Phyllis and Tony's Modern Hawaiian Wedding

Bright pink peonies and lush green succulents popped against gray and white chevron at Phyllis and Tony's modern Hawaiian wedding. And the big blue skies at their beachy setting just added to the wow factor. The bride Phyllis shares the proposal story:

"Two days after Hurricane Sandy hit the NYC/NJ area, we were sitting in our apartment with no power, no heat, barely any cell phone service, wondering how long this was going to be since our area was hit very hard by the storm. We were sitting by candlelight playing on our iPads . . . I looked up for a moment and there he was on bended knee! We couldn't even tell anyone because we were trying to conserve power on our phones!"

The couple chose Hawaii for their destination wedding because Phyllis had grown up visiting the islands. Since family was traveling from Asia and California, it also happened to be the perfect central location for guests. The day was focused on family, Chinese traditions, and just enjoying a vacation for their closest friends and family. Phyllis tells us the theme was "modern, simplistic, easygoing, and fun." As for her highlight of the day? "Every single moment was a highlight. Marrying the love of my life and having fun doing it with the most important people in our lives!"

See the photos now, and hear more details from the bride on what made this big day so special. Photos by Rachel Robertson Photography

The Details

The Details

Cake

"We had fun combinations for the cake flavors — cookies and creme with red velvet cake and guava filling and yellow cake. The design was a simple finish with small dots and a stunning sugar flower that looked like a real, fresh peony."

Music

"We love jazz classics, lounge music, and Hawaiian music, which we had playing when guests arrived. Our wedding party processional was 'Rivers in the Stream' by Ten Feet. I walked down the aisle to a beautiful instrumental version of 'River Flows in You' by Yiruma. Our recessional song was 'Love on Top' by Beyoncé! Our first dance was an original remix (by our DJ!) of 'Can't Take My Eyes Off of You' by Frankie Avalon, but halfway through our dance routine, we had it switched to the hip-hop version by Lauryn Hill and did a little hip-hop dance!"

Flowers and decor

"Simple, tight, low, and soft for our floral table arrangements in orange, pinks, and white. We had garlands on our chairs for dinner. We had a simple gauzy bamboo arbor for our ceremony. The men in our wedding party all wore kukui nut leis and the bridesmaids had stunningly fresh and beautiful bouquets with peonies, green viburnum, white hydrangea, light pink lisianthus, salmon dahlias, and succulents. The table also had peach napkins and a gray chevron runner to give a bit of a modern-fun aesthetic. We had chalkboard menus that my maid of honor and I wrote up for our buffet stationed dinner and list of beverages for our bar. We did a s'mores fire pit at the end of the evening for our guests."

Traditions

"We had welcome refreshments of plantation iced tea when guests arrived. They were also asked to sign a traditional Chinese 'scarf' as a guest book that was in red (for good luck). As everyone was seated before the ceremony, we had ribbon wands distributed to all guests so that they could wave them once we were married and walked back up the aisle. They looked great in photos! Wedding favors were cylindrical matchboxes in orange with a pineapple, our names, and our wedding date. At our place setting, we gave everyone a set of chopsticks that had either a rat or pig that was associated with our Chinese zodiacs. My husband had written up an explanation of our respective Chinese zodiac characteristics and why we were a good match."

Fashion

"My bridal gown was Vera Wang, shoes were by Stuart Weitzman, and veil was my mom's from her wedding 40 years ago! The groom suit was by Hugo Boss and a Hawaiian wedding shirt by Tommy Bahama. The bridal party wore maxi sundresses with a tropical vibe (Tori Richards and Roxy). The men wore simple white dress shirts by Tommy Bahama. Our wedding bands were purchased in Hawaii from Martin & MacArthur — made of Hawaiian koa wood and tungsten." Photo by Rachel Robertson Photography

Personal Touches

Personal Touches

"What made our wedding special was how much we involved our closest friends and family in our wedding. We had Tony's kids from his previous marriage in our wedding party. Tony's dad was his best man. My maid of honor was my best friend and practically my sister, Naomi. We were married by our dear closest friend Anthony Porter, who did a fun and funny and unconventional type of ceremony that showed his personality and ours. We wrote our own vows. Instead of doing a flower bouquet toss, we gave it to the couple at our wedding that had been married the longest (which turned out to be Tony's parents). At the end of the wedding, I changed into a 'quipao' or a 'cheonysam,' a traditional Chinese gown." Photo by Rachel Robertson Photography