Jade - I Wanna Love you
by jade274

FINALLY FOUND THIS SONG...
...sounds stupid, but it's been a long time searching...

Well, today was an extremely lazy day. I didn't do much other than sleep, sleep, sleep, do a wedding, then to come home and sleep more. Why did I sleep so much? To sum it up, I over-trained a bit with my High Intensity Workout this past week. It really took everything out of me. I'm actually getting back into shape, or trying to, and I'm creating a new workout schedule based on my knowledge of HIT or High Intensity Training. So far, my results have been nothing short of good, but I'll have to see how my strength progresses over the next month. Once I perfect it, I'll post the workout plan on here so you can possibly employ the techniques into your workout plan, to get into shape for your wedding!

On my other list of accomplishments today, which wasn't much, I actually ended up finding a song that I have been looking for, for the past 3 years. It's by Jade, and the song title is "I Wanna Love you." I didn't have any idea what the title of the song was, or who sang it. All I knew was that I liked this song while in high school...I don't know why. I think it was the beat, or something. The lyrics, well I didn't really pay attention to them back then....

Like I mentioned before I did happen to do a wedding today. My couple was great, Brian and Dey tied the knot... I'll blog about them as soon as I get their pictures from the photo lab.

On other news today, I'm not sure if you heard in your neck of the woods, but the Hilton is having some financial trouble. They are staying in business, but I believe they are cutting jobs. I also heard today that California's unemployment rate is above 10%. Wowzers. This economy is really sucking... I just hope that Obama's economic plan works...and that I'm wrong, that it won't.

Taxes Taxes Taxes....
OVER 1 TRILLION IN NEW TAXES

I just read this article on drudge report and my mouth almost dropped.... http://blogs.abcnews.com/politicalpunch/2009/02/obamas-budget-a.html Obama is sticking to his word, and sticking it to the "so called" wealthy and to businesses. He is also sticking to his word that he is not sticking it to anyone under $250,000. But that really doesn't sit well with me. Granted business has not been too good for me over the past two years as the result of the slowing economy, so I wont' make that 250K mark... but I have made over 250K a year before (I'm not going to lie to you...the wedding business has been very good to me, in fact all my businesses have been good to me). And I don't know if I'm being greedy or selfish here, but I think if I earned it, I should be able to keep it, and NOT be penalized more. While business has been slow, I am opening up two new businesses this year, and I'm hoping and praying, I'll make tons of money. I plan to invest into the stock market this year, (NETFLIX seems like a good pick as well with gold), but just because I'm taking a risk, and possibly earning from it...why should I get penalized for it with more taxes?

I'm just a little confused here, because Obama seems to be speaking out of both sides of his mouth. He says to everyone that he believes in the American Dream, but it seems as though once you accomplish it, or come close...he'll penalized you for it. Government should not be taking care of us....we ourselves, we the people, should be taking care of our ownselves. We are not a welfare nation, but a nation who believes in personal responsibility. And I know Obama says he believes in personal responsibility, but then he says he believes that middle class should not carry the burden of the wealthy...I don't understand what he's saying? What burden do the wealth put on the middle class? Are the wealthy that evil? I once made a lot of money...am I evil? To me, the wealthy provide jobs for the middle class and poor, to funding many of the innovations in the world. The first computer, the first airplane, the first car, all funded by the wealthy, and foremost bought by the wealthy. Remember the 1st plasma...10,000 dollars for that thing, and only the wealthy could get those. Now, at Costco, you can get a 60 inch plasma for 1500 dollars.... If the wealthy would not have funded the research, and if the wealthy would have not purchased the initial life of plasmas....guess what, there'd be no plasmas.

What Obama is doing is taxing productivity, and it's not fair at all. He's taxing oil companies. And I don't care how much oil companies make in profits, the government makes more profit from oil...then the oil companies themselves....

I'm just really throwing up my hands right now and saying...."what the hell?...Really Obama? Really..."

