiian paradise, his friendships and family. The simple love song "Angel" is an instant favorite! Vogue recently asked the singer-songwriter about his gift for capturing the vagaries of romance, to which he replied, "Breakup songs are all from watching friends. My wife supplies me with the love songs!"

At the risk of sounding cheesy, I had to propose the question to my fellow Pacific WEDDINGS staff, "What is your favorite love song?" Enjoy the results! 

"How Am I Supposed to Live Without You" by Michael Bolton
"Endless Love" by Diana Ross + Lionel Richie
"Sparks" by Coldplay
"Ice Cream" by Sarah McLachlan
"Lovesong" by the Cure

Love songs that are worthy of a mention:
"P.S. I Love You" by The Beatles
"She's Got A Way" by Billy Joel 
"Unchained Melody" by The Righteous Brother
"Unforgettable" by Natalie Cole + Nat King Cole

We'd love to hear your favorites too!  xo Shaunna

Spring Flowers

Shaunna is away in NYC until next week, reportedly shopping until she drops—one of her many amazing talents. So, while she braves the icy cold, I will blog away in the Maui sunshine. In case you are fending off the cold weather, too, I thought you'd appreciate a touch of spring. We both loved Kate Spade's whimsical floral sketches on her Rutherford Circle dinnerware, which we featured last winter. The brilliant colors are brought to life in Town and Country’s floral designs, an enticing arrangement of orange tulips, red makara orchids, pink bouvardia, yellow freesia, yellow spray roses, and sugar snap peas. A chartreuse ribbon accents the base of an ultra-modern vase. Clara Confectioner’s boxed chocolates are tied expertly with a ribbon striped with fuchsia, yellow, and white. Kinohi’s contemporary invitation announces the festivities with a playful monogram. This bold, contemporary palette may be the perfect thing to cheer any winter blues, but if you'd like more on spring flowers, try MSW.

Tropical Punch: Your Wedding Reception

Add a tropical punch of color to your wedding reception. If you love the bold contemporary look of vibrant color, look to nature. Table designs inspired by the exotic hues of mango, papaya, banana and pineapple create a memorable table setting.