Going to the chapel...

Drum roll please....our wedding pics have finally arrived! Some were sweet. Some were cheesy. Some should be stored away and never allowed in the light of day again. Below are the elite batch that made the cut. Enjoy!

A few bridal shots in the hotel before the ceremony. Out of more than 50, I chose a whole 2! I'm sure my family and close friends will not be surprised by this fact.














On the way to the beach for the ceremony...in our jeep! Now that's classy ;)
















This is the circle of flowers we stood in during the ceremony. This photo doesn't do it justice. It was absolutely gorgeous! We noticed quite a few people gathered around it taking pictures while we were walking up. Then, all of the attention (and cameras) turned towards us. Leave us alone already paparazzi!

We chose a ceremony that incorporated some Hawaiian tradition into it including standing in the circle of flowers and the presentation of leis.

One memorable moment during the ceremony while Todd was reciting his vows to me, and I was gazing lovingly into his eyes, was when I noticed some movement in the background behind Todd. It was a rather, let's call him large, man running into the water in swim trunks WAY too small for his big-boned frame. Think speedo. That image is burned into my memory forever! Aren't public beaches the best?!?

Almost official...

You may kiss the bride!

Still going!

Presenting Mr. and Mrs. Todd Spears!

(I think I heard my parents breathe a sigh of relief!)

It's FINALLY official! It's been a long journey, but we knew we would get to this moment eventually!

In addition to the circle of flowers, the florist did a wonderful job on my bouquet as well. I sent a photo of what I was looking for, and she did not disappoint.

After the ceremony, we walked over to the resort where we were having our private cabana dinner at sunset. It overlooked an infiniti pool and the ocean. We had our own private waiter, Naju, who was as sweet as he could be. I've been raving about the food and all of the great restaurants we went to while we were in Maui. Just our luck, the food on our wedding night was less than mediocre :( However, with the scenery and the company, it was hard to complain!

One more funny moment from the evening...as we were sitting there enjoying our secluded, romantic, less-than-mediocre dinner, an elderly lady decided it was the perfect time to go for a swim. So as Todd and I were toasting to our special day and enjoying each other's company as newlyweds, we couldn't help but notice our new little friend swimming laps back and forth in front of us. So close that she actually splashed us with water a few times. It's the moments like these that we will look back and smile on :)

Just Maui'd!

I'm sure you will go through the photos below and wonder just where the heck are all of the wedding shots? Please stay tuned...they will be arriving to us in another week or so.

Luau

Last but not least, on our final night in paradise, we went to a traditional Hawaiian luau at a neighboring resort. We sat with some really nice families from California and Canada. Once again, the food was delish...and it was a buffet!















Poor little piggy never stood a chance! Slow roasted all day long.

How do they roast it you ask? Underground in sand covered by palm tree leaves (see photo above). I get easily grossed-out by meat so seeing my dinner with its head still on wasn't necessarily too appealing to me. However, I did try some of Todd's, and truth be told, it was REALLY good.

Our commemorative $25 photo of the event...not overpriced at all ;)

Snorkeling 101

On our third day of the trip, we took a snorkeling tour. This was probably my least favorite of the excursions. I think due to the fact that we were herded like cattle onto a double-decker boat and taken to snorkel where about 10 other boats and several hundred more people were doing the same. Not my idea of a good time. However, the lunch they served was good and the alcohol was free! Todd was lucky enough to see a 500-pound turtle. I was not so lucky. Tear.

It was an early morning tour so we started out in wet suits. The water was kind of chilly.

Passing by the nudie beach! Our tour guide warned us not to zoom in too close because the sites are more scary if anything!

David Bowie's summer home...made completely of glass.

The four-story, red roof house is Tiger Woods...or should I say Mrs. Tiger Woods now!

Taken with our handy dandy underwater camera and case.

Road to Hana

On our second day of the trip, we drove the Road to Hana. If you aren't familiar with the Road to Hana (which I wasn't), it is about a 45 mile road to a city called, you guessed it, Hana. However, the road has so many twists and turns and one-lane bridges that it takes about 4 hours to get there, and another 4 to get back. We managed to make it half way. I think this was my favorite excursion. Poor Todd really didn't get to enjoy it as much because he was doing the driving. The views were amazing. Before leaving, we stopped in a cute little town where they sold picnic baskets stocked with goodies so we had a picnic lunch on the way.











































































































































In case you are wondering, this isn't dirt! We hiked down to a black sand beach that was pretty much deserted.

Helicopter Tour

On our first full day of the trip, we took a helicopter ride of the island. This was Todd's favorite part of the trip. I will spare you a lot of the pics from the air since they didn't turn out all that well considering they were taken from inside a helicopter, but take my word for it when I tell you that the views were breathtaking. We flew over so many different terrains...rainforests, volcanos, cities, black sand beaches, farm land, mountains, etc. It's hard to believe that one small island could contain so much. We couldn't have asked for a better way to start out our wedding day ;)

Perhaps the most memorable part of the tour for me was the waterfalls in the rainforest. This area of the island is completely uninhabitant. The only way to even see it is by air. Many of the scenes from Jurassic Park were filmed on Maui.

Above is a photo of wind turbines recently added to the island. Currently, the residents of Maui depend on diesel fuel shipped in to them. This makes the cost of electricity high. Our pilot was saying that his electric bill is $500 a month for a small two-bedroom condo. The owner of the land that the turbines are placed on paid $2 million per turbine. He gets paid $0.25 for each turn each of the turbines make. He is doing so well that he is about to put in several more. Your fun fact for the day ;)