Jessica & Christopher

In celebration of our 13th year as a couple, we planned our dream destination wedding/elopement and honeymoon on West Maui. Our flights were booked. Our deposits were paid. Our venue was secured. Jessica’s Catholic Sacrament requirements were met and plans were all falling into place. Just days before our paperwork was to be sent to the Archdiocese of Los Angeles for finalization and forwarding to the Diocese of Honolulu, we learned of the tragic wildfires on Maui. With the complete loss of Lahaina Town and absolute devastation hitting Maui, we had to re-evaluate things. With no power and spotty service in West Maui, there was no way we could get in touch with our contacts there (and honestly our wedding plans just didn’t seem all that important to bombard them with at the time). As more photos and video were shared on local Hawaiian community social media accounts, we decided to cancel our wedding plans on the island in an effort to free up housing or resources for locals and residents at the time and for the months to follow. Maui/Lahaina is heavenly. We were so excited to experience it as a family in celebration of our union and we’re so sad such a significant part of its history and culture is gone. One thing remained true throughout our conversations in light of having to cancel our dream wedding - we did NOT want to postpone. Our 13th Anniversary would be our wedding day regardless of location. And so we decided to hold the wedding ceremony at Jessica’s home parish with our closest local family and friends invited to surround us and bear witness as we come before God and unite as One. Although we can no longer have our dream honeymoon in Lahaina (Jessica's favorite place in the world), we hope to celebrate with a mini home honeymoon at The Happiest Place on Earth!