that time my brother got married in Maui...

view from our room at sunset! it was awesome waking up to the sound of waves and the smell of sunshine (it's a thing, okay?)

once upon a time (just last sunday) my brother got married in Maui to the wonderful Laura. so as not to bore you with loads of text i'll just provide mostly captioned pictures to document the good times! 

after a fairly long, nourishmentless flight i demanded suggested that we find Geste Shrimp Truck to fill ourselves with something ultra Hawaiian. Maui isn't as plentiful with shrimp trucks as Oahu is so i made it a point to make it out to what is known as the best one in Maui. surprisingly my grandma really liked it!

in front, the spicy pineapple shrimp. in the back is the combo with hotdog and shrimp scampi. all served with rice and crab mac salad. a fattening good meal to start the trip off right!

on our way up to Lahaina we stopped by Leoda's Kitchen and Pie Shop to pick up a few chocolate macadamia nut pies to share with people. i left with a coconut cream pie and banana cream pie too because vacation is always the appropriate time to splurge, right? we ate it all over the next few days with no regrets.

most of the guests were arriving on friday so we decided to make reservations at Star Noodle. this restaurant was made famous with Chef Sheldon Simeon's association and his season on Top Chef. when we got there we were informed that he'd already sold the restaurant and isn't associated anymore. the food was good and i liked the aesthetic of the place but i wouldn't say it was worth the half an hour drive from where we were staying (Kihei). nonetheless, it was definitely on my list to check mark so i'm glad we got to go. 

my dad, mom, grandma, Laura's mom, Kelly

Patrick, Stephanie, Jason, Melissa

Crystal, Yang Yang, Jake, Laura, Jeremy, myself

Darrick, John, Danica, little Camille

garlic noodles. simple. good. nothing to write home about.

a signature dish, steamed pork buns. delish!

brussel sprouts with bacon and kimchee. nothing special here.

hapa ramen, another signature dish. good ramen but nothing amazing.

chicken karaage. bland even with the dipping sauce. this needed to be seasoned. 

saturday morning started off with a 1 1/2 hr drive up to the Haleakala for the sunrise. this is something i was told that you have to do when in Maui. it is pretty breathtaking seeing the sun rise from above the clouds!

all of the people lined up to see the view

gorgeous!

here it comes! 

while the sun was rising this woman started singing some native sounding song. then she told us some facts (weather, time, natural landmarks) and announced that "this is your sunrise!"

=)

rain is frequent in Maui and the sun is a constant, providing for lots of rainbow sightings. it's faint, but there's some double rainbow action going on here!

after an early rehearsal at the wedding site, we went to Kihei Cafe for a hearty breakfast, which seems like the only type of breakfast Hawaii offers. loco moco, portugese sausage fried rice, banana macadamia nut pancakes. 

with no real plans for the rest of the day, i joined Darrick, Melissa and Jason on a "hike" in Iao Valley. reviews and word-of-mouth recommendations said that the views were amazing and this was a must-see type place, but i would beg to differ. the marked and paved trail could literally be walked in just a few minutes. lucky for us we did a little bit of research about the unmarked paths and decided to take one of those. the trail was slippery and muddy so we only went up for about half an hour before deciding to call it quits with failure to see anything special. i came back with a bunch of not-fun bug bites but despite it not being a great hike, we still had a good time. 

the Iao Needle

dinner at Coconuts Fish Cafe for fish tacos. these were huge and heaping with loads of mahi mahi and other fresh ingredients. 

sunday was wedding day!!

the exact moment i knew that Laura was going to be in a relationship with my brother for the long haul was Mother's Day two years ago when she joined my family for lunch even though Jeremy couldn't go.  i mean who does that unless you care to become a part of the family? not me! i'd bet not her either. but that's why i knew that she was something different for Jeremy. i already liked her a lot and thought that she was not only a cool person but also a really good match for Jerome. willing to compromise yet standing ground with her opinions, someone who understands my brother's dry, sarcastic humor, and someone who has made him an even better person, are all reasons why i think Jeremy is lucky to have found Laura. although i didn't know Laura pre-Jeremy, i would say that he offers the same things to her life as well. i am so so very happy for the two of them and am glad to call her my sister! 

awesome wedding...a beautiful sun shiny day with the ocean as a background, a ukulele player sharing sweet tunes, an intimate setting of twenty-five guests, and a simple ceremony. 

dad and Jeremy. weird pic. their heads were in the sun and their bodies in the shade.

my parents and Laura's mom

family photo pre-new addition of Laura. 

groomsmen, Jason and Darrick with Melissa. friends from SSFHS.

aaaand me too! Jeremy and i were in the same grade our whole lives so we both knew all of the same people. 

with the best man

missing John, who was getting his boutonniere placed. 

this ukulele player provided all of the music through the ceremony.

crystal and darrick

john and stephanie

jason and kelly

he criiiiiieed!!...and i called him out!....but then i cried. when i turned around and saw Jeremy's eyes constantly fluttering, i knew something was going on. c'mon! i'm his sister and i know how often he doesn't cry so it was really sweet that he was so filled with emotion in that moment. i'm pretty sure the best pic from any wedding is the look on the guy's face while the bride is walking towards him. glad i got a few of these pics!

i got a new sister, he got a new mom....and sister. that's crystal in the background (Laura's sister). 

cue "aaawwwww"

hoorah! and what a beautiful, classy, unique dress! the detail and simplicity in it was just gorgeous! but i would expect great taste from someone who won (or got runner up? i can't remember exactly) a contest for making a wedding dress out of only toilet paper and tape. 

fitting for Maui?

i had to prompt my dad to smile, not because he wasn't happy but because he just doesn't smile in photos. (note: of the eight photos he's in on this blog post he is smiling in one, on his way to almost smiling in two, and completely mugging in five. i swear he's not an angry man!)

i think Camille knows exactly what to do in front of a camera! baby smiles!

table settings. ha! they picked crappy/silly pictures of each person to put in between funny photos of themselves. 

Jerome saying "thanks" to everybody for joining them on their big day.

best man Jason giving his speech. this may or may not be right before he called Jeremy a racist. overall, a very good speech! funny, thoughtful and heartfelt!

comically acknowledging her potentially racist new husband.

Stephanie giving her very touching speech.

Melissa! i've seen her more in the span of this last month than i have in the eleven years since high school. 

sorry Jason! this is the only pic of the south city people and i can't help it that you didn't open your eyes!

later on in the evening we all went to a luau at the Feast at Lele in Lahaina. this different from your typical luau in that you are served a sit-down dinner over five courses which each represent a set of islands (hawaii, samoa, new zealand, etc.). 

they got lei'd! 

bottomless, heavily poured drinks all night long. 

the evening began with a pretty sunset, though i'd bet every sunset in Maui is beautiful.

washed out...too bad.

a couple of Laura's friends whom i've gotten to know a little bit. genuine and funny, i think Laura's scored some pretty great friends.

the Marcal family

monday morning consisted of three hours of kayaking along with a bit of snorkeling. it was a lot of fun but oh so very tiring as well. it was really awesome swimming so close to giant sea turtles, coral and random looking fish. i don't have photos due to the wetness factor. 

lunch at Eskimo Candy Seafood Market. mahi fish n' chips, coconut shrimp and ribs combo, 4 types of poke bowl. all pretty good!

malasadas at Home Maid Cafe. once you place your oder the lady behind the counter makes them fresh! 

a great trip. relaxing, fun, and just the right amount of activities! 

congrats, Laura and Jeremy! you guys rock the whole couple thing.