here comes the bride

{l to r} designs by hemingway * yvonne floral * flower girls

you would think that the abundance of flowers in hawaii would make selecting the flowers for your wedding one of the snappiest decisions you'll make. choose your color, decide on a style and bam . . . wedding flowers. if only that were true. even if you're leaning towards simple diy flowers one look at the very elegant designs by hemingway and you just might change your mind.

if flowers are your big splurge and you want nothing more than to step into a dreamy floralscape on your big day then click over to yvonne floral designs and take a peek at the wedding gallery. once you see her breathtaking designs you will quickly understand just why she was the floral designer at mar-a-lago, donald trump's private club in palm beach.

upon first glance the very pretty arrangements from flower girls hawaii seem like they would fit into many bride's budgets. their fresh designs are very eclectic and i wish one of these orchid creations were sitting on my desk right now!

and just because you're opting for a simpler wedding doesn't mean you shouldn't splurge on the leis. if you're on oahu, stop by rainforest at the ward warehouse kilohana square and when you place your order request that your lei be wrapped in a ti leaf pu'olo. owner michael miyashiro is one of the most sought after lei designers in hawaii and the leis he created for our wedding were simply stunning.

island style invites

hibiscus/kinohi designs * old hawaii/savvy designs * chloe/p+p

since the wedding invitation establishes the style of your wedding before the big day, it is one more area where the pressure is on to pick just the right one. if you're not the diy crafty type but love graphic design you should check out kinohi designs which was first on the scene with their collection of modern island wedding invitations.

if you're throwing a major bash, then savvy designs might have just the right thing to pull it all together. the owners are event planners so they seem to have all the bases covered from save the date cards to invitations to programs and more.

i love letterpress. it is the perfect combination of old world artistry and modern style. if your budget can swing it then take a look at party + papier's letterpress invites. the selection is small but charming so look no further if you covet letterpress from the islands.

{update | dec 2009: kinohi designs can now be found exclusively at wedding paper divas and it appears that savvy designs and party + papier have closed their doors}

hawaii weddings 101

with wedding season upon us, i thought now would be a good time to check out a few of the wonderful wedding resources available to everyone planning a wedding in hawaii. i know first hand how crazy it can be to coordinate a long distance wedding . . . especially when you want to have a modern wedding in the islands. today it's called neo-traditional but a few years ago while planning my wedding i resorted to referring to it as the "unwedding" because very few people back home understood what we were trying to create.

enter pacific rim weddings. it was, simply put, a gift from the gods. i discovered our fabulous photographers in the pages of the first issue i flipped through, and found lots of inspiration on how to incorporate modern island style into our wedding. they even have an online boutique where you can find cake toppers (my favorite, shown above, is actually a reproduction of vintage hawaiiana salt & pepper shakers), weddings favors, and gifts from the islands.

pacific rim weddings is stocked at barnes & noble and borders on the mainland or you can subscribe online. and don't forget to get a copy of bridal bargains (a must if you're a bride &/or groom to be) when you're at the bookshop.

a stylish trip down hana road

limu + kapa

the sunbrella fabric on the chairs on our lanai have taken a beating this winter so the introduction of the hana road collection from perennials has perfect timing. it's a nice modernist take on traditional hawaiian designs like barkcloth and kapa prints as well as taking inspiration from things in nature like limu and coral.

wendy tsuji and linda ueda, the designers of the collection, were definitely inspired by hawaii and i can think of lots of ways to use their fabulous outdoor fabric. unfortunately, the hana road line is only available to the trade (no showrooms in hawaii) and the price tag is a bit hefty ($139 a yard!). however, if you can swing it you'll definitely have a lovely setting to kick back and enjoy the great outdoors.

alora ambiance

 

if you happen to frequent the trendier boutiques &/or have flipped through any beauty/fashion/home magazine in the past few years, you have no doubt seen the oh so pretty reed diffusers introduced to the states by alora ambiance.

did you know that one of alora's creators lives in the islands? not me. one of the perks of having annie hope call hawai'i home is that it inspired the creation of alora's isola fragrance with notes of gardenia, tuberose & fig . . . which may be just what the doctor ordered when you're feeling homesick.