Paradise Day 2

Woohoo Day 2 in Paradise. It was the day of the wedding. Tiff and I had a morning planned of........................Ok crap I can’t remember what we had planned, all we had was a deadline of 2:30 pm to meet the shuttle to get to Olawalu plantation for the wedding. Tiff and I were decked out in our summer finery. We had the luxury of air conditioned shuttle for the hour drive it took to get to Oluwalu plantation. Thank god too, seeing as about 20 minutes in to being there, my makeup feel off. After the guests poured off the bus, we were treated to tuberose lei’s and mai tai’s. I say smart wedding planner to allow alcohol immediately after getting off a bus and before the ceremony. Cute pastel pieces of paper were laid out for guests to give their sentiments to the happy couple. While people were milling around doing that, the bride and bridal family were still making their way to the plantation, no one had counted on Aloha Friday traffic. Tiff and I found our table for the reception, it was the singles table. It really felt like a neon “S” was glowing above our table. Not unlike the scarlet letter. The bride was being her usual sweet self and trying to set me up with one of the single men at my table. Unfortunately neither them or I were having any off it.

The happy couple were wed beneath an latticed arch that was woven with magenta and pink flowers. It was truly a beautiful sight. The minister said the ceremony in Hawaiian and English, and I can only be thankful that you couldn’t over hear him with the wind. The only part I heard was I present to you Mr and Mrs. Blah Blah ( heehee, not exactly), like the girl I am, tears blurred my vision and I couldn’t have been happier for them. They were the perfect balance. While the bride brought excitement to the groom’s life, he in turned calmed her. The walked down the aisle to “ Somewhere over the rainbow” , and applause followed them as well. Now the party started. Mai Tai’s where refilled and people started to trickle over to their tables. And the Singles table banded together and uncomfortably looked around the table for familiar faces. Besides Tiff, I knew two other people at the table, but they barely passed the acquainted status. Thank god for Tiff. One guy at the table thought it would be funny to tell our most embarrassing stories to break the ice. Ok, novel idea, but I really didn’t want these peoples first impression of me to be tainted by the usually stupid stuff I do. Thankfully we never made it to my side of the table. It always seems that men are readily prepared with a litany of stories and aren’t afraid to spill their guts. I know things about these men that I can safely say, I could have lived my entire life without knowing. But lucky me now I know. The setting of the location helped relax me. Being surrounded by calm winds, crashing waves and the setting sun, who couldn’t be relaxed.

The evening was filled with dinner dancing and freaky little children trying to sneak away with people’s favors. These poor people ventured out on the dance floor only to come back and find that these little monsters were getting away with their chocolate. I can’t blame them though in a way. The one downfall to the entire evening, was that there were only two shuttles to get to the wedding and two shuttles back, at 9:30pm. So the minimum of time you were at the plantation was no fewer than 7 hours. Tiff and I were ready to slip out of our shoes and relax. It was definitely a night to remember.

** Again Photos to Follow**