On a different note, you brides out there should check out a site called "Canvas on Demand." Apparently, Donna took these two pictures, and put them on Canvas. I didn't know until now, that could actually be done. See, even me...the Wedding Guy doesn't know everything...hahaha

You know, my phone has been ringing a lot lately. Not with wedding inquiries, for some very obvious reasons. This economy has been slowing down, and traveling to Hawaii to get married just hasn't been on many people's minds right now. But as of late, my phone has been ringing with offers to join wedding or business associations. "They will tell your customers you are legit..." they say.

Complete hogwash.

These associations may have started off with the greatest of intentions, but they have all been corrupted, and they just don't do their job HONESTLY AND WELL...

Lets start with the problem with my business. There is a company out there which is stealing my name, and will not stop. Their name is "A Dream Weddings Hawaii." They basically add an "A" in front of my name, and make weddings "non-plural." I have asked the owner, Captain Ken, to stop using my name, and he has just hung up his phone on me. Luckily, one of my wedding couples is a federal trademark lawyer, and will help me resolve this problem. "A Dream Wedding Hawaii" has not showed up for a handful of their weddings. How do I know? Well, because I am listed in the phone book under Dream Weddings Hawaii, and they are not..because they can't be...their name is too similar. Wedding couples call me from the pay phone at the beach, yelling at me, where is everyone!!!! They ask for Captain Ken...and of course, I have no idea what's going on.

So now you have one very pissed off wedding couple. And, they want to complain. So they call the Better Business Bureau. Well, they only find me there...since "A Dream Wedding Hawaii" is not a legitimate company. And they file the complaint under my company name.

Here's where the corruption comes in.

IN STEPS THE HVCB

HVCB, the Hawaii Visitor's Convention Bureau, tells tourist that any member 0f theirs is a business that is reputable, and one in good standing. "A Dream Wedding Hawaii" is a member of the HVCB. I contacted HVCB, to tell them that "A Dream Wedding Hawaii" was using my name illegally, not showing up for weddings, and dragging my good name through the mud.

Their response. "It's not our job to police businesses. But we can offer you a membership."

My response. "Wait a minute. One of your members is obviously a crook, ripping off wedding couples, not paying taxes under that name, and operating illegally..."

Their response, "That may be so, but it is not our job to police businesses... A Dream Wedding Hawaii has been a member for 3 years."

But on HVCB's website and through advertising, they say that HVCB members, are businesses of those in good standing. Apparently, they are lying. All they care is their yearly membership fees...all they care about is money, not you, the bride. The verdict, just because a business is listed with the HVCB, does not mean they are legit. All it means is that the business paid a yearly membership fee....that's all.

What did I do? I ended up joining HVCB to drive business away from A Dream Wedding Hawaii....

SO IN STEPS THE BETTER BUSINESS BUREAU

I call the Better Business Bureau to actually tell them, "I am not Captain Ken, and that A Dream Wedding Hawaii, is not my company. That is a rogue company....and I have nothing to do with them."

Their response. "Well, we can note that in a rebuttal, but your complaint will have to stay."

"But it's not with my company!!!!"

"It is...Captain Ken didn't...

"There is no Captain Ken that works here!" I tell them.

Then they do the unthinkable... They offer me membership and leave the complaints on their website.

The Better Business Bureau, unfortunately, is just another membership based organization. Pay your yearly fee, you get the right to paste a sticker in your window to give customers the false security that you are legit. They don't care about what's wrong or right. They just care about money.

Now many think that HVCB and that the BBB are government organizations. No, they are not. They are independent non-profit organizations. 501c(3)'s......which is what they are legally called. They make money purely by recruiting businesses to joining their organizations.

WHAT'S NEXT FOR "A Dream wedding Hawaii?"

I WILL SUE A DREAM WEDDING HAWAII, if they keep using my name. And I may sue them for damages, since they have been dragging my name through the mud.

