'LAWSON WEDDING' OAHU, HI
Oahu, Hawaii; The most touristy of the Hawaiian islands and for good reason. This island is filled with entertaining adventures that will meet almost anyone’s needs. Why are we here you ask? Well; we came as a group to celebrate our best friends’ (Greg and Armaine) wedding. This would be the first time that my closest friends and I would be on a vacation together outside of Cali, and boy was it one for the memory books.
My girlfriend Jaime and I arrived a few days before the mandatory rehearsal so that we could explore and meetup with friends. Though we stayed in Kailua; we made the trip to Waikiki to take in our first sunset.
We planned the next day to meetup with the future bride n’ groom (Armaine and Greg) + our friends Danny and Angie to explore the North Shore areas of the Island. We spent the day walking through and swimming in Waimea Falls then driving up the road to enjoy Giovanni’s Shrimp Truck. Greg has been RAVING about Giovanni’s since he visited here last so Danny and I made it a point to see what the hype was about. I was told that they’re ‘hot n’ spicy’ shrimp will burn you down, but I accepted the challenge anyway and I’m glad I did. I conquered the hot shrimp! Showing up to Giovanni’s on a Thursday was extremely beneficial as the wait was only about 10min. I heard on the weekends you could wait up to an hour.
Jaime and I heard from a local friend of ours that we need to prioritize seeing the sunrise from Lanikai Beach; so the following morning Jaime and I woke up at 5am and made the short drive to Lanikai Beach to stake our claim. Surprisingly, her and I shared the beach with only 2 other families that made for a peaceful and romantic moment.
The crew and I brainstormed on what to do with the rest of the day, and since Hanauma Bay was back open; we grabbed the snorkel gear and made our way. Though Hanauma Bay is packed with people; it is still a must in my book to check out. The snorkeling was exceptional and weather was perfect. I’d suggest bringing water shoes with you as you do not want to step on the coral.
If you’ve followed our trips before then you should know Jaime is a coffee buff. When we visit the islands of Hawaii, we make it a point to source out their local and on Oahu the local coffee comes from Green World Coffee Farms located in the North Shore. This small and quaint coffee shop is serving some of the best coffee I’ve ever had, but take that with a grain of salt because I only get iced coffee haha. Jaime did enjoy as well and we left there with some souvenirs and a bag of coffee grounds.
We made contact with Danny since he was staying in the North Shore and agreed we’d meet him and his girlfriend Angie at the local attraction: The Dole Plantation. This is probably the biggest tourist attraction on the island. We did the train tour through the farm, enjoyed pineapple ice cream, and walked the gardens before making our trek back down to Hauula, where we’d be staying for the wedding and having the rehearsal later that night.
Wedding Day: Today the remainder of the groomsmen (Jared and Tommy) arrived. This was huge because Tommy is a close friend of ours who lives in Georgia so we rarely see him, and Jared has never left Cali so to have all my best friends in one place will forever be treasured. The groomsmen headed into Honolulu to get a fresh haircut and beard trim before the ceremony, then drove back to get ready for Greg and Armaine’s big day!
The ceremony was simply perfect! Sunshine, beautiful people and love in the air as far as the eyes could see. After the ceremony; the bridesmaids and groomsmen left the grounds to go to a nearby beach for pictures, which we had hella fun with as you can tell haha.
Party Time:
Anyone who knows Greg knows that he dances…not often…but he dances. Greg danced from beginning to…until…a fire dancer appeared out of nowhere! Armaine planned for a fire dancer and it was a complete surprise to everyone attending. After the fiery show was over; the beat dropped and the dance floor was swarmed as the DJ played our local Bay Area artists. This had to have been one of if not the best wedding I’ve ever been to.
The decorations are down, bags are packed, and clean-up is done. The crew sets out to relocate at their next lodging destination. We all had equal thoughts of going to Waimea Beach to take in one last sunrise as a group and enjoy each other’s company. The people in this photo are family to me, and I wouldn’t have missed this celebration for the world!
We are now at day 7 of this trip and our last day here. Jaime and I spent a majority of the day together at Kailua Beach that is covered in soft white sand. Her and I had a relaxing lunch beachside and spent fun time in the sun together. That night we rendezvoused at the Beach Bar in Honolulu for closing drinks, final laughs and goodbye hugs since we were all departing the following day.
Thank you Greg and Armaine for having Jaime and I apart of this beautiful celebration. It was our highlight of 2019, and we are blessed to have you as friends in our lives. We love you and are happy for you both!