WAILUA — The vision of a dashing, young Elvis Presley serenading his love afloat a beautifully-adorned, double-haul canoe down a long-winding lagoon in the 1961 film “Blue Hawaii” propagated the world’s perception of the traditional Hawaiian wedding, and forever immortalized
WAILUA — The vision of a dashing, young Elvis Presley serenading his love afloat a beautifully-adorned, double-haul canoe down a long-winding lagoon in the 1961 film “Blue Hawaii” propagated the world’s perception of the traditional Hawaiian wedding, and forever immortalized Kaua‘i’s regarded resort, Coco Palms, establishing it as the prime destination for marital bliss.
As a testament to its timeliness, the legendary enchantment of “Blue Hawaii” lives on. To this day, nearly 50 years after the movie was shot here, a constant barrage of Elvis fans and fanatics the world over flock to the famous site in hopes of recreating their own “Blue Hawaii” fantasy wedding, such as David Stoddard and Toni Jenary, who hail from Woodbridge, Va.
“The groom has some kind of connection to Elvis, and is a big fan,” noted Keala Huffman, the couple’s wedding planner, owner and founder of Kalaheo-based Tropical Dream Wedding. “He’s so sweet, he’s saving everything from their wedding in a keepsake box to treasure forever. The couple wanted every aspect of their wedding day to be perfect, similar to the movie, and did not want a cheesy type of wedding package. They wanted the real thing.”
Huffman, who’s been in business on Kaua‘i since 1997, has received inquires on a statewide, national and international basis, drawing couples from the United Kingdom, Australia, Japan, Canada, and a host of other countries.
“It’s overwhelming to think of how many people from all over the globe just love Elvis and ‘Blue Hawaii,'” remarked Huffman.
“A lot of people are drawn to this wedding package because of many things, including their love for The King and the appeal of old Hawai‘i. I think it’s also the idea of the ceremony itself which also romances couples to have a ‘Blue Hawaii’ wedding,” she added.
“Initially, the groom starts out at one end of the lagoon, and is transported across to pick up his bride. Then, the couple travel down to the starting point of the lagoon together, where they are escorted by the kahu (Hawaiian for guardian, caretaker, or priest), maidens, and conch-shell blowers, in a procession to the traditional, thatched-roof chapel, where they exchange their vows and become man and wife,” she said.
“All elements of the surrounding grounds, as far as the chapel and canoe, have been maintained by Uncle Larry Rivera,” declared Huffman.
“I have been working with him for several years now, to promote and preserve the beauty of the site, especially with clearing the devastation that occurred here in 1992 when Hurricane ‘Iniki hit,” she added.
“There was glass and debris all over, but, luckily, with uncle’s help, we were able to clean it up and make this area look presentable again.
“There’s a lot of constructive criticism which flows between us,” added Huffman. “It’s the constant feedback from both parties which makes the process of preserving the destination of ‘Blue Hawaii’ that much easier.”
Rivera, a local celebrity and musical legend in his own right, who works tirelessly to keep up the prestige and beauty of the site, is not without help.
“I’m lucky to have such a great team,” asserted Rivera, in profound appreciation. “My team consists of Coco Palm’s only security guard and maintenance man, Wayne Perreira, groundskeeper Charlie Pereira, and, of course, my lovely wife Gloria, who works the hardest, and whom I owe the most thanks to.”
Perreira, a Coco Palms employee for the last 36 years, has been an all-around asset, and an integral individual in the manicuring and maintenance of Coco Palms, Rivera said. “Recently, we thatched and made repairs to the roof of the chapel,” claimed the former Sea Shell restaurant cook. “I cut down about a hundred palm leaves, set them up, and nailed each one in as Charlie handed me them one by one.
“The thatching only lasts one year, being that the leaves rot and die, so we always make sure to change the thatching just before an end-of-the-year wedding,” Perreira said.
“But I must admit, it is scary to go up there on the roof because of all of the termite infestations. You never know when the roof just might collapse.
“I also do all of the repairs on the famous double-hull canoe,” beamed Perreira. “So far, I’ve repaired the canoe, adding new plywood to it, a total of three times, like the roof. However, Larry has confirmed a new double-haul canoe for Coco Palms, so I won’t need to fix the old one anymore,” he said.
“Larry and Gloria do all of the decorations for the canoe, which take them, mainly Gloria, about four hours each time. They’re the ones who bring the canoe and the surrounding grounds of the ‘Blue Hawaii’ site to life,” he added.
“I just repair things and make sure that no one tries to enter private property.”
“In fact, we just had someone try to sneak in right now,” chimed Rivera. “He had scaled the fence, and claimed that all he wanted was pictures of the grounds, but Wayne and I referred him to the law about trespassing on private property, and eventually he left.”
As for the conception of “Blue Hawaii” the business, Rivera has nothing but positive remarks. “After the devastation of ‘Iniki began to simmer down, when roads, stores, business began to open and the economy was slowly getting back on its feet, despite the fact that this entire area desperately needed major cleaning, guests still were interested in having ‘Blue Hawaii’ weddings performed,” recalled Rivera.
“The late Tom King, the former manager at Coco Palms, asked me to perform a ‘Blue Hawaii’ wedding for him and his wife. They loved it so much that he said he wouldn’t mind continuing the weddings as a business, and along with the former owner Larry Chang came up with a contract for me to sign and, thus, the family ‘Blue Hawaii’ business was born,” Rivera explained.
“People continued to come to Coco Palms, hearing about the ‘Blue Hawaii’ weddings through word of mouth and a few ads that I placed with Hawaii Professional Wedding Association and Hawaii Visitors Bureau,” continued Rivera.
“There were also a lot of famous people who had ‘Blue Hawaii’ weddings and, as a result, Dr. Franklin from Memphis, Tenn., who conducts the annual Elvis impersonator contest, offered me the opportunity to go on an all-expenses-paid trip to Memphis to address Elvis fans about the meaning of ‘Blue Hawaii’ and my experience with Elvis,” Rivera continued.
“I told him I would go only if my wife could come along. Needless to say, we had a great time in Memphis.”
Rivera’s song “I Search for Love,” was admired so much by The King himself, that he bought the rights to the song. “It was such an honor,” expressed Rivera. “He wanted to buy the rights to it, so I signed a contract, and the rest is history.”
In all of his years conducting ‘Blue Hawaii’ weddings, Rivera is quick to recall the worst one. “The day before a huge wedding between an Australian couple, it was December 31, 2004, there was a huge rain-storm which flooded the entire lagoon.
“The water was filled up, even all the way to the chapel. It was so bad,” he said.
“To make matters worse, the canoe was sunk halfway, because someone tied the canoe with short ropes, which were the wrong ones, so there was no way across,” he added.
“But the next day, I rented a few of those Clydesdale horses, the kinds you see at Kilohana, and had a carriage bring the bride over to the other side of the lagoon, through the back entrance of the hotel, and then the wedding went on as planned,” he said with a smile.
“It was quick thinking, and somehow we made it work. But honestly, I’m glad it did.
In the wake of new owners of the hotel and with construction to begin next year, Rivera sees nothing but good things ahead for the ‘Blue Hawaii’ wedding business.
“As far as the wedding business, it’s going to be big,” remarked Rivera, shaking his head. “I tell you, people are going to fight over reservations. Also, everything will be new, the chapel, complete with verandahs, with be bigger, and will be moved to a location further into the grove. In other words, we’re going to have an old/new chapel.”
