A Week in Hawai’i: Celebrating Our Baby Girl
Several weeks ago, we boarded a plane for a long trip to the middle of the Pacific Ocean—The Big Island of Hawai’i—for our baby girl’s wedding.
Maggie has been living in Hawai’i for the past five years. She was part of a missions organization, and Hawai’i was her home base. I know, right?! She has already been all over the world, and she’s only 24!
She met her now-husband, JP, through that same organization, and after two years of dating, they are officially husband and wife!
It was a beautiful week filled with so many emotions. Probably one of our favorite parts, outside of celebrating their marriage, was having our other two daughters and our other son-in-law there with us. We’ve been to Hawaii several times before, but there was something extra special about experiencing it all together as a family.
We celebrated, explored, ate really good food, laughed a lot, and made memories that we will always treasure.
Most of our extended family wasn’t able to make the trip, but Maggie has built such a beautiful community there, and they showed up to celebrate them in a big way. It was such a special week.
Day One
Our first afternoon, we headed to my favorite beach on the Big Island, Kua Bay. The water is the most beautiful, clear blue and the sand is so white—it almost feels more like the Caribbean than Hawai’i except for all of the black lava rock!
Our family stayed in a beautiful home hosted by the sweetest Korean couple. There was a local walking and biking trail just down the hill, and I enjoyed taking beautiful walks there several mornings during our stay.
It was the perfect way to begin our week.
Day Two
Maggie had planned little activities throughout the week to do with everyone local and those who had flown in for the wedding. (The guys hung out, ate, played soccer and ran errands for the bride, etc., but I unfortunately don’t have pics of all of that!) The next morning, all of the girls went to the cutest little coffee shop together and then headed to a local bead store to make jewelry.
We spent about four hours together at the beach and stayed to watch the sunset. There is just something about watching the sun go down over the ocean with your family that never gets old.
Day Three
The following morning, the girls gathered for Maggie’s bridal shower. We set up and decorated and then welcomed the bride to be! We spent time celebrating her and praying over her and JP and their marriage. We ate good food, laughed and enjoyed her opening some sweet gifts. It was such a special and meaningful time.
That afternoon, we headed to Kona Brewing and downtown Kona to shop and explore. We picked up some local Hawaiian food and then headed back to the beach to watch another beautiful sunset.
Day Four
The next morning, we all met at the little bakery where Maggie works and enjoyed coffee and breakfast treats. It was such a cool little spot!
From there, we headed to the nail salon and then ran a few errands to pick up the last-minute flowers and wedding supplies.
Then it was time to head to the venue and start setting up!
After we finished, we had the rehearsal and then headed to the beautiful home where Maggie lives with a sweet local family. We grilled out and watched the sun go down over the ocean from their lanai.
And in a moment that felt very much like our family, Maggie even gave JP a last-minute haircut while we all watched!
Day Five — The Wedding Day
The morning of the wedding, we all met at a local coffee truck before heading off to get ready.
We were able to get ready at a beautiful home overlooking the ocean with the doors wide open. The whole morning felt slow and relaxed, which was exactly what we needed.
We painted nails, did hair and makeup, took lots of pictures, and just enjoyed being together.
Maggie and Albert also had their first look on the lanai. It was such a sweet moment between a dad and his baby girl.
We were up on the mountain at almost 3,000 feet, so it was rainy off and on, but somehow that just made everything even more beautiful.
Eventually, we headed over to the venue as guests began arriving. Once again, a light rain started to fall.
The pastor explained something so beautiful about Hawaiian culture: rain is considered a blessing, not a curse. What a beautiful thought on a wedding day.
And then the ceremony began.
It was absolutely beautiful. We worshiped together, they exchanged the most beautiful vows, and they took communion together as husband and wife.
I didn’t have my phone with me during the ceremony, but I did manage to get a few pictures from the video on my husband’s phone. Maybe I’ll share some of the professional photos later!
And then, just as the ceremony ended, the sun came out.
It was absolutely stunning.
After the delicious Hawaiian food, toasts, and lots of dancing the bride and groom rode away to begin their new life together.
I’ll have to admit—I shed a few tears.
My baby girl is all grown up and married now.
We helped clean up some and then headed home. We slept hard that night!
Day Six
We woke up to another beautiful, sunny morning and headed out to a local bakery for malasadas.
If you’ve never had one, malasadas are a Hawaiian treat similar to a filled doughnut. The treat originated on the Portuguese islands of Madeira and the Azores, where families traditionally made them to use up lard and sugar before Lent during Fat Tuesday. Portuguese plantation workers later brought the recipe to Hawaii in the 1800’s, where it became a beloved local staple. So yummy!!
We then stopped at another bakery, Lele Bakery, and had some delicious breakfast sandwiches before heading to the other side of the island to the town of Hilo.
It was raining hard in Hilo, which apparently isn’t all that unusual, and the vendors at the market were a little more sparse than normal. We did manage to pick up a few souvenirs before heading on to Hawai‘i Volcanoes National Park.
It was so much fun getting to experience this amazing place with our kids.
If you’ve seen the volcano on the Big Island erupting over the past few months, this was it—Kīlauea.
We hiked around to different viewpoints and enjoyed the flowers, steam vents, and incredible landscape. It truly felt otherworldly.
Afterward, we traveled back toward Kona and enjoyed a delicious meal outside overlooking the ocean.
Meanwhile, all of our friends back home were messaging us because of all the talk on the mainland about the hurricane headed toward Hawaii. It was expected to hit Kauai, which is more than 330 miles away from where we were staying.
We knew it was far from us, but were still wondering as we went to bed whether we would get some rain from the outer bands.
But…
Day Seven
We woke up to another beautiful, sunny day!
My oldest daughter and I headed out early for a hike on the nearby trail. We took more pictures of the gorgeous landscape and enjoyed one more morning taking in the beauty around us.
When we got back, we started getting ready for a day at the beach.
Our hostess invited us up for a beautiful breakfast, and we had such a special time with her. She shared her story with us, and we shared ours. We prayed for each other, and it became one of those unexpected moments that I know I’ll remember for a very long time.
Definitely a core memory.
After breakfast, we headed to Hapuna Beach State Park.
It was Labor Day, and all of the locals were out with their surfboards and bodyboards, taking advantage of the hurricane waves. It was so much fun watching everyone, and the waves were huge!
After several hours at the beach, we headed to Waimea, which is probably my favorite place on the Big Island. It’s up in the “high country,” with rolling green hills and the cutest little village.
We ate at our favorite restaurant on the island, The Fish and the Hog.
It was the perfect last meal.
Then it was back to the house to shower, finish packing, and head to the airport.
And just like that, our week in Hawai’i was over.
JP and Maggie were headed to Bali for their honeymoon, while we were headed back to the East Coast.
It was such a wonderful week together as a family.
We are so thankful for this time, for all the memories we made, and especially for our new son-in-law. We couldn’t be happier to welcome JP into our family.
And we are incredibly thankful for safe travels, beautiful weather, a beautiful wedding, and no lost luggage!
God is good.
Keep living with nothing reserved,
Marla and Albert
(P.S. The photographer in me cringes at these iphone photos. I chose not to take my ‘big camera’. At some point maybe I will share the professional photos from the wedding photographer!)
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