Kristine & Tagh
25 May 2019
Thank you to everyone for joining us! We are grateful to have so much love and support, starting our new adventure!
25 May 2019
Tagh & Kristine's Accommodation Recommendations
We have set up discounted rates with several hotels listed below. You can reach out to Kauilei Cheng, with Maui Room Blocks if you have any questions.
Reference the group name: “Wong & Sira Wedding”
Call: 808-281-4034
Email: info@mauiroomblocks.com
We have set up room blocks at the following Hotels, Aston Maui Banyan. The hotel have free guest parking and they will waive the Resort Fees. Unfortunately the Maui Coast is closing for renovations and no longer accepting reservations.
We have included two additional rental properties that can be booked online through their site, or VRBO which are in the same neighborhood as the venues.
~ 10 minutes from the event venues
Contact Kauilei Chang with Maui Room Blocks for Pricing and for Booking.
~ 15 minutes from event venues
Price points in the Wailea resort area starts at $350/night. Here some Resorts we recommend if you prefer Wailea.
~ 20 minutes from the event venues
~ 20 minutes from event venues
~ 15 minutes from event venues
Tagh & Kristine's Activity Recommendations
Some of our favorite places around the island to help you plan your trip are listed below. We've also created a Google Map with specific places marked for our favorite: Restaurants, Waterfalls, Hikes, Beaches and other adventures.
Tagh & Kristine's Ceremony Details
Mehndi, otherwise known as henna, is a paste associated with positive spirits and good luck. Indian Wedding tradition calls for a Mehndi ceremony to be held during the week prior to the wedding as a way of wishing the bride good health and prosperity as she makes her journey on to marriage. While Mehndi is mainly for females, men are invited to join in on the party that comes after the Bride has completed her henna. The core significance of applying Mehndi is to utilize its natural medicinal herbal remedies, cooling the body and relieving the Bride of any stress before her big day.
It is believed that henna gives blessings, luck, and joy, although it is also seen as a beauty enhancer. Some brides get their future spouse's initials hidden into their mehndi design. There may also be symbolic designs representing joy, luck, success, beauty, and other positive qualities.
When henna is placed on the palms of the hand it is meant to signify that the person is open to receive and offer blessings. When the henna is placed on top of the hands it is meant to signify protection of the person.
Because Mehndi application can take a long time, entertainment is a must. There's generally Indian music and dancing, and, traditionally, you could be part of that entertainment. Show up in a festive mood, ready to party, sing and dance. It is often the 'job' of the guests to perform short skits and dances to keep the bride entertained. We will be having a pool and beach party with plenty of food, music and food trucks with custom rolled ice cream and pizza.
If you're getting Mehndi, wear short sleeves so your hands are exposed, and make sure you're comfortable because you'll have to sit for a long period of time. For non-Indian guests who may not have a sari or lehenga, mix and match as much color as you can to make a statement as bright colors are encouraged.
The tea ceremony is a significant way for the bride and groom to pay respect and show their gratitude towards their parents for all the years of nurture and love. In turn, the family will express blessings for the newlyweds as they start their marriage as husband and wife. The tea ceremony also symbolizes that the bride and the groom officially belong into a new, extended family. During the ceremony, the bride and groom will address the relatives with their new titles while serving them tea.
Items to prepare are, of course, the tea. Chinese tea such as pu’er, tieguanyin or jasmine tea can be used. A tea set is used for the ceremony which is meant to be a meaningful keepsake for the wedding.
The Bride and Groom need two cushions – one for the groom and one for the bride – to kneel on while serving the tea. The groom should be on the right with the bride on his left side. The male elder should sit in front of the groom while the female elder should sit facing the bride. After everything is ready, the bride and groom will start serving tea to their relatives in order of seniority. Usually this begins with either the grandparents, or parents followed by the other. Then uncles and aunties, elder siblings, and then elder cousins. For each serving, the groom is the first to serve tea and then the bride takes her turn. They should serve to the father and then the mother. For every couple you serve, there should be four tea cups on the tea tray. Always serve the tea cups with both hands and greet them by their formal title in the family.
After drinking the tea, the parents will present gifts in the form of red packets or jewelry to the couple. At the same time, they will give words of blessings and put the jewellery on you. The tea ceremony is finished when all relatives of both families are served.
Aloha attire. This usually means casual wear, such as a button-down, polo, or aloha shirt with pants and shoes for men are acceptable. For women, Aloha attire is a nice/ casual dress, mu’u mu’u (aloha print dress), or blouse with skirt/pants and sandals.
