Wednesday, December 13, 2006
Is it just me or is the month flying by? I've put in some seriously way too late nights making crafts and movies and cards and invitations and ... on and on. Dani is slammed at work. The current question up for debate in the office: Does Dani deserve the title Renewals Rock n' Roll Star or Renewals God? Hmmmm. Either way - she's working her butt off. Or working on making her butt wider, she would say, because of all the time at the computer screen.
OK - so the wedding was beeeeautiful. Obviously. You all saw the photos. I'm sorry that the slideshow is down on the website. Thank heavens for You Tube. The quality isn't nearly as good as the slideshow on alotoflife.com but, for the moment, it has to do as a testiment to our very good time.
What could not have been conveyed in photos was the amazing juggling act we all did. I mean, really, picture it: a 9 year old, an 80 year old (OK - 79 and 1/2), two newlyweds and our photographer. Very cozy - all with varying needs. We did amazingly well at adapting to each other. We managed to each get our needs met at least a few times during the trip and I think that that was the biggest accomplishement of the whole thing.
The weather was beautiful - we swam every day and I am personally so grateful for the determination of the Hawaiian people to keep the shores open and accessible to all. We were able to be in magical places - Venus Pools and Hamoa Bay on Hana Side and Wailea Beach at the Four Seasons in the south and Napili Bay on the western shore. All the beaches are free there and there were always enough boogie boards to borrow. It made for a very fun time. April, Dani's mother, hadn't ever been in the ocean to swim and took on the couragous task of putting that fact in the past. She braved the surf and held fast to the boogie board with all her might. It must have been terrifying but after hiking down steep slopes of rocks and through a bamboo forest just days before to get to a hidden series of three waterfalls- I guess she was up to the challenge!
Parker, on the other hand, couldn't get enough of the water. He body surfed and boogie boarded and snorkelled to his heart's delight. He and Dani swan amongst a school of 50 3 foot blue discus fish. They saw turtles the size of his bed! They went out more than I did - partially because of my lungs (which are pretty damaged), partially because I spent time with April and partially because of my eyes (the whole prosthetic situation makes it tricky.) But still, I managed to see lots of colorful fish and coral and sea urchins. It's a whole different world there - under the sea. So peaceful.
The Scottish part of me is SO PLEASED that we were able to just flow with it all and ended up having the most gorgeous wedding without all the expensive wedding planners and over-priced photographers. We stayed in a local's house on the wild side and Dani had already stayed there so she knew the area. It was colorful and lush and full of tropical birds and plants.
Our searches on craigslist found us both my wedding dress and our Napili Bay condo. The wedding dress was quite a trip. I think it was $30 (maybe $35?) and was very traditional. It had a long (3 or 4 foot) train that was the first thing to come off. I just hacked it with my scissors and, at the suggestion of a friend (Emily - who ended up giving invaluable design suggestions) I also cut it up to my shins in the front. I added red tulle underneath and red leather trim to the bottom edges. Fast and sooo easy! Then came the red rhinestones which were ironed on to the bodice. I did some and Emily did some. She took over the dress at that point and ripped out the zipper to install a red leather corset with 13 brass grommets down the back! She also made a matching collar with 13 brass studs that is absolutely stunning. I am so incredibly grateful for her help and can't wait to get my nails done with her as a special treat to say thanks!
Dani's sage colored Hawaiian shirt was from the thrift store and Parker's sage plaid shirt with black velvet Hawaiian flowers was a perfect hand-me-down from our dear friend Ivan. April wore a dress that she had worn to her son's wedding and it just happened to be perfect for our occasion. I think we all looked stunning and we didn't have to spend a million bucks to feel like it! I am nerdy but that just thrills the heck out of me! And best of all was the Four Seasons Wailea. We were able to use their public rest rooms with full-length mirrors and orange marble sinks (that we had all to ourselves) and their public stairways (with long, sweeping views of fountains, palm trees and the ocean) and their public beach (immaculate and crystal clear) for our ceremony. Free! I can't reccommend this route for those who need a plan because, honestly, we had no plan really. We didn't know where we were going to have our ceremony until an hour or so before it. It was a little unnerving but we managed to roll with it. Dani and Parker were snorkelling up unitl it was time to get dressed!
The ceremony itself was simple and elegant and poignant. Dani's longtime friend was such a sweetheart and did the whole thing as a blessing and a favor. She had the day off from her shop (she is the owner of Chrome Lotus Tattoo in Lahaina where the television show Las Vegas Ink is scooping up her artists!) Teri is drop jaw gorgeous (imho) and looked hot with her tattoos showing and her studded belt. She was the perfect balance between hot and cool - graceful and on the edge.
more when I can.....
