You know that nightmare you have where you’ve venue cancels on you? Or your desserts aren’t delivered because the company goes out of business and never mentioned it to you? Or the oven door gets stuck and dinner is over an hour late? Well, those are just some of the many things that didn’t go the way Kate + Greg planned for their wedding. Yep, their venue double booked and canceled on them a week before the wedding – and did I mention it was a destination wedding on the North Shore in Oahu? I can’t even imagine!! And those other things I mentioned – yep, those all happened also. Plus their getaway VW bus never arrived – basically a lot went wrong, but you know what? They were getting married. And they found their true love. And their friends + family all came to Hawaii to celebrate with them and that’s all that really matters, right? Also hiring vendors you CAN trust for your top priroties is a must and those all worked out amazing. Photos by the lovely Sarah Yates, the raddest wedding film by Sharkpig and a nonstop dance party courtesy of The Flashdance. Big congrats to Kate + Greg and thanks for showing us that love is all that really matters. :)

From Kate, My inspiration for the wedding really came from the islands themselves. I fell in love with Hawaii when I first went, and every time Greg and I have visited since (to see my brother who lives there), it just feels like home to us. Of course, we’re beach-lovers at heart, but there’s something else about the way they live that really captivates us. They seem to want less, appreciate more and are always down for a good time. Since Greg and I are all about that, it was important to us that our wedding day wasn’t too fancy and that we really created a warm atmosphere for our guests. We knew that Hawaii would not only be the perfect setting for our day, but a great way to have a more intimate wedding (40 guests) and for our friends and family to experience that aloha spirit. In the end, I tried really hard to stay away from being too over-the-top Hawaii or killing ourselves with projects. The Hawaiian inspiration for me was really more about a simple back-yard wedding.

What song did you walk down the aisle to? Something by The Beatles, played by my brother on guitar

And you guys MUST watch their wedding film by Sharkpig. It’s only two minutes long and it totally reminds me of an old beach blanket film – I just love it and you can really tell they had such a fun wedding! Awesome job Brian!!

Most memorable moment of your wedding day? Gosh, it is so hard to choose! I love that Greg and I chose to see each other before the ceremony. It took so much pressure off. We got to go for a walk on the beach that morning and after our first look, we got to really soak in each other’s company and what the day meant to us. It was great having so many intimate moments with him. Greg and I also wrote our own vows, and it was one of my favorite things we did. My most vivid memory of our ceremony was reading our vows to one another. They were just so genuine and personal, and I remember feeling incredibly lucky as Greg told me all the ways planned to love me. Then at the reception, I can recall dancing and looking around with Greg in utter joy as we watched all of our favorite people having such a great time and getting down on the dance the floor. Between the lights, the music, the laughter, and the love, it was pure magic.

Any advice for those planning now? Don’t forget about what the day is all about. Maybe the venue, the centerpieces or the weather aren’t what you had pictured (all true in our case). Still, you’re surrounded by your closest family and friends, all there to celebrate the love between you and your honey. What could ruin something so beautiful?

I could not have pulled it off without my Mom, who worked so hard to make my vision come to life. Also, hiring the right vendors made all the difference in the world. A lot of the local ones we hired, to save money, fell through (like the VW van that was supposed to be our get-away car and all the chair and table rentals for our beach BBQ). Luckily, I was very picky about the important ones. Hiring Sarah Yates as our photographer, Michael aka “The Flashdance ” as our DJ, and Brian aka “Sharkpig ” as our videographer were the best three decisions I’ve ever made.

vendors
photography: Sarah Yates // venue: Private home // floral design: Pali Florist // wedding dress: Sarah Seven // bridesmaid dresses: skirts from Urban Outfitters ($10! and they chose their own top) // groom suit: Mom made their vests (they wore their own ties & pants) // cinematography: Sharkpig // invitations+ paper goods: all made by bride // cake: pies from Ted’s bakery (a local north shore bakery) // music: The Flashdance

Sharkpig is a featured vendor of Green Wedding Shoes, check out Sharkpig’s vendor profile to see more of their work or discover other GWS recommended vendors for your wedding day in our Vendor Guide.

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