Katie Durko, co-founder of social media agency The Edit, and Adrian Karvinen, the vice president of music business partnerships at Hume, first connected on the dating app Happn. “We were each other’s first matches on the app, and our first ‘date’ took place on a Friday afternoon at the Coachella Music Festival [on] April 10, 2015,” Katie remembers. “We met for a casual drink at the bar by the main stage.”
Two-and-a-half years later, Adrian surprised Katie with a proposal while hiking in the Topanga Mountains. Once engaged, the pair started to plan their destination wedding. Since they’d spent several summers in Kauai, Hawaii, and it reminds them of Adrian’s hometown on the Gold Coast of Australia, they knew it was the perfect place to say I do. Na Aina Kai Botanical Gardens was the most idyllic spot for their October nuptials. Katie adds, “It was an added bonus that this was a ‘meet in the middle’ location for both Aussies and Californians.”
“The island of Kauai really inspired the style of our wedding,” the bride says. “I wanted the décor to highlight the raw beauty of the lush green island.” Moana Belle Events brought Katie’s vision to life, while Lia Burke Libaire created the fresh watercolors that charmed the wedding invitations and dinner menus.
The couple kicked off their wedding weekend with a lei-making workshop with The Lei Collective. Katie wore a tropical Zimmermann set to the activity. Welcome drinks followed at Waioli Beach Park in Hanalei Bay, complete with Pat’s Taqueria taco truck and live music by local slack-guitarist Pancho Graham. To this, Katie wore an Emilio de la Morena dress.
For her wedding ceremony, Katie chose a couture Mira Zwillinger dress detailed with floral and pearl appliqués. “When I tried this on at the trunk show at Saks Fifth Avenue, I knew without a doubt in my mind it would be the dress I would get married in,” she recalls. Mia Moriguchi created Katie’s day-of glam. “I kept my beauty look natural and fresh-faced: glowy make-up, smooth, blemish-free skin, and windswept hair that I styled with just a few leave-in products. . .The vibe was ‘just off the beach.’”
Bridesmaids complemented Katie in custom dresses by V. Chapman Founder and fellow Over The Moon Bride Victoria Salisbury. Victoria also created the bride’s fun after-party look for her.
On October 6, 2018, as Katie walked down the aisle with her father, Pancho Graham played Eric Clapton’s “Tears in Heaven.” “My vows highlighted a passage from Paulo Coelho’s The Alchemist: ‘When we love, we always strive to become better than we are. When we strive to become better than we are, everything around us becomes better too.’” Under a canopy of teak, zebrawood, mahogany, and rosewood trees the couple said “I do.”
The newlyweds entered the reception to a rendition of Stevie Wonder’s “Signed, Sealed, Delivered (I’m Yours).” “Tables were topped with a mix of low arrangements of white flowers and palms in glass vases. The glassware and linens selection reinforced the ‘island vibe’ that I was going for,” Katie explains. For dinner, guests indulged in a selection of Hawaiian cuisine by Contemporary Flavors Catering that included basil seared mahi-mahi, mango salad, and braised short ribs. Following the fare, the pair shared their first dance to Elvis’s “Can’t Help Falling in Love.”
The party kicked off with a special musical performance of “Stayin’ Alive” by Adrian’s long-time friends and client, Say Lou Lou, who were also his “groomswomen.” “Everyone was on the dance floor singing along with the girls!” Katie exclaims. “It was such a special moment for us.” Then the evening continued with music from Dart Collective.
The after-party took place at a local bar in Hanalei Bay that the couple had hired out for the night. After dancing until the early hours, Katie and Adrian escaped to the Four Seasons Resort Lānaʻi for their honeymoon.