OK - so the wedding was beeeeautiful. Obviously. You all saw the photos. I'm sorry that the slideshow is down on the website. Thank heavens for You Tube. The quality isn't nearly as good as the slideshow on alotoflife.com but, for the moment, it has to do as a testiment to our very good time.
What could not have been conveyed in photos was the amazing juggling act we all did. I mean, really, picture it: a 9 year old, an 80 year old (OK - 79 and 1/2), two newlyweds and our photographer. Very cozy - all with varying needs. We did amazingly well at adapting to each other. We managed to each get our needs met at least a few times during the trip and I think that that was the biggest accomplishement of the whole thing.
The weather was beautiful - we swam every day and I am personally so grateful for the determination of the Hawaiian people to keep the shores open and accessible to all. We were able to be in magical places - Venus Pools and Hamoa Bay on Hana Side and Wailea Beach at the Four Seasons in the south and Napili Bay on the western shore. All the beaches are free there and there were always enough boogie boards to borrow. It made for a very fun time. April, Dani's mother, hadn't ever been in the ocean to swim and took on the couragous task of putting that fact in the past. She braved the surf and held fast to the boogie board with all her might. It must have been terrifying but after hiking down steep slopes of rocks and through a bamboo forest just days before to get to a hidden series of three waterfalls- I guess she was up to the challenge!
Parker, on the other hand, couldn't get enough of the water. He body surfed and boogie boarded and snorkelled to his heart's delight. He and Dani swan amongst a school of 50 3 foot blue discus fish. They saw turtles the size of his bed! They went out more than I did - partially because of my lungs (which are pretty damaged), partially because I spent time with April and partially because of my eyes (the whole prosthetic situation makes it tricky.) But still, I managed to see lots of colorful fish and coral and sea urchins. It's a whole different world there - under the sea. So peaceful.
The Scottish part of me is SO PLEASED that we were able to just flow with it all and ended up having the most gorgeous wedding without all the expensive wedding planners and over-priced photographers. We stayed in a local's house on the wild side and Dani had already stayed there so she knew the area. It was colorful and lush and full of tropical birds and plants.
Our searches on craigslist found us both my wedding dress and our Napili Bay condo. The wedding dress was quite a trip. I think it was $30 (maybe $35?) and was very traditional. It had a long (3 or 4 foot) train that was the first thing to come off. I just hacked it with my scissors and, at the suggestion of a friend (Emily - who ended up giving invaluable design suggestions) I also cut it up to my shins in the front. I added red tulle underneath and red leather trim to the bottom edges. Fast and sooo easy! Then came the red rhinestones which were ironed on to the bodice. I did some and Emily did some. She took over the dress at that point and ripped out the zipper to install a red leather corset with 13 brass grommets down the back! She also made a matching collar with 13 brass studs that is absolutely stunning. I am so incredibly grateful for her help and can't wait to get my nails done with her as a special treat to say thanks!
Dani's sage colored Hawaiian shirt was from the thrift store and Parker's sage plaid shirt with black velvet Hawaiian flowers was a perfect hand-me-down from our dear friend Ivan. April wore a dress that she had worn to her son's wedding and it just happened to be perfect for our occasion. I think we all looked stunning and we didn't have to spend a million bucks to feel like it! I am nerdy but that just thrills the heck out of me! And best of all was the Four Seasons Wailea. We were able to use their public rest rooms with full-length mirrors and orange marble sinks (that we had all to ourselves) and their public stairways (with long, sweeping views of fountains, palm trees and the ocean) and their public beach (immaculate and crystal clear) for our ceremony. Free! I can't reccommend this route for those who need a plan because, honestly, we had no plan really. We didn't know where we were going to have our ceremony until an hour or so before it. It was a little unnerving but we managed to roll with it. Dani and Parker were snorkelling up unitl it was time to get dressed!
The ceremony itself was simple and elegant and poignant. Dani's longtime friend was such a sweetheart and did the whole thing as a blessing and a favor. She had the day off from her shop (she is the owner of Chrome Lotus Tattoo in Lahaina where the television show Las Vegas Ink is scooping up her artists!) Teri is drop jaw gorgeous (imho) and looked hot with her tattoos showing and her studded belt. She was the perfect balance between hot and cool - graceful and on the edge.
more when I can.....
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