ARE ALL ASSOCIATIONS CORRUPT? PRETTY MUCH...check this out

• I got a call from the Hawaii Photographer's Association once. They offered me membership, in return, I would get an award for my photography. Nice.... So pay some cash out, I can an award.
• I got a call from the Professional Photographer's Association. If I took a handful of classes over 3 days, submitted my work, I could then call myself an official professional. Hmm... So if I just paid for 3 days of seminars, I could call myself a professional photographer?
• I got a call some Wedding Planners Association. If I took 3 days of courses, not only would I get to call myself a "certified wedding planner.." I could would also get a certificate of excellence...even though it didn't matter if I planned one wedding or not.

The verdict: Don't trust any vendor, just because they belong to some big name association. Don't trust any photographer, who says brags that they are award winning. Don't trust any planner who brags that he or she is certified...and other's aren't.

How can you tell who knows what they are talking about?

• If they are a photographer...Look at their portfolio, and look for consistency. Look for pictures that are not touched up. Ask them about their philosophy of photography, and how they would shoot your wedding. Ask them how did they get that shot. If they have no idea...they got luck. What should their answer sound like? Something like this. "Well, to get this shot, I metered off the background, and used a strong flash to bring in the background. Now notice that flash is not too strong, to drown out the whites, but at the same it's enough to not get a silhouette. Also take in mind the horizon. I added an angle here to imply motion..." That's how their answer should sound like
  
• If they are a videographer...Ask them one question. "How do you tell a story with moving pictures? " If they can't answer the question, dump them. Videography is all about capturing the story of their wedding day. Videographers is not just about hitting the record button and knowing how to operate video equipment. Next, look at their work. Make sure all of their work, doesn't look the same!!! Too many videographers do the same shots over and over again. They shoot the bride putting on the earring, zipping up her dress, the groom getting his tux put on by his best man, they hug... and the bride grabs the bouquet from her bed and walks off... They all do the same thing..... Video for weddings are documentaries..they never should be posed, or scenarios created.... We leave that for fictional movies....
  
• If they are a wedding planner.. Ask them, how did they get into the wedding business. Most wedding planners fell into it by helping a friend, helping a church, or working for a catering company. Some are like me...they've been around the wedding industry long enough to know what is right, what is wrong. Then, ask them, what is a wedding planners job.... Truly, wedding planning is GLORIFIED order taking and GLORIFIED order making. But they won't answer it that simple...
  
  It is not the responsibility of the wedding coordinator to make sure vendors show up on time. A wedding coordinator doesn't have to worry about that if he or she hires out the right people....
  
  It is not the responsibility of the wedding coordinator to pick the right shots for the photographer, or videographer...it's the job of the vendor to do that.....
  
  It is not the responsibility of the wedding coordinator to put out fires... It is the responsibility of the vendor to put out the fire. I remember one time, my DJ forgot his vinyl records at home. No problem. He took out his IPOD, and played music from there. The couple didn't know the difference, neither did I. Professionals put out their own fires.
  
  The wedding coordinator is responsible for a few things. To hire out the right people. To make sure the wedding runs on time, and if a little late, to get it back on schedule. That's all....

I hope this helps. As a general consumer rule. It's not just wedding associations that are complete hogwash. It's all associations...for all businesses.. Do not think for one minute, that just because a restaurant got an award for their food in a magazine, and is a preferred restaurant....doesn't mean it truly is a great restaurant. More than likely, that magazine recommendation is a paid advertorial.... or advertising/editorial.........

Be careful out there!!!

Hey everyone! It's Steve Young here writing at 1:12am in the morning. I just got back from Safeway, had to make a late night run to buy some contact cleaning solution. You know, I got to thinking...I better post a positive message on my blog, before all my couples get the feeling as though I'm this negative guy who just has a bone to pick with the DLNR...hahah. Truth is, I'm very outspoken when it comes to politics regulating the wedding industry. It just stirs me. To hear some politicians cry out say behind closed doors "We need to curb the amount of weddings in Hawaii to protect our earth from warming..." just really irks me. Arrgh...the logic?

