Britni & Travis on this perfect rock outcropping less than 100 yards from their restaurant venue. Behind them you can see the Island of Moloka’i covered in clouds.

A beach wedding in Hawaii is just about the most classic destination wedding I can think of.

Britni booked with us in the summer of 2021 for her fall 2022 wedding. As many people did that year, she had originally planned to get married earlier but Covid restrictions around the country—and especially in Hawaii—made everything uncertain. Finally 2022 looked like the right time.

Little did anyone know that less than a year later, in late summer 2023, a wildfire would destroy 80% of the town of Lahaina. As far as I’ve been able to tell, the locations featured on my blog are all still standing, but much of the town of Lahaina has a lot of rebuilding to do. My understanding is that since the initial rebuilding period has passed, the locals welcome tourism and weddings as they are necessary to the local economy, but as always we should be conscientious of their home.

Getting Ready at the Westin Maui Resort & Spa Ka’anapali

Britni’s suite occupied a corner of the building, and had the most dramatic view I saw the whole time I was on Maui (which is saying something). Looking down at the clear blue water and the palm trees from above was nothing short of inspiring. Her bridesmaids donned their matching monstera print robes, and practiced a new line dance they all hoped to do at the reception.

Travis got ready in his own suite a few floors below, and I spent a few minutes photographing each of them as they read letters and opened gifts from each other on their balconies.

Before setting out for the ceremony, Britni had a special first look with her dad in one of the hotels many lush outdoor spaces.

Ceremony at Merriman’s Kapalua

The ceremony and reception were held at Merriman’s Kapalua. Kapalua is a resort area adjacent to the beach and resort town of Lahaina. Merriman’s isn’t just a wedding venue, it’s a restaurant that’s open to the public. Behind the main seating area, Merriman’s also has a gorgeous deck, accented with palm trees and torches. The extensive deck covers most of a beautiful rock outcropping stretching out of the Northwest corner of the island out into the water between the islands of Molokai and Lanai. After picking up a drink from the outdoor bar. guests were seated for the wedding on the end of the deck facing the ocean.

Details at Merriman’s Kapalua

They closed the restaurant for the wedding, which is typically open every night. Britni and Travis had their wedding on a Monday night, which might seem odd, but Caleb and I both used to work in restaurants and we immediately recognized how smart a move this was. Most weddings happen on Saturdays because that’s often what works best for guests. When you’re having a destination wedding that’s at minimum a 5 hour flight for anyone attending, chances are if they can make it, they’re going to have to take off at least a day or two of work. Restaurants will always be slower on Mondays, so if you want to get married at a busy place, they’re way more likely to be willing to do a buy-out on a Monday, and places that close regularly for events are typically much more in demand on weekends. Plus, everyone was really able to make a good long weekend of it. Britni treated their guests to many adventures over the Saturday and Sunday before the wedding.

Guests were able to find their tables with the help of an engraved coconut by local vendor The Catered Coconut. Hand Painted Oysters marked their places.

Portraits of the Couple, Family, and Guests

After the ceremony, I took Family portraits, from a list Britni and I had made ahead of time, on a nearby terraced lawn with a view of the crashing waves and Molokai behind them. While I took family portraits and portraits of the bridesmaids, guests were invited to have a portrait made by Caleb at the Aloha sign that had a similar view.

As the sun was beginning to set, Kyle, the videographer and I took just Britni and Travis down the rocky outcropping directly behind their ceremony arch that drops off into the Pacific Ocean. We made the most of our 20 minutes of golden hour and got one of my favorite photos of all time (Sidenote, I had this one blown up into a 10’ wide and 8’ tall backdrop wall for my booth at bridal shows. If you’re curious how big you can print your high-resolution JPG files that are included with every package, 10’ wide looks great, and you can print even larger than that.

Dinner and Dancing

As the last light faded from the sky, Britni and Travis made their way into the main part of the restaurant where their guests were waiting and went straight into their first dance.

One of the other benefits of a restaurant being your wedding venue is that the food was incredible. No shade to wedding caterers, but when you’re at a restaurant, their full time job is making dishes that bring guests back again and again. Plus they have their kitchen on site, instead of having to cook and then transport the food like a caterer would have to. I had a fish dish that I still remember two years later. I’d highly recommend visiting Merriman’s for dinner even if you don’t get married there.

They finished the evening “indoors” at the restaurant with dinner, heartfelt toasts, and a full dance floor until the very end. At least one wall was open to the outside so we could hear the crashing waves (before they turned up the music).

When we decided to do a couple photos lying down in the sand, Caleb pointed out that this shot looks like iconic movie poster from “From Here to Eternity.” This pose was a lot less comfortable and spontaneous than it looks, plus it got Travis’s shirt pretty dirty so we saved it for right at the end. This image is one of my very favorites.

“Trash the Dress”

Back in the aughts when I was just starting wedding photography, “Trash the Dress” was a fashionable kind of shoot to offer. Edgy brides both humorously acknowledged and railed against the fact that wedding dresses were a one-time-use item. Donning the dress for an unlikely second time, a photographer would take photos of the now-mrs. wading into water, trudging through mud, or splattering herself with paint. As a young photographer (and a sensitive person who is a bit of a rule-follower) I was too heartbroken by the idea of ruining a beautiful expensive dress, so I never offered this kind of session myself. I did always wonder if I would have secretly enjoyed it.

When Britni told me she wanted to do some photos in the water on Maui in lieu of an engagement session, we went back and forth about what that might look like. It was eventually decided that she (relatably) couldn’t truly imagine ruining her wedding gown, and the best time for her was actually before the wedding, in which case the dress was truly off limits.

She chose another, more casual white dress for the occasion and we set a time for the shoot a few days before the wedding. Caleb and had I were on Maui early. We always arrive at destination weddings a minimum of 24 hours before our first contracted time. You can’t re-do your wedding day, so I take my responsibility to be in the right place at the right time very seriously. We met up before sunset at Black Rock Beach because I wanted to make sure their beach photos had a strong sense of place. Hawaii’s dramatic mountains and black rock outcroppings anchor the photos in this unique and stunning part of the world. If we had our shoot at any of several other locations, the sand, blue water, and palm trees could have been anywhere.

If you want more photos at your destination, more photos in your wedding attire, or just want to try something crazy, consider a week-of wedding photo session. It’s a great way to take some of the pressure off of your wedding day—especially if great portraits AND a lot of time with your guest are both priorities for you.

Any engagement session included in your package can be used as a week-of session, and the same terms apply: unlimited outfits, unlimited locations, unlimited time up to a half day. All the final photos as high resolution files with full rights.

Vendors:

Venue, Catering, and Bar: Merriman’s Kapalua https://www.merrimansweddings.com

Getting Ready Venue: Westin Kaanapali https://www.marriott.com

Seating Chart: The Catered Coconut https://www.thecateredcoconut.com

Floral: Dellables https://dellables.com/florals/

HMUA: Meili Autumn Beauty https://meiliautumn.com

Videographer: Kyle Hunt, Media Flow Productions http://www.mediaflowproductions.com

Coordinator: Vickie Jackson with help from Meghan Sibert

Bridal Gown: Grace Loves Lace https://graceloveslace.com

Britni and Travis booked one photographer for unlimited time on their wedding day, plus an engagement session, which they used for their wedding week “trash the dress” session, and they added on an hour of coverage at cocktail hour just so Caleb could capture guest portraits with the Aloha sign. They received a total of 2161 images.

If you’d like to learn more about working with us for your Houston or Destination wedding, please inquire.