Chinese brides usually wear red on their big day, so a different shade or color such as: purple, pink, and peach all symbolize new life and happiness in Chinese culture, so wearing these colors indicates that you are supportive of the marriage, and also helps to bring good luck and happiness to the new couple. Both white and black symbolize mourning and death in Chinese culture. Wearing these colors to a wedding could bring bad luck to the couple, and is just considered impolite, so they should be avoided. However, you can get away with wearing black or white suit or outfit with accents on your dress.
The word "Milni” literally means 'introductions' or 'meeting'. The Bride's family welcomes the Groom's family to the marriage ceremony. Traditionally, the elders of each family greet one another with an embrace, and exchange garlands of flowers. As part of this ceremony, the respective family and friends of the Bride and Groom will assemble outside of the Gurdwara, and a prayer “Ardas” is read by a priest. When this Milni ceremony is complete, parties will enter into the Gurdwara for refreshments. Once complete, the congregation will assemble in the main hall of the marriage ceremony.
Please remove your shoes and cover your head as a sign of respect for the Sikh holy Scripture, the Sri Guru Granth Sahib. For your convenience, handkerchiefs (ramaals) are provided at the entrance of the marriage hall.
Upon entering the marriage hall, wedding guests are required to pay homage to the Sri Guru Granth Sahib by bowing, touching the floor with their forehead, before being seated. This is done as an sign of respect for the scriptures. Guests are seated on the floor, with men seated on the right, and women on the left. After the congregation is seated, the Anand Karaj ceremony may begin.
Anand Karaj is the name of the Sikh marriage ceremony, meaning "Blissful Union". The ceremony is performed in the presence of the Sri Guru Granth Sahib, to seek His blessing and guidance. The Sikh Gurus held the state of marriage in high regards, and believed the ceremony's most important purpose is to make the couple spiritually inseparable - to join two souls into one.
To begin the ceremony, the Groom is seated facing the Sri Guru Granth Sahib, and the hymns are sung by the Ragis (hymns singers). The Bride enters and takes her place to the left of the groom.
Once the bride and Groom take their place facing the Sri Guru Granth Sahib, the Granthi (the officiant) asks the couple and their parents to stand and join in the initial prayer, while the rest of the congregation remains seated.
This family prayer indicates the public consent of the parties involved to this marriage taking place, and seeks a blessing upon the couple.
The parties then resume their seats and the Granthi opens the Sri Guru Granth Sahib and takes counsel by reading a verse. A hymn then follows advising the couple to seek the grace of God before undertaking any task so that success will be attained.
To signify his blessing of the couple, the Bride's father will place one end of the Palla (scarf) around the groom's shoulders, and the other end into his daughter's hands, signifying that she is now leaving his care to join her husband's.
The Chaar Lavan (the four wedding vows) describe the progression of marital love between the husband and wife along with love and longing of the human soul for God. According to Sikh beliefs, the human soul travels through four stages of a progressive development, before merging with God.
The hymns in the Sri Guru Granth Sahib depict these stages and outline the couple's obligation to each other, as well as to God, thus placing their union within the deeper union with God.
The Bride and Groom take these vows as they walk clockwise around the Sri Guru Granth Sahib while the Granthi first recites and then the Ragis sing the verse. The Groom will lead the Bride around the Holy Scriptures after each of the four Lavan are read. During this process, members of the Bride's family will accompany her to signify their support for her.
Each Lavan has a different symbolic meaning summarized on the following pages. After the fourth verse, the Bride and Groom will be a married couple according to the Sikh traditions.
The essence of the Four Lavans may be summarized as follows:
"In the first round, the Lord Himself initiates His marriage with you”.
The first verse explains the performance of the duties to family and community and the continual remembrance of God.
“In the second round, the unstruck music of the Word rings in the mind”.
The second verse details a stage of love. As true partners, the couple must be ready to understand and appreciate one another. The emphasis is on holy fear, selfless love, and eradication of ego.
"In the third round, the mind awakens”.
The third verse describes the detachment from all except God and each other, a stage of constant association and understanding. The essence is that life means togetherness, and no separation.
"In the fourth round, you have attained your Eternal Lord”.
The fourth and final verse tells of the most perfect love and devotion where no feeling of separation is possible between the two. It is above love, trust, respect and care for each other. There is divine comprehension, love, and happiness - a union of two souls.
