I had a great time working with Tiffany and John last year designing their Tiffany inspired wedding. Tiffany and John’s ceremony was held at the gorgeous St. Paul’s Parke Church. We kept the ceremony decor simple and classic so we can showcase the amazing architectural features at this historic church. Their wedding reception was held at The Pacific Club, a private club in downtown Honolulu. In keeping with the classic Tiffany theme, we draped the entire room in white so we will have a clean canvas to work with. Besides just using Tiffany blue as the wedding color, we also made sure all her wedding day stationery is printed in Tiffany’s Ecru paper with Tiffany typeface. Her favors were also presented in classic Tiffany boxes with white satin bow on top. We also named each guest table after an Andrey Hepburn’s movie. How cute is that? I just love it when a theme of a wedding is carried throughout the entire event! What I love most about this wedding is the stunning centerpieces created by Yvonne Design. I love that minimal flowers were used (only a few blooms of white Phalaenopsis orchids per table as accents), and candlelight (floating candles at different heights) was really the star of the table scape. Many brides choose to spend 90 to 100% of their decor budget on flowers, but I highly suggest spending more on lighting, including candlelight. Lighting really changes the mood of an event, and it stirs up a warm emotion inside your guests when attending a wedding. Although we only had 3 weeks to plan this wedding (yes, 3 weeks from start to finish!), but I thought everything turned out quite nicely. Thank you to all the vendors for making this wedding possible! All images by Visionari. ~ Sandra
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A wedding should be special and truly reflect a couple. Find a way to incorporate your personality/hobbies/interests into your wedding including your guest book. A wedding guest book doesn’t have to be a book full of names and addresses that you never look at again. If you like to cook, have guests sign your favorite cookbook. If you like to surf, ask guests to sign a life size surfboard to display in your home. The possibilities are endless!
Check out these fun, unique, and creative ideas to use as your “guest book.” ~ Tristin
Well Wish Cards - Guests can write special notes and wishes for the bride and groom and hang them on a “wishing tree.”
Puzzle - Ask your guests to pick a puzzle piece and write a short sentiment on why the couple is a “perfect fit” for each other. Then with all the pieces you can put together the puzzle and frame it.
Handmade Quilt - Cut squares of fabric and have guests give advice on what makes a long lasting marriage. Use the patches of fabric to make a keepsake quilt.
Thumbprint Art Work - Get a custom drawing and have guests place their thumbprint on the drawing. This will make a great piece of art to hang in your home.
Jessica and Patrik’s wedding has got to be one of my favorite weddings this year. This is our first time working at Kualoa Ranch Hale Moli’i, and I just LOVE it there! The big grass lawn sits right next to a serene lake (well, it’s really a fishpond) with the majestic Ko’olau mountains right behind. It’s such a gorgeous venue! Jessica and Patrik had a beach ceremony at Kualoa Ranch’s Secret Island. Since it is a private island / beach, we were able to set up a ceremony arch and seating benches which are usually not allowed on a public beach. After the ceremony, their guests took a quick 3 minute boat ride back to Hale Moli’i for the open air reception under the stars! Jessica and Patrik are both architects, and they came into the planning process with a defined style in mind: rustic and natural with a touch of whimsy. I love all the details we used in this wedding: bare wooden tables, succulents, yellow Billy Balls, vintage glass vases…etc. These elements definitely pull together a rustic, eclectic and fun look! Thank you to Green Honolulu for doing such an amazing job with the flowers! Images by Shawn Starr. ~ Sandra
Sheena and Eric were a dream to work with! They are such a fun and relaxed couple, not to mention the sophisticated taste Sheena has. Sheena and Eric got married at The Westin Moana Surfrider hotel Diamond Lawn, and their reception was held inside the Beachhouse restaurant at the hotel. The restaurant is such a amazing space to work with! Unlike a standard ballroom wedding, there are some challenges we often face when we design and coordinate a wedding at a restaurant. For example: we have to work with odd size tables that are designed for restaurant dining, we must use the restaurant’s chairs because there’s no room at the location for storage if we bring in our own, lighting can sometimes be an issue…. however, we were able to work with what we got and put together a chic wedding for the couple. I was actually pretty excited about using the restaurant’s loveseat sofa as part of the guest seating. The mix of different types of seating really gives the space a cozy feel. Yvonne Design did it again with their beautiful and vibrant floral arrangements, the space was absolutely lovely! It was also a joy working with Los Angeles based photographer Steven Lam. Thank you Steven for capturing all the wonderful images, and I hope to work with you again soon! ~ Sandra
Escort card display often helps to set the tone for your event as it is the first thing your guests will see when they arrive at your reception. First impression is everything, right? We always try to come up with new and unique ideas for escort card display, and here are just a few I love. Many of these are displays we’ve done at a Finishing Touch event; others we can’t wait to try at our future events! ~ Tristin
An old shutter door makes a perfect shabby chic prop to display escort cards. Source: www.finishingtouchhawaii.com
Classic tented escort cards are always in! Source: www.finishingtouchhawaii.com
