We have a bit of a twist for you today here at Wholly Matrimony. Today we are featuring the awesome wedding reception, yea that’s right, I said reception, of Aubrey and Kaiao that was held at the Salt Creek Grille in Dana Point, California. Aubrey and Kaiao were married in their home state of Hawai’i but wanted to have a reception for family members in California that were unable to make the wedding. Their fantastic photography was by D. Park Photography.

How did the two of you meet?
We actually do not remember! It probably happened at our friend’s house while we were in college. A bunch of guys lived in a house at the top of the hill and I lived at the bottom. I was always baking and needed people to share it with, so I would bring cookies, etc up to the guys house for them to try. Kaiao was always hanging out up there and was the quiet, shy one. Finally one night I was talking about how I had gotten into cooking interesting dinners but had no one to share them with, and Kaiao volunteered to help me out! So I invited him over one night and we really hit it off. We ended up going surfing and studying together a few times before he finally asked me out on a real date. Our first date was really simple – stargazing at the beach. He brought his guitar and played me some songs and we talked for hours. It was super dreamy and our faces hurt from smiling so much!

Tell us about the proposal!
After I graduated from the University of Hawai’i, I went to culinary school in New York for two years. The long distance wasn’t easy, but God gave us the strength and patience we needed to make it through! About halfway through, I had a break and came to Hawai’i for a week to visit my love for our two-year dating anniversary. On my second day there, Kaiao said, “I want to make this the best day for you!” and I just thought it was because he had missed me so much. We went and saw the sunrise, went surfing, had a picnic lunch at the beach, I went paddling with some friends, he cooked me dinner, and then we had plans to go to the beach where we had our first date. This all seemed very normal to me and I had no idea of his plans to propose! It was a beautiful night – perfect weather, low tide, clear skies and a full moon. He brought his guitar and started playing it after we had settled in on the beach. He’d written me a song and said that there would be some audience participation at the end…After the beautiful song, he made me stand up and he told me all the things he loved about me, then got down on one knee, pulled out the ring and asked me to be his wife. I said “Yes!!” about twenty times while crying, hugging, and kissing him! It was too late to call anyone to tell them the news, so I had a hard time sleeping that night – I was so excited!

What made you choose to have a destination reception?
We got married in Hawai’i because that is where we both live now and it is beautiful here! But a lot of my family and friends from California couldn’t make the trip. So we decided to have an “at-home reception” a few weeks after the wedding. It was such a blast and I am glad we did that! Everyone was ready to celebrate. Plus what bride wouldn’t want to wear her dress twice? I had always wanted pictures of me in my wedding dress at my childhood home, so we decided to do a photoshoot before the reception. It was a lot of fun for both of us and our photographers did a fabulous job!

What was the most memorable moment about your reception?
I will always remember the love I felt from our guests when we walked in to our reception area. We felt totally “at home”. It was truly a celebration made possible by the ones we love! I will also never forget the incredibly fun dancing!!! Our party was supposed to be over at 4pm, but we didn’t leave until 6pm! My feet were definitely sore the next day, but it was worth it!

What was your favorite detail from your reception?
My shoes! Teal is my favorite color and I searched high and low for the perfect shoes. I stumbled across these accidentally at H&M in New York. I got so many compliments on them and they were really comfortable. I decided to dress them up with the cute shoe clips! Also instead of a guest book, we had a custom designed mailbox and used Orange County postcards for guests to write their well-wishes on. We loved reading them later and they are a fun keepsake.

What was the best part of having a destination reception?
Our at-home reception was definitely kept low-key and casual, and I really liked that. We didn’t have any formal wedding events to stick to. It made it very relaxed and allowed us plenty of time to visit with all of our guests (about 100) and have fun. We pretty much just had lunch, a few speeches, chatting and lots of dancing!

