This Surfer Bride Wore Custom Monique Lhuillier and Went Barefoot for Her Moody Oahu Wedding
Oleema Miller doesn’t remember the first time she met Bryan Phillips. Bryan, however, remembers it perfectly. In 2002, the then 16-year-old was lifeguarding on the North Shore of Oahu when he spotted a girl surfing Pupukea, a break right next to the Banzai Pipeline. He was beyond impressed: Pipeline has some of the most notoriously difficult waves in Hawaii, but Oleema—who looked a few years younger than he was—was cruising past nearly everyone around her. Little did Bryan know she was a preteen surfer with Roxy and visited the North Shore every winter with her father for brand photo shoots.
It took a few years for Oleema to notice Bryan back. Gradually she began to wonder about this “really good-looking guy” who always seemed to be a few feet away from her. Turns out that was Bryan’s plan all along: “He admitted years and years into us dating that he would see me from the lifeguard tower and would paddle out nonchalantly to make it seem like it was random,” she says, laughing.
In December 2015, Oleema worked up the courage to strike up a conversation. As fate would have it, on that very day Bryan had worked up the courage too: “He took the words right out of my mouth and said, ‘I’ve seen you for years but never introduced myself.’” Later that day he ran up to her on the beach and gave her his phone number on a Band-Aid—“in true lifeguard fashion,” adds Oleema.
Six and a half years later, he proposed to Oleema, now the cofounder of swimwear brand Mikoh, on the Pont Neuf bridge in Paris. The box held two things: Oleema’s great-grandmother’s ring…and a Band-Aid.
The two wed in April 2023 on Oahu. With the help of planner Cortney Crane, they organized a five-day affair. On Monday night they held a rehearsal dinner at Halekulani Hotel in Waikiki, followed by a welcome party at their Haleiwa home on Tuesday. (As a nod to her Chinese heritage, Oleema hosted a traditional tea ceremony, where she wore a cheongsam given to her by her grandmother.) The next day they encouraged guests to explore the island while they spent the evening alone together.
On Thursday, Oleema and Bryan held their ceremony on a mountain at Kualoa Ranch, a 4,000-acre private nature reserve and working cattle ranch in Oahu. Oleema wore a custom gown by Monique Lhuillier, designed to look like a beautiful cloud floating by, along with a diamond tennis bracelet gifted by her mother and father and diamond studs from Bryan. As she started getting ready, however, a gentle rain began to fall in the valley. “While we were waiting in the trailer where I’d put my dress on and do final touch-ups, a friend let me know that there were puddles and mud everywhere and there was no way I would be able to walk down the mountain without slipping,” she said. “It was at that point I decided I would go barefoot to make the trek possible—and then never put on a pair of shoes the entire evening.”
She walked down the aisle, arm in arm with her parents, to “Sweet Thing” by Van Morrison. It was a moment that felt like a manifestation: “There is a line in the song that goes, ‘We shall walk and talk in gardens all misty wet.’ I think maybe somehow I manifested these settings with that song, and it just played perfectly with my emotions, with our surroundings, and with all of the people gathered we love most,” Oleema says. With her mother officiating, she and Bryan exchanged vows amid lush greenery, palm trees, and waterfalls.
Afterward, the weather cleared and they held a family-style dinner in a white tent underneath the stars. Oleema—who had changed into a spaghetti-tank dress by The Row—and Bryan made their entrance to Van Morrison’s “Into the Mystic,” played on the guitar by their good friend Jack Johnson.
Later in the night, she surprised everyone—including Bryan—with a hula to “Maunaleo” by Keali‘i Reichel. “It is a tradition in Hawaiian culture for the bride to do a hula for her new husband. I knew I had to honor this. I was part of a halau for over 10 years growing up, so I had a background in hula but hadn’t danced since I was 15,” Oleema explains. “I don’t think there was a single dry eye in the crowd, and it made my heart so full to see how much Bryan loved this moment.” Turns out Bryan had a surprise for his new wife too: Soon after she finished her dance, he grabbed a microphone and serenaded her with “Shine On” by John Cruz on the ukelele.
Oleema then changed into a Paco Rabanne dress made of seashells, and the couple got everyone to the dance floor with a playlist of early-2000s hip-hop. The party continued late into the night.
On Friday they held a beach party right outside their home. Wearing a custom Mikoh bikini embroidered with “Just Married,” the bride paddled out into the water with the groom to surf for the first time as husband and wife.
Looking back on it now, Oleema describes their Oahu wedding as perfectly imperfect.
“The surprises of rain, being barefoot, my mother marrying us, my hula, and Bryan’s performance…. The whole day, from the landscape to the people and our surroundings, just continued to be a gift to us, creating memories that we will never forget,” she says.
Doug Falter1/76Our rehearsal dinner was at the beautiful Halekulani Hotel in Waikiki, one of our favorite spots in Honolulu. Among our immediate family and closest friends, we kicked off what would become the most memorable week of our lives.
Doug Falter2/76Night one of our wedding week: our rehearsal dinner at the Halekulani Hotel. I loved this dress by Gabriela Hearst, it was just perfect for the evening. Both of our looks were made complete with leis made by my dear friend Melelana Estes.