Anyway, this post...well, it'll be a somewhat positive one.

I want to talk about love, and my experience with it when it comes to weddings. And I tell you...I have some stories that I really want to share. I'm going to change the names of the couples to protect their identity, because a handful of these stories are down right...embarrassing. ALL TRUE THOUGH.....Here goes.

Love by Internet?

Let me blurt out an interesting fact here. Over 90% of my couples that I marry, actually meet on the Internet in some shape or form. Some them meet via those online match-making services, some through chatrooms, some through simple craigslist forums. I used to think meeting people over the Internet was only for geeks, but it's actually the "in" way to meet, and a much better way as well.

Most of my couples who have met via the Internet, usually end up getting married within a very short amount of time. I've married couples who've known each other in person, for literally 2 months, after chatting online and talking on the phone for years.... The average wait time though from dating to the alter for Internet couples is about 2.5 years.

I was talking to a couple yesterday about how they met. They had met literally 4 months ago, and they just felt, as though they wanted to get married to each other. Well, all the power to them...really. Some people may accuse them of not getting to know each other too well, before they took the plunge. But my opinion is the following: "There is nothing wrong with tying the knot after knowing each other for four months. At least they are diving into this relationship with both feet, and they are committed to each other forever, and entering into this relationship with the right state of mind."

I've met couple who have been together for decades,with one foot in the relationship, and the other out. When it came time to march down the isle, they cancelled their wedding on me! Can you believe that? You know, one thing that kills me is couples who just date...to have someone there. I think it's a complete waste of time. I mean, why argue...and then make up, just to know that maybe 3 years down the line, you're eventually going to break up. That's 3 years you could have spent, trying to find the right person. Spend 3 years in relationship that's bound to break up....is just 3 years wasted. Am I right?

Now of course, rushing to the alter is actually also bad...if it's for lust, and you have no idea what love is.

ENTER MR. YOSHIMURA (NOT HIS REAL NAME) a wealthy Japanese man, who I married 5 times, within the last 3 years!

I met Mr. Yoshimura at a business party 5 years ago. He had a beautiful 20 year old girlfriend at the time, who just stole the rooms attention. Mr. Yoshimura, was in his late 50's. They both seemed to love each other, and when he asked to plan his wedding on the beach, I gladly accepted.

Two months passed....and I get another call from Mr. Yoshimura. It didn't work out with that 20 year old, he found another one.... So, we plan everything once again. We take him to the same beach, have the same pastor, in fact, we do the same photos.... They look the same, they just have a different girl.

12 months pass. I get another call. Mr. Yoshimura found yet another girl. I joke with him and tell him...you know, it's really bad but my pastors are running out of wedding advice for you. But he begs me to help him out. I do. But he wants a different look he says...maybe a different bouquet. But he wants the same pastor, same location...

Now this process repeats itself until wedding number 5!! I finally tell him, this time...no more... In fact, if we do a number 6 weddings, it is going to be 1 billion dollars (which he can afford)...because he has to start taking marriage seriously. He jokes and tells me, that he can't help it..he loves to get married. I joke back and tell him, apparently you love to get divorced too! I am happy to report it has been 2 years, and I have yet to hear from him.



I consider myself an above average wedding planner. Why? It's not that I used to work in the movie industry, or I own 3 businesses, which makes me great for this job. I'm a great wedding planner purely because I know football very well....and nothing more. STOP LAUGHING! Planning for a football game is all about pre-game preparation. And the better you are at preparing for the big game, makes winning the Superbowl that much easier. So brides, compare your wedding day to the most important day for every man, the day his team makes to the Superbowl. It's that special.... see the similarities...

