Desire to Inspire - Our Ceremony

"True love stories never have endings." - Richard Bach

 {source}

If there is one place Mr. Ostrich & I love more than anything, it's the beach.

So when we finally decided to tie this little knot, we knew in our heart of hearts where this would all take place....

A wedding in paradise! Also known as a private beach on the North Shore of Oahu.

And for this intimate ceremony by the sea, I already had vivid dreams of what it would look like. Simple, sweet and very beach chic.  :)

{source: elizabeth messina}

{source: elizabeth messina}

So with these images in hand, off I went to make this dream a reality. I was hell bent on sourcing white ottoman benches and after combing the island back and forth and back again, realized that this was going to be out of the question for this little budget bee! Bummed for only a day, I decided on the next best thing, thanks to a fantastic deal from one of my wedding vendors!

 {source}

Espresso colored Chiavari Chairs with white cushions. Ever since I stumbled upon this photo I thought they would look lovely by the shore....maybe even more than the white ottoman benches! {can you tell i'm still trying to get over them?}

{source}

And as for the rest of our ceremony by the sea components, they all came together pretty easily {thank goodness!}. There are some fantastic rental vendors in Oahu with equally fantastic rates. One of the many rentals we have is for our chuppah, also in espresso brown, to match our lovely chairs, and together, they'll look like this photo, except in dark brown. It's so pretty!  :)

 {source}

And in terms of seating arrangements, continuing our quest to redefine wedding traditions, we have been fond of the circle seating layout, like this photo here. It feels like our favorite family and friends are actual participants in our ceremony, versus an audience. What do you think?

 {source}

And thanks to the many discount party rental stores online, I amassed my parasols and raffia fans at a fraction of the cost we have seen at other places!

 {source}

 {source: max wanger}

And last but not least, just a bit of sparkle and shine as we walk down the aisle! I have been daydreaming of these magnificent paper tassel garlands from confetti system and am going to attempt to recreate them myself, in the similar color combinations below. Stay tuned for the DIY post!

{source: confetti system}

Whew! That was a doozy! But that is what our dreams and realities of our ceremony include and I hope it gave you some ideas for your own.  :)

Now it's your turn, darling bees! What bits are you most excited about for your ceremony? I can't wait to hear all of your sweet plans!