Lee and Carly traveled with their closest friends and family from Australia to host an intimate celebration at the Olowalu Plantation House in Maui, Hawaii. The bride tells us, "As all of our guests would be travelling mostly from Eastern Australia and Ontario, Canada, Hawaii was the best destination, logistically, for us to have our wedding. Once we decided on Hawaii we had the next task of picking an island! We knew we wanted it somewhere a bit more relaxed and off the main tourist strip but having never been to Hawaii we didn't know where," Carly says. She reached out to the wedding coordinators at Belle Destination Weddings & Events to get the scoop on the Hawaiian Islands. 

The Locale
Although the couple ditched formality and the safety of a hometown affair, Carly still envisioned a traditional wedding. She says, "I didn't want anything with too much of a destination feel if that makes sense?  We gave our wedding planner Jessie the difficult task of trying to find something rustic. We wanted a location with character and with a vineyard-type feel. After getting to know us a little over the phone Jessie suggested Olowalu Plantation House.  Although nothing took place inside the house, it had just the character we were after. Jessie also sourced some wine barrels (which I know weren't the easiest find on Maui)!" 

The Dress
I initially didn't really know what I wanted for my dress. After a day of trying on dresses in Canada, my favorite style was fitted lace.  I really liked the idea of a low-back and open-back gown. I came across my dress at a small dress boutique back in Australia called Bohemian Brides. I loved the combination of the sweetheart neckline, with little cap sleeves but mostly I loved the back. It had the openness I was looking for but with the lace still covering which made it a bit more modest. I wanted the bridesmaids dressed in every day dresses, not your typical bridesmaid look. I pictured them in shades of gold and blush." 

The Style 
"Overall, the style we were going for was rustic, neutral and romantic. "One thing we really love and took lots of work and planning for Jessie was our seating chart/ flower bar. We had boutonnieres and hair flowers pinned next to the guests names.  I think it was a nice a touch and looked great! It was also fun for our guests dressing everyone up a bit! Who doesn't want flowers in their hair when visiting Hawaii? I am so happy with the flowers all around how they turned out for the day. Jessie and the florist did a great job at creating my vision from all my pinterest pictures. The bouquets and tables all looked amazing!"

Food & Drinks
The area we were willing the splurge the most was on food and drinks.  We loved not only the look but also the taste of our cocktails by Garnish Craft Cocktail Catering and the food by Maui Executive Catering was amazing."

The Tropics
"My biggest concern for the day was the possibility of rain and, of course, it did! We had to set up under a tent which wasn't part of the original plan. However Jessie and the girls did a great job at sorting that all out at the last minute with the weather not on our side.  The setup in the tent looked gorgeous and the bar and lounge area on the lanai looked amazing!" 

"A special moment for us was having our musician Ryan Robinson play our first dance.  We asked him to modify it from it's original and he did an amazing job! Having my long time friend and her business partner at Flofoto photography do the photos was amazing."