Wedding planning itself is actual a lot easier than playing football though. I tell all my brides, wedding planning is purely glorified order taking, and order placing, that's all. You want it, you got it. Throw in a little common sense on budgeting, and that's all. A wedding planner should not be running around on the wedding day, figuring out what wedding shots are perfect for the couple, or what to do if the flowers are not showing up on time. If a wedding planner places orders with the right PROFESSIONAL vendor, that vendor...will deliver their goods on time. Simple as that.

So where do Bridezillas come in? When you get a bride who lacks logic and reasoning.

My bridezilla story isn't anything special. But I remember this clearly. The bride, wanted to ride in a limo to her wedding location, which was literally, a five minute drive away. I told the bride, it really wouldn't make financial sense, but if she wanted the limo, I would get it for her. And that they limos, usually only book by the hour....not by the minute. So she would have to pay for the hour, even though the drive was only 5 minutes away. She told me to get the limo, and that she would handle the rest.

How she handled it....was just amazing...amazingly awful.

The limo arrived on time, picked her up, literally shot her to the location in under five minutes. I think it was more like 2 minutes since there was no traffic. Everyone was there at the wedding location, groom, friends, family, and all....waiting for that beautiful bride to GET OUT OF THE LIMO...and to walk down the isle.

BUT SHE DIDN'T.

She sat there, in the limo. Why? Not because she had cold feet. But because, she said, "She paid for the hour, so she wasn't coming out."

So of course, this started a commotion. The family got mad at her, the groom, tried to be understanding, but even he was shaking his friend complaining to his friends, that she's always like this.

An hour passes by, she steps out of the limo. Now, everything is running late. We miss sunset pictures because of her. The reception runs late, and we have to cut the program short...because everything was affected by her stupidness.

And guess who gets the blame. Your truly. She told me, "You should have told me to get out an hour earlier...then we could have gotten our sunset shots..." She was right....I told her husband to tell her. She responded... "Well, I don't listen to him...I would have listened to you.."

Okay, this couple may not last.....if they did.... Wow, that's an understanding guy...

I'm happy to report though, that I have not had another bridezilla since....

DOOR NUMBER ONE.....OR DOOR NUMBER TWO

You've heard this...getting cold feet before a wedding is really nothing out of the ordinary.....BULL CRAP. Completely bull If you're getting cold feet before your wedding day, on your wedding day, you have some real problems. Commitment comes down to more than just a simple split minute decision to get married, it's a life long commitment to that person. There have been some couples, who have been a little nervous....but that's all. They were just...nervous. Not nervous that they were taking the plunge with the wrong person. Just nervous of the moment they would say I DO.

Then, I met Trish (real name withheld) Trish was 19 years old, a very educated young woman, who was attending an Ivy league school. She was set to marry her childhood sweetheart. She known him forever. Their two families had known each other forever as well. Trish and her fiance had gone through their normal ups and downs, but all-in-all, they made it to this day.

I remember taking pictures of her as she got ready to march down the isle. We were in her private bridal room, with all our her bridesmaids, her mother, father, and friends. They were all happy. Trish took one look in the mirror, and just started to cry. Everyone thought these were tears of joy, including myself.

"Don't cry", her mom comforted.... "You'll ruin your make up..."

She nodded.... I asked if everyone was ready to get the party started, and they all nodded. I told them, "Alright, lets get this show on the road...places!!" And all the girls exited the room. I stayed back as always to have my last prep talk with the bride.

As her father exited the room to wait for her downstairs, she locked the door behind him. She grabbed me by the hand, and tears ran down her face.

"Steve, we need to talk..." she said.

"Yeah, something not right?"

She nodded. "Yeah, everything. Look. You're the only one I can talk to, and I need your advice, because you've been perfect so far. So tell it to me straight..."

Trish went on to explain to me, while sobbing, how her two families, who were very wealthy, seemed to pressure her into this marriage because they just wanted to be related to each other. And her childhood friend, we'll call him Dan, was such a special guy. She said she loved him, but she was not in love with him....or was not sure if she loved him.

"How can you tell Steve, if I'm in love with him?" tears rolled down her face.