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On people making more than $250,000.
$338 billion - Bush tax cuts expire
$179 billlion - eliminate itemized deduction
$118 billion - capital gains tax hike

Total: $636 billion/10 years

Businesses:
$17 billion - Reinstate Superfund taxes
$24 billion - tax carried-interest as income
$5 billion - codify "economic substance doctrine"
$61 billion - repeal LIFO
$210 billion - international enforcement, reform deferral, other tax reform
$4 billion - information reporting for rental payments
$5.3 billion - excise tax on Gulf of Mexico oil and gas
$3.4 billion - repeal expensing of tangible drilling costs
$62 million - repeal deduction for tertiary injectants
$49 million - repeal passive loss exception for working interests in oil and natural gas properties
$13 billion - repeal manufacturing tax deduction for oil and natural gas companies
$1 billion - increase to 7 years geological and geophysical amortization period for independent producers
$882 million - eliminate advanced earned income tax credit

Total: $353 billion/10 years

GETTING POLITICAL
my two cents on Obama's latest speech

I'm sorry, there's not going to be a new wedding post till the end of the week. I'm fresh out of weddings until Friday. I actually planned to write a little bit about a new wedding location here in Hawaii, but I'll wait till I get the photos in from shooting that place. In the meantime, I wanted to get a little political...again.

If you've read my blog, you probably figured out that I'm a capitalist at heart, and a conservative when it comes to politics. I believe in small government, that the government is never the answer, and I also believe in personal responsibility.

I listened to Obama's speech the other night, and I'm actually kinda scared for my future. I'm 31 years old, I'm a young businessman, and it really seems as though my President truly doesn't understand economics, and that scares me. I actually wouldn't expect him to understand economics, as he's never owned a business, had one fail or succeed on him, or never has ever held an executive position in a business. The sad thing about our country was that both candidates, McCain and Obama, together, didn't understand economics...and both were the wrong candidates at the wrong time. It didn't matter who won, were screwed either way.

When I hear Obama preach that we are in the mess we're in now, because of George Bush's failed economic policies, I just cringe. I realize a lot of people hate Bush, but he is not fully responsible for this economic downturn. The reason why where in this mess is because the government got involved with the free market. The two main culprits to blame would be the Federal Reserve, and Congress. Congress pressured banks, and Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac, into affirmative action loan programs that would qualify lower-income families that would usually not be qualified in a free market system. The federal reserve kept interest rates lower than what the market would bear, so America kept borrowing. The result was that America created wealth through credit, instead of through cash....and it was only a matter of time until everything exploded.

The media created terms such as "predatory lending" which to me is an oxymoron. Truly, what the hell is that? How can you ask to borrow 500K from a bank with no money down, and call that lender a predator? That lender is taking a risk....a gamble. And unfortunately, the banks lost because those lower income familes borrowed too much. Banks don't win by foreclosing on homes.... They gain more by the interest off loans... Because those who borrowed couldn't pay, all credit markets froze, and the poverty trickled up through main street, then eventually to wall street.

So when I hear Obama start saying things like the wealth of America depends on it's ability to borrow, he truly doesn't understand how to create wealth. True wealth is created by having hard cash or gold, and no debt. You and I, know for a fact, that when we are having money problems, the first thing you do is to pull back on your spending, and not to spend more. But the federal government is doing the exact opposite....under Bush and Obama. We all had those friends or family members who asked us for money...and once they put that hand out, they always asked for more. The goverment is doing the same thing.. bailing out fortune 500 company after company...creating a sense of corporate welfare, and driving our federal budget further into the ground...and these companies keep asking for more.

Obama, and Congress, are driving our country into a huge debt. With each new stimulus bill that is signed, our dollar will slowly devalue itself, and eventually, everything imported...including oil, will become more expensive. The only way to dig ourselves out of debt would be to hike taxes for everyone, including the poor. This happened back during the great depression, and FDR's new deal. Did you know back then, if you made over 25k, that you would be taxed 100% of your income, and that all of your gold was seized by the federal government. Desperate times, called for desperate measures. I'm not saying that would ever happen to America again, but it's scary that history has a habit of repeating itself.

