A Tahitian Wedding Tale Written On The Waves
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M.C. Huff saw a picture Gregory Michael posted of himself on Reddit and had to respond to him. In the photo, he was reading The Four Agreements, her favorite book. After she reached out, the two followed each other on Instagram, but that was about it.
Then one day, M.C., who is a writer, actress and director, posted she was moving out to California.
“I was driving out for the premiere of a film I’d worked on and planned to stay in L.A. to continue working as an actress,” she said.
Michael asked her out to dinner the very night she arrived. One hitch: it was Valentine’s Day, and she wasn’t going on a date on Valentine’s Day with a guy she just met. They settled on the next night, February 15.
“From that moment on, we’ve been inseparable,” Huff said.
“I knew I fell in love with M.C. not long after we met,” said Michel, who’s been a TV actor for more than 20 years and heavily involved in The Groundlings, L.A.’s improv and sketch comedy troupe. “You know how home has that special cozy vibe? There are so many places that bring you joy, but home is where your heart truly sings. I realized she feels just like that to me. Every time I’m with M.C., no matter where in the world we are, I am home. It’s like I get to come home all over again when I hold her, and it fills my heart with the sweetest warmth.”
Huff said the pair have always been so in sync—finishing each other’s sentences and almost reading each other’s minds.
“So it wasn’t a surprise when we both said, practically at the same time, that we wanted to get married,” she said.
During the actors’ strike, they were living in Tahiti for a few months. While swimming one day, they suddenly came face to face with a gigantic humpback whale. When they came up for air, they locked eyes, knowing they’d shared one of the most magical, spiritual moments of their lives.
“Almost at the same time, we both said, ‘We need to get married here,’” Huff said. “And honestly, we wanted to be barefoot all day—no shoes, no formality, just the earth and the water beneath us. An island wedding was a no-brainer.”
There was another reason to choose the island locale as well.
“Tahiti is welcoming and inclusive,” said Huff. “As strong allies, it meant a lot to us to celebrate in a place that embraces the LGBTQ+ community, especially with so many of our friends and family from the community there with us. We wanted everyone to feel safe, seen, and celebrated—and Tahiti gave us that.”
The couple designed their intricately hand-crafted wedding invitations. Each came in a custom stained wooden box, branded with a custom image of a humpback whale and initials of the bride and groom on the exterior. Inside, guests found a Tahitian mother-of-pearl shell, engraved, and painted with a special QR code that directed them to the wedding website.
Tahiti is an eight-hour flight from Los Angeles, and the couple wed there on August 7, 2024. Seventy-five of their friends and family saw Michael arrive on a jet-ski, dressed in a sleek black linen Andy Fine of Sartoro tuxedo. As he changed into his ceremony suit by the same designer, Polynesian dancers performed for the guests. A conch shell signaled Huff’s arrival. She glided in on a traditional outrigger canoe wrapped in hanging heliconia flowers.
Huff and Michael exchanged vows in a traditional Polynesian ceremony, featuring sacred Auti leaf handfasting, a symbolic wrapping in a tifaifai quilt and the bestowal of their new Tahitian name, Moanahau—meaning Ocean Peace.
“The ceremony was one of the most meaningful parts of the whole experience,” said Huff. “We were wrapped in a tifaifai, a quilt that symbolizes love and unity. It was beautiful and spiritual, and felt completely aligned with who we are.”
In lieu of rings, Huff and Michael received traditional Tahitian tattoos by renowned Lolo Tattoo to symbolize their union in advance of their ceremony. Five wedding guests received their own Tahitian tattoos as part of the celebration. Guests dined on lobster, ahi tuna tartare and chicken with tables set directly in the water.
“During dinner, sharks and stingrays swam around us the entire time,” said Huff.
The wedding took place at the Niu Beach Hotel, led by planner Johanna Berard. Huff and Michael bought out the space, transforming it into a private wedding retreat. Guests came to the private island of Motu Tiahura by boat. Upon arrival, each guest received a custom welcome bag embroidered with their name courtesy of sponsors Vacation sunscreen, The Plug Drink, LulleVibes beach towels, Personalised Vacation bags, and Hanalei Company beauty. Throughout the week-long affair, there were special events, like traditional flower crown making, along with plenty of time to enjoy the stunning surroundings and a chance to swim face-to-face with humpback whales, in an experience similar to the one that so captivated the couple.
Capping off the magical experience, just days after the ceremony, Huff and Michael went skydiving over the very island where they exchanged their vows. If was a fitting finale to a once-in-a-lifetime trip, cementing a future that feels like home.
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