I put down my camera, looked at her, and told her my definition. I first told her the chapter in the bible that describes love. That love is patient, kind, does not judge, does not hold grudges, hopes..etc..etc.... And I told her that in summary, all the bible is saying that love is not an emotion, but a commitment. Then I went on to explain, that I had a love for the Philadelphia Eagles. Yeah, I would yell at them, scream at them, but at the end of the day, I stayed committed to them through thick and thin.

She smiled and laughed at my analogy and I asked her, "Now, it's quite simple of a question. Can you love Dan, as much as I love the Philadelphia Eagles?"

She answered....No.

I didn't know what to say other than.... "Really?"

She nodded.

I tried to back up myself from my analogy, "Well, maybe you won't be able to love him as much as my Eagles, but maybe halfway there..."

"No, Steve...I understand now. I don't love him. I like him as a friend. I've been polite with him. And I've been faking this love....by being polite....I mean...What do I do?"

This was extremely awkward for me. Something even straight out of the movies. I told her my honest advice though. We literally had two doors to his bridal room. One door led to her wedding, the other was a back door, which led directly a back exit. I literally told her you have door number one, and door number two. And that running away would be very simple, as all I would have to do is to call the limo to pick her up...and no one would know.

Trish paced back and forth in the room, trying to deduce what her next move was, when she turned to me and asked me, what I would do.

I couldn't lie to her. I told her, "I would run..."

"Run?"

"Yeah, I would. I mean, I wouldn't want to be stuck forever with some person that I didn't love..."

"You're right....call the limo..."

I took a deep breath, nervously smiled at her, and called my limo driver. Just then, her father knocked on the door asking if everything was okay.

"Steve, I just need to go..can you handle that?"

"Yeah. No problem."

Trish had a huge smile on her face. She gave me a big hug, and ran out. As soon as she exited the room...I had to think quickly on how to make this situation not get any uglier. I got my friend, who was a cop, and called in a favor. I told him he had to come to shut the wedding down because there 70 people at a location which only could hold 50, by State Law. He didn't want to do it, but he agreed to.

After I got off the phone with him, I opened the door, and told the father, that we were looking for the rings and marriage license, Trish had to run back to the hotel to find it. The father said okay. Ten minutes later, my friend rolled up with his blue lights, and closed down the party. Of course, everyone was fuming mad... At that moment, I pulled Dan aside, and told him what had happened. But the party truly was being shut down, but I had called in the cops to make sure Dan didn't get embarrassed, waiting at the alter. He told me, he really appreciated it.

Dan and Trish never did get back together. Trish did email me to thank me for helping her with probably her most difficult decision in her life...and to tell me that I was the best wedding planner a runaway bride could ever have...

That's funny....

You know, I have to tell you something funny. I was one of the first wedding companies to start blogging on their website. Other companies started to catch on, only to improve their google rankings. And I just popped onto their websites, and let me be honest. Their blogs, look like advertisements for their services, and other companies. They truly are not blogging, they are advertising. You can tell that you're not getting the raw real deal emotion...flowing from the keyboard, when you read their blogs. They are more like...fluff advertisements that have to include certain keywords such as Hawaii Weddings, or Oahu Weddings in there....

Anyway, you'll always get the real deal with me...whether I want to talk about politics, movies, weddings stuff, or whether or not my football team..the almighty Philadelphia Eagles are going to win the superbowl this year... (which we are...)

So today, I'm still feeling not in the mood to write about love stories just yet. It's not that I don't love..love stories..it's just that I feel in the mood to write about Waialae Beach Park right now.

See, Waialae Beach Park, is one of the most popular wedding spots here on the island of Oahu next to Lanikai Beach. The reasons? Well, it's close to town so it's convenient for both the bride and groom...not to mention, the wedding coordinator. It's not very crowded, and if you're careful, you can get pretty good pictures at this place. Now let me place a quick note here, even though it's the most popular wedding location on Oahu, it's still not very busy with weddings. You may run into a couple of weddings there every now and then, but over all...the beaches are still rather empty.

