This is going to sound weird, but after 7 years of dating, Dallas’s family and my family had never met each other. The thing is, we’re all spread out, living in 5 different states. So, I guess it’s not that weird. We knew that we didn’t want our families to meet for the first time at the wedding, so the night before the wedding, in liu of a rehearsal dinner or something like that, we had family dinner.
About 6 weeks before our trip, Dallas and I started brainstorming where to have dinner. Somewhere nice, but not too expensive. Good food, but not crazy food. Some place good for kids, since my nieces would be there. Our families are not huge, but there would be 13 people, so we needed a restaurant that could accomodate that. And it needed to be nearby where we were all staying in Poipu.
After going through every restaurant we could think of in Poipu and doing some internet research, we finally decided that Plantation Gardens would be the perfect place. They could seat us all in an open-air area overlooking the gardens, the entrees were moderately priced and looked delicious, they even had a kids menu, and they were located within walking distance from where we were staying. Done and done. I made a reservation.
So, we all met up at the restaurant that night. I already knew what I wanted to eat because I’d been studying the menu ahead of time! For pupus we ordered a few of the plantation-style samplers. This included a house-made bbq kalua pork manapua, shrimp spring roll, garden roll, and raw ahi tuna. For my entree, I got the chef’s trio, which was seafood lau lau, peppercorn rubbed skirt steak, and haku, a Hawaiian swordfish.
For dessert I had the baked Hawaiian, which was a play on a baked Alaska and was made of Lappert’s chocolate and macadamia nut ice creams on a fudge brownie crust with toasted meringue. Plantation Gardens also had some really tasty and unique tropical drinks. I remember liking the Lavendar Pina Colada (Lavender Cruzan Estate Rum, Absolut Karunt, Coconut Syrup, Island Fresh Pineapple Juice) and the Plantation Breeze (Absolut Mandrin Vodka, Crème de Banana, Peach Schnapps Passion Fruit & Guava Juice).
Turned out, dinner was perfect. The only thing I would change was mixing the seating up a little! My family sat on one side and Dallas’s family sat on the other side. One side of the table was really quiet and one side was really loud. I think you can guess which was which. But everyone got along and it was nice to get introductions out of the way before the wedding.
I was thinking about taking a photo of our families together but in the beginning of the night everyone was arriving and introducing themselves and it didn’t feel right. And then before dinner ended someone had to leave early to buy their wedding outfit! Nothing like waiting til the last minute! So, that would have been an incomplete photo. We got plenty taken at the wedding, so no matter, but here is one of Dallas and I at our house before we left for dinner.
After Shipwrecks and lunch, we hung out at the house for a bit by the pool drinking and beers and what else? Tien’s pina coladas! My parents came over for a visit. Caroline and Tammy flew in from Phoenix at the same time as Rob from Maine, so they met up and came over to the house. Even Aunty Gail stopped by. Jess G. was scheduled to arrive at the airport later that night and Shannan and Tien were nice enough to volunteer to go get her and bring her back so I could stay with all of our guests. So thoughtful! As the days went on, more and more people arrived on Kauai and visited the house. It was fun to see everyone show up at the house.
Matt, Jen, Paul, Kristin
Limey, Loden, Cousin, Laura, Trent, Chad
Loden
Kristin & Matt
Colleen & Rob
Dallas & Jordan
DJ Matty Jay
For dinner that night we made hamburgers at the back house. Somehow an epic game of Beirut started that night. I never even played that game before and it became the most played game of the week.. even on our wedding night. My brother and I formed a team and honestly, I thought we were going to get killed, but we took on Chad and Trent and beat them after they won three times in a row! We were quickly taken down in the next round, but at least we won once!
On Tuesday morning I took an oatmeal soak for my legs and then had breakfast at the house (yay berries & yogurt!). Matt, Ross, Dallas and I then headed over to Shipwreck Beach. We met up with Colleen, Marina and Laura, otherwise known as “The Boston Girls,” even though Laura moved to Los Angeles a couple years ago. Jordan and Liz joined us shortly after.
