Candes Meijide Gentry took a wedding cake class while on injury-forced hiatus from triathloning. When she rushed to her mother's, it wasn't to show off her marzipan roses, but to profess she'd met "HIM." Kahala Hotel’s Executive Sous Chef Milan Drager had noticed the only pupil wearing a personalized pink chef's jacket, too. The following weekend, Candes convinced her mother to "look for the tall German chef with piercing blue eyes." She reported back, "He's very nice. The rest is up to you."

They began dating two months later, but when the former Miss Hawaii and Director of her late father's Gentry Pacific company learned Milan's aspirations would soon take him away, she momentarily questioned whether he was "the one." For two years, she split time between California and her cherished island home. Distance "strengthened us as a couple," believes Milan, who proposed in June of 2008 while they hiked Oahu's Kuliouou Valley Trail.

"It was a little bit of pressure, but it was fun," says Candes of planning a week's worth of wedding events in just five months while also secretly recording her third album. She presented the CD of favorite love songs to Milan on the eve of their "Preception" and to 250 guests at their Italian circus-themed engagement party at La Pietra. The celebration reinforced what Milan had deduced: "I was marrying not only Candes, but a family and a community."

Yet, the couple's wedding one week later at the Four Seasons Resort on Lana'i was intimate. Passing showers delayed the blowing of the conch shell and the traditional Hawaiian ceremony by a half-hour, but left foliage glistening and gave Milan time to reflect. Wedding programs were adorned with lucky pennies, which Candes says Milan is "notorious for finding." As seventy-five guests listened to Candes' pre-recorded duet with Groomsman Joey Caldarone, everyone was "crying already, including me," remembers Milan.

Candes custom-ordered a Pronovias gown to honor her Argentine-born mother's heritage, then swapped it two weeks before the wedding for another one off the rack, which her mother adorned with Parisian silk flowers. Sister, Corin, did the hula to another pre-recorded duet, "The Road That Never Ends."

Under a clear, chandeliered tent, guests enjoyed Argentine Malbec and Milan's recipe for gourmet burgers. Her CD and his dulce de leche were parting gifts. It was "nice to be able to share our talents," Candes reflects. The next day featured a pineapple-themed breakfast and beach excursion. The newlyweds entertained Milan's family on Oahu before their 15-day honeymoon took them to Paris, London and Prague.

"Milan knows how important Hawaii and my family are," says Candes of her husband's relocation. Milan, now the Assistant Food and Beverage Director at Hilton Hawaiian Village, ultimately desires a general manager post. "We're both goal-oriented," says Candes, but they consciously, "savor the moments" and "celebrate small things in life."

Candes loves how supportive Milan is of her endeavors, even though one pursuit—cooking—didn't pan out as she'd planned. Milan may find pennies, but Candes says, "I'm lucky to have him around: He does all of the cooking."

> Written by Kim Knox Beckius