If the Federal Government would have let companies which lent too much go out of business, for people who borrowed too much to lose their homes, for companies which couldn't cut it...to vanish, the free market would have actually adjusted for itself rather quickly. And that's basically historical fact. Did you know there were actually two depressions in the 1920's? We had one depression in the early 1920's that lasted for 2 years....the government cut taxes, and did nothing... After the Great Depression of 1929, FDR's new deal, kept our economy stagnant for the next 30 years.... It wasn't until Regan became president did our economy, truly experience a huge economic boom.

So where do we go from here? All I can tell you is this. My wedding company is also getting hit by the bad economic times. The average wedding cost 20 to 30K...the average destination wedding cost only $600...yet couples are still deciding not to get married...even if it's that cheap. The wedding industry, supposedly recession and depression proof, is getting hit hard. If I'm getting hit hard...I think every industry is getting hit...hard....

The next step. Seriously. Save your cash, invest your money in the only true thing that has value now...gold....

Well, it's about 11pm at night. I'm about to finish up answering all my emails for the entire day. Today was a pretty uneventful wedding day as I had no weddings. My next wedding is actually this week Friday, which means it gives me a lot of time to shore up things with my other businesses that I own, or am starting up. I'm starting up a flower lei business...did I mention that? I'll write about that more this week.... Anyway, exciting news...I got my truck alignment done again by the auto-mechanics, as the first time they did it, they didn't do a perfect job. Now the truck is running pretty cherry.. alot straighter.

So, while I was waiting for my alignment to get done, I thought, "Hmm...what the hell should I write about today and these upcoming days, since I don't have any weddings?" The answer, I think I'll write more about Hawaii, to educate you, the confused bride, on basically everything I know, so you can make the right decisions.

Why is this hotel so cheap? It's because it's not on the beach, and it's on Kuhio St, which is not the main strip of Waikiki. With that said, you're only a five minute walk away from the beach, and you're away from the craziness of Waikiki.

I would probably recommend this hotel to a couple who is a on a tight budget. Do not book one of those cheap 50 to 80 dollar a night hotels, you'll be in trouble. There is a big difference in quality when it comes to those hotels, and the Waikiki Wyland. Spend 30 bucks more a night, and you can sleep in peace.

Lupin ties the knot at Ko'olina on February 17th, 2009

Volcanic Love, literally
February 22, 2009

I really never had a Volcano ever try to interrupt my wedding plans, but Lupin's wedding would probably be the first. Lupin and her husband James met four years ago while snowboarding, probably on a snow covered volcano. Who would have thought, that a volcano, the one mother nature wonder, could possibly be responsible for postponing their wedding plans. Mount Redoubt, threatened to blow it's top just days before Lupin and James were to leave to Hawaii. Luckily, the semi-dormant semi-active volcano didn't....

No sunset, but still a nice shot..

Robert and his wife, at Ko'olina February 14, 2009

PATRIOTIC LOVE
On...Valentines Day
February 20, 2009

I actually had two weddings on Valentines Day, one in the early morning, and then, one at sunset. The beaches at Ko'olina were rather busy with weddings, which actually was quite a surprise. You would think that Valentines Day would be a day which many couples decide to tie the knot, well, it's actually not very popular. The reason? Well, if you think about it logically, yes it may be somewhat romantic. But getting married on Valentines Day would just make planning things a lot more expensive and more difficult. If you were to get married on Valentines Day that would mean that every anniversary, it would be more expensive to get roses, harder to book restaurants, more expensive to travel, book hotels, etc..etc... Being romantic on your wedding anniversary would just be a lot more difficult.

But then there are the handful of men, who dare to take on the responsibility, like Robert. Planning in advance...no problem for this guy.

Robert and his wife are soldiers who are recent transplants, stationed here in Hawaii. They have a young son between them. Robert called me a few weeks before Valentines to see if I had an opening...I was of course...completely free.

...meet the family...

I actually love taking pictures of weddings when there are kids around. You really never know what kinds of things they can get themselves into.
We actually performed the wedding on the opposite side of the cove, something which was quite different for me. The photos, still came out awesome though.

I like this sunset shot

Robert and his wife are extremely cool. There's a lot admire about Robert as well, as he served a tour over in the middle east, truly an American Hero.

