Claire Chan and Stephen Reisert attended 10 weddings in the months leading up to their own and took away an important lesson. “We wanted to do it our way no matter what,” he says. As a child, Claire frequented Hawaii, where her relatives live, and Stephen asked her to marry him during a trip there. (They both love to surf, and he proposed to her in the water.) The location was important to both of them. “[Hawaii] has a way of grounding you in a really humbling and enriching way,” Stephen adds.
Given the island location, the two thought a lot about logistics. “People are coming from such a long way, and Hawaii’s not a nightlife place,” Claire said of their decision to have a ceremony early in the day. “The morning is such a beautiful, still time in Hawaii, and you’re always jet-lagged. You’re [usually] up at dawn, taking advantage of the daytime.”
Claire, who founded the New York-based coffee shop and general store The Elk and the Brooklyn bar Mr. Melo, and Stephen, a venture capital investor, likened the planning process to launching a new business. “It was quite a bit of work,” she confesses. They hired Kimiko of K.H. & Co to lend a hand. “She was so instrumental bridging the gap, because we couldn’t be there physically,” Claire explains. The couple went to Hawaii once before the big day, a whirlwind visit of tastings and other activities.
After the Lahaina wildfires devastated the area, it was important to the couple to use local vendors and prioritize hiring people who had been impacted by the tragedy. “We wanted to pay respect to that as outsiders coming in, but also with real roots to the island as well,” Stephen says.
The Tea Ceremony
The Thursday before the wedding, Claire and Stephen invited close friends and family to a tea ceremony, a Chinese ritual that honors the family elders. “It’s very symbolic that the new couple serves tea to their elders and the elders give a gift or a red packet that signifies their approval and wish for them to have a long, prosperous union,” Claire says. “We made that our own. It wasn’t super traditional, but we wanted to honor that tradition.” Afterward, they had dinner with a small group of friends at Mama’s Fish House. “I think back to what our goal was all weekend: let’s just have this flow not be uptight so everybody can just enjoy themselves,” Stephen explains.
The Welcome Party
On Friday, the couple held a welcome dinner at Spago, located in the Four Seasons, where the first season of The White Lotus was filmed. “The vibe was tropical cocktail, and so was the dress. Our flowers were local flora and fauna,” Claire says. “There was a beautiful sunset in the background, too. A lot of guests arrived that day, so it kicked off everything and welcomed everyone to Hawaii. We channeled The White Lotus vibes with the food as well.”
The Location
The wedding was held at Haiku House, a historic property set on 40 acres that has been in the bride’s family for a decade. The grounds boast over 200 species of trees, citrus orchards, and an organic garden. It’s one of a small number of North Shore properties of its kind available for short-term rental.
The Ceremony
Claire and Stephen started things off with an early morning breakfast with everyone who came to get ready with them. “What inspired us the most was definitely what we were wearing and our music choices,” he says. Stephen walked down the aisle to a song by Frank Ocean, and Claire entered to “Godspeed” by James Blake. A local pastor officiated the ceremony, and the two made sure to include a lei exchange and the “breath of hā,” a traditional Hawaiian practice in which the couple exchanges a moment of silence and several long breaths together. “I was thinking about my mom a lot,” Claire says. “She passed away when I was 18, and she felt so present during the ceremony. We had a little pseudo altar featuring her photo, and a photo of her is always in my locket, which I made sure to wear.”
“Hawaii and all of its outdoor glory is how we connect to our spirituality. It was just a perfect venue and setting under this insane, massive, towering-over-you banyan tree,” Claire says.
“When guests arrived, we wanted to really highlight that tropical, local feel. They had an option to have coconut water, a Bloody Mary, cold brew, or mimosas with fresh oranges from the orchard. We served malassadas before the ceremony, which are local donuts, and a bunch of other food from the area,” Stephen says.
After the ceremony, there was a luncheon under huge, hanging branches. Cutting Edge catered a modern take on a pig roast with local ingredients like purple sweet potatoes. “We were really lucky that it didn’t rain,” Claire says. “The sun didn’t come out until the end of the luncheon, when the clouds basically parted. My cousin’s young daughter, who lives in Hawaii, performed this beautiful hula dance for us.”
The couple used many Hawaiian vendors, but also prioritized other businesses—like their wedding planner, DJ, and portrait photographer—from Vancouver, British Columbia, where Claire grew up.
The Outfits
For the ceremony, Claire wore a Yves Saint Laurent gown from 1976, when the designer himself, her personal favorite, was still creating pieces. “I love vintage. It was important to me to reflect that. I was really fortunate to find this beautiful gown from Tab Vintage,” she says. At the reception, she wore a contemporary YSL slip dress.
Stephen, who describes himself as a “Bode boy since day one,” wore a custom linen tuxedo from the brand with Hawaiian flowers and the wedding date embroidered. He paired the look with eel skin shoes from The Row and changed into an off-white Connor McKnight suit for the after-party.
The Reception
Guests arrived at the reception to find a wall covered in photos that were taken just that morning. “It was whale migration season, so whales were jumping out of the water. It was just ridiculous,” Stephen says. The party started with a song written and performed by Claire’s sister that told the story of their relationship.
“I could have married Claire at a courthouse and that would’ve been enough for me,” Stephen confesses. “To have it come full circle to the meaning of what the celebration is, which is two people that love each other, was such a special thing that I’ll cherish forever.”
Claire Chan and Stephen Reisert’s Wedding
Adrienne Gaffney is a features editor at ELLE and previously worked at WSJ Magazine and Vanity Fair.