Did you honeymoon at your reception destination location, or go somewhere special after wards?
We did an eight day road trip up the coast of California, starting in Orange County. We wanted to do something that was a little different since we can lay out on the beach any day of the week at home in Hawai’i. We stayed at a different bed and breakfast every night, in places like Carmel-By-the-Sea, Half Moon Bay, Healdsburg, and Shasta. We also spent a few nights in Yosemite National Park, one of our favorite places! It was a fun trip and was very budget friendly. We must be meant for each other if we can spend eight days driving around in a car and still love each other madly!

Reception Venue: Salt Creek Grille
Photography: D. Park Photography
Florist: Lynn Moe (family friend)
Bride’s Dress: Allure Exclusives
Groom’s Attire: The Men’s Wearhouse
Stationery: Anna Griffin – The Wedding Studio (DIY from Michael’s)
DJ / Band: Mitch Devine (family friend)
Makeup Artist: Jamie Michelle
Hairstylist: Tiffany Loggins
Jewelry – Necklace and bracelet were the bride’s mom’s. Earrings came from Nordstrom.
Shoes: H&M
Any other vendors? Etsy goodies? Shoe clips and hair clip came from Etsy seller Mikiye Creations.

Related posts:

1. Newport Beach, California Destination Wedding – Nikki and James
2. South Hampton, Bermuda Destination Wedding – Janelle & Dana
3. Monterey, California Destination Wedding – Andrea & Joseph

Natalie & Claudio’s stunning wedding (look at that view!) took place at the exotic Khayangan Estate in Uluwatu, Bali Indonesia. Their beautiful photography was by Darko Sikman Photography. This Australian couple, who first met as flat mates, share the details of their wedding day with us.

How did the two of you meet?
We met as flat mates. We shared a large house together with four other people in Bondi, Sydney Australia. We were friends for 6 months – our friendship simmering until it blossomed.

Tell us about the proposal!
We went on holiday to Thailand. We went on a day trip to the River Kwai. There was a large waterfall there with 8 different levels to climb to with ascending views and beauty. I convinced Natalie to conquer her fear and climb to the highest peak. When she got to the top I was already down on one knee with the diamond in a clump of leaves. It was a like a vision out of a dream. Waterfalls, butterflies, sunshine and her saying ‘yes”

What made you choose to have a destination wedding?
We have spent more time travelling in our lives than we have being in Sydney. Sydney didn’t quite feel like home yet…We wanted to be in an exotic location and feel totally expansive and free.

How did you know your destination would be the perfect place to hold your wedding?
We have done a lot of travelling to many places in the world. We are jewellery designers and have a manufacturing workshop in Bali so we travel there doing business quite frequently. When we went to Bali we felt automatically at home, warm and loved by everyone and the beauty of the people and the place is unrivalled. We knew the Khayangan Estate was perfect because it was majestic and pristine. The staff lead by “made” were incredible. The architecture was historically Javanese wood carving. It was a private playground for us, our family and friends!!

What was the most memorable moment about your wedding day?
When Natalie walked out of the palatial villa arm and arm with her Dad. She looked radiant walking through an aisle of rose petals to join me at the alter where we stared out a panorama of ocean and sky on the cliffs of Uluwatu. A moment that is impressed in our hearts for always!

What was your favorite detail from your wedding day?
The laughter and crying during the speeches. The exquisite organic local Balinese food from Karen at Bali Good Food. The Buddhist ceremony lead by our celebrant Miranda 081 138 9432 (a beautiful, beautiful person). The fire twirling and dancing all night long to the funky sounds of Erin and his crew with tropical transit…

What was the best part of having a destination wedding?
50 family and friends got to have a holiday in paradise. Everyone was in holiday mode away from their responsibilities back home. The love in the air was intoxicating. Everyone was in love with life in such a perfect idyllic location.

Did you honeymoon at your wedding destination location, or go somewhere special afterwards?
We stayed 4 nights at The Khayangan Estate with special friends and then went to The Gilli Islands for a week to bask in the bliss of all the feelings and emotions of the wedding. It was definately the most sacred, special day of our lives.