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MY DAY
"THE QUEST FOR TIRES"

I basically spent all day today paying bills, and looking for tires for my Toyota Tacoma. This is the first mid-sized truck that I have owned, and I had no idea tires, could be such a friggen pain in the wallet. I went all over the place to get a price on tires, and let me warn you, Costco, is not the cheapest. I finally settled on a local store here called Lex Brodies, that actually gave me an awesome price of $148 per wheel. That's not that bad! But the really crappy part is that I have to wake up at 7:30am tomorrow to drop off my truck by 8am. 7:30am!!!! Man.... that's early for me! I'm still debating whether or not I should go to sleep or play video games all night long and not sleep..... Hmm.....

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My thoughts on this Stimulus Bill

I wanna talk politics for a bit...

As you probably already know, I'm not a very big fan of this Stimulus Bill. My company, and the other businesses that I have own have been affected directly by this tail-spinning economy. But I really don't see how fixing up roads, buildings, and all of these other construction projects are going to create 3 million new jobs....or help my wedding business. Granted, I bet there will be union labor road construction companies that will be happy....but how about everyone else. Do you know that our government has spent close to 9 trillion dollars in stimulus dollars? That's enough to give almost every American $100,000 dollars!!! Wouldn't giving each American, even the homeless, $100,000 stimulate the economy more than this bill?

Am I a dummy, because I really don't see the logic in this bill. If we have a deficit, granted, Bush did put us there....but how do we ever solve a deficit, by increasing it by two, especially if you don't have too?

And I think it's kinda funny that Obama didn't sign this bill at the White House, with Nancy Pelosi or Harry Reid around, it was just him and Biden... I thought most signings are done at the White House, and you have the head of the House and Senate there? Just strange.

And why is Obama flying around United States as though he's campaigning for office again? It's just strange...I really don't think he's performing up to the task.

I really believe that with the signing of this so called stimulus bill, America has almost signed it's own death certificate. I truly believe that our currency will go down to nothing, as all the government is going to do is to print more money. To pay for this bill, we're going to have to raise taxes...on everyone, including the stock market. And slowly, we will start seeing the government start to control once private companies.... The future is pretty scary.... Lets just hope that I'm wrong and Obama is right.

Jim and Sue Camp, married February 10, 2009

Kissing like Teenagers
Just because you're not a teen, doesn't mean you can't make out...
February 19, 2009

So it's February 10, 2009, well, not now...but back then, and it was another day of two weddings. My first wedding was actually a surprise vow renewal for a really young couple who had just been married a few years. My second wedding was between Jim and Sue, an older couple who managed to find love for the second time. Yes, it was a long day...but running into awesome couples made that long day, a lot easier.

I have to say, meeting Jim and Sue was completely awesome. Their love story was one which I considered, a second chance at love. For both of them, this was their second marriage. Jim was a widower, and Sue had jumped back into the dating scene after being divorced for some time. They had been friends for over 30 years, worked with each other, and just by luck, a friend of theirs had set them up. Sue recalls, that when their friend set them up, she had no idea that she was being set up with Jim, her long time friend. Well, you know how the story goes, one thing led to another, and they ended up getting married on the beaches of Hawaii.

Yes, they hired a wedding singer...always adds to the moment.

Sue and Jim tied the knot at Ko'olina. Their wedding was short and sweet, like all of my ceremonies. I think they run just about 14 minutes or so. But what was cool about the entire thing is how much Sue and Jim wanted for their wedding. They got leis, the eloping package, extra rolls of film, and a wedding singer, something most people don't do for their second wedding. A lot of these second wedding couples tell me, they've been down that road before, they want the cheapest package I have out there...but Sue and Jim wanted great pictures, and music, really the works.

Jim and Sue share their first breath together...
A Hawaiian tradition...

But it really wasn't how much they spent on their wedding which really surprised me, it was their passion.