Shipwreck Beach quickly became a favorite of our friends on this trip. It was nearby (but not walking distance) and less crowded than the Sheraton Beach or Poipu Beach. Plus, it’s gorgeous and there are bathroom facilities and outdoor showers. Parking isn’t great, but usually you can find a spot.
Matt, Ross & Dallas frolicking in the surf. Ross gets pounded into the shore at the end.
Matt, Ross & Dallas. They catch a good one about 3/4 of the way through.
The water is a little more rough over at Shipwrecks than I like, but a lot of the guys were body surfing or using body boards so they all liked it. It’s also very rocky near the shoreline, but if you swim out you’ll get to a sandbar where you can stand and play in the surf. Just play it safe, there are not lifeguards here.
Matt, Ross, and Dallas
Some of the guys later on in the trip got up the courage to jump off the iconic cliff, Makawehi Point, at Shipwrecks. I’d have been more happy if they’d have done this after the wedding, as I was requesting of all people doing risky activities on the trip! Helicopter tour? After the wedding, please. Skydiving? After the wedding! Just read the comments on this post, if you want to learn about how risky this jump is! Bad idea, guys! But luckily, no one was hurt.
Around lunch time Matt, Ross, Dallas, Jordan, Liz and I went to Keoki’s Paradise, a favorite Poipu restaurant of ours. I had a delicious fresh fish (can’t remember what kind!) sandwich and a lava flow, of course. Later on I also tried a Maui Brewing Hot Blonde Lager because Ross could not stop talking about how refreshing it was. Our waitress told us they chill their beer down to 39* degrees. It was so nice after the hot beach.
* Dallas remembers them saying 29 degrees, but I think that would be ice?
When Dallas and I talked about what kind of a place we wanted to rent for our stay in Kauai, we decided that a house would be best. Usually we get a condo and it is perfectly fine, but this time we figured that we needed some place bigger and that we could use as a gathering place. As people arrived on the island and needed to get things to us, or from us, or even just wanted to visit, we needed a place that could accomodate this. And not just a place with a large common area, but also one that had ample parking for guests.
Oh, and also? Since this was a special trip, for our wedding, we also wanted it to be really nice. And have it’s own pool. And an ocean view. But not be so expensive that no one could afford it. Too much to ask?
We spent a lot of time on VRBO and HomeAway doing research. At one point we even made a spreadsheet to compare pricing and amenities of different properties. Finally, we found what we thought seemed to be the perfect place, Ho’Onani Estates.
Ho’Onani Estates
Ho’Onani Estates Back House (Photo by Dallas)
Ho’Onani Estates (located on Ho’Onani Road in Poipu) was very close to our wedding venue and all that Poipu and Koloa have to offer. The estate was actually two houses, one with 4 bedroom suites and one with 5, and had a private pool. Get this list of amenities:
- ocean view
- central location
- 9 bedroom suites plus two pull-out sofas, a queen air mattress, and 2 twin air mattresses. 6 of these suites have an ocean view. 4 have lanais. 3 have walk in closets.
- 2 state-of-the-art gourmet kitchens each with top-of-the-line Viking ranges and each with 2 dishwashers (4 total!)
- oceanside pool with a little waterfall fountain
- central air
- built-in sound systems
- 3 washers and dryers
- 4 car garage with a huge driveway with ample parking space
- free wireless
- 5 televisions with cable (not that we watched TV much!)
- huge lanais with ample seating and tables
- two grills
- beach chairs and umbrellas
- 4 refrigerators
- outdoor shower
- filtered water
- high-end furnishings and interior design
- very short walk to 3 different beaches
Ho’Onani Estates Back House – Staircase (Photo by Dallas)
Ho’Onani Estates Back House – Looking down from staircase
Not only that, but after talking to the rental agency, they were willing to give us a discounted rate because Dallas was a “local boy” getting married. If we could get enough friends to fill up Ho’Onanai Estates, it would come out to $100 per person per night. Sounds too good to be true, right? We thought so too! We couldn’t find any online reviews and I was feeling a little leary about the whole thing. We actually had Dallas’s Uncle Dee drive over there and take some photos to make sure the estate actually existed. It did. So, we sent an out to the friends we knew were attending within a few hours we had a full house.
Staying at Ho’Onani Estates were
- Rachelle & Dallas (of course!)
