A Garden Party Wedding in Hawaiian Paradise
Model Leila Dee Thomas Jabour met professional surfer Kiron Leicht Jabour at a friend’s birthday barbecue on the North Shore. “When I arrived, he was the first person I locked eyes with,” Leila says. “It seemed like there was this warm bright light shining on him.” They were both too nervous to approach one another, but they each remember tying to stay in close proximity. Finally, thanks to mutual friends, they were eventually introduced. “That moment led to a night of stargazing, a romantic midnight kayak ride, and a camp out on a rock in the middle of the ocean,” Leila says. “From then on, single life was history!”
They dated for three years, bouncing between Oahu, Portugal, and Los Angeles. Then, one rainy Valentine’s Day, “he really wanted us to go surf,” Leila remembers. “I wasn’t too thrilled because when it rains a lot here the ocean water gets very brown, but I didn’t want to shut down his Valentine’s Day excitement so we packed the boards and went. He popped the question when we were in the water and tied a leash string to my finger. His best friend got the whole moment on video, which I’m so happy about because I think we both blacked out.”
Thankfully Kiron didn’t try to bring the ring in the water. He personally designed it with the help of Leila’s aunt, a jeweler at Hawaiian jewelry brand Na Hoku. “Back when he was designing the ring, he asked me for ideas, and I told him I didn’t want diamonds,” Leila explains. “I wanted all colorful stones in the shape of a butterfly. He didn’t listen to one thing I said, and I’m overjoyed because it’s more beautiful than I could have imagined.”
The wedding venue was on Oahu, at a place near and dear to the couple. “It was our uncle’s land tucked deep in one of the most sacred valleys on the islands and was the home of ancient Hawaiian kings,” Leila says. “The valley is just breathtaking, and we knew this was where we and our guests could feel free, spirited, and surrounded by love.” Their aesthetic was guided by the same principles, and they enlisted Krisy Zietz of Kzietz Weddings Kauai to help them achieve it.
On the evening of November 11, 2019, everyone gathered in the valley, where woven baskets were filled with bursts of colorful flowers and homemade quilts dotted the grass. “We totally didn’t know this when we chose the date but found out after that the moon was full, and Mercury was in a rare transit across the sun,” Leila says. “It s called a Full Beaver Moon. This doesn’t happen again until 2032.” Guests sat on the blankets and snuggled up with various pillows and poufs.
“A garden party is not your typical event in Hawaii,” Leila says. “Our invitation suggested your all time favorite shoes, cowboy boots, rain boots, or barefoot. We wanted people to feel free and people dressed the part, wearing every color in the spectrum, and as the sun went down all shoes were abandoned.”
Leila had always planned on making her own dress, but the second she saw Monique Lhuillier’s Kingsley dress, she knew it was the one. To accessorize, Leila visited the vintage bridal salon Happy Isles on a trip to Beverly Hills, where the owner, Lily, gifted her a straw hat. The bride’s friend Pamakani created the traditional haku crown that she wore atop it on her wedding day. Then, instead of a bouquet, she opted for a garland shawl of baby’s breath, and Kiron had a lei to match. “My ‘borrowed’ was my mother’s Tiffany earrings,” Leila says. “And then Kiron and I both wore custom cowboy boots from Space Cowboy in New York City.”
White bamboo umbrellas and flowery blue fans were readily available to help guests cool off before the ceremony started. Fifteen flower girls carried homemade moss baskets and waved bundles of dried flowers tied with bits of pastel lace and velvet. The couple’s friends Megan and Tiara harmonized the Hawaiian song “Lei Pikake” and played the acoustic ukulele as the bride walked down the aisle. Leila and Kiron stood in what looked like a “flower cloud” as Leila’s Aunt Lani led the ceremony. “She has this presence about her that is luminous, grounding, and vulnerable,” Leila says. “And she brought everyone’s attention fully present by inviting them to join hands and take a deep breath.” After exchanging their own vows and rings, the newlyweds tossed 50 pink peonies to guests as they walked back down the aisle as husband and wife.
