Today is a special day for us. It’s the wedding of Faith Xu, and she has chosen Aloha Bars to be a part of her special day. Faith is a cocktail blogger / enthusiast by night (@barfaith on Instagram, barfaith.com), and her fiancé Dylan and her are known as the “cocktail couple” amongst their friend groups. They host parties at their home in San Francisco, always introducing their friends to new cocktails and different spirits. They often prioritize their travel plans around discovering local spirits and exploring the bar scene. You could say they’re pretty big enthusiasts! They really want their wedding to be an extension of that, and showcase some amazing drinks for their friends and family. That’s why we are honored to be a part of cocktail blogger & enthusiast Faith Xu’s Wedding! See photos below to peep their custom drink menu.

How Faith and Dylan Met

To give you a bit of a background, Faith moved to the Bay Area in 2012 for work. She was trying to figure out how to start making new friends, and had heard about a Meetup group through a co-worker. Her first event at a dive bar is where she she met her fiancé Dylan. His goofiness, charm, and love for snowboarding really caught her eye. After that night, they were inseparable!

Dylan describes their first encounter like something from a romantic novel: a suburban dive bar called Fred’s. At this event, they met many great friends who are still with them today. As they continued dating, they pretended not to be “too” interested in each other. Halloween came along, and they both dressed as cows! That’s when they officially began dating. How adorable!

The proposal

Before they left on a trip to Hawaii, Dylan had requested that she pack a “nice outfit” because he had a surprise for fancy dinner reservations. She thought that was a little bit suspicious, but didn’t think too much of it. On their first day exploring Maui, they drove around the West side of the island. Late in the afternoon, Dylan brought up that there was a beach close to where they were going to have dinner, so he asked to stop at this beach first. One they arrived to the beach around 5pm, Dylan insisted that they walk to the end of the beach toward some houses. Faith isn’t a huge fan of the sand, but she complied-fully suspicious at this point. When they arrived near the spot, he grabbed her purse, put it in the sand, and the rest is history!

There was a photographer hiding behind some trees and they proceeded to take a proposal photoshoot!

Maui is the perfect place for a proposal! As they got engaged in Maui, they wanted to return for an epic vacation with their closest friends and family, where they will also have their wedding.

They kept the “faith” of their wedding after having rescheduled multiple times. Ninety percent of our couples have never canceled, just rescheduled. We are so blessed! Thank you for the endless support!

Their Vision for the Ceremony

Faith and Dylan love Hawaii’s natural beauty, lush jungles, and dramatic landscapes. Their dream wedding would be enchanting, elegant, ethereal, open and airy. They fell in love with Olowalu Plantation House, which seemed the perfect location for their dream wedding! The decor is prominently greenery, focused with natural materials such as wood, and clean simple designs. Faith is a design enthusiast and created most of the graphics for the invitations and signage.

Faith and Dylan love tropical plants, so they are incorporating their favorite monstera into many of the details in the wedding from decor to signage to attire.

Aloha Bars Cocktails

A common question we get asked is… “Are the cocktails on our website the only ones available to choose from?”

Vendors for the wedding

The holidays are among us! It’s a season filled with joy and cheer. Many people like to take this time to host a holiday themed party or event. And who doesn’t love a good party?! To take the stress off your shoulders, we have created a list of 7 ideas to make your holiday party fun. If you are looking for a way to spice up the night, and keep your guests entertained, check out our ideas below!

Christmas Themed Cocktail Hour

What’s better than hiring a private bar and bartenders to serve up delicious holiday drinks for your party or event?! The best part? You can customize the drinks on the menu! Aloha Bars Maui is a mobile bar service that specializes in private parties, events, and weddings. We absolutely love getting into the spirit of the holiday, and quenching your guests thirst! Don’t forget about the mocktails. A fun treat for the kiddos or those who aren’t drinking. Contact us today to book your bar just in time!

Photo Mirror

Luxury Photo Mirror is Maui’s most exclusive Photo Booth. This is a mirror that has an interactive display. It is run in the same way as a Photo Booth. Your guests will come over, pick some fun props to wear (provided by the company) and strike a pose! The mirror prints the images, which makes for awesome souvenirs to take home! The host of the party will receive an electronic copy of all the images that night. What a great way to capture the memories! Read our blog to learn more about the reasons to have a Photo Booth at your party or wedding.

