NAZIA & OMID

Haiku Mill Wedding

As we started to get to know each other, I knew working with Nazia & Omid was going to be a fun time! They were wonderful, and it’s always fun to come up with new ideas for a location we’ve never worked before. My dear friend Mira Savara has so graciously included me in her Indian weddings on Maui and it’s been truly a great experience. She takes care of the coordination and traditions and I work with our couples on the design and decor aspects of each wedding.

Our Haldi Ceremony was held at a new location on the ocean which is not a normal venue for weddings so it wasn’t as kept as most. A few days before hand we went in to clean and make it presentable. But knowing that the property sits right on the ocean with no public access to the lawn or beach made it all worth it. We set up a large tent on the lawn to offer shade and to help to set a “stage”. When there is such a large lawn, setting a tent with lounge furniture, dining tables and a dance floor helped center the festivities.

The Mehndi party was also held at a new location where we had rented all of the villas for the wedding party and family to stay. This gave us the convenience of one location where the bridal party stayed along with a large oceanfront lawn for our set up.

Nazia & Omid’s wedding day was at Haiku Mill. All of the planning that we’d done over the last year came down to this final day for us. There were a few surprises, like the elephant that Omid and his men had made since there are no live elephants on Maui. When the men in the wedding party are engineers we love to roll with ideas like this! It was so much fun to watch them carry him through the crowd prior to the wedding day ceremony.

One thing I always love is a great reveal! We set up the inside of the Haiku Mill with Gold Chivari chairs, flowers running up the stairs towards the waterfall and a Sofreh table for the Bengali rituals. After the beautiful ceremony we moved to under the mango tree where guests enjoyed a cocktail party while we were able to reset the Mill for the reception. Now this may seem like a lot but it is one of my favorite things to do. We transform the venue in a matter of minutes so it takes a big team to clear everything out and then reset the room with tables, chairs, flowers and chandeliers in a matter of minutes.

After Nazia & Omid changed for the reception we escorted them into the venue prior to the guests’ arrival so they could see and enjoy the final transformation of the venue. After working together for over a year it was one of my favorite moments of the day. We all worked so hard in creating this amazing moment, planning and sharing ideas while also building our relationship along the way, so to watch their expressions and hear their thoughts as they walked around the Mill House was pure joy!