A Colorful, Tropical Wedding at Moli'i Gardens on Oahu's North Shore in Hawaii
Vibrant, bold color filled every corner of T Kira and Hannah’s wedding at Moli'i Gardens on the North Shore of Oahu in Hawaii. “Our number one priority was to create a wedding experience that felt personal, something that told a story about us as individuals and as a couple,” explains the couple of their tropical wedding. “We wanted guests to leave knowing more about who we are than when they had arrived. We stayed faithful to our aesthetic, our joys, our ‘happy colors’ of vibrant, saturated colors, and details that reflected who we are, how we love, and what land we were on. T Kira is Native Hawaiian, and Hannah grew up on rural farmland, and both cultures share a reverence for the natural world. Thus, every detail was a celebration of life, owners, plants, and the chosen family who made to Oahu. The night before, we even hand threaded every lei for every guest. Every person's presence meant that much to us.”
Beyond just having leis for every guest, T Kira and Hannah filled every part of their Oahu, Hawaii, wedding with lush botanicals. “Hannah is the green thumb; she absolutely loves flowers and plant life. We knew the indigenous flora would be central to our aesthetic and that we'd work around those guiding colors,” explains T Kira. “For example, we wanted to have our ceremony beneath a giant, gorgeous tree, but we didn't want to disturb or upstage the tree, so we chose not to build an arc. Instead, our ‘arc’ was built on the ground, around the tree, as if to honor it. We knew we wanted many traditional leis, and I especially wanted a haku headpiece, so those also helped guide our floral design. Every flower and leaf had a meaning.”
In addition to beautiful floral designs, the fashion choices of the day were also especially memorable. “T Kira worked for Zac Posen all through college, and always dreamed of wearing one of his designs. Posen custom made the dress in a marigold yellow, one of T Kira's favorite colors. She chose funky Christian Dior pumps, mesh with disco balls and gold lips, to offset the formal dress.,” says Hannah. “Meanwhile, I chose to support Bindle and Keep, a company the makes make bespoke suits for many in the queer community. We always thought a mauve or purple would complement gold, and the mauve/blue plaid fabric I found was absolutely perfect. I wore a black continental tie beneath a gold collar bar and chain, and deep purple dress shoes that read black in particular light. The shoes were one of the last things that T Kira's father gifted to her before his passing. It was another way to keep him present that day.”
Supporting the local community and being conscious and thoughtful with all their wedding decisions was paramount to T Kira and Hannah. “We enjoyed hiring local hula dancers, and a local trio band called Keauhou. In general, it was incredibly important to us to support local and Kānaka businesses, especially holding a wedding on an occupied nation,” explains the couple. “Our ceremony speeches also reflected this with a lengthy land acknowledgment on the history of the islands, and a speech about the history of gay rights and marriage equality. We could only be married by standing on the shoulders of those who have fought for our right to do so, and we wanted to bring those people, and those acts of revolution, into the space.”
Looking back on the wedding day, T Kira and Hannah share that “reciting our vows to one another, in the presence of the people we love most. We didn't have any first look, so the ceremony really was the first time we saw each others' outfits and heard each others' vows. It was transcendent. Second to that, was the surprise sing-along that T Kira orchestrated with all of our guests, after a scene from one of Hannah's favorite movies, My Best Friend's Wedding,” recalls the couple. “T Kira spontaneously kicked the sing-along off during the reception, and then, to Hannah's surprise, everyone joined in and knew all the words. Half a dozen guests even gave solos throughout the song. It really felt like a movie; it was magical, and surreal, and hilarious—and a moment that, we suspect, no one will ever forget.”
For couples currently in the midst of wedding planning, T Kira and Hannah encourage all to-be-weds to remember that “both marriage, and your wedding, should be about you as a couple. We found, throughout the process, that it was difficult to cast off so many presumptions about what a wedding ought to look like. Even as a queer couple, we realized we'd consumed a lot of traditional rhetoric and representation, and had to continually remind each other and ourselves that we truly could do anything we wanted! We could skip the parts that would have made us anxious and we could incorporate a spontaneous sing-along mid-reception. That feeling of liberation—of focusing on what would truly feel the most joyous in each and every moment--had everything much to do with how perfectly the day came together.”