Their first kiss as husband and wife

and then...their first dance as a couple...on the beach

I want to add a side note here about my wedding singer, Van. He's great. I think he's the best. This guy has a perfect voice for singing at weddings. I wish most of my couple would book him more. Whenever he's there, the romance just gets kicked up a notch. He sings before the wedding, during and after...and then he shadows me as we take pictures.

It wasn't very hard to get a smile out of these two...

Walking on the beach..

The stare...

Sunset shot...

RUNNING ERRANDS TODAY....BUT HAVE CELL

February 17, 2009 (2pm HST)

Running errands today, probably be out till early evening. I have to pick up a bouqet of flowers for tomorrow's wedding, and my wedding pictures from my last few weddings. If you need to get ahold of me, or having any dying questions, just call me at (808) 479-0685 (my cell), or just email me with a phone number, and I'll hit you back real quick.

STeve

HAPPY PRESIDENT'S DAY!
quick update...
February 16, 2009

Yesterday was an exteremly short but fun day. I woke up at around 10am, and went on a 4 1/2 hour long hike to Kaena Point with a good frieind of mine. Came back, tired as hell, ate some Greek food, then knocked out in the living room while watching a blank TV screen. I was that tired.

I just woke up about 30 minutes ago at 2:30am in the morning on President's day. I'm a bit groggy. I'll probably end up eating some left over prime rib in a bit, catch on some Lost episodes, then hitting the hay again so I can wake up at 8am to play some football.

I'll probably be at the park all day, playing football, bbq'ing, and biking. But I will have my cell phone on me, so in case you have any questions feel free to email me or to call my cell at(808) 479-0685. I have one of those blackberry-like phones, so I can get my emails and respond to them on the go as well....so feel free to email me. If I don't answer, I promise to call back asap.

Happy President's day everyone!!!

Steve

A LONG DAY OF WORK
...and biking...and a long day...
February 14, 2009

Wow, I am just pooped from today's long day of work...and biking. I woke up at around 5am this morning, and for those of you who don't know, I am not a morning person..AT ALL! I woke up, drove down to Waikiki, picked up my morning wedding couple, got them married, dropped them off... My morning couple, Bobbi and ....(oops forgot his name), were extremely cool, like all of my couples. They just had a minister on order for the day as they were on a budget. No photos were ordered..but I did snap some pictures on their digital camera. Pictures on the way...Really young couple, and morning people....kinda an oxymoron if you ask me. Young people who are morning people? Really?

After that I head down to Kaka'ako park to hop on the rocks and walls, just so I could get some good cardio. (I'm a stunt bike rider, bicycle trials is the official name of what I do). I could only bike for about an hour or so, as I'm a little rusty. I biked so much, my arms and chest started hurting as though I had just benched 300 pounds.

Later, I headed home to prepare a roast for my family Valentines dinner, took a quick nap, then headed to my last wedding of the day with Robert and Monica. They are new military transplants to the island of Oahu. Great people as well. I'll be posting their pictures shortly as well.

So I came home, ate my roast with my family, then we watched Mamma Mia on the Blue Ray. I tell you what....Mamma Mia, that's a show that makes really no sense. But I think it's worth watching because Pierce Bronson sings, and I swear, I laughed so hard my contacts almost popped out. Meryl Strep-throat, she sounds pretty good in that movie, but what a negative affect liberalism has had on her face. I can see the Hillary Clinton seeping out through her eye sockets. My other comment about Mamma Mia was their lack of convincing straight men in that movie. The groom in that movie, Sky, obviously gay.... I didn't buy it for one second that he wanted to marry a woman no matter how hot she was. Lets just say there were a lot of dancing queens in that movie.

If you're watching Mamma Mia for any type of plot, I'd say forget it. Don't expect any loose ends to be answered by the end. Just look forward to asking yourself, "What the !@)##?"

The night ended with me watching a few episodes of Supernatural. Now that is a Valentines movie. Horror, great writing, great acting....good fighting and defeating evil....love that stuff.

Anyway ladies and gentlemen, I am outta here. Time for me to end this night.

