Awa & Lauren
we’re engaged
Here’s a little bit about us.
the byers - to be
the proposal
On September 2nd, 2023 Awa asked Lauren to be his wife… and she said Yes.
The high school sweethearts have been dating for nearly 10 years when he got down on one knee and asked her the question she only dreamed of hearing. The two moved off island to support Lauren’s ambitions of becoming an OB nurse. She hadn’t been home in those two long years of nursing school, so their plan was to jump on a plane the minute she graduated and fly home. As they were nearing their 10 year anniversary in which is shared on his birthday, the two had their annual photo session with Tiana Jean Photography. The session was to be split with her nursing school graduation photos and their 10 year anniversary photos. What she didn’t know was that Awa made secret arrangements with the photographer to get down on one knee and propose. Their anniversary session then became their first engagement session, but that’s not all.
A few days prior to leaving on their get away trip, Awa asked a few people Lauren holds close to her heart, for their blessing; her mom, step dad, father, and grandma. Asking her grandma for her blessing was an honor to being their last living grandparent and in honor of her grandpa, a father figure who unexpectedly left too soon just before Lauren began nursing school. He then arranged a surprise engagement party with both their family and close friends to celebrate their engagement. Awaiting their arrival back from the proposal, Awa had one more surprise for her, she did not expect… Lauren’s mom. Her mom could not miss this special day so her family kept her hidden until the couple arrived to their engagement party. A difficult secret to keep but if you asked her… she’d tell you it was a dream!
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We have a date! 2025.
Our date will be shared via Formal Invitatons.
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Bringing it full circle. We’re coming HOME… Oʻahu, HI.
Venue location is booked & will be shared via Formal Invitations.
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Save the dates are being sent via text this month, September!
Keep an eye out! <3
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Formal invitations will be mailed to respective addresses between March-April. Those who live out of state have received detailed information in advance for travel (:
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We now have an FAQ section!! Finally! (:
updates
Our Story
9.21.13
Awa & Lauren’s first picture, they quickly became friends & spent some time getting to know each other before committing to dating
They started officially dating on Awa’s birthday, 11.6.13
Lauren knew Awa was the one when he valued her passions just as much as she valued his
Since their first interaction, Awa always knows how to make her laugh & feel special
As if three proms weren’t enough, they spent Awa’s senior prom earning the championship title at the OIA baseball championships
They each graduated a year apart, which they thought would be the hardest being apart but it just meant Lauren was over for dinner every night after work
2016 - they went away to college together & eventually did a year of long distance
They eventually made the decision to move to Idaho, so Lauren could continue to pursue her nursing education. Awa decided he was going to follow her while she chased her dreams
They’ve talked for years about marriage, kids, life in their own home. Little did they know they were soon to be engaged
9.2.23
mr. & mrs. byers - to be
FAQ
THIS SECTION WILL CONTINUE TO BE UPDATED AS PLANNING CONTINUES
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We are so excited and in love with the location we chose to share the viewing of our commitment to each other. We found the location by chance and it speaks to our personalities. Quiet, secluded, hidden treasure, with a beautiful view of the ocean and mountains. That being said, we are going to keep the location a secret until formal invitations hit the mailbox! (;
What we can say is, it only felt right to keep it on the east side, close to home
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Yes (:
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Yes. For guests requiring wheelchair access, we always have you folks in mind. We will have specific parking, seating, and assistance for your needs.
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This event will be hosted outdoors. We are anticipating the casual showers and next second sunny skies. However, there is cover the ceremony will be moved to if the weather does not cooperate. Please bring a jacket/coverup. But you know what they say, rain is a sign of good luck (;
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We do not have a specific formal attire. Lole aloha is always welcome! (:
Please no shorts, t-shirts. Although once it's time to pahteh' change into whatever you like! We just better see you on the dance floor (;
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Please arrive 30 minutes prior to the ceremony start time. There is a bit of a walk to the location.
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The event will end promptly at 9pm as we will be on private property. All guests and vehicles will need to have left/be removed promptly so that vendors may breakdown and be off the property within their allotted time.
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The venue is providing us with security and a parking attendant right inside the gates.
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Ooohh yes! Located right around the corner of the event (:
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No lol. We thought about it and ultimately decided for safety we will be supplying the alcohol for the event. No self coolers will be allowed. Trust us, we wanted you guys to bring your own stuff however our contract permits us from allowing. Security is also permitted to intervene so dont get us in trouble yeah? hahaha
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Although we LOVE all of the kids in our lives and take pride in how close we are with all of them, we have decided we would like to share this moment with the children in our immediate family. However, children under 4 years of age within the immediate family will be asked to not attend. Please know we would love to have everyone's children present with us. Unfortunately we cannot accommodate for everyone's children as much as we would love to. Please keep in mind the influx of kids we are involved with, making this a very difficult decision. If we make an exception for one, we have to make an exception for all. This will be better clarified in the next few months to come. Let's call it a date night (;
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Yes! We are super excited to share this moment with you. It is weird being called a bride and groom lol. But we are working very hard to put this together in a way that is just fun, highlights us as a couple and celebrates love, our love! We still have a very long way to go, but we are looking forward to seeing so many of your faces and bringing it all full circle with the ones we love, being surrounded by our people and sealing the deal at HOME <3