My parents are currently in Hawaii for a week or so on vacation, and so my Aunt Dalis and my mom have sorta taken the lead in finding a suitable location for Daniel and me to get hitched in May.
Yesterday, they went up to this place called Turtle Bay on the North Shore to check things out… they’d never been there before (my parents, I mean), and so they were eager to see for themselves a place they’d been hearing about.
My mom sent some photos (they’re below) and called me urgently about four times last night to tell me about their trip. I had given her a good rundown of what sort of place Daniel and I are looking for — neither of us want to get married ON the beach (with sand and everything to contend with), but we’d both like to be able to SEE the ocean/beach from wherever it is.
Anyway, my mom said this place is perfect for us, and after looking over her photos and the resort’s Web site, I’m inclined to agree. It’s GORGEOUS up there.
The pricing will probably be more than my parents and I originally agreed upon as our budget, but allegedly even my father was so impressed that they immediately agreed that if we spend more than originally budgeted, that’s fine. (I think that is SO FUNNY…) My dad was talking in the background as my mom was telling me all this, and I could hear the excitement in both their voices.
My mom and I have been chattering on about me getting married in Hawaii someday ever since she and my dad decided to buy a townhouse in Ewa Beach, but when the ring was presented and I started thinking about the logistics and cost and everything, I honestly felt Hawaii was a lot to ask for. Daniel has two sets of parents and two sisters, and then there’s us and my brother, all who have to fly out (on completely UN-discount fares) just so I can get married by the ocean? I’ve never been one to ask people to do a lot for me; I pride myself on being pretty darn self-reliant. Asking others to spend this kind of money just so they can be there for my wedding feels REALLY uncomfortable to me. And so for the last week or so I’ve really been feeling kinda nauseous about the whole Hawaii wedding.
It’s really been my parents, God love them, who have helped to temper my feelings of discomfort and guilt. They have been amazing. At every turn, they’ve offered up their support (emotional and otherwise) and have been — to degrees I’ve never seen before — so excited about the whole thing. My mom said to me last night, “Being the mother of the bride is SO MUCH FUN!” Last Sunday when my parents and I talked about setting a budget for the wedding (which was MY idea, mind you), my father — who generally gets kinda queasy himself when my mom and I start talking about spending money — said something that left me crying for a half-hour straight when they left. He just looked at me with a very steady gaze for about 20 seconds before he said, his voice choked with emotion, “You’re worth it.” My dad NEVER says stuff like that.
The cynics in my family (and I would count myself as a partial cynic) might listen to my stories here and say this all relates back to one single thing: grandbabies. All three sets of parents want them, and with us getting married, I expect the chatter about grandkids to rachet up a few thousand notches.
But more and more, I’m seeing that this has very little to do with the grandbaby factor. I still don’t feel entirely at peace with the money people are going to spend, but today I feel so much more excited about this wedding business than I have for the last week.
Anyway, you can check out all sorts of beautiful photography on the resort’s Web site, and here are some pictures my mom took yesterday of the outdoor areas that best match the specs I gave her:
It's gorgeous!! Good luck with your planning!