Today’s was Jeffrey & Sarah’s Kula Botanical, Maui, White Gazebo package wedding. They met two and one half years ago at one of Jeffrey’s gigs as a drummer with “Stripped.”

Now, rain is a possibility that many brides and grooms are concerned about, but actually happens quite rarely. It did begin to rain about one and one half hours before Jeffrey & Sarah’s wedding at the beautiful Kula Gardens on the slopes of Mount Haleakala. They were great sports about it, gracefully used a large umbrella provided by the gardens. They looked quite enchanting and romantic strolling under the umbrella, which Jeffrey gallantly held over his bride, in the soft, misty rain.  Jeffrey did mention that it was ironic to have a rainy wedding, when they came here from Washington State – the land of rain. But, they appreciated that here the rain is light, warm and passes quickly.

The beautiful, white gazebo they had selected for their wedding kept them warm and dry during their sweet, romantic Maui wedding.Afterwards, they strolled the gardens, again under the umbrella, stopping at many beautiful sites to be photographed amid the fantastic arena of flowers and trees that grow in Hawaii, where rain, during your wedding, is considered a “blessing by Lehua,” the goddess of lovers.

Some days, I easily feel blessed. Others, I am just trying to manage the stress. A wedding planner’s life is not just smiles and roses – even on Maui!

We had a large Maui beach wedding scheduled. Any outdoor wedding with a number of guests holds many possibilities for things to go wrong. So, our staff had prepared all the details as carefully as possible.

Still, things went wrong. The weather was misbehaving: Strong gusts of wind scattered the flower circle and blew the toasting flutes and table into the sand. Dark clouds gathered on the horizon, blocking the Maui sun and threatened no sunset and early darkness. Members of the wedding party were missing. Finally, ten minutes after the wedding was supposed to start, all the guests and wedding party were located and in place.

The photographer, videographer and musicians were poised for the processional. There was one BIG problem – no bride!! We were told by the limo driver via cellphone that she did not want to come out of the limousine, although her father and bridal party were standing outside, waiting for her. Neither did she wish to speak with anyone. The stress of the moment was, apparently, overwhelming. Family members went to check. The minister and various guests began to look anxious and everyone began to ask what’s wrong. No news came and more and more people wandered away, though urged to stay. I tried to appear calm and confident, but, inside, I was wondering if we were even going to have a wedding. As I tried to reassemble the guests, my walkie-talkie squawked the welcome words, “The bride is coming!” Everyone slipped back into place. The sweet flowergirl and beautiful bridesmaids began the processional. Finally, the bride appeared at the top of the hill. All of a sudden, the winds stopped and the clouds parted. Golden shimmering light cast its beams on the young bride dressed in white satin and rhinestones that were set ablaze by the sun’s rays.

Everyone stood to gaze upon this beautiful apparition. The smiling, radiant bride was led to her beaming groom. The wedding proceeded flawlessly, and the light held out, beautifully.

I performed my sacred hula to the Hawaiian Wedding Song, played by my handsome sons, as the Maui sky turned pink and green and orange. The wedding toast, in front of the awesome Maui sunset looked like the happy ending of a fairytale. Everyone was radiant with happiness. I felt very lucky and amazingly blessed.

Darkness disappears
When the Light of Peace and Love
Overcomes our fears

Well, I’m back. Back from where? From about one hundred Merry Maui Weddings and, though I jorunalled, not a word has been shared beyond my scribbles on paper. Most often, I write about a wedding right after it’s over. Some weddings are like epic adventures that I find my self transcribing long before the wedding day.

During the one hundred plus weddings, I was also moving my home and office. Somehow, I managed to never show up at a wedding in overalls, toting packing tape and carrying boxes. But, I didn’t manage to get my wedding adventures out on the World Wide Web. 

Today, I would like to talk about people who find their true loves through matchmaking services, usually on the internet. It’s been a revelation. When I started Merry Maui Weddings, early in the millennium, no one would admit that they met through a matchmaking service. I know, because I usually ask couples how they met. I always find their answers fascinating, not just the stories themselves, but the expressions on their faces as they recount their experiences.

A few years ago, the occasional couple, with shy, downcast looks and red faces, would admit that they had met on the internet. They would exchange embarrassed expressions, as they looked at me to read my response. I always congratulated them, wholeheartedly. 