So why isn't this a great location in my eyes...

The beach is very much, below average. There really isn't much of a beach here. Right behind the beach is a luxury condo, which makes you feel as though you're getting married in someones back yard. There is no homeless problem..that's a plus. But once in awhile you have the homeless straggler in the park.... But, your wedding will never be next to that homeless person, I can promise you that...no wedding cooridnator in their right mind would put your wedding next to them.

The biggest factor for me though is that, getting married at Waialae Beach Park, just doesn't feel like Hawaii. You know, I would think...why would a couple would fly thousands of miles, across an ocean, just to get married on a sub-par beach behind a hotel...by a sidewalk...that just wouldn't cut if for me...if it were my wedding. That just doesn't feel romantic...to me....

I perfer locations where the beaches are secluded, no tourist, no buildings, no matter what angle you look at. Unfortuantely, these locations are on the extreme north or west shore...they are not convenient...but well worth the drive.

Don't get me wrong. You can get great pictures at Waialae Beach Park. I have done weddings there myself after couples insisted that they go there. Of course, when they go there, they were great dissapointed that they didn't trust me. But I still told them I could get pictures.

But weddings is a lot more about just getting the right pictures..correct? It's about the over all feeling of that wedding. Who wants to just have pretty pictures, when you really know you got married behind some condo.... Why not get pretty pics, plus scenery to match it!

So my advice is this. Whomever you choose to book with, if your cooridnator tells you to get married at Waialae Beach Park, ask them if they'd be open to heading to better beach on the North or West Shore.... One that will truly feels like an island should...

Well..I'm heading out everyone. Gotta go lift some weights!!!

Hey everyone. I really want to apologize for not posting any wedding love stories here, or wedding tips. To be honest, I've just had some other things on my mind. And while I truly care for my couples, I just don't feel like writing about them.

What's been on my mind? This entire DLNR crap-thing. I mean, it's really stupid. Extremely stupid. And I can see no logic behind it.

Let me give you an update.

I am going to sue the DLNR to get rid of the permit law. It's not only unconstitutional in violation of my 1st amendment rights, but also it hurts the economy, small business, the tourist industry, and doesn't make any sense. Who is going to sue? Well, a bunch of 10 wedding companies basically. Will we sue for money...maybe. Business has slowed dramatically since the DLNR has created this headache. I don't want to sue for money....but I may have to.

You know what really peeeves me off. Hawaii....now we're supposed to be the land of aloha spirit....for those of you who don't know what aloha means, it means extremely friendly, and generous. So we're nice people here. But, if we are such the land of aloha, why does the state pay someone...15 dollars an hour, to break up wedding on the beach?

Wouldn't you like that job..NOT!

Again, the State of Hawaii, pays some blow-hard, to break up weddings. And then we advertise, hey come to Hawaii to get married!! How ironic.

Now for me, I don't get permits, and most of my friends who own wedding companies don't either. The process is cumbersome, illegal, and unenforceable. See, the permits are actually "right-to-enter" permits, they are not for the use of land. Why can't they do this? Well, it's because the State of Hawaii does not own the beach... it's public, not privately owned.

And the State always says this when they are sued. When someone drowns in Hawaii, or gets attacked by a shark, or gets some type of flesh-eating bacteria from walking on the beach...the State is quick to say, that's public land....not us...we have no control over what happens there. But when it comes weddings..they do..

So Mrs. Theiland, who I might as well appoint as the communist business leader of Hawaii, has told people here in the State of Hawaii, that she wants to regulate weddings on the beach, to preserve the environment. Okay.... enter exhibit A....

these are homeless people...camping on the beach...permanently...

the homeless break into cars, steal your money, and don't care... DLNR is okay with this.....

So, "the communist," tells all the sheeple, that the homeless they don't really damage the environment. "The Communist" believes, that weddings..damage the environment...

