We absolutely adore this wedding and totally wished we were one of the guests & got to experience it in person. Marina and Steve had a beautiful wedding in Hawaii and it was absolutely perfect! Congratulations to this newlywed couple!
All photos were taken by Penny Palmer Photography.
Wedding Dress Style: #LD3906
Q: Any wedding advice for anyone getting married soon?
You know what you want, so don’t settle.
Q: What about your love story?
We met on Tinder, talked for hours on the phone. Met and fell in love with how much our morals and values aligned which had us become the best of friends. We treat each other with kindness, honesty and respect.
Q: What location did you pick to have your wedding and why did you choose this place?
We choose Hawai’i because that is where our families are from. My grandfather was born and raised on O’ahu and Steve’s mom Lana’i. Although they are no longer on this earth, we felt that it would be the most appropriate place to begin our journey by honoring their homeland.
Q: Did you enjoy the wedding planning process? Why or why not?
I was fortunate to have a wedding planner Darci from Aloha Maui Dream Weddings. Since it was a destination wedding, it made the planning process less stressful.
Q: What was the best/most memorable part of the day?
Our officiant Brother Kuya gave us an magical experience in exchanging our vows and laying a lei in the water to honor my husband’s late mother. Shortly after that the Hawaii State fish humuhumunukunukuapua’a was found on the beach (flopping on the sand and still alive) near the rocks behind us. We were taking family pictures so my son ran to it and was able to put the fish safely back into the water. We know that was his mother’s spirit, letting us know she was there.
Q: Describe how you felt when you found “The Dress.”
My gosh… It was a relieving moment. My engagement was six months, and knowing where I wanted to get married. I didn’t see the sense in purchasing an expensive wedding dress that I was going to get wet and sandy on the beach. But I still wanted it to be beautiful and of high quality. I went to several dress shops and they could not help me. In fact they gave me limited options and told me “Had you been here 6-9 months ago, we would be able to get you what you wanted”. Finding a dress was not fun for me, I was dreading it. So I stopped listening to everyone else and decided to go with what I wanted to do, which was going to make a downtown Los Angeles visit. While doing research of where to go, I found Cocomelody through Yelp. I checked their social media and booked an appointment.
Q: What do you think about Cocomelody and the customer service?
Hands down, wonderful. I didn’t fell up-sale’d. I felt like they were giving me everything I wanted. I went for a fitting in March, had some custom work done to the dress and it was completely ready in May. I even lost 25 lbs within that time and they made my dress fit beautifully. The whole Cocomelody team really made me feel comfortable in a not so comfortable experience. I really appreciate Cocomelody and am honored to be a part of their alumni. Mahalo!