Rustic display using twine, clothes pins and an existing bench at the venue. Source: www.finishingtouchhawaii.com
Escort cards staked into wheat grass block. Cute! Source: www.finishingtouchawaii.com
Have your favors also double as escort cards. Love the succulents! Source: www.emalinebride.com
Love the handwritten names on this window pane. Source: BeyondWhite on www.etsy.com
Use vintage frames to display guest names & table assignments. Source: www.polkadotbride.com
Seashell accent escort cards, perfect display for a beach chic wedding! Source: www.finishingtouchhawaii.com
Shanon and Marc brought rustic beauty to the West side of Oahu. Inspired by Italy countryside, their wedding was warm, relaxed, rustic, yet refined. Besides all the gorgeous details, I love that Shanon and Marc named each of their guest table after an ‘ingredient’ to a great marriage: tenderness, kindness, love… it was the sweetest thing! One of my favorite design piece has got to be the new wrought iron chandeliers that were brought in specifically for this wedding. These chandeliers are available to be rented through Yvonne Design / Mood Event. You may also not recognize the ceremony location; it is Phase 3 of Lanikuhonua. Phase 3 is now available as a ceremony venue option. It’s a beautiful secluded space with lush grass and lots of palm trees. I am looking forward to coordinating more events at this space. Thank you to all the vendors who made this event a success! Images by Visionari. ~ Sandra
Marina and Craig got married at the beautiful Lanikuhonua estate. They chose Phase I of the estate and utilized the existing pavilion for their ceremony. Through fabric, Mood did a wonderful job transforming the pavilion into a romantic ceremony space. I definitely look forward to utilizing this space more often for future wedding ceremonies. Marina’s family crest was used as the inspiration for her wedding. The family crest motif was used in various day of wedding stationery pieces carried throughout the wedding. Our designer Stacey (owner of Bradley & Lily Fine Stationery) did an amazing job incorporating this motif in the stationery design; keeping the style simple, chic and modern. Alot of couples underestimate the “power” of stationery and how they can really pull together the look of an event. For Marina’s wedding, I think the day of wedding stationery is really the star of the wedding! From the ceremony program and straw flags, to the escort cards and menu layout; guests were in awe of how a family crest motif can play such a crucial role in the overall wedding design! I hope you will enjoy these little details as much as I do. Mahalo to Shawn Starr for capturing all the gorgeous images! ~ Sandra
We had a great time designing and coordinating Wei and Betty’s old Hollywood glam wedding at the Ocean Front Oasis Estate. Wei and Betty had an intimate wedding ceremony on the beach fronting the estate. After the ceremony, guests were treated to a dinner reception catered by chef Chai Chaowasaree of Chai’s Island Bistro. Betty wanted bold colors with an old Hollywood glamour feel at the wedding, and we gave her just that. I love it with our clients are not afraid of going bold on table linens. I just love the blue art deco patterned linen we brought in from the mainland specially for this event. It really helps to set a confident tone for the design. Shilhi of Passion Roots created beautiful floral arrangements in hues of magenta and fuchsia. I also love the vintage teal vessels she used for the flowers. Betty’s favor is a hula girl wine cork, and ‘she’ added just the right amount quirkiness to the place setting. The table scape was made complete with our crackled amber stemware set which really gives the table that extra pop of glam. Thank you for all the vendors who worked so hard in making sure all the details were executed flawlessly! Images by Visionari ~ Sandra
We had the honor of working with lots of great couples last year and watching many fabulous weddings unfold, but one of my favorite has got to be Jason and Jacinta’s wedding. Jason and Jacinta were a dream to work with – a really down to earth couple and know exactly what they want. They wanted a traditional Christian wedding ceremony (held at Central Union Church), followed by a quick lunch (held at The Kahala). Both Jason and Jacinta are surfers and met through surfing, they wanted their reception to be outdoors, right next to the ocean. They had a gorgeous wedding reception at Lanikuhonua in Ko Olina - a reception with an enormous amount of details that took us 3 days to set up and 1 full day to break down! After the formal reception, guests were escorted to the JW Marriott Ihilani Resort & Spa for a Tommy Bahamas inspired after party. We even had a vintage VW bus parked right at the entrance to the after party for guests to use as a photo booth backdrop! We planned a total of 7 events for Jason and Jacinta that took place over the course of 3 days. We just love being able to coordinate multiple events for our couples because this is a great way to spend more time with their guests and give them a true destination wedding experience. In true Jose Villa fashion, Jose captured all the details and candid moments so perfectly. Thank you to all the vendors who made this wedding a huge success! ~Sandra
Yi Bing and Josh got married at the luxurious Paul Mitchell Estate in Lanikai. Lanikai is known for its crystal blue water, and Yi Bing couldn’t have selected a better color palette of light turquoise and coral to compliment the beautiful setting. Yvonne Design did an amazing job on the flowers incorporating different types of exotic shells and corals. Stacey of Bradley & Lily Fine Stationery created a letter pressed invitation which was individually boxed and packaged with natural raffia and a starfish. All these little details pull together such a cohesive event in style and ambiance. Thank you to Frank Amodo for capturing the day so perfectly! ~ Sandra
