“I walked into the AEPi house, half-joking that I might meet my future Jewish husband there,” NLA Collection Founder Natalie Wise says of how she first met Emotive Co-Founder Zachary Wise at the University of Southern California. “I immediately had a crush!” However, even though they exchanged numbers, the two didn’t speak for a year. “Zach claimed to not remember my name,” she laughs. The next year, they reconnected and sparks flew.
Fast-forward eight years later and the engaged couple chose Kona Village, A Rosewood Resort in Hawaii, for their Jewish wedding. They had previously visited the island together with friends and fell in love with the locale—not to mention they also built both of their companies from the tropical destination over several trips. Couture Events brought their island formal vision—the first large wedding to take place at the renovated hotel—to life, while Melia Lucida and Sunlit Films captured every moment. Julie Song Ink set the tone with a tropical-inspired invitation suite.
The weekend began with a poolside welcome party. Natalie wore a Pucci dress, and the signage and decor from Island Celebrations Hawaii perfectly complemented her dress’s pattern. Chef Robert Sulatycky highlighted the couple’s favorite Hawaiian food, poke, at several stations.
The shabbat dinner on the sand followed the next night at the Kahuwai Cookhouse restaurant. The bride wore a custom-designed set by Michael De Paolo. “The shabbat dinner included traditional prayers [and] a special lighting of the shabbat candles, led by the groom’s grandmother, Mimi Wise, who is a Holocaust survivor,” Natalie shares. “We feel so lucky that Mimi—at age 88—traveled all the way from Australia for our wedding weekend.”
October 19, 2024, Natalie and Zachary’s 130 guests gathered by the beach to witness the ceremony under a floral chuppah featuring shades of apricot, peach, ivory, and pink by Mandy Grace Designs. As the bride’s LA-based brand (which is now available on Over The Moon) was born from the challenge of finding a handbag for her sister’s wedding, it was only fitting her handmade designs walk down her own aisle. The flower girls tossed petals from them, and every woman in attendance was gifted a NLA purse for the weekend.
The bride then walked down the aisle in her custom Mira Zwillinger dress, paired with her sister’s Oscar de la Renta veil with a scalloped trim. Natalie’s family friend, Dr. Bruce Samules, officiated the service. “Bruce has been married to his high school sweetheart for 30 years, and has known me since I was a baby, so Bruce officiating my wedding to my very own college sweetheart was very emotional and moving,” the bride reflects. “The ceremony was the most amazing experience of my life.”
By a lagoon, long tables from Hawaii Island Event Rentals sat underneath petaled lanterns for the reception. Local dahlias from Maui elevated the space, as Kaitlyn Dornbier live-sketched guests.
The newlyweds shared a first dance to “Joy of My Life” by Chris Stapleton. And after cutting their wedding cake, which featured flowers that matched those on Natalie’s wedding dress, the dance party continued with the band, Crowd Theory. “By midnight, a group of us were having a dip in the ocean and ending the night in the jacuzzis at Kona Village!” the bride exclaims. “It was magical.”
