This is not even the whole story.For those of you who weren’t there, the next few posts will give you an idea of our wedding. For our wedding guests, you already know some or even much of this – other parts of it may be new to you. For all, we hope you enjoy our story, and the pictures that go with it.
When we first talked about getting married, we agreed that we wanted something small and intimate for our wedding. We wanted time to visit and talk with our guests and each other, time to breathe, to take in the day. With awareness that a wedding – like most rituals – celebrates something at once both mundane and magnificent, we wanted to be fully present for the experience.
So, as posted earlier, we chose to get married in Kauai, a place of great significance to both of us. Our first holiday together was here, and we keep coming back. With each visit, we discover something new to appreciate about the island – here we feel a deep sense of peace and homecoming, to the place, to ourselves, to each other.
Ed had attended Barry and Joan’s wedding in Mexico, and liked the relaxed pace of a longer celebration. It is the nature of a destination wedding: time to catch up for friends and family, time to get to know one another for the guests, time to relax, swim, and play for the bride and groom.
Ed likes to tell the story of how Joan was still in the hot tub an hour before their ceremony. (Joan has yet to confirm that.) I knew I would want more getting-ready time than that, but still, that’s the flavour we were looking for.
Before the guests arrived:
Our wedding actually starts well before the ceremony on Friday. We arrived on island the Saturday evening before, after months of preparation, mountains of email, a gazillion decisions made, and 14 hours of traveling. Here finally.
We heaved a great collective sigh of relief. Our luggage had all arrived with us. The dress had been shipped out on Tuesday and arrived before we did. Check. The tux was waiting in Lihue. The rings were in a small blue pouch in Ed’s pocket. Check. My brother and niece were already on island and our friends and other family would start arriving on Monday, with nearly everyone there by Wednesday evening.
Sunday saw us at the Ilima Terrace for a buffet breakfast – such variety of food in the open-air terrace, the bold birds flitting about, and the staff greeting us warmly. During our stay in December, the staff at the Hyatt greeted me as Mrs. Gausman at every opportunity. Even though it wasn’t quite true yet, I found myself sitting taller, proud of the association, feeling the anticipation of it being real. When we were seated that Sunday morning, they did it again. It’s almost true!
We spent the day relaxing by the pool, with Kristina discovering the volleyball net in the water and the spa tub on the island in the middle of the lower pool. Oh, how I wish now that I had taken more pictures in Kauai – my shoulder was too sore then, and after months of physical therapy, I needed to relax and rest – getting out the camera didn’t work.
Fortunately, Kristina did have her camera out, and the pictures in this post are all hers. Sunday was also the day Kristina realized that her parents know what they are talking about when they say the tropical sun is different than the Pacific Northwest sun. Ouch.
Monday was another slow day, with Kristina recovering from her burn by hiding indoors. Because we were holding our wedding at the Hyatt and had booked a block of rooms, they upgraded our room to a suite, with Kristina’s room connecting. The suite was something we definitely appreciated when it came time for getting ready.
With the extra space, we decided that a welcome get-together would be just the thing. After sending out an email invite to our guests, we went into Lihue for supplies – and of course, for lunch at Puka Dog in Poipu
Monday was also Ed’s tux fitting, but he wouldn’t allow me to accompany him, saying with a grin, “You won’t let me see the dress, you can’t see the tux.”
On Tuesday, we met with Kasey, our wedding contact at the Hyatt. She greeted us warmly, invited us into her office, and promptly handed us the weather report showing the track of Hurricane Cosme… (beat)… on its way to the Hawaiian islands… (beat)… okay. Total surrender here. I mean, really, what can you say to that?
We selected Poipu, rather than our preferred North Shore, for the more reliable weather with almost no likelihood of rain in summer. Still, we always knew that weather was a possibility. In our first few days on island, we had seen an unusual amount of rain and high winds, much of it in the evening, so we were already inclined to change from our planned beachfront garden reception to a reception dinner on the Ilima Terrace.