The Anand Karaj concludes with the singing of Anand Sahib, the Hymn of Bliss, and several celebratory hymns. For the final prayer, Ardas, the entire congregation is asked to rise as a prayer is recited for the happiness of the newlywed couple.
After the prayer, the congregation will take their seats, as the Granthi takes the Sri Guru Granth Sahib's counsel once again.
Karah Parshad is a portion of blessed food, made from flour, sugar, butter, and water.
After conclusion of the wedding ceremony, this ceremonial 'sweet pudding' is served to the entire congregation, and is respectfully received with both hands cupped together. If you are uncertain about your ability to eat this food, you may say "very small portion” to the volunteer as they approach you.
The parents of the Bride and Groom congratulate the newlyweds and they bestow garlands and well wishes to the couple.
Following the ceremony, a vegetarian lunch is served in the dining hall of the Gurdwara.
Langar is a free, vegetarian meal that is served in the Gurdwara in the spirit of equality and humility. The history of the practice of Langar dates back to Guru Nanak, who introduced Langar to uphold the principle of equality between all people regardless of religion, caste, colour, age, gender or social status. Langar symbolizes the desire of Sikhs to eradicate hunger and inequality.
Vegetarian food is served to ensure that all people, with or without dietary restrictions, will feel welcome to eat as equals.
The attire for a traditional Sikh wedding ceremony is modest. Bare shoulders, plunging necklines and short skirts will be out of place at a religious venue. The color white is a symbol associated with funerals in South Asia, so pure white outfits should be avoided as well as completely black outfits. Just about every other color of the rainbow is fully acceptable for guests. It is easier for men - they can get away with a black suit at the religious ceremony.
For Women, if you want to look for some traditional outfits, most indian shops and also online shops will have: salwar, kameez, or lengha type outfits which are acceptable for the wedding. A shawl (chunni or dupatta) often comes with the outfit or can be found separately for covering your head.
At a Sikh wedding you will be required to cover your head when you are in the Gurdwara (temple). For Women, carry a long scarf or a pashmina stole, which can also be used to cover up bare shoulders or arms, if necessary. Men usually wear the head covering provided at the temple or carry a large white or coloured handkerchief (ramaals) to place over their head.
Head coverings for both men and women will be provided at Sugar Beach Events on the day of the Wedding.
Also at the religious places you will be required to take off your shoes and place them in the designated space before you enter the sanctified area. Wearing socks or stockings is acceptable.
Typically, a member of the bridal party will blow the conch shell to initiate the ceremony, as well as to denote its ending. The person blowing the conch, or ‘pu’, will blow in four directions: to represent each of the elements and announce to them the importance of the occasion.
The exchange of lei is a tradition that has been done in Hawaii for centuries. Natives would exchange their lei as a common way of symbolizing their love and affection for one another.
If you see the wedding rings being sprinkled with water, it does not mean they are dirty and need to be cleaned. This is actually a blessing ceremony.
Ti Leaf and Koa wood hold significant meaning in the Hawaiian ring blessing. Ti Leaf denotes health, prosperity and blessing of the mind, body and spirit. Koa wood is considered as a precious hardwood which denotes strength and integrity. Due to these significant values of Ti leaf and Koa wood, they are used during the wedding ceremony.
The Koa wood is put into a bowl of water and thereafter, the leaf is dipped into the water bowl. A blessing chant is recited while sprinkling the water over the rings. Water also holds significance during this ceremony; it represents sending back all hindrances to the ocean in addition to refreshing the rings for a new beginning and new life together.
Wearing the same attire that you would wear to the reception is recommended as this ceremony will occur just before cocktail hour begins.
Tagh & Kristine's Flight Recommendations
We have setup an account with Hawaiian Airlines which will allow everyone to book their own tickets for travel to and between the Islands for the weeks before and after the wedding. Using the code you will get a 5% discount off roundtrip fare courtesy of the Hawaiian Airlines Wedding Wings Program.
With this program we have to email out unique codes to everyone so get in touch with Tagh or Kristine or just fill the form below and we'll send you out a code from the Hawaiian Wedding Wings Program!
Also for those traveling from outside the US, please do remember to look into Travel Medical Insurance.
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Tagh & Kristine's Registry Details
Your presence, traveling to Maui to attend our wedding is the greatest gift of all; however, should you wish to honour us with a gift, a wishing well will be present at the reception for your contribution and best wishes. No boxed gifts please.
If you want to give a gift via an online registry we have setup a Paypal Pool and Cash account.