RANDOM THOUGHTS
February 13, 2009(11:09am)

I'm about to turn in, but before I do, I just wanted to clear my thoughts a bit about things that are not wedding related. So I was driving down to the North Shore today with my dad, and we pass Turtle Bay. Michelle Wei is there, playing with all the other to women golfers in the world. There's a small crowd along the highway, nothing too big. And I start thinking to myself about golf. I don't play the sport at all, I think it's boring to watch, and I really don't get it. It looks really boring. All I wanna know is how the camera men track the golf balls while it's in the air. Then my dad and I start talking about sports in general. What really separates a man's sport from a regular sport. Now I'm not really knocking golf, or anything...but come on...really? Are people who play golf actually...athletes?

So after a long conversation, I finally started to determine there is one determining factor that makes a sport...a MAN'S sport...and another, just a fun hobby to be skilled at. A true MAN sport, requires the athlete to overcome fear in order to achieve his goal. Lets take the obvious...football. For those of you who have played football, there is the everlasting fear that you could get seriously hurt on any single play. A wide receiver goes up for the ball, just to get hammered the next second. Achieving the unachievable sometimes meaning risking your own health to get it done. Golf on the other hand...there is no fear involved....

So what do I consider MAN sports then?

FOOTBALL
ICE HOCKEY
NASCAR
SKATEBOARDING
SNOWBOARDING
BMX/TRIALS RIDING
SKY DIVING
BOXING
MMA
ICE SKATING...YES, IT TAKES GUTS TO DO WHAT THEY DO
GYMNASTICS
COLLEGE WOMEN'S CHEERLEADING
SUPERCROSS
BALLET

In order to get great at these sports, you have to get hurt. In fact, getting hurt is just part of the game....

So these are the sports that I consider skilled sports, accuracy sports, but do not require getting hurt in order to get better.

GOLF
BASKETBALL
TENNIS
SWIMMING
CHESS
BASEBALL
you get my drift.....

Are any of these sports better than others? Not really. But the risky sports tend to be more entertaining the skilled ones. That's why the summer Olympics can be so boring sometimes....there isn't that much man sports. But when winter comes around, you have the Luge, Bob Sled, Hot Dog, Ski Jump, sports where you say to yourself..."How in hell do you get good at that?"

My next random thought is just a cut and paste. Check out this article written by Thomas Brown, one of the top banking experts in the country. http://www.facebook.com/ext/share.php?sid=61856213652&h=wv_dW&u=w__Zq

He really knows what he's talking about...and I agree with him. The article is about how the CEO's, at least the ones who were called in front of congress, really, are not the ones who we should be blaming for this crisis... Great article....

Well, talk to you all later... I'm headed to bed.

Mark and Kim, February 7, 2009

Rolling...Rolling...Rolling...
Mark and Kim, one laugh after another

There are some couples who are quiet, some who share a laugh here and there, and then there are some who literally are comedians, like Mark and Kim. When I first met Mark and Kim, I knew I was in for a pretty special wedding when I asked them how they'd met. They both reluctantly admitted that they had met on the Internet, but told everyone that they met at some bar. Kim told Mark that she was extremely obese and had scabs all over her face. Her reasoning, she wanted Mark to like her for who she was, her personality...

So Mark did fall for her personality. He told me that when he first met her, he was looking for some really fat woman with scabs on her face, and was just relieved at what he saw...the exact opposite. And I'm not sure if it was on their first, second, or third date, "the keeper" happened one day at a furniture store. Mark and Kim were checking out some beds, when Kim pushed Mark onto the bed and yelled so everyone could hear her "I told you, I am not doing that to you here!" They caused a scene, a hilarious one of course.

Always Joking....

Mark and Kim came down to Hawaii to get married, and to also check out the Pro Bowl, like many of my other Pro Bowl couples this past week. Hey, there's something about football in Hawaii, it brings romance...EVERYTIME...just as long as that romance isn't on Superbowl Sunday. You know, it's tough to get people to work on Superbowl Sunday. I can't even get my ministers to work on Superbowl Sunday.

A time to be serious....

a time to smile...

a time to...make out?

