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Hawaii Elopement

Follow our journey to Maui and consider some tips for the journey.

Thank you all for being so patient in our updates friends, family and couples.

We love you all and thank you for understanding the love and joy we have to share our elopement story with you.

LEARN MORE BELOW

A Modern Day Elopement

#LinaresAtLast

As I browse the internet I tend to find more and more beautiful couples looking for help for their special wedding day, elopement or ceremony celebration. I cannot help but create a space to hopefully bring some ease and experience to your adventure. Based on my husband & I's journey for our elopement in December of 2021, I hope these tips and stories help you

The Engagement

First timers at Disney World turned into an anniversary our family will NEVER forget.

July 4, 2021

December of 2021 marks our elopement anniversary.

After working countless hours in weddings and other fun beautiful events, we decided we wanted to ELOPE!

Felipe decided to pop the question in Florida, our first time at Disney World together, I realized I was not ready to have my reaction captured. By the way, if you ever go to Disney.. I HIGHLY recommend you invest in a photo package that best suits your family fun. We got our entire engagement proposal captured professionally by the team at Disney for an amazing price. It was truly so worth it. I am learning that all in good time at your time, God truly knows how to show you the way. Be patient, and trust the process.

Create Your Own Wedding #Hashtag

#LinaresatLast

October 20, 2021

I am in love and feeling ALL kinds of generousity left and right. I have decided to share the link with you to which I found super helpful online to help me create my custom wedding hashtag. I recommend you grab a pen, a notepad and your best friend to help you with this one.

Read them aloud, repeat them over and over, and best believe it is for you.

Not only have I included the link to help you, but today was also the announcement for my Instagram photoshoot giveaway! Be sure you follow us at @oshoot.az to ensure you don't miss out on any other upcoming fun.

Hashtag Link:

https://www.weddingshoppeinc.com/blogs/weddings/the-ultimate-guide-to-creating-the-best-wedding-hashtag

Eloping in Maui, HI

November 8, 2021

With less than ONE month away, we have started booking our excursions and gotten started on an itinerary for our travels. May seem like much, but we have tons we want to check off so we are hoping this schedule keeps us on track. I hope to share all the awesome vendors and places we visit. To be honest though, a lot of vendors have been unresponsive or too busy with all the current brides flying into town today. That's okay, I get it. But I am not going to wait last minute to book details. Therefore, Felipe and I have been searching local farmers market and growing farms in the area to find the details I am looking to complete our elopement. I am so excited to share everything we are about to discover. From sunset cruises to dragon fruit farms in Maui, you bet we are super stoked to explore.

MORE DETAILS COMING SOON!

RINGS

November 14, 2021

HIS

I am going to love saying we waited and saved somewhere between $200-$400 for our wedding bands together. Felipe is a very simple man, which I adore! But I told him he could not get anything less than a solid gold band to match my rings.

Together, we chose the thicker gold band that fitted his style best. I am looking forward to creating and showing you our final choices as our elopement approaches.

TIP: Always shop your weddings bands near Black Friday or a special holiday sale. Because Thanksgiving is around the corner, Kay jewelers Black Friday sale started quickly at mid month in November. We were blessed enough to find choices of our likings over this past weekend and not feel like we had to settle for a great price. Which we did get regardless! I am so happy how everything is aligning itself just weeks before our elopement. My advice, trust the process!

HERS

Felipe is the sweetest! Not only did he buy me both rings I need for the ceremony but he bought me a 3rd ring in white gold when he first proposed. Only to give me the choice on which ring I wanted to keep my diamond on. It was hard but such a sweet choice to chose yellow gold. I plan to add an opal stone and also wear this ring when I am not wearing my gold ones. In the future, for those ladies who can't decide which ring color to chose from, this definitely should be your alternative!

My wedding band will consist of a slight sparkle and all gold tones. I am very excited to show you the combination I created. My wedding band reminds me of a mini crown on my finger, I cannot wait to show you!

Since we are marrying on our 7th year anniversary, we decided to save the boujee ring choices for our 10 year anniversary together. Giving us a little extra something to look forward too!

MISS TO MRS BOX

Best choice I could have made was to order this subscription for myself. It truly saved me the headache to have to search for all the small details I was missing. I will be posting all about it when I receive my last box.

