SOVATTEY & MICHAEL
Lanikūhonua, Kapolei
Photos by Apsara Diamant
From a custom wedding dress to elegant design at the beautiful Lanikūhonua, family and friends came together to celebrate love.
LOVE STORY
I first noticed Sovattey when I walked past her blackjack table at Caesar’s Palace in February of 2008. Struck by her amazing beauty, I decided to abandon my evening plans and try my luck at blackjack. It was a classic “boy likes girl” and “girl ignores boy” scenario. While I may not have won at blackjack, I did eventually win a strong friendship with Sovattey. The more time we spent getting to know each other, the more we realized we had a ton in common. Now we are inseparable.
V.I.P.
Our wedding wouldn’t have felt right without our closest friends and family to celebrate with us. Over 70 strong made the journey from the mainland. Most significant was Sovattey’s grandmother, who attended despite the physical challenges of traveling from Las Vegas. We thought she might not be medically cleared to fly, but fortunately she was able to make the trip. We’ll never forget her smiles when she was wheeled out to the dance floor, and her joyous expressions when she saw the ocean for the first time in decades. Nothing could have been more important to us than being able to share these unforgettable moments with our loved ones.
MUST HAVES
Since our wedding would be a once in a lifetime event, we decided to splurge on quite a few things. Most significant would be the wedding dress itself. It was custom designed by Galia Lahav in Israel with some unique design elements Sovattey requested. It may have taken four months to make, but when the big day arrived, it was absolutely worth it as Sovattey looked breath-taking in her stunning one-of-a-kind dress.
FAVORITE ELEMENT
It’s difficult to pick a single favorite element as everything about our wedding was amazing. We loved the intimate Lanikuhonua location, the elegant touches of chandeliers and drapes, the beautiful flowers, the delicious food, the shaved ice station, the photo booth, and all our guests rocking the dancefloor. What stood out the most though was the big screen video professionally produced by Isle Media. Not only did it show traditional photographs of our childhoods, but it also included drone footage from our Cambodian ceremony the day before as well as video clips from our wedding and reception, which took place literally minutes before. We all couldn't believe something of such high quality could be produced so quickly.