A Wedding in Paradise

You may remember an earlier blog post from last October that talked about my friend's engagement party that had the best BBQ and celebrated the engagement of one of my best friends, Amy and her fiance, Aaron. How quickly 10 months fly by, and here I am back in Seattle with a fading tan, remembering an amazing trip and a beautiful wedding in paradise.

Kyle posted some pics of our culinary adventures in the kitchen. Here are some photos and stories behind our adventures out and about in Maui!

Amy and Aaron planned a fun snorkeling trip for our group the day before their wedding. We went out to Molokini and another beach that has a lot of turtles. It was so fun to spend a day out on the water and to top it all off, we were able to catch a 20lb Ono! Aaron reeled that bad boy in; I thought he was going to get a hernia from the effort! Those deep sea fish are no river trouts. Unfortunately, Captain gets to keep the fish, so we did not feast on fresh ono at the wedding!

Aaron's parents hosted a fabulous rehearsal dinner for all of us at the Pineapple Grill.

The spread was incredible!

This Hawaiian style bruschetta was one of my favorites. The fish was fresh and the tobiko (fish eggs) on top added a fun crunch.

Smoked salmon and asparagus crostinis

Yummy Hawaiian calamari

One of my favorites...spring rolls!

Carmen's favorite...bacon wrapped scallops. She loves anything with bacon, but this was really good!

Delicious salmon

Amy and Aaron got married at the Kaanapali Beach Hotel, which is located in our favorite part of Maui. It was supposed to rain that day, but stayed bright and beautiful all day for the happy couple.

Check out this amazing buffet menu! Kyle and I were too much of pigs to take photos of the food; we just dove right into the buffet and didn't come up for air until everything was gone. The caprese salad and prime rib were my personal favorites.

I truly believe there is no better wedding food than the wedding food you can get in Hawaii. It is probably a combination of great chefs and also great local ingredients and flavors to work with.

Amy's parents hosted a brunch the next day that was just as fabulous as the dinner we enjoyed at the reception. Sadly, Kyle and I broke our beloved camera on this trip and have no photos of that wonderful meal and the last leg of our Hawaiian adventure. I guess the memories and extra 5 lbs I gained will have to be my lasting impression of this amazing trip and occasion!

Congratulations Mr. and Mrs. Turner! May you have many years of happiness, love, health and fabulous meals!

Happy Eating,
Emi