TIP: If you have an Instagram account be sure to tag them in a video showcasing your 1st box, it may get you in to win your next box free of charge. Trust me it's worth it! I did it, and WON.

I also ordered the custom jean jacket that will be arriving reading Mrs. Linares. I can't wait to share it with y'all.

Learn More

Vow Books

December 27, 2021

If there is one tip I can give to all the lovely brides doing their research it would be LAMINATE YOUR VOW BOOKS before your date if you can. Going from dirt to rain to mud to who knows who's pocket can be quite the ride. Treasuring and caring for the little things that you will value forever will go a long way down the road.

I will forever love the story these vow books will tell but I would much have preferred to wipe the mud off once the picture was taken vs the books forever imprinted. But I guess they will now tell a story forever, lol. So it really is up to YOU & what you would prefer.

"Save the Date"
Invitations Created

November 9, 2021

Palm trees, elegance, spanglish, and wedding cheer is the theme for the cards I have designed for us. LOL! Sounds like much? Well it sorta is. While I am stuck to my computer at work, through out my days this month, I decided to check out a few different websites to create THE cards meant for us. I started with minted.com.

They were fun to start with since they actually send you a free demo of what your design could actually look like. I used one of my favorite photos and when I received it, the bottom of my dress was cut off. I was not given the option to place the photo where I wanted it to print. Hmmm.. being a creative, you may not always know what you want, but you ARE mentally visualizing it. I knew this was not the design I wanted to settle for. I then ran into my friend Dezeray, she recommended I use Zazzle.com, and I am so happy I did!

As we prepare to take off to Maui on 12/2/21, and it's just us 2, I figured I would bring these save the date cards on our trip to have our photographer create more content for us. I created a trifold save the date and 2 married at last cards. I cannot wait to show you the results!! I will be gifting these to our parents only and sending the digital photo/invite from Hawaii to our friends and families before our trip. Delivery on these cards reads to arrive 11/19. Just in time before the holidays too! Gives me some extra time to create something different if I do not like the turn out of these but I am 98% these are it! I am not sure if it was a holiday deal or a new member sign up but I was able to receive 50% off my entire order. I love a good bargain and this by far is super exciting to finally complete. At least until we come up with a reception date for next.

From our photos to the watercolor palm tree design and the writing placement, I was so impressed at the options I was able to create through out Zazzle for our cards. I highly recommend their site if you are looking to create a one of kind card for your special occasion. More details and photos coming soon!

Groom's Suit

Sweet Suit Sale.

November 26, 2021

I want to say we waited for a deal, but truth is Felipe hates shopping and can you believe on our first stop at Chandler mall on Black Friday afternoon we found EXACTLY what we needed. Yes we waited the weekend before flying out to purchase his suit, AH!!!

His suit would have retailed over $700. Macy's had suits for sale, and for $120 we found a smoking deal on the most perfect Kenneth Cole suit.

From there, we made our way to Arizona Mills to pay a visit to Nick's menswear to find an awesome variety of ties and suspenders. Little to say, we found everything we needed for him within hours of searching, Talking about being #blessed I am beyond grateful and excited to continue building custom details for us. Including his boutonnière and my floral arrangements for our ceremony. Apparently florists in Hawaii are very busy and not interested unless you have a large order over $1k or are already in town. Therefore, we are taking our chances and building our own floral details! Stay tuned for that turnout. I can't wait to share.

DRESS & DETAILS

November 11, 2021

I have avoided to talk about my dresses, until today. All the photos you have seen so far are of my 2nd dress which I originally planned for it to be my reception dress for next year.

Today, I pick up my official wedding dress from David's Bridal alterations department. Little to say, my experience here has not been the greatest or most fabulous so I have avoided suggesting this store to other brides. Although, I was blessed enough in August to find both of my dresses on clearance. This beautiful beaded dress is not white but was enough to win my heart. I forgot my veil for my engagement photos so you will have to wait to see that look. 2 different veils and lengths, call me much but I plan to make the most of my special day with different looks and the most beautiful photos created for us.

This dress only cost me $599 & buying one veil gave me the 2nd one at 50% off so I did it.

