[{"@context":"https:\/\/schema.org\/","@type":"BlogPosting","@id":"https:\/\/equallywed.com\/real-weddings-don-and-keleko\/#BlogPosting","mainEntityOfPage":"https:\/\/equallywed.com\/real-weddings-don-and-keleko\/","headline":"Real Weddings: Don and Keleko","name":"Real Weddings: Don and Keleko","description":"Oceans Couldn\u2019t Keep Us Apart Don and Keleko say “I do” in a traditional Hawaiian ceremony By Sarah Gleim Maui would probably land on just...","datePublished":"2010-06-28","dateModified":"2021-06-21","author":{"@type":"Person","@id":"https:\/\/equallywed.com\/author\/admin\/#Person","name":"Equally Wed","url":"https:\/\/equallywed.com\/author\/admin\/","identifier":787,"image":{"@type":"ImageObject","@id":"https:\/\/secure.gravatar.com\/avatar\/ca62cf123aaaf135c80b055249bacbda79de9226e11cdfcde6529bedf89683de?s=96&r=g","url":"https:\/\/secure.gravatar.com\/avatar\/ca62cf123aaaf135c80b055249bacbda79de9226e11cdfcde6529bedf89683de?s=96&r=g","height":96,"width":96}},"publisher":{"@type":"Organization","name":"Equally Wed","logo":{"@type":"ImageObject","@id":"http:\/\/equallywed.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2018\/08\/equally-wed-lgbtq-weddings-logo.jpg","url":"http:\/\/equallywed.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2018\/08\/equally-wed-lgbtq-weddings-logo.jpg","width":218,"height":60}},"image":{"@type":"ImageObject","@id":"https:\/\/equallywed.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/real-gay-weddings_don-and-keleko.jpg","url":"https:\/\/equallywed.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/real-gay-weddings_don-and-keleko.jpg","height":282,"width":636},"url":"https:\/\/equallywed.com\/real-weddings-don-and-keleko\/","about":["Real LGBTQ+ Weddings"],"wordCount":498,"articleBody":"Oceans Couldn\u2019t Keep Us Apart Don and Keleko say “I do” in a traditional Hawaiian ceremonyBy Sarah Gleim Maui would probably land on just about any engaged couples\u2019 dream destination wedding list. But for Don Pierce and Keleko Smith, it was the only place they could imagine tying the knot. After all, the couple lives in Lahaina, Maui, so they didn\u2019t need to go far to find the wedding locale of their dreams.Meeting in person, however, was a different story. Don and Keleko actually met online, and thanks to the power of the Internet, were living an ocean apart: Keleko in Maui, Don in Laguna Beach, Calif. \u201cWe met on Compatible Partners and communicated for four months before I ever went to visit,\u201d Don says.But after their first meeting and Don\u2019s trip to Hawaii, the couple knew they were meant to be together, despite the brief relationship. And not long after Don returned to California, the couple was engaged and Don was shipping his belongings to Maui. The only thing they seem to disagree about is who actually proposed. \u201cI think he did, he thinks I did,\u201d Keleko says. \u201cBut he was at church getting ready for choir when I called and by the time the processional began, we were engaged.\u201dAnd as fast as the couple\u2019s relationship progressed, the wedding details evolved even faster. Don and Keleko planned nearly every aspect in just three months. The ceremony included many Hawaiian customs, and was small and intimate, with just 50 family and friends, including their Westie Benson. They opted for a large white tent in their backyard, which overlooks the Lanai\u2019i channel. Tealeaves covered the tents poles, and tablecloths were hand-painted with tropical plants. Don and Keleko also wore Hawaiian wedding shirts, as well as traditional tealeaf and maile leis made by local women the night before the ceremony.The ceremony began as all Hawaiian weddings do: with the time-honored Oli Aloha marriage chant while Keleko walked down the hill toward Don. \u201cWe exchanged vows and our minister from the mainland and the Hawaiian spiritual leader presented us with flower leis of white tuberose and red rose buds,\u201d Keleko says. \u201cIt was everything we hoped for and more.\u201dAfter the two exchanged vows, guests enjoyed a customary wedding hula dance, and then dined on a fabulous menu of Hawaiian dishes catered by personal friends, including poki (sushi), kalua pig, laulau (salmon and pork wrapped in taro leaf), poi, Hawaiian green salad, fresh local fruit, chicken long rice and chicken adobo. The wedding cake was a chocolate custard-filled sheet cake.But the celebrating didn\u2019t end after the wedding. \u201cWe didn\u2019t go on a honeymoon,\u201d Don says. \u201cWe decided to spend a day snorkeling, and beached with the guests that had come from the mainland instead.\u201d\u201cThe entire event was very spiritual and happy,\u201d Keleko says. \u201cWe couldn’t believe it was over and kept staring at each others rings.\u201d "},{"@context":"https:\/\/schema.org\/","@type":"BreadcrumbList","itemListElement":[{"@type":"ListItem","position":1,"name":"Real Weddings: Don and Keleko","item":"https:\/\/equallywed.com\/real-weddings-don-and-keleko\/#breadcrumbitem"}]}]