- Jordan & Liz (visiting from Seattle)
- Jen & Chad (from Chicago)
- Tien & Shannan (from New York)
- Jill & Brian (Chicago)
- Rob & Colleen (from an island off of Maine)
- Kristin (Chicago)
- Cousin (Chicago)
- Limey (Chicago)
- Matt (Boston)
- Ross (Boston)
With the exception of one person, everyone who was with us on the Kauai trip where Dallas and I met was staying with us on our wedding trip. I thought that was pretty cool.
Ho’Onani Estates Pool
Jordan in the Ho’Onani Estates Pool
So, anyway.. Long story short, Ho’Onanai Estates lived up to and even exceeded the expectations we had for it. The houses were so beautiful with all top-of-the-line features. I don’t think there could have been a more ideal set up for our needs. Everyone had a private bedroom and assigned bathroom. One of the “suites” even included a private living room and kitchenette! There were many large common areas to accomodate guests and even quieter sitting areas. Our bedroom was a bit removed, on the quiet second floor of the back house, with a private lanai and a huge bathroom.. a giant tub (for my leg soaks), walk in closet, double sinks, private toilet. Sitting in the tub or standing in the shower, we had sweeping views of the ocean! And it was the first thing I saw when I opened my eyes in the morning. It couldn’t have been more perfect.
Ho’Onani Estates Front House
Ho’Onani Estates Front House
The living room in the front house had so much seating. On the last day we were all hanging out, eating and drinking up the rest of or supplies, and watching the Oscars. We probably had 20+ people comfortably seated in there with bar stools in the kitchen and a full dining area. On the lanais, too. Huge. Tons of seating around tables and on outdoor couches. We could sit outside our houses and whale watch without ever leaving the property. Ho’Onanai Estates is across the street from the ocean, but nothing stands between except for a quiet road that has more walking and running traffic than car traffic. Across from the estate is a pull off for the scenic overlook. This is THE PLACE to watch the sun set and at night it would get a bit crowded with people watching the sun set. But not in a distracting way. Everyone was respectful. But it was funny that our friends would come down here to watch the sun set when we could just sit comfortably on our lanai and have the same view.
Quiet road in the front of the house. (Photo by Rob)
Deck on the front house. (Photo by Rob)
Looking from back house to front house. Outdoor shower is right through those trees. (Photo by Dallas)
Dallas, Josh & Tweeny barbecuing at the front house.
Another plus to Ho’Onani Estates was that Poipu Kapili and the Sheraton Kauai Resort were both within very short walking distance. We had guests staying at both of these properties and it was so convenient that they could just walk up the street to visit us. We didn’t have to worry about driving in the dark (it gets so dark at night) or after having drinks.
Ho’Onani Front House Lanai (Photo by Jen)
Finally, the rental company, Garden Island Rentals, was very easy to work with. Very prompt in communications, always speedily sending along the receipts and documents we needed. And our deposit was returned way before we expected. Great to work with.
Our Bedroom
View from our tub. Same view from the shower (sort of behind, to the right of camera).
More of our bathroom – double sinks, vanity. On the end is a huge walk-in closet. To the left is a seperate toilet room.
The view from our private bedroom lanai.
Front of the house looking out to the ocean. (Photo by Rob)
I could not reccomend Ho’Onanai Estates more if you have a large number of people staying on the south shore of Kauai.
Bright and early (and still dark!) Monday morning we headed to drop off the Jetta rental car and to the Honolulu airport. We had to take an alternate route because of the Great Aloha Run beginning early that day.
On Kauai we got our new rental, a Dodge Nitro SUV that we were sharing with Dallas’s brother Jordan and his girlfriend Liz.
From there we went right to our appointment to get our marriage license. Since it was a goverment holiday, Presidents’ Day, we went to a marriage license agent instead of the government office in Lihue. At first I was leary about this, and you’ll see why, but in hindsight I realize it’s a much better story than if we’d gone to a plain, old, boring government office!
Pono Market is in this strip of stores in Kapa’a
Pono Market
Our appointment was in Kapa’a at Pono Market. When you put the address into Google Maps, it’s off.. so we drove past it a few times before we spotted the small store. It’s located in a quaint strip of small stores and sort of just blends in if you don’t know what you’re looking for. Once we found it, though, we were able to get a parking spot on the street right outside the store.