Ugly Sweater Contest

An ugly sweater contest can be a fun and amusing way to bring smiles and laughs to the party. If your work year consists of formal wear, high heels and fancy parties, hosting an ugly sweater party will ease the guests and help them get to know each other in a more casual way.

Food Truck Food

Surprise everyone by announcing a food truck at the party! This could be your friends and families favorite local food truck or cuisine. This makes it easy, because your guests can go right up to the window and order from the menu! Everyone will be hungry after all those holiday cocktails and laughs!

Hot Chocolate Bar

It’s hot chocolate season! Your party guests can get warmed up by the hot chocolate bar! Hot chocolate bars are incredibly popular right now. You will see them at weddings, holiday parties, work parties, birthdays, and more. These really pair well with the winter season, especially if you live in a cold place. Make sure you purchase adorable paper goods, or for small parties you can customize the mugs! Set out wooden spoons or coffee stir sticks for stirring. You must pick out some delicious gourmet hot cocoa. Don’t forget the toppings! Fill mason jars with your favorites such as home made marshmallows, toffee bits, coarse sea salt, candy canes, cookies, caramel syrup, whipped cream, etc. Make the mason jars look a bit more festive by wrapping red bakers twine around them.

White Elephant Gift Exchange

All of your guests must bring a wrapped gift. Normally there’s a price range such as $20-$30 so that all of the gifts are equal in value. The first person will choose a gift, and open it. On subsequent turns, each person has the choice to either unwrap a new present, or steal someone else’s. When a person’s gift is stolen, that person can either choose another wrapped gift to open, or steal from someone else. It’s a pretty fun game, and everyone goes home with a gift!

We hope that these 7 ideas to make your holiday party fun helps you get in the spirit and throw the party of the year.  Happy holidays!

Halloween is right around the corner! If you are planning on hosting a party, then fun cocktails are a must. Part of what makes a Halloween party extra fun, are the drinks! Themed cocktails are always a great idea. We are excited to share our top Halloween inspired cocktails of 2021!

Halloween Punch

Looks spooky, and can be done with or without alcohol! Great for kids or adults!

Ingredients

64 ounces Cranberry Juice (100% juice, no added sugar)
64 ounces apple cider or apple juice
2 liters ginger ale or to spike it 1 liter ginger ale, and 1 750 ml bottle of aged Rum.
Two 4-5 inch chunks of dry ice
Garnishes : candy eyeballs, plastic spiders, gummy worms, etc.

Instructions

Chill the ingredients a couple of hours before serving. Add all of the ingredients into a big punch bowl. Garnish with either dry ice or the suggested garnishes. For the spiked rum, you can either add the entire bottle of rum, or make spiked servings to order so that the children can enjoy the punch too.
Here is a link to a video on how to use dry ice for Halloween punch . 

Pumpkin Martini

A Pumpkin Martini is a creamy and flavorful drink! This is an ideal cocktail for impressing your friends at your party. Also great for any Fall time activities or parties!

Ingredients

2 ounces vodka
1/2 ounce heavy cream (or coconut milk for vegan)
1/2 ounce pure maple syrup
2 tablespoons canned pumpkin puree
1/4 teaspoon pumpkin pie spice
1/4 teaspoon vanilla extract
Graham crackers for the rim

Instructions

How to prepare the rim: Crush gram crackers into your hand and place on a plate. On a different plate, add a small pool of maple syrup. Run the rim of the martini glass in the maple syrup first, rotating it so the glass is evenly coated. Then roll the rim in the crushed graham crackers until the rim is evenly coated.

Mix the drink: Place all of the ingredients into a cocktail shaker. Add in a handful of ice, and then shake it until its cold. Strain the liquid into the martini glass. Enjoy!

Dark and Stormy

This drink is a classic! But it can also double as a spooky cocktail. It’s also an easy one to make if you’re in a time crunch! The dark and stormy is very similar to a Moscow mule.

Ingredients

1/2 cup ginger beer
4 tablespoons dark rum. If you are making the traditional drink, you would use Gosling’s Black Seal Rum.
1 lime wedge
Ice

Instructions

Fill up a highball glass with ice and pour in the ginger beer. Pour the rum on top. Squeeze in the lime, stir, and serve! Can garnish with some fun Halloween decor like candies or fake spiders/eyeballs to make it fun!

