This Couple Combined Maui Vibes With Jersey Shore Boardwalk Energy for Their “Vacation Forever”-Themed Engagement Party in Malibu (2024)

Marta Mae Freedman and Lincoln Barnett met over a business margarita at Casablanca in Los Angeles in 2018. “Lincoln was working at a cannabis trade show called Hall of Flowers and I was working with cannabis brands,” she says. “Casablanca means so much to us that we recently commissioned a beautiful mini model of the restaurant by Kieran Wright.” Two years later, they became an item, taking their working relationship to the next level and, soon enough, right back again: Marta, the founder of Air Milkshake and co-founder of Dieux Skin, and Lincoln, the chief revenue officer at Green Horizons, jointly founded cannabis brand Angel Therapy in 2022.

They knew they made a good team, so one year after they took their company to market, they decided to take each other off of it: “We got engaged in December 2023 during our holiday trip to Maui,” says Marta. “I really had no idea! Well, I did have a feeling a few days before the trip, but Lincoln caught wind of the suspicions and really threw me off on the flight there.” They had a dream of an engagement day, complete with massages at Lumeria, lunch at Paia Fish Market, surfing, swimming, and a bath for Marta, who was already on cloud nine by the time Lincoln got down on one knee on the beach in front of their favorite restaurant, Mama Fish House. “We also stayed at the Inn at Mama’s Fish House, too, and they really worked with Lincoln to make it so special for us,” shares Marta. “Lana Del Rey’s ‘High By The Beach’ was playing after dinner when we got back to the room, along with more surprises.”

When they started planning their engagement party a few months later, they decided they wanted to bring Maui to Malibu, where they now live—which was easy to do once they found Duke’s. “We had never been to Duke’s before moving to Malibu, but the first time we went with friends in the winter, we fell in love. We had the Hula pie and couldn’t stop talking about it,” Marta says. “We go every Tuesday for Taco Tuesday at the Barefoot Bar and we’ve become locals. We both love kitsch and a theme, and we are so lucky to have Duke’s as our neighborhood restaurant.” Add in the fact that there are also Duke’s locations in Maui—the restaurant group is named after Olympian and first-father of surfing, Duke Kahanamoku—and suddenly, it was kismet: “We knew it would be the perfect venue.”

As for their engagement party’s vision? An oceanfront sunset dance party with a “Vacation Forever” theme, lots of mai tais, and everyone dressed in their out-of-office best. “Everyone understood the assignment!” says the bride-to-be. See how every detail of the tropical-coded pre-wedding party came together on July 27, 2024, as captured by Steven Simione.

The bride-to-be wore a Pucci dress in the brand’s classic Vivara pattern, inspired by its namesake island. “I know I could have gone literal with the theme, and at first I was looking for something vintage, but this print made me really happy,” she says, noting that she always knew she didn’t want to wear white. She paired the flowing dress with black mesh flats from ALAÏA (“I honestly feel like I’m barefoot when I’m wearing them!” she says), vintage bracelets, a Rolex, and her usual slate of rings (including her engagement ring from Auroro).

A shell and rhinestone manicure by Zoey Batbaatar, beachy waves from Nina Aprile (who flew out for the occasion), and natural-as-possible makeup—a request from the groom-to-be—by Emily Dimant completed the look. “Lincoln famously prefers when I am barefaced with no makeup, so we compromised and I said I’d go as natural as possible,” she says. “We didn’t use foundation, just a little concealer, and I focused on a subtle sparkly eye with a wing.”

As for Lincoln? He stepped out in a breezy Farm Rio set that Marta sourced. “It had mushrooms on it! It was the perfect blend of tropical meets psychedelic, which is a reflection of my style right now,” he says. Dr. Martens slides (“that I got from Marta’s Air Milkshake gifting suite, which felt sentimental,” he says) and a vintage Submariner Rolex, a gift from his dad, were the finishing touches.

Marta built the event’s color palette around two tablecloth patterns from Amanda Lindroth, one of her favorite interior designers. “She had a home brand that was being discontinued, so I bought enough stock of her coordinating tablecloths. They were Batik and Tropical patterns in similar and complementary colors, so we played with those and built the rest of the décor around that color story,” she says.

The bride-to-be sourced vintage rattan vases (some were Avon vases from the ‘80s) and filled them with tropical flowers from Maui’s own Hana Tropicals. “We have a subscription to get monthly flowers because 'Vacation Forever' is a lifestyle!” she says. Though they arranged most of the day’s florals themselves, Alexandra Floro from Under New Management helped the duo with the final touches at the venue.

The couple wanted the party’s merch station to emulate a beach town’s surf shop as a nod to the "Vacation Forever" theme and Marta’s childhood summers on the Jersey Shore; they stocked it with neon puka shell bracelets, surfboard magnets, a keychain display, and koozies. They reinforced those oceanfront boardwalk arcade vibes with two skee-ball machines for good measure. “There were so many nods to things that are so inherently us,” says Marta.

As guests—dressed in tropical, vacation-inspired attire–arrived, they mingled in Duke’s Ocean Room and out on the terrace, played rounds of skee-ball, posed for candids in front of a photo booth, and bopped to music courtesy of Denise Love Hewett.

Marta and Lincoln served Hawaiian-themed bites, including sliders with Maui island dressing, white cheddar chicken skewers with ginger teriyaki sauce, macadamia nut hummus with herb flatbread, miso grilled squash skewers, and sashimi poke cups. Duke’s famous Hula pie (filled with macadamia nut ice cream) was on offer for dessert. The island fare paired perfectly with their two signature drinks: a mai tai and a spicy cucumber margarita.

The 9 p.m. chicken finger drop was arguably the highlight of the night. “The day before the party, I asked if we could add a 9 p.m. chicken tender moment. THANK GOD!” says Marta. “It was pretty magical because everyone was having so much fun at that point—then the tenders were the icing on top.”

Right before sunset, about halfway through the party, the couple looked up and saw two hearts beyond Duke’s balcony, hovering above the water. “The next day, we found out the logical explanation: There was a wedding deeper into Malibu and the couple wanted to ‘energize Malibu with love,’” says Marta. “I know there are no coincidences and that my mom (who passed away 11 years ago) wanted to make sure there was something special in the atmosphere. Of all the nights there could be random hearts in the sky, it was the night of our engagement party!”

Marta and Lincoln have this advice for recently engaged duos planning their own celebrations: “Don’t feel rushed by what you ‘should’ do—our engagement party was over seven months after the proposal,” says Marta. “We wanted to enjoy the chapter and do things at our own pace.” As for Lincoln’s pro tip? “Say yes to whatever your fiancée wants.”