A Rustic Lawn Wedding at Hale O Na Kaula Church in Maui, Hawaii

Palm trees, ocean views and sandy beaches may come to mind when thinking about Hawaii, but this rustic lawn wedding defies that stereotype. Gesen Nisly (23 and an assistant project engineer) and Matthew King (26 and a web designer) held their wedding outside at Hale O Na Kaula Church in Maui, Hawaii. Shades of teal, purple and black decorated the open field where both the ceremony and reception took place, inspired by a Hong Kong orchid tree Gesen had spotted on their neighbor’s property one day. “Gesen began picking some of the neighbor's orchids to practice centerpieces,” the couple says. “Teal looked great with the flower color, combined with black that made both colors pop -- thus the color scheme of the wedding came to be!” Gesen and Matt said their vows underneath a simple white linen wedding arch held up by wooden stakes, with a gorgeous backdrop of the mountains in the distance that was beautifully captured by MeewMeew Studios. Guests were seated at dining tables dressed in white tablecloths with teal runners during the reception, decorated with glass vases containing submerged white and purple flower petals. Our favorite detail was the wedding arch with teal doors that flapped open at the ceremony, creating an archway for the bride's entrance. “Matthew carefully painted two doors teal to match the wedding colors,” Gesen says. “We loved the look of rustic doors leading to the ceremony, and since it was outside, we wanted some sort of separation to set the stage for the ceremony.”