Hawaii World Class Bridal Expo- This weekend~!

Tomorrow the Honolulu Convention Center will open it's doors at 6pm to thousands of eager wedding parties and brides for the Hawaii World Class Bridal Expo! Although it closes just four hours later, it will reopen a second day, Saturday from 11am to 5 pm. There is a fashion show on Friday at 7:30pm and one on Saturday at 2:30pm to showcase this season's bridal gowns as well as groom and wedding party attire. Tickets are $7 at the door.


My girlfriend Hanako will be helping out at the Masako Formals booth. You can check out their selection beforehand online at www.masakohawaii.com. Here are two bridal gowns by White One that are in store. I love the flow and simplicity of the gowns~!

Spin a color wheel

So one thing on our minds these days is our wedding colors.  So many colors to choose from and a million combinations.  I like how the yellow blossoms are so striking against the summer blue sky.  Yellow and blue are primary colors.  I've mentioned the concept of complimentary colors to my Kane and he wasn't too interested.  Here are some complimentary colors you can find via a color wheel.  

Yellow->Violet

Orange->Blue

Red->Green

as well as my favorite...

Yellow Green (lime)->Red Violet (purple)

Complimentary colors are colors directly across from each other on the color wheel.   These special harmonious duos are particularly vibrant because they are opposites.

A country wedding

My kane and I would love to have a country wedding which would seem odd to most as we live in Hawaii. I think the dewy green backdrop would be perfect for bright pigments and flowers galore. The countryside has an old-fashioned romantic to it that draws me. The beautiful wildflowers and the luxurious expanses of pasture with large nuturing trees.

photo by James Rubio

There is one such local photographer that has caught my eye with his beautiful country photographs. James Rubio. He is an awesome photographer based out of Big Island, HI. I had wanted to have him do our engagement pictures but am not sure if we can make it over there before the wedding now..

Check James out on flickr.com or at his fabulous blog here. Enjoi.

Hawaii or New Zealand?

We knew it would be a destination wedding from the beginning as we are both islanders in the Pacific. Since I first moved to Hawaii I had wanted to get married here. The draw of the lush, green countryside on Big Island was particularly persuasive. Yet when the idea of getting married actually became a reality I had decided I wanted to get married in New Zealand. And as ironic as it is, my Kane was actually the one who was keen on getting married in Hawaii. His family and friends wanted to come here and mine wanted to go to NZ.

After much debating, we have decided to get married in Hawaii this fall~! But, I won't be throwing away my new zealand and australian wedding magazines. I realized that international wedding magazines are refreshing and oh so chic!

Here's one of my favorites:

Issue 60 May-July 2009

http://www.brideandgroom.co.nz/

Ringing in our engagement

A Wahine and Kane are headed down the aisle come this October. We have been dating nine months as of this May. It seems that the amount of time it takes to create the miracle of a baby is also enough time to create the miracle of the love of your life.

We settled on a classic six prong "Tiffany style" round brilliant diamond engagement ring after much contemplation. I had originally wanted a ring with a blue sapphire center surrounded by small diamonds. I thought my birthstone gemstone would add a personal touch.


Here is one such ring I had in mind. I found it on esty.com the most fabulous website ever for one of a kind creations. The seller Eidel Precious has a great jewelry shop with sensational gemstone jewelry. This ring was listed at $1,200 for a 1.8 ct sapphire surrounded by pave diamonds set in 14k white gold.

Ironic as it is, my Kane was the one to convince me that diamonds sparkle so much brighter than sapphire. So I started dreaming of beautiful diamonds.

The first ring I ever tried on was at the mall and it was diamond solitaire from Zales. I decided that because I had long thin fingers I would need at least a .5 carat diamond ring to look proportionate on my hand. As soon as I tried it on I was bedazzled.

Being deal seekers we searched the internet for something dazzling but affordable. Unfortunately what I thought looked good on a computer screen didn't look the same on my finger. Ring shopping was fun but exhausting after a few shops. I think more so for my Kane than for myself.

One day I was at work and I found an advertisement in MidWeek for Bidding Advantage. It is a new online auction site backed by The Honolulu Star Bulletin newspaper. One of the auctions was for a ROUND BRILLIANT DIAMOND. The starting bid was less than half the value of the diamond. I knew in an instant this was the diamond I was going to get for myself. I figured it couldn't have the much publicity yet so my odds of winning were high. As it was, we ended up being the only bidder on the auction. And a week later we picked up the diamond ring at Honolulu Trading Company!