A Hawaiian Style Wedding

You may think that our recent trip to Hawaii was just to eat but no; my baby sister was getting married and we had to be there to celebrate with her.

Family wedding pic

My sister is a planner. She’s been involved in planning for so many of her friends’ weddings. So you know that her wedding was going to be perfectly planned.

The wedding was held at the Ko’olau Golf Club, on Windward side of Oahu. It’s a breath-taking location, with the Ko’olau mountain range standing majestically in the background. We came for the rehearsal on Thursday afternoon, where everyone was handed their assignments (she’s the planner, right?) Before too long, the rehearsal was done and we were ready to go to dinner with the future in-laws.

Wedding Rehearsal

They chose Joyful Garden Fine Asian Cuisine, in the Windward City Shopping Center, because it was their favorite neighborhood Chinese restaurant. They know the staff quite well, so service was great. And so was the food.

We got Peking duck, honey walnut shrimp, deep fried taro cake with duck, minute chicken cake noodle (almost as good as Pah Ke’s) steamed fish with soy sauce and green onions, fried rice, and much more. I couldn’t believe how much food they ordered! We were so stuffed by the time we left.

Joyful Garden Fine Asian Cuisine, Kaneohe

Wedding Rehearsal Dinner at Joyful Garden Fine Asian Cuisine

Saturday morning we had to show up early at the Koolau club for the formal wedding pics. It was shot mostly for the wedding party so we had some time to take pics for ourselves. As you can see, Hawaiian-style weddings are casual, and guests can wear Aloha attire instead of jackets and ties.

Wedding  Picture Taking

It had rained earlier in the morning (a “Hawaiian blessing”) but the skies cleared in time for the ceremony. With all the guests assembled outside, we were ready to begin. I originally had the duty to escort my grandmother but since she was unfortunately in the hospital, I had the honor to escort my mom instead. Doesn’t she look great?

My niece and sister were maids of honor. The matron of honor was my sister’s best friend from work and her daughter was the flower girl.

Wedding Ceremony

Finally, it was her turn to walk the “aisle”. You could see how happy she was to be taking those steps that she’d been dreaming about ever since she was a little girl. She seemed to be savoring every step on the path to her party.

It was a non-religious ceremony, so the officiant kept things short. A few “repeat after me”s, some “I do”s, and it’s done. Next came the marriage certificate signing and the after-ceremony picture taking.

Post Wedding Ceremony Pictures

The reception was held in the main banquet hall at the clubhouse, just a short walk up. Very convenient for attendees with short legs.

Koolau Rooster

I’ll have more pics from the reception (you know I gotta show you da food!) in Part 2.

Aloha, Nate

We still have lots more posts about our eating adventures in Hawaii, so stay tuned! Subscribe now and get all our latest posts sent to your Inbox or your RSS reader.

9 thoughts on “A Hawaiian Style Wedding”

  1. Thanks for sharing such a beautiful family occasion. I love the picture of the mountains. That’s one of the things about Maui and Hawaii in general that I love. And da food…you gotta show us MORE 🙂

  2. *LOVE* the pic of Daniel & Esther! I love how Daniel is gently holding Esther and resting his head on her shoulder — a moment of brotherly affection. They are growing up so handsomely and beautifully!

  3. What beautiful photos! Everyone looked so nice and the food, of course, looked ONO.

    It really helps to have a planner in the family.

  4. Congratulations to your sister! Looked like a really beautiful setting. Love Hawaiian weddings. Can’t believe everyone ate all that food the night before the ceremony!

  5. Gorgeous wedding, gorgeous food. Her planning for the food menu was excellent! The rooster…is so random, but I love it, lol!

    And deep fried taro cake with duck?! Wowee…

  6. Hi Nate! Thank you for coming to my site. And wow your sister is beautiful! Congratulations to her and your family! What a beautiful place… I’ve only been to Hawaii once but definitely want to go back again.

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