WEDDING BLOG

Palm trees swaying in the breeze, island music playing in the distance, tying the knot in an emotional waterfront ceremony; Zach and Nik’s Andaz Maui wedding was everything they dreamed. The grooms were inspired by a farm-to-table style dinner, which resulting in a family style reception organized by Opihi Love with long, wooden tables adorned in gold, green, and blue. We love that the grooms decided on a subtle Hawaiian flair for their wedding day fashion, wearing linen blazers and floral ties. Before joining their guests for dinner, Anna Kim Photography captured sunset portraits of the newlyweds embracing on the shore.

The Couple:

Zach and Nik

The Wedding:

Andaz Maui, Maui, Hawaii

The Inspiration:

One of our biggest inspirations was a farm dinner that the two of us attended a few years ago, which was hosted by an incredible organization called Outstanding in the Field. In addition to advocating for hyper local, farm-to-table fare (as well as the farmers who grow it), one of the ideas for which OITF has become known is their long, communal dining tables, which are amazingly picturesque and often set in the middle of a field, among the trees in an orchard, or even right on the beach. We knew we had to borrow this idea for our wedding reception, as it was really important to us that we foster a sense of community as we celebrated with all of our friends and family. We wanted our guests to feel almost like they were sitting at our dining table in our home — just with a better view. For that reason, we also served dinner family style, which was a really fun touch.

Design-wise, we were looking to do something that celebrated our beautiful Hawaiian setting, while also incorporating the sensibility of our hometown in Santa Monica, CA. One of the first concepts we ever threw around with our designer, Melissa Padilla of Opihi Love, was “Venice Beach meets Maui.” Melissa was the perfect designer to implement this vision. Even before talking with her, we were struck by her portfolio of weddings, all of which managed to seamlessly combine vintage elements with more modern touches. We think she nailed the motif we were looking for.

The Moments:

Although the entire wedding was truly memorable, the best moment was the exchange of vows, which we wrote ourselves. There was not a dry eye to be found anywhere.

The Couple Recommends:

We are indebted to all of our phenomenal vendors. Of course we can’t say enough about Melissa Padilla of Opihi Love, who is hands down one of the best and most creative designers anywhere. She made our dream wedding a reality (and became a close friend in the process).

Our incredible flowers were done by Bella Bloom. Nicole, the owner, completely understood what we were going for — something more masculine and understated — and she and her team absolutely nailed our aesthetic. We loved everything they did — from the tropical greenery on our driftwood chuppah, to the unique succulent arrangements on our dining table, to the individual thistles at every place setting.

Barbara Vanderpool of Miss B. Calligraphy was, as we mentioned above, simply spectacular; we are still receiving compliments from our guests about her work!

Anna and Jessica of Anna Kim Photography were an absolute delight to work with, and our photos are friggin’ amazing! We still can’t believe they are real.

Our venue — the Andaz Maui at Wailea — was the perfect setting for our event (the design aesthetic there is awesome and totally in line with what we were going for), and we are very grateful to Melissa Woodley and her team for their assistance throughout the whole process. The food was also superb (seriously, best wedding food we’ve ever had!), as were the drinks. And, as a couple who LOVES cake, we couldn’t have been happier with our wedding cakes, which were all made in house by the Andaz pasty chef, Erin Preston.

The Wedding Team:

Photography – Anna Kim Photography
Event Planning – Opihi Love
Venue – Andaz Maui at Wailea Resort
Floral Design – Bella Bloom
Grooms’ Apparel – Ted Baker, Banana Republic
Grooms’ Accessories – SuitedMan
Rings – David Yurman

Congratulations to Nik and Zach on their destination wedding in Hawaii, and thanks to Anna Kim Photography for sharing! If you love Zach and Nik’s venue, be sure to check out Michelle and Kenny’s pastel beach wedding at Andaz Maui!