Celebrating a 60th Wedding Anniversary—Dining by the Sea

Posted 25 August 2016 by
Global Marketing

The dinner goes off beautifully. Kevin reaches over and whispers, “You did it,” as each course comes out. He knows I’ve been planning every detail of this night. I’m feeling relieved, happy, and a bit emotional. I’m so glad we are all here together in this beautiful place. I continue to think that we need to plan more family time sooner rather than later.

Jenny, our host for the night, is spot-on with everything. She is supported by people coming and going with water, cocktails, a nice pupu platter, and then our salads and dinners. As expected, there is too much food, and I feel guilty not finishing all of mine. It all started with that much too large and very delicious pupu platter, which, in case you don’t know, is a Chinese American and Hawaiian cuisine option of appetizers. This course of light or heavy starter dishes was introduced to the United States mainland by Don the Beachcomber in 1934 (source: Wikipedia).

Once dinner is over, the next surprise is…the cake! I’ve arranged for the guitarist to sing “Only You” while a small pink cake appears. This is Mom’s favorite song. When she and my father were married, they didn’t have a wedding cake. This is my attempt to make sure she gets one finally after all these years. We are very full, but who doesn’t have at least a little room for some cake?

The sun sets during dinner, and the air under the cabana is nice and cool. The waves just across the way give off such a soothing aura to the evening. The flowers, candles, music, and pineapple-adorned mai-tais around the table complete the scene. Lots of pictures are taken. Our parents have never looked more wonderful together. I think how lucky I am to have them as my parents.

Kudos by the way to the Waikoloa Marriott Resort for the amazing service and experience. Kevin and I have already booked a return trip next summer.

If you want to read more about my Hawaiian family vacation, check out the previous blogs in this series: