Wedding Crashing: An Exotic Island Luau
Why stop at the lower 48 states when it comes to wedding crashing? That’s what we asked ourselves before hopping on a plane. The destination? Maui. The reason? Sean & Jenn’s fabulous island wedding. Meet the happy couple:
The ceremony and the luau that followed (fun, right?!) were held on August 1st at The Old Lahaina Luau in picturesque Maui. Sean and Jenn planned their entire wedding remotely from their Pennsylvania home (they never set eyes on the location until they arrived for their big day). But of course it was breathtaking (it’s paradise, people) and they were super excited to get their destination wedding started.
Jenn snagged her dress at Marriage Couture while the bridesmaids wore adorable bright blue sun dresses snagged at J Crew on sale. Score! They looked unbelievably perfect with the sea and the sky, and their white daisy bouquets were accented by festive Hawaiian leis.
And the groom and his groomsmen weren’t too shabby either. Sean donned an ivory linen suit from Bachrach while the groomsmen wore white linen shirts from the Gap with light colored dockers. And they all looked especially dapper thanks to the addition of Maile leis, which are typically worn by the groom in a traditional Hawaiian ceremony.
Jenn also wore a gorgeous bridal lei (which Sean gently placed over her head during the traditional Hawaiian ceremony). The bride and groom stood in a white orchid circle of love, another beautiful and memorable Hawaiian tradition.
The officiant even blew a conch shell as they shared their first kiss as husband and wife.
After their ceremony, Sean and Jenn invited all 33 guests to an exotic luau complete with a pig roast and a fantastic hula show. You may wonder how we go about blending in at such an intimate affair…
… well we’re just sneaky I guess. Just kidding, but Sean and Jenn were super cool with our crashing- and this time we even remembered to snag a picture with the happy couple before jetting back home, as proof that we really do attend these things. Thanks Sean and Jenn for letting us share your special day!
Sean and Jenn also held a stateside reception a few weeks later in Pennsylvania (for all their extended friends and family who couldn’t make it out to Hawaii). Aren’t they the best? So we happily made the road trip to Freedoms Foundation in Valley Forge to document all the beautiful reception details as well.
And of course the reception was just as sweet as their exotic Hawaiian ceremony and luau. There was a brief cocktail hour complete with a slide show of their Hawaiian nuptials and an exotic fruit and cheese table with birds of paradise and orchids (to serve as an oh-so-sweet reminder of Maui). Then we moved to the ballroom where the table settings consisted of sophisticated slipcovered ivory chairs and some of the coolest centerpieces that we’ve ever seen.
A mixture of blue hydrangeas, yellow orchids, white roses and green berries were clustered in short square vases for a tasteful and sophisticated floral arrangement with a splash of exoticism (thanks to those stunning orchids).
Words cannot describe how delicious the almond vanilla wedding cake was. I’m not usually über excited about wedding cakes but this stuff was the bees knees. And the exotic green orchids were the perfect reminder of Sean and Jenn’s amazing Hawaiian nuptials.
We hope you’ve enjoyed our latest wedding crashing excursion in paradise. And congrats again to Sean and Jenn! Oh and if any of you have fall weddings on the agenda, you might want to look around for us, you never know where we’ll pop up…
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Comments
Really… did you guys honestly just fly to Hawaii to crash a wedding of two people you didn’t even know?? Spill the beans here, this seems totally over the top. Or am I missing something? Can you explain what your “wedding crashing” is all about, because I don’t get how it fits in with the rest of your blog.
Ok Ben & Betsy, you want the real scoop? Sean is my step cousin, so it wasn’t like we hopped on a plane for any old wedding in Hawaii. Actually I used to think I’d end up marrying Sean when we were 7 year olds playing in the ball pit at McDonalds, so it was lovely to see him tie the knot to such a lovely lady with my hubby by my side. We’re all grown up, sniffle.
As for how it fits in with the rest of our blog, after we had This Young Wedding Week about our own nuptials people loved seeing wedding details and requested some for fall weddings, winter ones, destination ones, expensive ones, affordable ones, etc. So we thought it was only fair to share all the weddings that we attend (from the inexpensive backyard versions to the swanky Manhattan bashes that we occasionally drop in on).
Most of the weddings that we “crash” are usually ones that we’re actually invited to, but we do occasionally find ourselves in the right place at the right time to do some bonafide crashing. Stay tuned…
xoxo,
Sherry
OK. I think you may need to clarify. Reading about your “crashings” gives me hives. I end up feeling really bad for the couple, thinking you busted up thier day.
Ben (and anyone else with hives),
I can assure you that we were ecstatic to have Sherry and John at our wedding! These two are so much fun. I’m sure anyone would be happy for them to crash.
Sherry & John,
Hi!! Thanks again for coming. Sean and I are officially YHL addicts. It’s so exciting to see our wedding here!
Love,
Jenn
Oh Ben! Not hives! We’ll add some much needed clarification to our FAQ page. Tons of people email us with wedding pictures asking us to “crash” their wedding when it has already occurred (meaning they’d like us to post their wedding pictures and act like we were there) so we’re constantly explaining that we actually attend the weddings that we profess to crash. Fabulous idea to explain the method to our madness!
xo,
Sherry
I must agree with Jenn.
Ben, have you seen the movie wedding crashers?! It’s likely the inspiration for this segment and in the montage of weddings John and Jeremy crash, everyone is having a blast along with them. As long as you know what you’re doing, you’re not “busting up” anyone’s day. I did not however agree with John and Jeremy’s choice of gift for the couples.
Love it! I got married in Maui, too! It’s so fabulous there–as you know. We also had our “reception” at the Old Lahaina Luau and one back at home.
Best decision ever!
This post brings back SO MANY memories for me. We were married in 2002 in Maui and had our after-wedding celebration at the Old Lahaina Luau. Just like Sean & Jenn (my sister and her husband’s name, incidentally) we planned from our home in Pennsylvania, sight unseen.
Thanks for these pics and a stroll down memory lane.
I love the wedding pics and especially the orchids, just beautiful. We also married in Hawaii in 2004 – on Tunnels Beach in Kauai without ever having been to Hawaii. We had an awesome coordinator whose husband happened to be a commercial photog. so I really could not have planned it better!
Who knew so many people got married in paradise? We’re quadruple jealous! Thanks so much for virtually crashing this wedding with us. Aren’t walks down memory lane fun?
xo,
Sherry
This looks awesome! I am actually considering having a destination wedding with a stateside reception as well. I am just not sure how to pull it off… I know this post is from a long time ago, but I am wondering if the bride wore her wedding dress again to the reception? Also, did they have a first dance, toasts, etc. again at the reception? I think that would be nice but am not sure if it would be a little strange to get all dolled up and do all of that all over again–any input is appreciated!
Hey Jenny,
Yup the bride wore her wedding dress again to the reception (it still looked lovely of course) and they did in fact have a first dance and some toasts again at the reception since a lot more friends and family attended the reception and loved seeing those wedding rituals (since they missed the amazing Hawaiian celebration). Hope it helps!
xoxo,
Sherry
I mean . . . you really went to Hawaii? Somehow it just seems a little too much.