Vendors:
Ceremony/Reception Venue: Khayangan Estate, Uluwatu, Bali, Indonesia. 087860079721
Photography: Darko Sikman Photography
Florist: Gloriosa herni  -081 338 002803
Cake: Ixora Almirfa – 087 877170592
Caterer: Bali Good Food – Karen Waddell 0811385583
Bride’s Dress: Wendy Maiken
Bridesmaids’ Dresses: Hand Styled
Groom’s Attire: Tommy Bahama
Stationery: Hand Styled
DJ / Band: Tropical Transit – Erin 08123903621
Lighting: Provided by Gloriosa- Herni 081 338002803
Makeup Artist/Hairstylist: Bali Brides – Annie 0818356127
Jewelry: Kenyon Medel Jewellery + 61 424 069 659

We would like to thank Natalie & Claudio for sharing their beautiful wedding with us and also Darko Sikman Photography for sharing these photographs.

Related posts:

1. Puerto Aventuras, Mexico Destination Wedding – Kim & Sean
2. South Hampton, Bermuda Destination Wedding – Janelle & Dana
3. Barmouth, Wales Destination Wedding – Katrina & Paul

While browsing blogs this morning, I spotted a post at Aisle Be Your Guru with the most adorable jewelry made by Kathryn Riechert! Aren’t these pieces just charming? And so affordable! Get yourself some diamond earrings, or have a custom ring or necklace made for your sweetheart! I just love them all!

[via Aisle Be Your Guru.]

Related posts:

1. Good Wedding, Bad Wedding
2. Always Saying I Do!

I was so excited this week to learn about Bride$hare™, the fantastic creation of Dana LaRue, the bride behind The Broke Ass Bride. If you’re looking for tips on planning your wedding on a budget, well … as you can guess, the Broke Ass Bride has them!

The inspiration for Bride$hare™ started like this:

Way back when, Rebecca saw a blog post of mine lamenting the desire for paper lanterns to spruce up the space at my venue, and she contacted me to suggest we go in on them together and share them. That was just the beginning. Together, we were able to co-purchase and recycle many items from our weddings, which went perfectly with Hunter and my mission to both save green and be green in our wedding plans! In fact, the reception venue owner likes them so much, she might even buy them off of us after the fact and keep them up, which means future brides can benefit from them, too! My bridal karma meter must be off tha charts, son!

Hunter & Dana were married back in May, and in early July they went back to their same venue to enjoy their decor all over again – as guests at Rebecca & her husband’s wedding! Dana & Rebecca shared $4000 worth of expenses – saving them each $2000, AND doing something good for the environment by not buying duplicates of the same items!

Dana knew a great thing when she saw it, and has since set up the BrideShare™ site as a way for other couples to save money on their wedding plans and have a wedding with a smaller carbon footprint at the same time.

The Bride$hare™ site is described as part social networking and part wedding planning. Bride$hare™ offers brides the opportunity to team up and share the daunting task, and costs, of wedding planning while creating less waste – addressing three top priorities of brides’ current economy.

While Dana is getting most of the mad props in this post, I want to share some with her fabulous husband, Hunter, as well. Because he has to be supportive and wonderful to stand beside her as she took on creating Bride$hare™, but also because this video he made cracks me up *every* time I watch it. He is mad creative, I tell you!

Related posts:

1. Confessions of a Bride-to-be: Beyond the Event
2. Confessions of a Bride-to-be: On Becoming Bridezilla
3. Confessions of a Bride-to-Be: Where Do I Go From Here?

When I discovered today that Not Martha is getting married, I knew her wedding blog Planning to Elope would be full of unique and interesting wedding finds!

How awesome are these I Do Wedding Bands that I found over there? Japanese artist Sakurako Shimizu actually uses the audio pattern of you saying “I do” as the design for the ring. It is like you’re saying “I do” over and over again! (Also available are cuffs, cufflinks, earrings, and a variety of other jewelry options.)

Related posts:

1. Chocolate Covered Oreos