Black Magic Margaritas

Who doesn’t love a Margarita?! Well these Black Magic ones are delicious, and the food coloring makes them perfect for Halloween.

Ingredients

2 tablespoons black sanding sugar
2 cups ice
4 ounces silver tequila
2 ounces triple sec
1/2 cup lime juice
Red food coloring
Blue food coloring
Green food coloring
Lime slices to garnish

Instructions

Rim two glasses with a slice of lime, and dip them in the sugar.
Divide the tequila, triple sec, and lime juice between 2 glasses. Stir to combine. Add food coloring until your desired color is achieved.
Add the ice. Garnish with a slice of lime and it’s ready to be served!

Witches Brew Lemonade

This tasty cocktail will get the whole party tipsy! The mix of colors creates a very eerie Halloween effect.

Ingredients

Two ounces Empress 1908 Gin
2 ounces sparkling lemonade
2 ounces Blue Curaçao
1 rosemary sprig

Instructions

Fill a tall glass with ice. Pour the Empress 1908 Gin into the glass. Top with the sparkling lemonade. Carefully and slowly pour the Curacao into the glass allowing it to settle on the bottom. Garnish with a sprig of rosemary.

We hope that you enjoyed our top halloween inspired cocktails of 2021! Have a happy Halloween!

Are you seeking to have the wedding of your dreams in Maui, Hawaii? There are so many beautiful places to get married on this island. Choosing a wedding venue can be overwhelming. There are a few options that stand out to us here at Aloha Bars. One of them is the Pineapple Chapel wedding venue in Maui Hawaii. In today’s blog, we are going to list why Maui is a great place to get married. We will also talk about the Maui Pineapple Chapel wedding venue.

Reasons to get married in Maui, Hawaii

Planning a wedding in Hawaii is fun and easy. It’s typically a lot more fun planning a destination wedding, compared to a wedding in your hometown.
Maui has incredible weather, and beautiful beaches.
You can combine your wedding and honeymoon in Maui, Hawaii! It’s a beautiful place to have both. Or you can island hop after the wedding!
A memorable experience for your guests. This wedding will be one for the books!
Maui is picture perfect. When you look back on your wedding, you will have photos with a stunning and tropical backdrop that will make you so happy that you chose to say “I do” in Maui.

Maui Pineapple Chapel Wedding Venue

Pineapple chapel is a historic wedding venue located in gorgeous Kapalua. There is a simple and elegant atmosphere about this space. Whether you are looking to have an intimate wedding, or a very large ceremony and reception, Pineapple Chapel is able to accommodate you.

Pineapple Chapel History

Built in the 1950s, the chapel was a church for the plantation, sugarcane and pineapple industry workers. Maui Pineapple Chapel has seen lot’s of change to its location over the years. Now, it is still standing here in beautiful Kapalua, welcoming couples to beginning their next stages of life together.

There are multiple locations on the property to host your ceremony. All of these venue spaces have stunning ocean views and greenery to create the most picturesque photos. Click this link to have a virtual tour!

Maui Pineapple Chapel-1500 Square Foot Chapel and Reception Area

Mau’u Terrace-Garden Terrace that overlooks the ocean 

Makai Lawn-A beautiful reception space for up to 500 guests! 

Angela Nelson Photography

Angela Nelson aka Angie, is a Maui based Photographer. In 2009, her and her husband moved to Maui and her love for photography was re ignited. Love, nature, and the beauty of relationships is what constantly inspires Angie. Her goal is for you to remember how your wedding day felt, through the photos that she takes. We highly recommend using Angela for your wedding photography needs. She will capture all of the beauty in an authentic and timeless style. The photos featured on this blog are all by Angela Nelson Photography. 

Aloha Bars Maui

We were lucky to be apart of this beautiful wedding at the Pineapple Chapel! Aloha Bars is a full service, cocktail catering company. We cater to weddings, events and parties. Our team of wonderful bartenders will create the cocktails or mock-tails of your dreams. Having delicious drinks to keep your guests refreshed and dancing all night is a huge part of the celebration! We work closely with the bride and groom to ensure we have drinks that the two of you love, as well as all of your guests. Aloha Bars Maui has a wide variety of floral garnishes, or you may request something special.

