Andi & Jamie's Wedding - Tara Lauren Real Love Tara Lauren

Andi & Jamie’s wedding was a serene seaside celebration in Kauai, a romantic Hawaiian island, with their closest family and friends.

All the pieces of Andi’s wedding dress puzzle fell into place when she tried on the MONTGOMERY gown. Of her MONTGOMERY gown, Andi said: “I tried on so many different styles and could not piece together the perfect dress. If I liked the neckline, the skirt wasn’t right and vice versa. Finally I found the MONTGOMERY gown and absolutely fell IN LOVE with the lace and the neckline. It was girly, mature, sexy and elegant. It was an immediate yes!”

Names: Andi & Jamie

Wedding Date: 06/28/2021

Guest Numbers: 16

Wedding Location: Na’Aniaki Botanical Gardens, Kauai, HI

Photographer: Christie Pham

Tell Us Your Love Story

How did you meet?

Jamie and I met through my mom actually! I was living in New York and my family was in Houston. My mom had told me about this new employee that they hired from Texas who was my age and, according to my mom, a “really good kid”. I flew into town one time to visit family and went to see her at work which is how Jamie and I first met. A couple of years later I moved back to Houston and ran into him everywhere; bars, concerts, festivals. Turned out we lived only a block from one another and obviously had a lot of the same interests! When we both found ourselves single, we were both on the same page and began dating.

How did he put a ring on it?

We were in Banff, CA on a vacation and we had a sunrise kayak planned on Lake Louise. The water there is so stunning and blue, it truly is the perfect backdrop for a proposal. Well, that morning I didn’t have time to drink my coffee before the kayak so I was a little grumpy, and Jamie called it off knowing that it wasn’t the right time to propose. Poor guy had to reschedule a photographer that he had booked while we were in the middle of a lake!

Later that day we went for a hike around Morainne Lake. It is just as beautiful and the water just as blue! I was walking around with my camera taking some photos, and Jamie had found a fallen tree to sit on. He called me over for me to sit next to him, and when I looked down, there was a Taco Bell sauce packet on the ground. My first thought was ‘how could someone litter in a place like this?!’ Once I saw that it read “Marry Me”, Jamie got down on one knee. It was perfect because Taco Bell is our love language and when we first began dating, Jamie was always leaving little notes on sauce packets for me to find. Once I said yes he handed me a sauce packet that said “I do”.

Where did you draw inspiration from?

Our inspiration came from a trip we had taken to Kauai in 2018. When we got engaged, it was never really a discussion about where the wedding was going to be held. It was like we both knew it would be there, and that it would be with our closest family and friends. We wanted the people in our lives that we love the most to get to experience the beauty of Kauai and the magical Aloha that happens when you are there.

What made the wedding personal to you?

Since we kept it small we were able to do some pretty amazing things. We had three days worth of activities that we had planned to completely spoil our guests. Jennifer from Modern Elopement, our wedding planner, helped us plan the most incredible private luau held in a Zen garden as a welcome party. Our rehearsal dinner was on a private catamaran dinner cruise by Captain Andy’s around the Na Pali Coast. On our wedding day we wanted things to be simple so that the beauty of the island and our love could shine through. We wrote our own vows and shared them with one another in front of our guests. We still held on to many traditional things that you see in most weddings, we just put our own spin on it.

What were you most nervous or excited about?

Oh my gosh, I was just SO EXCITED that our day was finally here! We originally were scheduled to get married in April of 2020, then September of 2020. Third time’s a charm! It had been so long since we originally planned everything so everything was a surprise. I had forgotten what flowers I had chosen, my dress had been in a dress bag since December of 2019, we had never actually been to the site where we were going to say “I do”. The excitement of getting to be present and experience everything without expectation was pretty incredible, and washed away any possible nerves that could have been there. It was very much a roll with it and go with the flow kind of day. It was perfect.

Now, the most important part – the Dress!

Tell us about your dress?

I went into dress shopping thinking I wanted something simple. Once I saw something simple, I realized I was not! That set a “Pretty Woman” moment into motion. I tried on so many different styles and could not piece together the perfect dress. If I liked the neckline, the skirt wasn’t right and vice versa. Finally I found the MONTGOMERY gown and absolutely fell IN LOVE with the lace and the neckline. It was girly, mature, sexy and elegant. It was an immediate yes! I was ready to give up the idea of a flowy skirt when the girl helping me came out with the MONTGOMERY overskirt. I died and went to heaven. It was more perfect than anything that I could have dreamed up. The way that the dress and the overskirt went together so perfectly felt like they were made just for me. And it gave me the best of both worlds – I got a dress that could kind of transform for different parts of the day.

What stockist did you get it from?

Lovely Bride, TX

What was your most memorable moment from your day?

Our wedding ceremony and dances! We got married on a bluff overlooking the ocean, and the officiant looked at us while we were holding hands and said “This is where your Aloha begins. And this is where it will always be.” We still talk about that moment and how it made us both feel. Since we didn’t have a full reception afterwards, we went ahead and did the first dance and father daughter dance at the ceremony site. We had live music by a single guitar player. He played ‘You Are The Best Thing’ by Ray LaMontange while Jamie and I danced. For the Father Daughter dance he performed Isreal Kamakawiwo’ole’s version of ‘Somewhere Over The Rainbow’.