Because of the intricacy and and perfect silhouette of the dress, I decided not to get this dress altered. This also gave me the opportunity to use my dress whenever engagement photos spontaneously came up as an option.

Alternations

November 12, 2021

When you purchase a dress from David's Bridal or any bridal shop you are going to spend an additional $100 to $300 on alternations. Expect it, and prepare for it so you know where you want to start on your budget for wedding dress shopping.

Unless you buy true to size, that almost never happens. With my $399 dress I spent an additional $290 on alterations at David's Bridal. This is because I recreated the front, hemmed the bottom, added a slit and adjusted the tightness of it.

My dress is ALMOST complete! I am so happy I did my thing with my 1st dress and redesigned the look. A little laugh between us, I ordered it to have a TRIPLE push up for the girls. Hahahaha, yes I did that. I was so curious! I could not help it. After going yesterday to try it on, I realized it could have been a bit much requested so I removed 1 set of cups and had a piece of sheer tulle added to the front to keep my dress as close to my body when wearing it as possible.

Oh, did you not know you could add padding to your dress to avoid wearing a bra day of your wedding? Well no one told me either, I just requested it and took several photos of the inspiration I wanted to recreate with my dress. ANYTHING is possible for the right price. Do not let bridal shops and their employees bully you otherwise, it's YOUR day.

Create the design what YOU want to cherish, celebrate and seize the day with!

Dress is complete.

November 15, 2021

Guess what queens! I stopped at Luv Bridal on 7th st., downtown Phoenix.

Before I tell you what I found, for the ladies still dress hunting..

This shop has dresses from $1,200 to $1,800. I am sure you can always call their boutique if they have specials or sales. I walked in and saved $50 on my purchase. It was my first time in and it was fun to browse but what I requested was in the back. Be sure to always ask, even if you do not see it on display. Find more info on their Facebook if you are interested. Alternations I am sure are separate so be sure to consider the additional cost for this when searching for your dress.

For my ceremony dress, I found a Henley Cape in size SM with attachments already sewed in. It was the most perfect one left. A bit of lace attached to keep it altogether. But at this point, the lace was the least of my worries. My dress is so simple and elegant this is the perfect touch to add to my dress. With a double layer of fabric now expected to sway off the windy cliffs at Ironwoods beach, ah!! It is all becoming too real.

As I start to think of my wardrobe and photo moments I want to create and cherish forever, I realize this has been the BEST bridal find yet! At a price of $283 before taxes, I truly want say it has been so hard to find a piece like this that has not been on a list for special order or won't cost me over $500. Little to say, as soon as I posted on my IG where I was shopping (LUV BRIDAL) several of my girlfriends immediately messaged me to let me know their experience was awesome here!

Brides, if you have more than 7 mos. start searching now for those costume one of a kind pieces. Special orders can sometimes take longer. For all the ladies who are at 5 to 6 mos. away, like me when I started looking, it may be a little too late for custom bridal boutique orders. But my recommendation to you is, start searching online, consider delivery dates, rush order options and custom seamstress work near you at a trusted source.

Alternations at David's was worth it because they provided me the result I wanted. Despite all the unnecessary attitude they gave me to start with, I left happy with my dress at the end of it all. I got what I wanted and then some. It worked out perfectly.

Today's date marked my 3rd return back to David's, and the same day I found my dress add on at Luv Bridal boutique. Since August of purchasing my dresses, this dress has not left shop until today.

Always request what YOU want and need done for a paid service like so. Professionals in this area visualize as they create. I recommend you bring photos of inspiration to help you recreate the look you are going for.

If you can't find it, make it! I cannot wait to share with you my final dress creation. I am still searching for wedding shoes, but that's a story for another day, ha!

Shoes

November 28, 2021

Deals, deals, and all the steals!

I waited until I received my dress back from alterations to purchase my wedding shoes. As a visual, to embrace the silhouette I wanted to complete for myself for my wedding day, I knew I needed something unique on my feet. Now with a great deal in store, the results are even better! That is all I wanted for my wedding shoes, and in total I spent less than $160 on all 5 pairs I purchased for my trip.