Let’s get this party started!

We hope that reading about the Pineapple Chapel Wedding Venue in Maui Hawaii has inspired you to start planning your destination wedding. Let’s take away the stress, and focus on the fun.

Contact us today for your wedding bar needs.

Follow us on Instagram to see all things cocktails & weddings!

Venue: Maui Pineapple Chapel

Coordinators: Kara, Veronica

Minister: Jim Simmons

Photo: Angela Nelson Photography

Video: Gali Productions

Catering: Café O’Lei Catering

Bar: Aloha Bars Maui

Cake: Cake Fanatics

Shave Ice: Ululani’s Shave Ice

Flowers: The Floralette

Rentals: Accel, HSER, Rio, Miss B

Music: Island Kings Band

Stylist: Mira Carman

Dress & Suit Press: MWGP

Transpo: Akina

Olowalu Plantation House is one of our favorite wedding venues in Maui, Hawaii! Why do we love this private estate so much? It’s rare that you have an oceanfront venue with piercing mountains right behind you. The palm trees, green grass, and incredible landscapes make every single photo stunning. Built in 1922, the Plantation House is a historic location. It can accommodate a large number of people, which makes it the perfect private wedding venue. In Olowalu, it rarely ever rains. This means that you are almost 100% guaranteed to have perfect weather on your big day! This is the perfect place for both the ceremony and reception. A venue that has it all! Check out this stunning Olowalu Plantation House Wedding in Maui Hawaii.

We work with many different local vendors, and we love every single one of them. Today we are featuring a few of the vendors from the wedding of Lauren and Alex.

Country Bouquets Maui 

Lauren and Alex chose Country Bouquets Maui for their floral arrangements. This company is a full-service florist and the premier destination for all of your floral needs. Located on the beautiful Island of Maui, they specialize in creating your dream destination wedding. They have been known for capturing life’s most precious moments, with over 28 years of experience. Country Bouquets prides themselves  in making your wedding the most memorable day of your life. They focus on your unique style, vision, and personality. Their team will give their fullest attention to details. Country Bouquets Maui exclusively works with professional wedding coordinators. Working hand in hand with wedding professionals ensures that every aspect of your special event is perfect! They are passionate about executing every floral arrangement with the highest quality flowers.

Love and Beauty Maui

The bride chose Love and Beauty Maui for her wedding hair. Love and Beauty Maui is a company that offers wedding hair and makeup. The owner Nikki Quinn has a strong passion for making people look and feel beautiful, and this has been the foundation of her business. Love and Beauty has quickly grown to be a leader in the Maui beauty industry. Their ability to shape the soft, romantic look that is so prominent today, all while enhancing the clients natural beauty is what makes them so popular. They have a wonderful team of incredibly talented and experiences artists. We have no doubt  that Love and Beauty will help you achieve whatever look you may be dreaming of on your big day!

Cafe O Lei Catering 

Are you looking for some delicious food to be catered at your wedding? Well, the bride and groom sure did make a great decision by choosing Cafe O Lei! Cafe O Lei is an incredibly popular restaurant here in Maui. The first restaurant was opened in 1997, in Makawao. It all started as a 5-table outdoor cafe serving sandwiches, salads, coffee, and tea in Maui’s Upcountry.

Owners Michael and Dana Pastula have been married for over 35 years. Mike has worked as a chef for Hyatt and Sheraton hotels, The Lodge at Koele, Aston Wailea, and Outrigger Resorts Hawaii.  Dana brought her food and beverage experience from working in hotel restaurant management at Hyatt Hotels, Manele Bay Resort, and the Wailea Four Seasons Resort.

It didn’t take long for her husband to join her at Cafe O’Lei, with Mike leaving his job as executive chef for the Outrigger Resort in Wailea to focus on expanding their business. The Cafe O’Lei brand quickly evolved into one of Maui’s favorite and most trusted for quality restaurants and catering on the island! Together, the family operates Cafe O’Lei at the Mill House, Cafe O’Lei at the Dunes, Cafe O’Lei Kihei, ‘ami ‘ami Bar & Grill and Cafe O’Lei Catering. Cafe O’Lei is truly a family-owned and family-run business!