Now when people call me up and ask me, "Where's a great place to get married?" my initial reaction is to always tell couples, to get as far away from Waikiki as possible. Mark and Kim originally were supposed to get married on the North Shore at Sunset, but the weather changed their plans. At about 1pm, it started pouring cats, elephants, giraffes, at my house, and didn't stop. In fact, the rain was so heavy, I couldn't see outside my window. I'm about 30 minutes away from the North Shore, and I knew that it was raining there as well. I called my minister, Elias, and he informed me that it was basically storming at Ko'olina as well. I then called Kim and asked her what she wanted to do. I gave her two options. We could either postpone the wedding till the next day, or we could marry her at Magic Island since everywhere else on the island was storming. She told me, the location really didn't matter, as long as they got married that day and got great pictures. No problem.... So magic island it was....

My main beef with Magic Island? Not much. Only that it's not as secluded as other beaches, and you really don't have a clean beach there. But I can get great shots there....

Far away shot of where couples usually get married at Magic Island
under the palm trees over looking Waikiki

Another kiss right after they are married...

Now I'd love to go on and on about Mark and Kim's jokes, but I can't tell all of their jokes as some were not G rated. Lets just say that they were extraordinarily funny. Kim would remind Mark that she married him just for his car, and Mark would remind her that he married her just for her body. I remember, there was one moment after the wedding when Mark told Kim, "Well, you're getting married right before Valentines day, so does that mean you're going to need two gifts? You better choose just one gift, because you got a trip to Hawaii, rings, a wedding, you already got all the big stuff already."

Then Kim said, "Well, you could just give me something small."

And of course, Mark was waiting for her to say that, then he laughed and said, "I had a joke there, but I better not say it...Give her something small..haha!"

We all started cracking up laughing.

A great shot of Oahu....Diamond Head in the background

Sailboat in the background....perfect timing...

Weddings like Mark and Kim's make my job "too easy..." and a lot of fun. I have to say, for the most part, all of my wedding couples are fun. Just some are more fun than others. Once in awhile I run into quiet couples, but there's nothing wrong with that at all either. Quiet is good...not everyone has to be jokester to be in love right? But I prefer the weddings where couples cannot stop laughing. It just seems way more upbeat.

Over looking the cove at Magic Island...

Sunset at Magic Island....

Magic Island...beach shot...

WEDDING INQUIRY FRAUDS!
Crazy Wedding Inquiries from Nigeria

I've been in business for about 8 years now, and every so often I get fraudulent wedding inquiries in my email, and by phone. I actually just got two in this past week, both from different emails. They both include the same stiff jargon that most fraudulent inquiries from Nigeria consist of. Take a look.

My Name is Dr. TOM GREEN,

I am looking for an experienced wedding planner who will
handle my wedding and arrange the reception dinner for a group of people who
will be attending the wedding ceremony. The wedding is expected to hold on the
30th of May. 2009 and 25 to 40 guests are expected to attend.

As I do not know what the guests might choose for their meals
and drinks, i will make a prepayment as initial deposit for this booking via
credit card once availability is confirmed by you. You are to arrange for a
venue for the wedding (its a civil wedding), a place for the reception
,Videography, Music entertainment,Photography,cake and flowers.

If there is any these items that is beyond your capability,you
let us know so that another company can handle it.

Get back to me with your response as we don't have much time
with us so that we
can process our accommodation within the region more
convenient for you and us.
Best Regards, Dr. TOM GREEN

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Hi,

Hope my email reaches you in good faith. I am looking for an
experienced wedding planner who will handle my wedding and arrange dinner for
the guest who will be attending the wedding ceremony.Seven will arrive few days
before the wedding day.The wedding is expected to hold on the 23rd of May, 2009
and 50-65 guests are expected to attend.

As i do not know what the guests might choose for their meals
and drinks, i will make a prepayment as initial deposit for this booking via
credit card.All checks and balances will be made with you on 22nd of May, 2009
which is the final day of the booking, You are to arrange for a
Videography,Music

Entertainment,Photography,Officiant/Priest & Church,cake,flowers and the venue.If there is any these items that is beyond your capability,you let us know so that another company can handle it. Get back to me with your response as we don't have much time with us so that we can process our accommodation within the region more convenient for you and us.

