Your Wedding Day - New Eclectic Hawaii

New Eclectic Hawaii

WRITTEN BY: Alisa Jennifer Kay
PHOTOGRAPHY BY: blufotografica

Inspiration of Location:JW Marriott Ihilani Resort and Spa
Coordination & Design Direction: Finishing Touch
Floral Design: yvonne design event floral and décor
Linens: Les Saisons
Menu/Place cards: Emi Ink
Cake: cakelava
Furniture & Home Decor: Pacific Home

Coordinator and Event Designer, Sandra Williams of Finishing Touch, was greatly inspired by Los Angeles–based interior designer Kelly Wearstler for this look in which Williams describes as “Old Hawaii meeting the modern world.” Eclectic would describe the feeling of this unique and daring setting. Sasha of cakelava further explains, “The concept for the shoot began as an infusion to combine eclectic design elements with a modern salon-boutique feel. We took inspiration from Kelly Wearstler’s projects which tie in elements of old style with the modern.”

“I started by looking for a unique and vintage Hawaiian-inspired fabric to hang as the backdrop for the setting. The fabric that I found is actually a Hawaiian breadfruit motif in black and white which really allows the rest of the colors to ‘pop,’” Williams explained. As inspiration further developed for this bold look, Williams expressed that, “the yellow chair really inspired me too. It was so bright and it just leaped forward against the black and white. From there, we further incorporated the rattan motif into the overall design.”

Keeping a touch of Hawaii was important so using rattan was a good way to do that. “I feel that the yellow chair has a tropical feel, but the color really modernized it,” Williams comments. Using fuchsia linen and mixing it with yellow creates a modern twist, while keeping things in balance. “We haven’t seen any decorations for a wedding utilizing ‘eclectic’ and being mismatched,” said Williams, “It’s edgy.” Her goal is really to weave “pieces that are really unique, beautiful, and eclectic. Which interestingly, they all work well together,” she said.

Another key element incorporated into the design that generates the modern-Hawaiian feeling is the Capiz shell lotus-shaped chandelier, which is aged, but the shape is really contemporary. It was this element as well as the perpendicular shapes within the rattan chair that inspired cake designer, Rich of cakelava. “Rick drew his inspiration from the chandelier resembling lotus blossom petals and the pattern found within the chair,” said Sasha. “When Rick designed the cake, he wanted to incorporate the various pieces in an unexpected way, so the cake would match the style of the room, but also still stand on its own as a unique piece.” What would a cake taste like to match this exotic look? “In keeping with the infusion theme, our Chai Latte flavor was selected in addition to our Banana Blueberry Mascarpone,” revealed Sasha.

Fuchsia orchids were used to match the linens, while yellow orchids, yellow lilies, and yellow Craspedia drew upon the yellow of the rattan chair. “I think this style of design has more impact, and is visually appealing. Only two bold colors were integrated with the bold backdrop, and ornate dining chairs. I felt introducing a third color would have created competition between the existing environments,” floral event designer, Yvonne Chapman affirmed.

The orchids made a strong statement in this design and Chapman has a variety of reasons for using them. “I used orchids because they have an exotic look, yet they are soft and romantic against the bold, modern color scheme. I wanted to give the table a softer feeling to appeal to the feminine side.”

A great accessory to the chandelier and floral arrangement was the graceful hand-made lotus flower menus created by Stacey Emi Shiroma at Emi Ink. “Lotus blossoms have always inspired a feeling of peace and tranquility for me,” explains Shiroma, adding “The layers were cut by-hand, and each petal was scored and folded to mimic a real lotus blossom.” Shiroma intentionally made the delicate lotus flower menus to match the chandelier. “I loved the look of the chandelier, and wanted to somehow carry that over into the table décor. For the stationery, I thought that a three-dimensional flower would be a more interesting design element than a flat printed flower.”

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