This wedding was such a valuable experience for our team and we had the honor of working with the most amazing couple! Kelly & Nestor are the most vibrant, genuine, and loving people I’ve ever met. On the wedding day, they were both easy-going, excited, and just SUPER FREAKING READY to get married!! They currently hold the record for the largest destination wedding we’ve ever been a part of! 150 of their closest friends and family came to the Fairmont Orchid on the Big Island of Hawaii to celebrate their romance.

Before hiring our team, Kelly did her due diligence in making sure she was 100% about her choice in a wedding planner (as you should be!) by the end of what felt like the hardest interview process I’ve ever been a part of… she chose us! YAY! I couldn’t have been more thrilled because I knew from the beginning, this wedding would hold a special place in my heart.

On the days leading up to the wedding day, Tropical Storm Darby was slowly approaching the Hawaiian Islands, expected to hit the Fairmont Orchid by 4 PM on their wedding day.With 40 MPH winds predicted along with 100% chance of heavy rain. This is probably every bride’s worst nightmare!! Kelly & Nestor seemed to be calm, cool and collected through it all. The morning of the wedding, the weather was looking clearer than the forecast had predicted. I knew how important it was to them to get married outside and I fought my hardest to make sure that happened.

We were able to compromise with having the ceremony outside and moving the outdoor reception inside.  It seemed like there wasn’t much of an option, Tropical Storm Darby was going to win. As the day moved along, the weather was eerily hanging over us without a drop of rain. After the ceremony moved along without a hitch, I could see how bummed they were to have the reception inside. Especially since it wasn’t raining AT ALL! We decided to switch things up and have the main part of the reception program outside before moving the guests inside to eat dinner. This turned out to be the greatest decision we made all day!

All of the most important parts of their wedding were outside surrounded by palm trees and the ocean breeze. Exactly what they wanted. When it was time to eat, no one had to worry about the rain or weather as everyone enjoyed the AC and the incredible food provided by the Fairmont Orchid. During dinner, a rush of relief flooded me as it poured outside for all of 30 seconds. It was short, but it would have completely ruined dinner for everyone. That was the moment I finally had the validation that we made the right call. After that moment, the humidity became unbearable and the couple agreed it would have been completely miserable had we left everything outside.

Weather aside, this was one of the most memorable weddings I’ve ever been a part of. The emotions were overflowing.Our entire team had tears in our eyes during the ceremony, the presence of Mother Nature was undeniable and we managed to get a lipstick stain out of her white wedding dress! My heart was beating through my chest for the entire day but at the end of the day. It was all worth it.

We later looked at the track of Tropical Storm Darby and the results were unbelievable! Tropical Storm Darby had hit the Big Island hard, magically DANCED AROUND the Fairmont Orchid/Kohala area and slammed into Maui. This felt like tangible proof of the incredible mana of Hawaii. I believe that Kelly & Nestor will be blessed for a lifetime and each step of their journey will be a dance of love.

None of this would have been possible without our incredible team members and the awesome vendors who pulled it off!