Tell us a little about yourselves, what you do, what you love, what is unique about you and your relationship…
Our love story begins with Max (a plumber) recalls the first moment he laid eyes on Anya (a teacher) it was LOVE at first sight. We were first introduced through a mutual friend and as they say the rest was history. This cheeky Samoan tradie stole the heart of a beautiful Māori wāhine and her adoring 6-year old son, Jeriah. Anya’s son is her entire universe, so it was important for him to always feel safe and happy. Since Max and Jeriah’s first meeting, the two have been inseparable and each other’s biggest sidekicks. Max proposed after-the-fact we had jumped straight out of a plane together and what followed next is he knelt in front of Jeriah and asked to become HIS stepdad. This great man, his humility and love for us both is the reason why I am the luckiest girl in the world and Max agrees; “I think I’m just lucky, I became a husband and a father all in one day”.
Tell us about your special day, was there a specific theme or style? Tell us a little about the setting, the styling and some of your favourite details…
Anya: Our culture is important to us both – Max is Samoan, and I am of Māori/ British heritage which influenced a lot of our choices on the day. Max and I both loved the idea of a modern, tropical themed wedding, however, quickly soon came to the realisation that we both had a very different approach in terms of the word styling. Enter Keri Palemani, a Sydney-based stylist, whom specialises in new look island destination weddings and did I mention she is an amazing florist as well. Our prayers were answered twice over and hired Keri on the spot! Together with forty of our closest family and friends, we made the journey over to the lush, green and mountainous views experienced only in Hawaii. We chose to stay true to the environment and let the lush natives and magnificent mountains speak for themselves. Since it was a smaller wedding, we wanted everyone to be close together like one big Ohana – translating to family. We had two long tables on either side of our main table, with the addition of some soft delicate overhead lighting allowed our guests to bask in a more intimate setting where they could sit, relax, laugh and enjoy each other’s company – it truly felt like an ode to a mid-summer nights romance in the air. Keri’s ability to combine our initial conversations of simple, clean lines and minimalistic whilst staying true to the natural beauty of the landscape, transformed an unsuspecting Airbnb into a tropical luxe wedding paradise. The venue, Hale Lokahi, doubled as the reception venue and housed both families as the property was large enough to accommodate all wedding guests.
Max: I fondly remember stepping through the wide opened large glass bi-fold doors, which lead the guests down to the beautiful gardens with uninterrupted views. The DJ was tucked to one side with the stage perfectly set for watching all the items and performances. My favourite detail was the white, blind-embossed “Anya and Max” round @allspex sign hanging from the arch hired from our friends at @alohaartisans. “It was so awesome to look up and see our names, then look around and see all of our nearest and dearest acknowledge that this day was ours.”
Keri: I love travel, and nothing excites me more than the thrill of a new place. As a destination stylist, I can combine both loves and incorporate my own design style and push the concept boundaries on behalf of my clients. For Anya and Max, the brief was simple, minimal and tropical luxe. In all my work, I love to forage and hand-pick native flora specific to that place and time of year. For Florals, I was given full design freedom and created an impressive large, white, lime green hydrangea bouquets, accented with locally sourced olive branches. The Tablescape featured items from my own hire collection including the bamboo placements, stone grey linen napkins and matte black cutlery adorned the tables, which were part of the hireage fee at Hale Lokahi. The heirloom grey dinner plates were hired from @accelrentals. Personalised teal luggage tags for the bride, groom and cake sign by my beautiful friends @sketchandetchcreative. All table florals and foliage I hand-picked and really bought my vision to life highlighting the undeniable elegance of the Hawaiian surrounds.
Anya: We are members of the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints (Mormons) and were sealed for all time and eternity inside the Laie Temple, located on the North Shore. The Laie Temple played a significant role in our special day – we chose to feature it on the reception tables in form of a beautifully hand – illustrated ‘Mahalo means Thank You Cards’ from @studiosilva_ and the temple art was created by @deuxworthy. The Menu was fully catered by a local Hawaiian BBQ Restaurant named Papa Ole’s Kitchen situated in beautiful Hau’ula. Next time you visit the North Shore, make sure you stop by as the food or as the locals call it, ono grinds is mouth-watering, and the guests raved about it. We kept things simple and offered self-service buffet and purchased all soft drinks and water bottles from the local supermarket right next door.
Tell us about your main outfits:
Anya: I wore a custom-made white dress inside the Laie Temple for the sealing – it was modest yet, I still felt beautiful and elegant. Due to the sacredness of the temple ceremony only a select few family members witnessed it as no cameras were allowed inside. In keeping with old traditions, my something blue was my Steve Madden heels. My second dress or the “Party Dress” was purely strategic as I have attended so many other weddings in the past and watched the poor bride unable to sit, eat, go to the bathroom and dance around because of their magnificent, yet impractical dress choice. I found the most heavenly, bohemian, gypsy dress from @treeoflife_love to wear during the reception and it was perfect – I ate and danced all night long with my husband.
Max: The plan was for Jeriah and me to wear matching simple, cream suits. I opted for white linen button ups and wore brown woven dress shoes I purchased from Universal Store. Jeriah’s blazer was tailored, the fit was perfect, and we were all excited to receive mine in the post. Until it turned up, and it was Pink! We were only two weeks away before flying out to Hawaii. Max laughs, “My darling wife was freaking out, in the end I decided to roll with the pink and found matching pants and that was that. I wore a pink suit to my reception, and I looked sexy! Everyone seemed to love it and it suited my personality.” But most importantly, the wife loved it. Anya told me, “As she walked down the aisle, she remembered the sky behind me brilliant shades of pink and there I stood – a perfect match.”
