Today is the big day! Happy 50th to Grandma & Grandpa! Lots of planning has gone into making today special so we were all a little bummed when we woke up at 5 am to a heavy wind and rain storm. Fortunately there was quite a bit of time before the ceremonies and weather can change quickly here. It wasn't as hot today as it had been, but it was still good sunning weather. The kids did their usual swimming with Tom & Dave and the rest of us relaxed working on our tans.
Later that afternoon, we all got ready for the ceremonies. Each family wore coordinating colors and everyone looked really great. (Pictures will be loaded soon, there is a slower connection here, so stay tuned!)
We met the Pastor at Poipu Beach Broiler Restaurant so that he could drive us to his "special spot". He has a less populated area that he likes to do his ceremonies. He drove us to Shipwreck Beach, but the Hawaiian translation is so much better. It is Keoniloa Bay in Poipu. It was a beautiful backdrop and very private (except for 2 people fishing and they apparently wanted to witness the ceremonies as they never did move!) The weather was perfect and each ceremony went off without a hitch. He started with Rhonda & Dave who are celebrating their first anniversary on July 27th. He then renewed Tom & Michelle's vows, who are going on celebrating #15 on February 12th. Last, but certainly not least, was Grandma & Grandpa's renewal. He made each ceremony unique based on our number of years of marriage, etc, but the basic vows and exchanging of white orchid leis and rings was the same. Dave presented Rhonda with a silver band to go with her diamond ring and Grandpa received a new Hawaiian Heirloom wedding band with black enamel/gold ring accents that matched Grandma's. Grandma also received a beautiful diamond bracelet. The whole evening was perfect and a photographer was on hand to capture lots of great family shots against a beautiful backdrop. There was even a rainbow right before the sunset. We had just finished our ceremonies and pictures around 7:15 when the rain set in. Talk about perfect timing!
Grandma & Grandpa had a reservation for our dinner at 7:30 at Keoki's Paradise Grill. They had a table ready for us right away. Dinner was fabulous! They told us to order whatever we wanted off the menu, so Dave had steak and lobster, Rhonda had lobster, Jason & Courtney had fettucine pasta, Tom has steak and shrimp, Ryan had a hamburger (although he tried the shrimp, scallops & calamari and loved them all!), Michelle had lobster, Grandpa had , and Grandma had a teriyaki chicken and beef dish. The lobster tails were the biggest you have ever seen, so Rhonda and Michelle felt like they had died and gone to heaven. Everyone's dinner was soooo yummy! The restaurant also gave each couple a complimentary Hula Pie to share. It is a chocolate cookie crust, with vanilla/macadamia nut ice cream topped with whipped cream and fudge sauce. Ohhh, it was really, really good!
Once our very full tummies headed back to the condo, we stopped off in Grandma & Grandpa's room to look at all of our pictures. We got some terrific pictures and are excited to see what the photographer captured too! Everyone was pleased with the day and that all had gone according to plan. Now everyone could truly relax with nothing to worry about!
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I'm SO glad that you're doing these posts! They're really fun to read, but I must admit that I'm a tad jealous of all the fun you're having! It sounds absolutely wonderful. I think I'll have to put you to work to plan an equally fabulous Hawaiian vacation for the Ryan family!!!
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