Tropical Boho Olowalu Plantation House Wedding Maui

Punakea Palms Wedding | Maui, HI

September 16, 2019

Melanie + Sam:

Melanie and Sam’s Punakea Palms wedding was an emotional filled day. This sweet couple both love Hawaii and when Melanie’s dad passed away in 2015, they knew they wanted to honor her father by getting married in his favorite place, Maui. Melanie and her sister also honored their father by getting matching tattoos of their dad’s signature on their shoulder blades, which you’ll see in a couple of her getting ready photos below. My own dad passed away 20 years ago now, so getting to capture these special mementos for my clients of their loved ones who have passed away is especially near and dear to my heart.

I absolutely loved Melanie’s modern, rustic, and organic style. The calligraphy on the agate slices that served as place cards were so chic, yet so simple. And because Sam is a quarter Japanese, they had folded a bunch of paper cranes that they used to decorate all around Punakea Palms, which was such a unique touch to their big day! Most importantly though, Melanie and Sam both expressed to me that what they wanted most out of their wedding was for all of their guests to have a good time and eat good food, and I think they definitely accomplished that! 😉

One other fun fact: Melanie actually used to live on Maui for a short time and interned at the gorgeous wedding venue, Haiku Mill. So the skills she acquired while working at Haiku Mill definitely gave her a bit of wedding planning experience under her belt when it came time to start planning her own wedding! 🙂

I hope you enjoy checking out their Punakea Palms wedding and have a wonderful week, everyone!

Ready to inquire? I would be honored to capture your wedding day here on the beautiful island of Maui! Learn more here and then get in touch!

“We got married in September 2018 and had Caitlin Cathey as our photographer and it was one of the best decisions we made for our wedding day. I can not say enough good things about Caitlin, from the minute I booked our wedding with her she was so responsive to all my emails and was so eager to help. She was the first vendor we booked and she even helped me find my wedding planner. I felt confident the entire process that I was in good hands. On the wedding day, Caitlin and her second photographer Chantelle were a dream to work with. They put my family and friends at ease while also making sure our wedding was running on time. My husband and I are so uncomfortable in front of a camera but Caitlin made us feel comfortable and really listened when it came to certain poses and things I didn’t like.We actually just received our photos and I was so blown away with how beautiful and detailed every image was. Caitlin got amazing detailed shots along with great candid shots that will help us relive our wedding for years to come. She got us so many amazing images we are having a hard time picking ones to frame. There is a reason Caitlin has so many wonderful reviews. Now that our time working with her is coming to an end we are trying to find more reasons to hire her as our photographer again.” – Melanie Speet