When I was a child, infused with romantic fantasies (as in unrealities), I had thought matchmaking unromantic. But, now, having experienced the painful inadequacy of surface attraction to sustain many marriages, I have become an advocate, and so have many others.

Matchmaking, I have learned, is as old as marriage, itself. It used to be the dominion of wise elders, who knew everyone in the village. Or perhaps, seers with special psychic abilities to perceive who would be right for whom, would take on the job. (For an example of that type, see the entertaining movie, “The Matchmaker.”) 

Nowadays, most people use services, such as eHarmony.com or match.com. They fill out extensive profiles of their selves, and the computer, assisted by professionals, does the matching. It seems to me they do a great job. For now, about 1 in 4 couples proudly proclaim that this is how they met. Internet matchmaking seems to have become extremely acceptable in just two to three years.

What I notice is that these couples are nearly always really happy, comfortable and confident in their relationship. They don’t seem to be as prone to last minute doubts or hysteria as couples who met conventionally. I will not even attempt to understand how this is true.

I am not knocking love at first sight (that’s how I met my husband and it has worked out, wonderfully). I do see now that taking the time to decide what you want in love, putting it out there consciously and expecting to receive it leads to another kind of miracle. I see that matchmaking makes people radiantly happy and brings us lots of wedding business. Until next time, Ayesha.

Where does love come from?
Not the heart or mind,
But the indwelling divine.

Yoki & Jeremy’s March 2006 Maui wedding was a true multicultural celebration. It was also a real challenge for us, as wedding planners, and ended with a shocking, unplanned (by us, anyway) finale.

Yoki and Jeremy met while he was attending school in Japan. Their relationship had the opportunity to grow, when he procured a job as an English instructor. Despite many cultural differences, this young Japanese woman and California student fell deeply in love.

Jeremy was expected, by Japanese tradition, to ask her family for permission to seriously date her. He complied, but mixed up his idioms and ended up asking permission to: (a rude word for intimate relations). Somehow, he received permission anyway, after the misunderstanding was cleared up.

After three years of serious courtship, sometimes interrupted by Jeremy’s trips back home to the U.S., the couple realized that they were made for each other. They selected Maui for their wedding because it is nearly equidistant from California and Japan. Also, they love Maui and, finally, Jeremy’s family includes us – the owners of Merry Maui Weddings.

This wedding was our biggest challenge to date for two reasons. Yoki’s traditional Japanese family and Jeremy’s casual, eclectic California/Hawaiian families were very, very different. And, this was our first wedding for our own family.

As you might know, pleasing family can be a lot more difficult than pleasing unrelated clients. Blessedly, the wedding was beautiful and close to perfect as such an event could be. It was held on a beautiful coconut palm studded lawn next to a South Maui beach, and in front of a condo complex in Kihei, where many of the off-island guests stayed.

The flowers, arch and wedding attire were traditionally western in style. The bride wore a dazzling neo-Victorian dress and veil and the groom a handsome white tuxedo. The bridesmaids and groomsmen were also beautiful, attired in the wedding colors, pink and white. The grooms’ family was dressed in their “Sunday best,” or dress Aloha wear. The bride’s family were easy to identify as they wore a matching Japanese print.

The wedding ceremony, performed by myself, was customized by the bride and groom to reflect their own beliefs. It was touching and often hilarious (as they are). I have never witnessed so much laughter at a wedding before! After the wedding kiss, in true Hawaiian style, my sons performed the Hawaiian Wedding Song and I danced the hula.

The pink and white reception featuring Hawaiian luau-style food was appreciated by all. Everyone was pleased and commenting at how smoothly and beautifully the wedding/reception had gone when something unexpected happened. Suddenly, Yoki’s father and uncle picked Yoki up and threw her, fully attired in veil, gown and heels, over a tall fence and into the swimming pool! Family and friends were aghast and there is still speculation as to the meaning of this act.

Fortunately, Yoki cleared the cement and survived this wedding surprise with grace and humor and everyone enjoyed the rest of the evening. I do wish the bride’s family had chosen a less shocking way to show their love, such as the father dancing with his daughter or the uncle tying some cans to the groom’s car. But, I suppose we must respect cultural differences. All in all, it was a Merry Maui Wedding.