Where? You may ask, well my favorite bargain store in town of course. Oh yes! If you know me and I have told you about Last Chance, you know I am very picky to choose a date when to go but when done, the outcome is soooo worth it! Every time I come here, I kid you not I manifest everything that I need. I usually find it all, if not better choices. I bought myself 2 main pairs to wear for the wedding. My feet will be reppin' Kate Spade and Steve Madden for my photos. At full price, each pair was only $39 each. The rest were random beautiful BP white options I found.

Last Chance is a store variant of Nordstrom and the best kept secret in AZ. At least, I like to think so when it comes to shopping retail. I'll be sharing all prices and looks real soon.

Stay tuned, the color choices are white, white and tan!

Wedding Day Shoes

December 17, 2021

I decided to do something different from the ordinary. I wanted photos of the aftermath from 4 different photoshoots and locations to show the adventure we got ourselves in! I truly loved the result images I created at the resort. I was able to use my flowers and pearl necklace I found in Hawaii as backdrop on a pathway I could see from our hotel room. Honestly, the shoes are not as dirty and beat up as I thought they would end up. Remember when I told you I only spent $39 on both these pairs? Well when photographing, it felt good not having to worry about the dirt and maintenance of these beauties while wearing them. I highly suggest you consider what you will be doing day of your wedding to have your feet and self be as comfortable as possible.

Hawai'i' Travel Restrictions

November 10, 2021

I found out from my co-worker Julia, after her trip back from Kona island and I must say, I am DELIGHTED we chatted about trips. She was so kind to confirm this is the secured link she used to fill in your blanks before you travel to Hawai'i.'

https://travel.hawaii.gov/#/welcome

After I started the process I realized my partner has to do his own file. Lol, for privacy matters of course. From there, I read on and found another link:

https://www.azova.com/hawaii/vaccine.html?primary_resource_url_id=42674

This will be where you upload your card that shows you have been vaccinated to get "faster" clearance through the airport, assuming you are vaccinated, this is what we will be doing. If you are not vaccinated, I suggest you continue your process in guidance through the first link as you fill out your form.

I am hoping this all gets approved and done today to get our clearance from the state for travels approved and ready to go. I will be sure to keep you all updated as we go. Cheers loves, stay tuned.

Day Before Travel

November 12, 2021

After you make an account through the Hawai'i' website, your login will automatically give you access to different links with options and instructions to follow through with your travels to HI. Now that we have officially documented our trip via their website, we must go back on there the day before to print a QR for ready to go travels to Hawai'i' and back. Travels today are definitely progressing quickly with all the restrictions and health standards companies must follow. It's very interesting to see how they all stay up to date including the government. I cannot wait to share this experience with you all, hopefully it makes your travels a little less stressing when you know what to expect. After all, all we can do is prepare ourselves for the best!

Traveling to Hawai'i'

December 11, 2021

Long travel flights, chilly naps on the plane and last minute thirsty trips will definitely have you preparing for a long flight. Consider taking snacks, and a small water less than 3 oz to kill that thirst in-between. Portable chargers are a life saver and so are neck pillows when traveling long uncomfortable hours for ANY FLIGHT. Consider taking a book to read to avoid screen time. Trust me, you will want a break from the blue light on your phone, tablet, laptop, whatever.

Be sure to go online and retrieve that QR to get travels to Hawai'i' going quicker and at the government rate they expect. You will use this immediately after boarding off your plane to Hawai'i. And trust me, it will save you precious vacation time during your travels.

Quick tip: If you are considering checking out multiple islands in Hawai'i' be sure to fly Hawaiian Airlines and find a round trip home from Oahu. We did AA and Hawaiian Airlines and between our flights, we met a couple who was kind enough to share that Hawaiian Airlines offers direct flights to Arizona from Oahu. When AA only flies you out of Honolulu directly to Arizona, which is what we did this trip. I spent hours going back between the 2 airlines online and never realized this because I kept focusing on how to get to Maui 1st, lol. Hope this helps you on your next trip to the Hawai'i' islands and saves you a whole lot of time and travel aches.