One of the things that we love most about them, is that they use the freshest ingredients. We highly recommend choosing Cafe O Lei for any of your catering needs.

Aloha Bars Maui Cocktails

Aloha Bars is the cocktail catering company that served Lauren and Alex’s beautiful wedding. We had our beautiful bar set up, with the perfect ocean view. We worked closely with the bride and groom to create drinks that both them and their guests would love. Check out our website and instagram for more information. We are looking forward to making your day extra special.

Dmitri & Sandra Photography 

We wanted to give a HUGE thank you to the wonderful photographers that photographed this wedding and made the couples vision come to life. We cannot say enough great things about Dmitri and Sandra! If you are looking for a wedding photographer that’s going to capture the essence of your love, all while creating quality, timeless content, Dmitri and Sandra are the best!

Makena Weddings 

The planning and design of this wedding is by Makena Weddings. Wedding planning can be tiring, and overwhelming. Having a destination wedding can be even more stressful! Makena Weddings is great at taking the stress off of your shoulders, and making your entire vision come to life. They will create an unforgettable experience for you and your guests.

We hope you enjoyed reading about one of this summer’s Olowalu Plantation House wedding in Maui Hawaii.

The creative team :

Planning and Design: @makenaweddings

Photo: @dmitriandsandra

Hair @loveandbeautymaui

Catering @cafeolei_catering

Cocktails @alohabarsmaui

Florals @countrybouquetsmaui_

Officiant @alterry456

Rentals @rioeventdesign

Rentals @letsentertainmaui

Tunes @music_by_kalo

Signage @kismetluxeco

Gown @inesdisanto

Did you know that the owner of Aloha Bars, Kirsty Sinclair, has a sister business, “Luxury Photo Mirror”?! If you are looking for a fun activity and memory for the guests, a photo mirror is the perfect addition to your wedding or party! The mirror is 5 feet high and 3 feet wide. They provide custom designed photo borders and layouts for prints to match the colors and theme of the events. They also include fun and unique props to make the photos even better! Unlimited prints are available, and you will even get an online gallery of all the photos after the event! Open air photo booths are much safer right now, due to COVID-19. Luxury Photo Mirror provides two attendants-one specifically to ensure social distancing and sanitizing props. Here are 5 reasons to have a photo booth at your wedding or party.

1. The perfect wedding favors

Sometimes, wedding or party favors can be a huge portion of the budget, and something that your guests might just throw away later. One of the easiest ways to opt out of a traditional party favor is to have a Photo Booth! Giving photo prints that your guests can share online, frame, and most importantly, keep, are much more sentimental than most wedding favors that people have in mind. Don’t get me wrong, wedding favors are fun too! But this is a wonderful alternative.

2. Suitable for all ages

Are you going to have kids attend the wedding? What about family members that don’t like to dance? There are definitely those at the wedding that love to dance, and those that do not. A photo booth is great for those people who don’t like to be on the dance floor. It gives them a fun activity to do!

Another reason we love the idea of having a photo booth at your wedding is because how versatile it is. People of all ages really get into the idea of putting on oversized sunglasses, goofy hats and feather boas to show off their best poses. Photo booths are an activity that makes everyone loosen up. It’s also the perfect opportunity to get an awesome family photo or a romantic moment with your date. Little kids will also love posing with the props or cool backdrop!

3. Great way to do a wedding guest book

We love that the bride and groom will benefit from this as well! Not only are you cutting costs, but you also get to keep all of the photos that your guests take. This is a great memory that will make you laugh as you go through them, seeing the fun that your guests had at your party. The brides to be are going to want to steal this idea from you!

4. Help capture memories that your photographer might miss

Photo booths are a lot like polaroid cameras. Your guests will have instant, high-quality pictures that they can have sent to their phone. Encourage your guests to post their silly pics using your hashtag!

5. Fun entertainment

Photo booths are just simply fun entertainment! Sometimes wedding guests can get a little tired or bored while waiting for the cocktail hour to end and for the reception to start at weddings. That is why during this period, photo booths are the perfect distraction to keep your guests going! Your wedding guests are definitely going to have some fun while waiting for the bride and groom to do their thing! Time flies when you’re having fun, and this will be the case for your guests if you choose to have a photo booth. This type of activity also incorporates laughter throughout the celebration. You will forever cherish these moments!

