So last week @ragingpandabear and I went to Hawaii on our first (and last) vacation for a while. Our friend Blane had invited us to his wedding, so what better reason could we find to head to the tropics?
We stayed in Waikiki, about a block from the beach. We couldn’t actually see the beach from where we were staying but it would only take us about five minutes to get to the sand! I love Waikiki.
Blane got married in Ko Olina, and it was a beautiful wedding. It was, by far, the most grandeur and decadent wedding I have ever been to. But that’s not why it was lovely: You could see the love they had for each other…it was clearly visible.
What else did we do? We went to the beach. We went shopping (@ragingpandabear got crazy deals at Express). I discovered a new brand that I’m completely in enamored with. I found souvenirs for my nephew, and we walked for miles on Waikiki beach. We drove up the eastern coast of Oahu, and saw some of the most breathtaking sites that I’ve ever seen. We didn’t get a lot of relaxing time, but the day we drove along the coast was something we both needed! You’ll feel refreshed too, just check out these pictures:
I can’t wait to go back. Last time we went to Hawaii, we did a lot of nothing: eat, sleep, relax on the beach, shop, eat, sleep, relax on the beach…etc. This time, we has so much going on, we didn’t get a chance to relax. I could use another 2 or 3 days to just lounge on the sand, or walk through the waves. If you’ve never been to Hawaii, I suggest you go…I’m looking for an opportunity to go back!
I had another purpose for this trip…I’m trying to convince @ragingpandabear to get married in Hawaii. Yes! For those of you who didn’t know, we recently got engaged! How and where is a story for another post, though. He is pretty much set on our upcoming nuptials to take place in our hometown, while I’m pushing (and begging and stomping my feet) for a destination wedding.
My first thought was that it would actually be less expensive to have a destination wedding. If we get married here, we’re looking at about 350+ guests…and probably 250+ are just family! That’s a lot of people! I don’t know if you’ve ever priced out weddings in the Seattle area, but I’ve discovered that it isn’t easy to save money while wedding planning. I’ve also discovered, for what I’m looking for, I’m not going to really “save” money getting married in Hawaii…but…
Anyway, I’ve found the place where I want to get married. We toured a couple of different places: Turtle Bay, The Marriott, JW Marriot/Ko Olina, and the Royal Hawaiian. I thought that I would love Turtle Bay and that would be the end of it. In fact, that’s what I expected. But that’s not what happened.
I fell in love with this room and its view. It’s called the Monarch Room and it’s in the Royal Hawaiian. It has a terrace that wraps around the building, and those windows you see? They are floor to ceiling and open up, to bring the ocean into the room. The floors are sand, pale pink, and a sage but tropical green. The lights that hang, oh the lights! They remind me of spun sugar in deep jewel colors. The room literally made my heart stop for a moment. I didn’t know a room could do that. I know it sounds ridiculous. But this place? I didn’t know I had a dream wedding, but I do now. And this is it.