Flowers in Maui

Okay adventurous brides, imagine yourself already on the island and you want to explore but it's pouring rain outside. This was my exact scenario and I only wanted the freshest flowers available. I did not want to spend more than $300 on florals and well after exploring the island on an awesome eco-friendly car, we were able to get around and find everything we needed on the road to Hana, Safeway & a local florist I found on Instagram.. I was very pleased with everything we found, starting with Nahiku Garden Farm. It is located in the lush Ko’olau Forest Reserve, just outside magical Hana on the northeast shore of Maui. Here you must stop and say hello to Cameron. He will definitely give you a proper tour of the garden! Here I was able to find and create 3 floral bouquets, a boutonniere, a flower crown & 2 leis for our ceremony. How much you may be thinking? Well after exploring Sunday and a little bit of driving on Monday, we were able to find everything for about $280, so let's just round it to $300 to count the $20 fill up on gas. Which by the way, gas is not cheap while on the island, so be sure to rent a car worth your buck! Be sure you consider to track down a florist ahead of time, who will actually reply and communicate to you on what is available to order and purchase for the time you will be on the island. A lot of florists were quick to communicate they were "too busy" with larger orders so if you are able to find a local flower farm that has an Instagram account, SAVE IT & FOLLOW! Florists I found out are most likely to share the specials and current flowers in season. Which will be easier for you when searching closer to your date than before the actual day of your event. The weather and so many other unforeseen natural causes can cause a change in the flowers available.

HAWAI'I' ITINERARY

ELOPEMENT / HONEYMOON / ONE WEEK VACATION

THURSDAY 12/2/21

Flying out of Arizona in the morning to arrive in Honolulu in the evening was very nice. As soon as we arrived the evening of that Thursday, it was sprinkling and we were prepared. Giving us 2 hrs. in Honolulu airport and catching a flight to Maui on our way to Lahaina. Once we picked up our car rental for the week, Our Beamer we had originally rented cancelled on us & we ended up with a very economical vehicle to use for the week, it was magnificent! The entire trip we only filled up with $20 in gas while exploring a lot of the island day to day. From there the Royal Lahaina Resort in Lahaina was our first dream getaway we will never forget.

FRIDAY 12/3/21

Starting the day with an early rainy and slightly windy Molokini Sail Triollogy adventure. This snorkeling experience had us busy for 5 hours ending our day activities between 12-1pm. After this, we gave ourselves a break and explored Front St. and all the delicious food and touristy things we came across.

SATURDAY 12/4/21

Exploring the North Shore & enjoying a day of relaxation in Lahaina Beach.

SUNDAY 12/5/21

Exploring the road to Hana. Pick all fresh flowers for our elopement.

MONDAY 12/6/21

Marriage license meeting + massage to start the morning.

Explore West Maui

TUESDAY 12/7/21

We elope at 10am Maui time with officiant Lexi McGhee. Photography and videography will be created by creatives Chloe and Calvin Stanton.

WEDNESDAY 12/8/21

Starting the day at 2 am to be picked up from resort and begin the Haleakala Sunrise n' zip tour. This excursion is meant to last 8 to 10 hours total, finishing between 2pm and 3pm.

THURSDAY 12/9/21

Last morning in Maui, as we get ready to check out in the morning, we fly out at mid day back to Honolulu. The minute we land, we plan to pick up our Jeep rental for the day and make our way to Oahu. Here we had a waterfall photoshoot booked with photographer Acacia. She was able to take us to 2 different locations for the shoot. An experience my husband and I will never forget. From there we ended the evening with a sunset cruise to depart from Waikiki to enjoy the views and our last day in the Hawaiian islands. I am not sure what type of adventurous soul you may be but Honolulu reminded me A LOT of Vegas. Between the 2, Maui was definitely a gem I cannot wait to revisit.

Officially Maui'd

12/7/21

Let's start by introducing the 4 locations we used for our elopement photos.
From left to right:
Ironwoods beach, Honolua Forrest, Ironwood Ranch, and The Royal Lahaina Beach.

That first photo you see of the Ironwoods cliffs is the picture that started it all. My entire goal from the start: I wanted to recreate this view, and not being from Maui, I am so proud of Chloe and Calvin for bringing this image to life for Felipe and I. I promise I will go into further details on each of the locations as we progress in the blog.

The Honolua Forrest is a sacred place to the native Hawaiian people, and they do not like tourists or happy brides trespassing this area so be sure to know the risks before you enter..