This, ruins the environment? Can she see the difference in pictures?

Now, can you understand the insanity behind Laura Theiland's logic. She doesn't have any logic, she's insane. At the time when the economy is hitting it's lowest, she does this...and basically brings the entire wedding industry to it's knees.

No, but after this done, I plan to get very personal with her. The wedding industry, slowed down, partially because of the slow economy, and partial due to her. Consequently, many of my friends who owned successful wedding companies, went out of business. She took it to the mattresses when she made this permit.... When this is over, I plan to campaign to get her out office. She has done too much damage to Hawaii. She has played too much to the stuck up wealthy.....and ignored the hard working cool wealthy like me.

Hey everyone...I'm finally feeling better today. I coughed maybe a dozen of times, but I'm pretty sure I'm on the ending part of this cold! I think so!

On the other news...I think I'm going to get rid of my land line here at my home office. You wouldn't beleive how many lines I have here at my home....8 all together...that's including my cell phone. So I'm cutting them all down to only two. I occur close to 600 dollars worth in just telecommuniation cost...so I can trim about 400 of that away...and hmm...that's a few tickets to the Eagles game this year right?

So this means that I will soon disconnect my (808) 239-1116 number... and post my cell phone on the web. My 1-800- number will be forwarded to my cell... so I think it works out just fine :)

Talk to you all soon!

I'VE BEEN TIRED SICK... :(

Hey everyone. I"m still sick! Can you believe it? I really wouldn't call it me being sick, but I have that cough that I can't shake. I headed to the doctor and they told me same-same. I probably have post-nasal drip, along with allergies, and asthma. But this time around, they gave me an asthma spray, which actually really helped cut my coughing down by half.

What I think happened is that I got an allergy attack cleaning up my house, then that lead to the post-nasal drip stuff, which led to the asthma stuff. The result, me being sick for about a month and a half. I do think, this asthma spray will do the trick, along with calaritin-D, and the flonase spray. We'll see.

On the other news. I got my 1-800-number up and running again. I have a lease on the number for another 5 years, so I just have to make sure I renew it again. The 800 number is actually a forwarding number to my business line. I actually think I may want to forward it directly to my cell, if I can actually do that. Then I can get rid of one line and cut down on my bills. I forward my business line to my 99% of the time anyway......

Lastly, I'm going to be adding a huge article section to my website, and will make the front page look more like a news site, with my latest articles and blogs on there. I need to do this so I can up my rankings in google.

As far for everything with the DLNR. I DO PLAN ON GOING FORWARD with prosecuting the State. I just can't do it alone. I need to get a bunch of my wedding companies, if not all, to band together on this topic. It doesn't make any sense.... It takes about 1 week to get an approval for a permit, and for the majority of eloping weddings, which are last minute..... Well, by the time we get the permit for the couple, the couple has left hawaii already.... That's not right.

To be honest, I truly am not sure if the wedding industry is getting hit hard from DLNR's permit process or not. I do know that many wedding inquries (for all companies) have siezed all together since the permit law has come into affect. But it could be the slower economy, the cut in flights to Hawaii, the higher oil prices, it could be everything combined. I do know that the DLNR permit law (although illegal) is not helping the enviroment, nor is it helping the wedding industry. It's just a tax.....

Unfortuantely, I have heard from four of my friends who own wedding businesses, that they actually may be closing down in the next few months as their wedding inquiries and wedding bookings have come to a complete halt. Granted, my wedding inquiries have slowed to zero in the last two weeks...they have slowed to zero in the last two months. And these are BIG companies people. Amazing. Just amazing people. The wedding industry has been exteremly slow.....the cause...I really don't know.

You don't have to worry about me shutting my doors though. I'm going to be going strong as usual. And I hope, with my higher google ranking, my business should return to 2005 levels....where I can help out more couples.

Anyway, I better go to bed. I have a wedding tomorrow at sunest...need to rest this sick body to be able to function tomorrow.