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Taylor and Clayton's wedding was an exquisite event that absolutely everyone enjoyed.
Here is the article for your reading enjoyment!
Real Wedding: A Dream Realized
A Seaside Celebration in Wailea
Photography by Joanna Tano Photography
When Taylor Cohen was a little girl growing up in Fort Worth, Texas , she dreamt of a white wedding in Hawaii. Years later, when she was a freshman at TCU, she met Clayton Jerome, a baseball player from Dallas, who felt a similar pull to the Hawaiian islands throughout his life. The pair spent their first date immersed in conversation about what it would be like to live by the beach in paradise. After they said goodnight, Taylor remembers calling her mother to tell her that she had just spent a lovely evening with the man that she would one day marry. “There was an immediate connection between us,” Taylor says. “We fell in love quickly!” Three years later, the couple was engaged and by summer, 2008, they had packed up all of their belongings to make the move to Oahu together.
Once settled into their new home, Taylor delighted in the planning process, taking on all of the myriad details of their celebration herself. The down-to-earth couple had a distinct vision for their ideal wedding venue. “Although we both love Oahu, we really wanted a simple setting that was naturally beautiful,” she says. They found their dream location on the neighboring island of Maui at the Seawatch Restaurant in Wailea. “The moment we stepped onto the property and took in the views we were sold!” the bride says. “I liked the fact that we could host the ceremony and reception at the same location and the staff at the Seawatch took care of everything from catering to set-up.”
With fewer than thirty people in attendance, the emphasis was on family and friends. “It was important to us that our wedding day be a reflection of our relationship as a couple and our extended family, too. “We really wanted our wedding to feel like an intimate dinner party with our loved ones!” Taylor says. The festivities began on a sun-filled afternoon in May on Wailea’s famous Emerald Golf Course which offers spectacular ocean views. Taylor stood arm-in-arm with her father as Hawaiian musician Ernest Puaa played a sweet love song. “Walking in with my dad to see Clayton waiting for me was a moment that became so real and special to me...I wanted to capture it in my mind forever,” the bride recalls. “I was in tears the whole time. I couldn’t contain my happiness!”
With the islands of Molokini and Kahoolawe in the distance, Taylor and Clayton pledged their commitment to each other. The bride carried an all-white bouquet of calla lilies, roses and orchids designed by Della Peacock of Dellables. Her bridesmaids wore strapless dresses in a summery shade of lemon yellow and held delicate bouquets of white calla lillies. Clayton was a handsome groom in a Banana Republic linen suit and a maile lei. As the sun began to set, guests traversed the lawn to the open-air patio for cocktail hour. The bride says, “It felt totally secluded and private, as if we were the only ones on the island." Taylor and Clayton collaborated with Susan Jencks at the Seawatch to create an exotic wedding menu inspired by the Pacific Rim. After a champagne toast, the jubilant couple mingled with their guests and danced under the moonlight. In a sign of gratitude, each attendant was gifted a batch of freshly-baked cookies from
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