Photo booths of all kinds are a blast! We highly recommend choosing Luxury Photo Mirror in Maui, Hawaii, for all of the reasons we listed above! Plus, because it is a giant mirror, you can do the photos in an open air space. This means, you don’t need to be squished inside a small space. Especially right now for safety reasons and health regulations. Check out Luxury Photo Mirror’s website and instagram for more details. Enjoy!

Photography by :

Have you ever thought about what your wedding planners and vendors do on a special night out?! Well, they love to have fun! Back in 2019, we had a very exciting “Vendors Party”, which involved many of the wonderful vendors and business owners in the wedding industry here on Maui. This night was definitely one for the books and it took place at the Lahaina Loft. Keep reading to learn more about the Lahaina Loft venue and planners night out!

Lahaina Loft

Lahaina Loft is Maui’s newest oceanfront venue. Located in the heart of the historic Lahaina town, the 2,000 square foot space is filled with pure magic. Stunning ocean and neighboring island views make this venue one that your guests will love! Not to mention, they also have air conditioning (much needed for those hot Lahaina days)!

Lahaina Loft can host any type of event such as weddings, showers, social gatherings, and corporate events. The open loft layout allows you to tell your unique story through design set up. The airy room is perfect for a daytime lunch or lounge area. Guests will enjoy the fun shopping, beautiful art and historic charm of Front Street. Their charming lanai offers incredible panoramic views of Lahaina Harbor and the Island of Lanai. The space can be transformed in the evening into a romantic dinner setting with drapes and chandeliers, or a modern dance floor party area.

Their catering teams of your choice create menus that bring your distinct personality and style to life through their culinary expertise. Working with your professional coordination or event team, you will create a culinary feast for your guests to rave about for years to come!

Lahaina Loft also collaborates with other local businesses to offer unique experiences and services for their guests. For example, they offer Lei Po’o workshops, private cooking classes, private boutique shopping and more!

Planners Night Out

Planners want to have fun too! Sometimes, getting everyone together and offering a wonderful party where we can network and loosen up is just what we need! Especially after the really busy months! Lahaina Loft hosted the party we had back in 2019 (see photos). We were lucky enough to enjoy this special event with over 40 different local vendors.

Living Moments Media

Lancelot is the owner and photographer of Living Moments Media. They specialize in weddings, portraits, real estate, commercial, and drone photography. He was our photographer for the planners night out! If you are looking for exquisite photos, you must book Living Moments Media! His passion really shines through his work. He loves capturing peoples authentic living moments in his own art form. His photos will take you back to the day you were there and have you reliving the memories.

Ancient Hawaiian Weddings

The amazing Ancient Hawaiian Weddings specialize in traditional Hawaiian Weddings to bring you in as a part of the Islands. Not many are able to experience this! Their Hawaiian Ohana includes Hawaii ministers and musicians, lovely dancers and chanters, skilled florists, photographers and videographers who are all awaiting your arrival. Hawaii is home to beautiful white sand beaches, lush tropical gardens, charming churches, immaculate hotel grounds, pristine private estates, world class Hawaii golf courses, breathtaking cliffs and waterfalls, majestic mountains and more! If you are looking for an authentic and traditional Hawaiian wedding experience, we highly recommend working with Ancient Hawaiian Weddings.

Aloha Bars Maui

Aloha Bars is a full service cocktail catering company in Maui, Hawaii. We create drinks based on your preferences, guests, and style. Each cocktail we make is unique in its own way. Aloha Bars offers bar services for all events, such as weddings, private events, showers, parties and more! From Beautiful Glassware to Designer Straws and flower garnishes, we will make you and your guests experience with us unforgettable.

There are many wonderful local vendors on the island of Maui to choose from. Firstly, we recommend doing your research. Each business has it’s own unique style and way of doing things. There might be one that fits your special event better than others. Secondly, we have featured many vendors and local businesses that we work closely with on our blogs. Check out our website for more info! In addition, don’t forget to have fun!

To sum up, we definitely recommend the Lahaina Loft as your wedding or event venue! There are so many beautiful places to choose on this island, each special in its own way. Head on over to their website for more details and to view their packages! We hope you enjoyed these photos from the Lahaina Loft venue and planners night out. Follow us on instagram for more information!