What were some of the most memorable/unique moments from the day?
Max: I was so nervous, anxiously waiting to see Anya and hold her hand. The entire sealing experience was more memorable than I could ever have imagined. Once we stepped out of the temple as husband and wife to adoring family and friends all clapping and cheering was one of the proudest moments of my life. We held a short ring ceremony on the lawn of Hale Lokahi as not everyone who travelled was able to witness the ceremony inside the Temple. As I watched Anya and Jeriah walk down the aisle towards me, surrounded by our loved ones is something I will never forget from that day.
Anya: As I held my sons’ hand and began walking down through the garden towards my husband, my heart was racing. I tried to remember every single detail – from the warm downlights leading me down the aisle, to the gorgeous hanging foliage and at my personal request; our guests all dressed in white surrounded by breath-taking views of the mountain ranges in the background – all under a pink and orange sunset sky. One person that Keri recommended to us was her close photographer friend @Marcgvisuals and I am so glad that we listened and hired him on the spot too! The amazing Marc Gardner captured the most spectacular shots throughout our day. Not only is he easy going and brilliant to work with, but he’s a bonafide Hawaiian local hero. Our newlywed shoot took place all over the North Shore. Like Marc, we too love adventure, so we hopped in the car and put our trust in Marc and off he drove. At one point, we were following a monk deep into the Hawaiian jungle and found a hidden banana plantation which served as our backdrop to grand thousand-yearold mountains. This by far was one of my most memorable moments of our wedding day.
Max: One of the more unforgettable moments of the day was seeing my beautiful wife glow as she stepped out onto the grass, in full traditional Samoan Taupou costume to perform her Siva Samoa. As she gracefully swung her hips to the music, she lit up the garden with her infectious smile and beauty. Within seconds my family were all off their seats, dancing around her to the deafening voices of ‘cheehoo.’ I remember overwhelming feelings of joy, love and pride for this amazing woman, my wife. Her Siva payed homage to my culture and showed great respect towards my family, whom in return welcomed Anya lovingly into our ‘Aiga.’
Any advice for other couples planning to spend the rest of their lives together?
Max: One sound piece of advice to other couples preparing to get married, is to have patience with one another. I realised quickly that planning a wedding is a massive undertaking. Be realistic about your budget from the get-go. Both of us being Māori/Polynesian, proudly come from huge extended families on both sides. We decided early in the planning stages to invite only immediate family and closest friends to keep the numbers down. I am positive every other groom can attest to the same life philosophy is to put all your trust in your spouse because at the end of the day, “Happy wife, Happy life!”
Anya: I would say, if you can and the budget allows, invest in an amazing planner and/or stylist. All the stress of sourcing venues, caterers, co-ordinating with vendors, performers, creating the programme and the pack in/pack out was all taken care of by Keri once she agreed to take us on as clients. After the initial consultation, Keri was on the same page, what we hoped to achieve and the general feel of our wedding day. Keri was truly amazing; she turned our wedding dreams into a reality. Originally, we chose Hawaii as our honeymoon spot, but once we saw a picture of the Laie Temple, we fell absolutely in love with it and there was no other place we wanted to be sealed. Of course, all other couples will say this, but it’s so true, remember the reason why you’re getting married. The reason why you chose that one person to spend the rest of your lives with. We came across many trials and tribulations on our journey to reach the temple. Plenty of ups and down but remembering the WHY is what pushed us through it all. I guess it doesn’t really matter if it’s in front of 500 people or only 5 people, whether it’s in Hawaii or your own backyard, if you’re marrying the person you love, your day will be perfect. You can look at it as a special day in your life or as the very first day of your lives TOGETHER. Either way, the day only lasts for 24 hours, so just have fun!
Photography: Marc Gardner | Ceremony location: The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints – Laie Hawaii Temple | Ring Ceremony and Reception location: Hale Lokahi | Bride’s gown: Tree of Life | Groom’s Blazer: ASOS | Groom’s Pants: M.J. Bale | Shirt: Ralph Lauren | Rings: Max Diamonds | Groom’s shoes: Universal Store | Bride’s Heels: Steve Madden | Earrings: Swarovski | Fragrance: DAISY by Marc Jacobs | Bridesmaid’s Midi Dress: Bardot | Bridesmaid’s Jumpsuit: Sheike | Bridesmaid’s Maxi Dress: Miss Crabb | Ring Boy Blazer: Custom | Shirt: Ralph Lauren | Shorts: Indie Kids by Industrie | Shoes: Cotton On Kids | Entertainment: Fire Dancers Hawaiian Dancers | Styling and Planning: Keri Palemani | Archway Hire: Aloha Artisans | Plates: Accel Rentals | Placemats, Napkins and Cutlery: Keri Palemani | Flora: Keri Palemani | Catering and Beverages: Papa Ole’s Kitchen + Local Supermarket | Cake: Lilly Kioa – Friend of the Bride | Mahalo means Thank You Cards: Studio Silva | Laie Temple Art: Deux Worthy Creatives | Anya & Max Acrylic White Sign: Allspex | Acrylic Names and Cake Sign: Sketch & Etch Creative |