After our quick photos in Honolua forrest, we went ahead and moved onto the next location at Ironwoods Ranch. Tara was the host who made it all happen here. We are so grateful for her help in making everything happen for us at the ranch.

Chloe and Calvin, our photographer and videographer (wife and husband) were kind enough to join us back to our resort at The Royal Lahaina and end our session at the resort's beautiful beach front.

Ironwoods Cliffs

This first photo you see is the start of it all.

This photo represents to me where my family comes from and where Felipe and I's love meet. Strong, and roaring like the ocean, a sweet reminder that our love is like this. I knew this was the location I wanted to marry my best friend the moment I saw this image on the internet. To my surprise, it's a dream come true to make these images ours forever into a reality. Located in Kapalua near Lahaina, we were blessed enough to stay at the Royal Lahaina and only drive 15-20mins to this location day of our elopement. Our ceremony only lasted 15mins or so. Reading our vows to each other, exchanging leis and pronouncing "I DO" was the most happiest and special moment to have taken place near the roaring ocean. We heavily wished our parents and family could have been there but from the start to the end of this morning, we were go, go, go! We wanted privacy, intimacy amongst us, and an adventure of course! I started my morning with Felipe at 5 am to get married at 8:30am and be at the next location for photos by 9:30am. A little ahead of schedule, but we were able to knock out 4 locations before 1pm. So grateful, blessed and truly happy we eloped in Maui.

Honolua Forest

When I first found this place, I fell in love majestically feeling already at home because of the trees and natural space. Once Felipe and I arrived to check out the area in Maui, we realized this is actually a very sacred and special place to native Hawaiian people. You will get yelled at if you try trespassing onto the beautiful scenery. There is a path to walk through and around. Like us, if you decide to make your way and strategically shoot here, I recommend you take closed boots and extra towels to clean mud off. Otherwise, I suggest you make a stop in Oahu in Honolulu city and I promise you, you will find just as much beautiful and similar scenery and completely free range to shoot. We did both locations on different dates and I did not know Oahu had an area that was also like an enchanted forest. It was so beautiful. I found 1 other bride here morning of our shoot. Other than that, it was all tourist hikers making their way to the waterfalls from there. Check out The Bridal Journal on this website to find out more about our Hawai'i' experiences.

Ironwood Ranch

From the start to end, Tara was the person in charge in setting everything up for our special time here at the ranch. If there is one thing I could change, it would be to bring carrots and apples for the horses to eat. I completely missed to grab snacks that morning but the staff (Gigi and Emily) easily accommodated us onto the horses and on our way to create these beautiful images you see. It was my first time on a horse and I felt as nervous and confident as ever! I had so much fun through out the process and learned a lot here. I will definitely do it again and wonder why I hadn't done it sooner. Nonetheless, at least now I can say my first time on a horse was in Maui on my wedding day as a bride. If you haven't done this already, I REALLY recommend you give this a shot. You will feel like a total princess with your Prince Charming by your side!

The Royal Lahaina Resort

If you decide you want to dip into the ocean a moment after your ceremony, be sure to save it for last! After running around all morning in rocky cliffs, muddy forest paths, and moist areas lol you bet we were excited to jump in the water at the end! Thanks to my amazing photographer Chloe, she was kind enough to extend our time to take beach portraits at our resort and get amazing beach coverage for our video she and her husband Calvin created for us. We are forever grateful we did this too! Capturing these moments in the beach we vacationed all week long at was truly a magnificent way to end our wedding photo session. A memory that makes us so happy and full of cheer every time we see it and reminisce.

Coordinating YOUR Elopement

Eloping Today

Once on Facebook, do yourself a favor and add yourself to the ELOPING TODAY group. Here you will find ideas, suggestions and help with your elopement not just from me, but from other vendors and people for YOU.

I plan to make this a one stop shop for all brides working with the Oshoot.az team. I would love to help you organize details and settings for your perfect elopement. Packages will include custom cocktail service, photography curated for you and officiant services within your adventure starting at $150 to coordinate. Please do not hesitate to reach out or post directly on the ELOPING TODAY group to get your questions answered right away.

Cheers.