Yep, you read that post title right + vineyard weddings inspired by the islands are something you definitely don’t see everyday! Alyssa + Dana live in Hawaii, but wanted to have their wedding in a convenient destination for family and friends. They decided that Sanford Winery + Vineyard in Santa Barbara, California was the perfect place to celebrate with their guests; most of whom were flying in from far away places like Hawaii, New York, and Colombia, South America. To make things interesting + reflective of their current lifestyle, A + D went with rustic vineyard + Hawaiian fusion theme. Pretty unique, and we seriously couldn’t love it more! Let’s hear a little more about how they got to this place, directly from the bride herself:
We had a destination wedding with almost all of our guests logging significant flight times to California. We were really touched by that, so we wanted to create an inclusive event that was about celebrating everyone being there with us. That philosophy drove our plans for the wedding. We included all of our parents in the ceremony by having them walk each of us down the aisle. To ensure that all of our guests felt included in the ceremony, we set up the site with the huppah in the center and the seating surrounding us on all sides. (I like to refer to this as the wrestling ring set up.) The ceremony was held in the vineyard, so we were first surrounded by friends and family, then by the grapes and finally by the mountains around that. It was a really beautiful and special moment.
Thanks so much to Troy Grover Photographers for these oh-so-beautiful images and big congrats to Alyssa + Dana on a beautifully original day!
We love Alyssa’s tropical bouquet by Tenley Erin Young Floral + Event Design. Tenley Erin Young also tackled the event design for the day, so it’s no surprise that the fun fusion styling, which could have been difficult to pull off, ended up being perfectly cohesive.
Alyssa adds, Neither of us wanted to have any bridesmaids or groomsmen, but we didn’t want to disappoint a few very excited, eager and important people in our lives, so we asked my nieces, Dana’s nephew and our close friends’ daughters to be our bridal party. They walked down the aisle and stood with us during the ceremony.
Their favorite memory from the wedding...
All of our guests arrived at the winery by bus at the same time. They exited the bus and went straight into the vineyard where Dana and I greeted and welcomed each guest and personally presented him or her with a Hawaiian lei, which we had shipped in from Hawaii. We had white orchid leis for the women and kukui nut leis for the men. Since the bride and groom typically stay “hidden” until the ceremony begins, it was a nice surprise for everyone and helped set an informal and intimate mood for the rest of the wedding.
What a beautiful spot to tie the knot. The fusion of details came together just gorgeously…
Dessert was cheesecake from Junior’s in New York, where Alyssa is originally from. Yum!
Our Advice to those planning now...
Use the familiar wedding traditions as guidelines or a menu, not a script. Include what is meaningful and important, add in other personal touches and toss the rest. Don’t feel guilty about not doing something. Many of our guests actually appreciated that we skipped the typical wedding stuff and really focused on creating a wedding that was uniquely ours. Many time over we heard things like I’ve never been to a weeding quite like this, or that people really appreciated the small unique touches that were distinctly us.
photography: Troy Grover Photographers // venue: Sanford Winery + Vineyard Santa Barbara, California // event design:Tenley Erin Young Floral + Event Designs // event planner: Jessica Kuipers of Bijoux Events // florals: Tenley Erin Young Floral + Event Designs, Leis by Rachel’s Lei Stand in Honolulu // wedding dress: Watters // hairpieces: Tenley Erin Young Floral + Event Designs //shoes: Stuart Weitzman // junior bridesmaid dresses: Une Deux Trois // hair: Ashley Sinnott of Sanctuary Salon, Honolulu // makeup: Chateau Belle, Santa Barbara // groom suit: Ted Baker // paper goods: Minted // catering: Season’s Catering // cake: Junior’s Cheesecake, NYC // rentals: Classic Party Rentals // officiant: Ian Forsyth, a close friend // dj: Music by Bonnie //guitarist: Sam Adams //specialty rentals: Scout Rental Co // linens: La Tavola Linens // calligrapher: Leslee Sipress
You know I also had enjoyed destination wedding to Hawaii with very few guests. We invited only the closed ones. We had hired a famous wedding planner of Hawaii and he did an amazing job, all the arrangements were just perfect.
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