We walked inside and Pono Market is like a fish market. One side of the store had a long counter where you can order plate lunches and local food. On the other side had a cooler with beverages and a small counter to order coffee or ice cream. Then there was a table and a few chairs and a bunch of older local guys talking story. Um. Ok.
So, I walk up to the counter, thinking I must be a fool to think this is right, and stammer out that we’re there for our marriage license. The guy at the counter immediately says “Yes, you are in the right place!” and points us over to the smaller counter to his brother Ken. The old guys get up, we’re seated at a small table covered in a blue cloth right next to the front windows (see this photo I found online of Ken and another couple getting their marriage license).
Ken
Dallas and I filled out a PDF form at home and printed it, so I got it out and Ken reviewed it. He had us double, triple check everything and we had to make a few edits. Also, under “Race” there was no doubt that I should put “Caucasian” but for Dallas, it could be a few things. He chose to put in “Hawaiian” but Ken made him change it to “Hawaiian-Korean,” since his mom was born in South Korea, as stated on the paperwork. He could have put “Hawaiian-Japanese-Korean” if he wanted to since his grandma is Japanese, but we left it at “Hawaiian-Korean.”
Ken took our corrections up to his office, which is on the second floor of Pono Market and accessed by a spiral staircase in the front corner of the market. Who ever heard of a spiral staircase in a small fish market!? Ha. He needed to retype the whole application with all of the updated information.
While he was away we ordered plate lunches, but the guys at the counter said we couldn’t have them until we finished our business with Ken. Something about getting the forms messy or something. Since we had time, I snuck out to use the restroom, which was located down the street near Ono Family Restaurant.
We asked Ken to take a photo with my iPhone too. This is what will be on the “wedding wall.”
When he came back, he told us “Everyone on the East Side already knows you’re getting married because this is where people sit to get marriage licenses and now people have been passing by the window looking at you this whole time,” or something along those lines. Ahh.. the coconut wireless! He had us double and triple check everything again and then we had to sign the form. After that we were done. Ken gave us a bumper sticker that said “I got my marriage license at Pono Market” and took our photo for their “wedding wall.” If you stop in, look for us!
We got our plate lunches (lau lau for me and kalua pig for Dallas) and went outside to a small table they had on the sidewalk. We also got Spam musubi. Believe it or not, this was my first Spam musubi, but not the last on this trip! The plate lunches were delicious and I liked the Spam musubi, too. I can see how they are a kind of grab-and-go snack or light lunch on the islands.
Lau Lau Plate Lunch with white rice, poke and mac salad.
SO, Pono Market. One stop shopping. Marriage license, plate lunch and Spam musubi, all in one place!
A while later we went to meet with Marlene Mira, our wedding planner, and Julie Wirtz, our officiant at our venue, Joe’s on the Green. I’d corresponded with everyone over email and phone, but this was our first time meeting in person. Everything went great. We reviewed the plan, where things would happen, when, etc. Dallas and I passed off supplies to Marlene and that was about it. These ladies had it down. My biggest concern was 1) a box I shipped weeks before that never showed up and 2) the weather and 3) all the welts on my legs.
It was pouring when we all met. And had been raining on Kauai for days while we were on Oahu. Both Marlene and Julie swore that the rain was stopping and the weather would be fine. They were so positive about it, we never even talked about a Plan B, a Rain Plan. Turns out they were right. The rest of the week the weather was awesome. It rained sometimes, but mostly at night. The days were gorgeous. And the box that the USPS lost? It miraculously showed up 2 days before the wedding! As for my legs, the sores did diminish, but you could still see them. We did a quick coating of makeup and honestly? I didn’t really care that much. I had one short minute-long cry about my legs and then I just let it go. As Julie said, it could be worse. They could be on my face! And there was nothing I could do about it. So.. let it go.
I’m going to write a bit more on Julie and Marlene in separate posts, but for now we were just happy to have all of our wedding-related meetings done on our first day on Kauai. So for the rest of the week, up until the wedding, we could just enjoy or vacation.