Changing to our indoor backup did not feel at all like a hardship. The choice of the Hyatt as our wedding venue was guided in part by the indoor option. There were many lovely venues around the island – gardens, beaches, estates – where we might have held our wedding. However, the indoor backup for most of those would have been an ugly white plastic tent or a shed - that wasn't our idea of achingly gorgeous. We figured that if we were going to end up in a tent, then it didn’t really matter how lovely our surroundings were.
The Ilima Terrace is a wonderful space in its own right: follow a stairway with a landing turning down into an open air space with more than 30 ft ceilings and carved wooden doors nearly that high – doors that could be closed in extreme weather, but would likely stay open for us. Those doors open onto a pond fed by a waterfall, filled with koi, home to a pair of mated white swans, surrounded by beautiful gardens. The terrace is wonderfully decorated, has a floor that the ladies’ heels wouldn’t sink into, and the bathrooms don’t involve a trek in the dark. We didn’t mind switching at all.
After that meeting, we were back to Lihue for our marriage license and to pick up Ed’s tuxedo. The marriage license couldn’t have been easier – we had an appointment, and we were under 15 minutes from leaving the car to driving away again. It’s getting more real all the time!
After the errands were done, we picked up Kristina and headed out to Waimea Canyon on the west shore. We stopped at the black sand beach - where the Waimea River flows into the Pacific, bringing tons of red dirt with it - and at Jo-Jo’s for shave ice. We were glad we didn’t hold out for Wishing Well Shave Ice, as they were closed the following Saturday when we were in Hanalei, and we had built up big expectations for Kristina. Jo-Jo’s is a good stop either before or after the canyon, depending on what meal you are closest to.
We were glad to get back to the red dirt canyon we love, and to experience again the majesty of Kalalau Valley. After the trip to the Grand Canyon with Kristina in April, we weren't sure if she would be taken with Waimea or find it ho hum because of the smaller scale. We were delighted to see that she enjoyed this place as much as we did. (She especially liked the feral chickens roaming the island, and the nene.)
At the top, we took in Kalalau, while people came and went. We stood at the rail, we sat on the ground below the gated area, we walked briefly along the rim. We didn’t go prepared for a hike this time, although on a previous trip we hiked the ridge you see behind us and into the rainforest bog that covers the mountain top. The soft red dirt amazed us all over again.
The air is so pure and clean up there, you can see to the horizon, and not be sure where the sea stops and the sky begins. Breathing is an entirely new experience in such a place: clear, fresh, truly life-giving. We let all of our cares and worries dissolve in the breeze. No pictures have ever done the place justice – it is much bigger than the lens. Kristina did a great job, but these are only an idea, a fraction of the sight.
The trip back down the canyon is windy and close. Kristina was feeling quite green by the time we reached the bottom - the canyon is ten miles long, the road is twenty miles of curves. See the red dirt all over the road - it's in EVERYthing once you've been there.
At the bottom, we spilled out of the car onto the beach right there at the main road. Kristina flirted with the waves, getting wet, naturally, and we watched crabs dive in and out of their holes as the waves advanced up the shore. We had our first meal – but surely not our last – at Waimea Brewing Company. We were quite taken with the place – easy and relaxed, reasonable prices, great atmosphere, simple, wonderful food – just what we needed.
The restaurant/brewery shares a site with the Waimea Plantation Cottages. We walked out to the Banyan tree, and imagined our wedding there with the aisle of coconut palms. We had considered that as a site for our wedding when we were there in December, with everyone having their own cottages – but there was no good indoor backup, no AC in the cottages (and it is beastly hot there in July), and Waimea is a LONG drive from anywhere else on the island. Maybe we’ll do a family reunion there some time?
Back that evening to the Hyatt feeling relaxed and held by the island. We are ready for the wedding.
Then we sat on the edge of the earth, with our feet dangling over the side, and marveled that we had found each other.
~Erik Dillard
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