This wedding had everything - a bohemian island wedding, with a giant ballgown lace dress, and an intimate beach ceremony, with a huge crazy party (where almost every single guest ended up fully clothed in the pool!). Captured by the incredible husband and wife duo Bayly & Moore, we think this wedding is refreshingly fun, exciting and has a genuine excitement and celebration! Kristal & Ryan’s wedding took place on the Big Island of Hawaii and it was all one big adventure – bike riding over volcanic rocks, cliff jumping, kayaking… and then there was the wedding day itself! We talked with Kristal about their love story:
Tell us about your proposal! After 3 years of dating, Ryan and I took our first international trip together and were visiting the 12 Apostles in Victoria, Australia. As the sun was setting, he became very quiet and I was worried I was wearing his patience thin by asking him to take countless pics for the perfect instagram post. I finally decided to use my self timer and spare him photographer duty. After making him pose, then balancing my phone on a rock and pressing the timer countdown, I ran back to Ryan and he was on one knee. It ended up being our most liked instagram post ever!
What do you love most about Ryan? When we first moved in together we joked that we were having sleepovers every night. Even though we were in our mid-thirties, life together felt like we were kids having one big adventure. It still feels that way. Whether we are having conversations with our dog, traveling or doing road trips across America, or even just making dinner- he makes everything so much more fun, so much more exciting and so much more memorable.
What was your favourite part of the wedding day?
Our wedding was pure island magic. I was born in Hawaii and it was always my dream to get married there. We decided on the Big Island of Hawaii because of it’s rugged beauty, from Volcanoes, to amazing beaches, to mountains and oceans, we felt like it had a little bit of everything. And wanting EVERYTHING was kind of the theme of my wedding- even though certain things didn’t seem to fit together! I wanted a bohemian island wedding, with a giant ballgown lace dress, and an intimate beach ceremony, with a huge crazy party. In the end, everything came together thanks to the people who were there with us! We found an amazing local florist on the Big Island, Haku’s by Ki, who helped create my vision of Roses and Eucalyptus to honor my Dad’s Australian side. Hawaii is raw and magical and has natural unpredictabilty. We knew that rain could be a risk and had been ready to go with the flow, but when the rain actually started coming down on our outdoor reception, I went into denial and kept telling everyone it was about to stop. Thanks to our wedding planner, Crystal Rayne of Isle Love Weddings, we regrouped, moved chairs around and our guests ate under a covered veranda- and then we all danced in the rain. By the end of the night, nearly every single guest was in the pool. My 6 year old niece even changed from swimsuit back into her flower girl dress so she could jump in with her wedding clothes on- like all the grown ups. The unplanned pool party was so perfect it felt absolutely meant to be and I completely felt like we had everything we could have wanted.
From walking down the aisle of our tiny Hawaiian chapel with both my parents giving me away, to dancing in the rain with my new husband, my sisters & best friends- our wedding was filled with so much magic. But one of my favorite parts, and what helped to weave these moments together, was the decision to have Bayly & Moore as our photographers. I can honestly can say are the coolest humans on the planet. They are a married couple from New Zealand who are so amazing to be around- they contributed a calmness and a sense of humor that made our wedding that much more memorable- and the photos they took are our favorites. Even our guests & family members will still bring up Si & Sophie and ask how they’re doing and when they’re going to see them again!
What is marriage to you? We’ve heard a lot of jokes about marriage being a ball and chain type of deal. I think for both of us, marriage actually feels like the opposite. It feels amazing to have this partnership with someone I consider my best friend. We believe marriage should make our worlds bigger, not smaller. Oprah used to say, instead of finding someone to be your other half- create your own full circle, and find someone who also has their own circle— and create a super circle (at least I think she said something like that…). With Ryan, I feel like our planets -with our friends, our families, our worlds- all combine to form a universe greater than what we had on our own.
