From Australia to Duke Kahanamoku Beach, with a heart of flowers and a rainbow overhead.
A Rainbow Wedding at the Hilton Lagoon
Tamlyn and Daniel flew all the way from Australia with their family to say “I do” on Duke Kahanamoku Beach at the Hilton Hawaiian Village on November 2, 2026. A heart of pink and purple flowers, the call of the conch shell, a butterfly release, and then, as if Hawaii itself were blessing them, a rainbow over the palms.
From Australia to Waikiki
Tamlyn & Daniel
Some love stories need an ocean to cross. Tamlyn and Daniel’s whole family flew across the Pacific from Australia, about a dozen of the people they love most, to stand beside them on a Waikiki beach on a bright November morning.
The ceremony began at 8:30, when the water in the lagoon is glassy and the sand is still cool. Their colors were purple and pink, from the heart of flowers on the sand to the bridesmaids’ dresses, and Daniel waited in a cream linen suit with a lei of white plumeria around his neck.
The first kiss as husband and wife, and the cheers from home
Purple & pink
A Heart of Flowers
Tamlyn ordered a flower heart, and it became the center of everything: pink, purple and fuchsia petals shaped into a heart on the sand, with a petal aisle leading to it and the Rainbow Tower rising behind. Her bouquet was a globe of pink and magenta plumeria wrapped in a ti leaf, waiting on a little wooden stand by the water.
A heart of petals at the foot of the Rainbow Tower
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Where they married
The Duke Kahanamoku Lagoon
At the quiet western end of Waikiki, the Hilton Hawaiian Village wraps around a calm saltwater lagoon and a wide, golden beach, both named for Duke Kahanamoku, the Native Hawaiian swimmer who won three Olympic gold medals and became known as the father of modern surfing.
The water here is gentle and sheltered by a rock breakwater, the palms lean over the sand, and Diamond Head rises across the bay. Behind the beach stands the Hilton’s famous Rainbow Tower, its towering mosaic of color a landmark of Waikiki, and on this morning the sky added a rainbow of its own.
Flying over the Duke Kahanamoku Lagoon, the beach where they married and the Ala Wai Harbor
Married beneath the most famous rainbow in Waikiki
Where to Find the Beach
Duke Kahanamoku Beach sits in front of the Hilton Hawaiian Village at the western end of Waikiki, between the lagoon and the Ala Wai Harbor. Their ceremony was on the sand right beside the lagoon.
Two conch shells sounded across the beach to open the ceremony, calling in blessings from every direction, and an ʻukulele played island melodies on the breeze. Tamlyn and Daniel read the vows they had written for each other, exchanged white plumeria leis and rings with Diamond Head behind them, and poured two colors of sand into one.
Then came the first kiss as husband and wife, the cheers of a family that had traveled so far, and a butterfly release, wings lifting into the morning sky as a wish for their new life.
Two colors of sand poured as one, never to be separated
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A blessing from the sky
The Rainbow Over the Palms
In Hawaii, a rainbow is said to be a blessing, and partway through the celebration one arched across the sky above the palms and the lagoon. The whole family gathered around the flower heart, and for a few minutes everyone just looked up.
The whole family around the heart, and a rainbow to bless them
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Family and friends
The People Who Flew In
The groomsmen could not stop jumping for joy, and the bridesmaids, in every shade of pink and purple, screamed and laughed when they saw the ring up close. It felt less like a ceremony and more like a family reunion in paradise.
The ring reveal, and not a single calm face
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Just the two of them
Portraits by the Lagoon
After the ceremony the newlyweds wandered the beach: kisses beside the breakwater, a veil lifted by the trade winds, a walk along the shoreline, and a quiet moment in the shade of the trees with their brand new rings.
On Duke Kahanamoku Beach beside the Duke Kahanamoku Lagoon at the Hilton Hawaiian Village, at the western end of Waikiki on Oahu.
What time was their ceremony?
They married in the morning, from about 8:30 to 10:00 am, when the beach is calm and the light is soft. A rainbow appeared over the palms during the celebration.
What was their wedding theme?
Purple and pink: a heart of pink, purple and fuchsia flowers on the sand, a pink plumeria bouquet, white plumeria leis and bridesmaids in every shade of pink and purple.
Who was Duke Kahanamoku?
Duke Kahanamoku (1890–1968) was a Native Hawaiian swimmer who won three Olympic gold medals and two silvers, and he is known as the father of modern surfing. The beach and lagoon at the Hilton Hawaiian Village are named in his honor.
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