Ku'u Lei - The Wedding | Orchestrated Stylized Shoots

It all started with a tweet about cats, and then one thing led to another, and soon, Sara and I were emailing back and forth over a year's span planning what we would end up calling Ku'u Lei (my beloved)-- a truly once-in-a-lifetime experience. When they say there is an Aloha Spirit in Hawaii, they're not telling tall tales. It really does exist. The Hawaiian wedding industry seriously has to be one of the most friendly communities I've ever had the privilege of working with. To plan an event 5 hours BEHIND you with constant contact with the state government over permits and insurance policies... well, that was an adventure in of itself. But when you're playing ukelele music for your "on hold" telephone music, even that can't be that bad. :)

We dreamed of Downton Abbey meeting the beautiful tropics... and we experienced it with this part one of our three-day event. Sara built an inspiration board around it, Pinterest inspired us, and the creative team drew a dream into reality.

It's hard to put into words how this event and experience changed my life way beyond the professional, but into the personal realm. It may have started out with a tweet, but it now continues with future adventures, cat mom socks twins, Hemingway to my Radcliffe, collaborative partnerships, and one special friendship.

And like all poignant moments of my always-a-literary-reference life, I feel only Jane Austen has the words for this:

"There is nothing I would not do for those who are really my friends. I have no notion of loving people by halves, it is not my nature." ― Jane Austen, Northanger Abbey

To see the full feature on Burnett's Boards (without behind the scenes snippets), head on over there! Stay tuned over the next two weeks to see the other two shoots from Ku'u Lei! :)







































The Wonderful Creative Team:
Concept Design & Photography | Bit of Ivory Photography
Logistics | Orchestrated Stylized Shoots
Local & Publication Partner | Burnett's Boards
Event Coordination | Moana Events
Venue | Hawai’i State Art Museum
Florals | Passion Roots
Stationery | Peter Loves Jane
Cake | A Cake Life
Bridal Gown | Chaviano Couture
Lace Boleros | Pure English Couture Bridal
Rentals | Accel Party Rentals
Makeup | Heather Bell Makeup Artistry | hsaffery@hotmail.com
Hair | Star Allison
Bridal Veil & Accessories | Danani Handmade
Groomswear | Celebrity Tuxedos
Topiaries | Curate
Models | Sara and Burke, Melanie