Best Regards,

Dr Karl Busche.

--------------------------------------------

Do these Nigerian scammers all go to the same school? I mean, at least they could try making their emails sound a bit different, maybe add a little personality to their letter, maybe try not making it sound so stiff....

My dad, who owns a computer company, once got an order in from one of these Nigerian companies for 1000 Intel processors. He even got in a check for the order for over 100,000 dollars! But we didn't cash it, because when we called up the bank from which the check was issued, they told us that no account existed. Why do these Nigerians want you to cash their check, or to accept their credit card? The answer is simple. They basically want your banks routing and account number. Once they have that, they can cut themselves a check or route all your money from your account to theirs. Smart fellas...but not smart enough to take advantage of the YOUNG FAMILY... That's me and my dad.

Isn't this a crazy world though?

Chris and Shelly Roper, October 11, 2008

So what happens if you have bad weather?

So before I get into answering one of the most common questions I ever receive, let me first tell you about my day. After all, this is my blog right? Hehe. Well, I just had a hell-of-an exhausting day. I had a morning vow renewal service, then a sunset wedding where I had to pick up and drop off my clients. Both couples were awesome and I'll be blogging about them both in the near future. But phew, two weddings in a day really puts some mental and physical stress on my 31 year old body. I'm not complaining at all...I'm just exhausted.

Anyway, it's about 4am in the morning, and I thought I'd finish up on some blogging before I head to bed.

Now onto the most common question I get in the world "WHAT HAPPENS IF IT RAINS ON MY WEDDING DAY!"

Well, I have to tell you. Ladies, most likely, it will rain on your wedding day. See, here on Oahu, it rains everyday. The question is always a matter of when and where it will rain. Luckily, most of the rain is concentrated over my house, not kidding there. I live on the Windward side of Oahu, right by the mountains, so that's where all the moisture...or rain, gets trapped. The Leeward side of Oahu, really doesn't get much rain, and that's where I do most of my weddings.

So the solution is to have your wedding away from the rain, which means anyplace except where I live!

Now what if you're unlucky, and it just storms on your wedding day. We're talking...the entire island. Then, we have the option of moving dates...or moving times.

I know what's probably clogging your mind now. "What would happen to the pictures if we have stormy weather?"

The answer to your multi-million dollar question is...most likely good things. Blue skies in pictures are one thing, and while that may be beautiful, a silver sky actually makes for great photos, not to mention great sunsets. The trick though is that if there are clouds on your wedding day, to move to location where there are trees. Lets take a look at this photo:

Green makes a difference, as with bright color flowers

As you can see, green's make a big difference. At least at this location, Ko'olina. I have the option of putting some green in this picture, to some color to the shot. The gray clouds automatically make the water look gray...as with the bland sand color. What also helps are bright color bouquets... those really pop in stormy weather.

Wrong Beach, wrong day... Sunset Beach

So this picture above is of wedding at Sunset beach during an overcast day. There are no blue skies, well, not much, and the ocean isn't as blue as it could be. So I actually took this couple to the abandoned building, and a forest area where there were more greens, so we could add more color. I also changed the the angle from which I shot at, so I could add some green in there to make the shots more lively. I knew a front was coming in, so I had to really work fast with this couple...

Changing the angle, added some green...

And then changing location added a lot green!

As an added note, bad weather is actually great for fashion shots as they make pictures more dramatic. For videography, and for some wedding photography, it's also better to as the light is softer, it's the same effect of having a huge soft box that gets rid of all the nasty shadows

CHANGE IN WORK STYLE

Cloudy weather, stormy weather, any type of weather that's not blue sky perfect changes my work flow when it comes to picture taking. It makes we work fast. Usually I take my time with picture taking. My normal work flow; it takes me roughly one hour to shoot 36 pictures. But when there's a front moving in, I can go through 72 shots in 10 minutes if I need to. The quality of the shots don't change..and it may seem as though I'm rushing. Truth to it, I'm trying to avoid the rain. Once it starts raining, all bets are off.

SUNSET SHOTS

Regarding sunsets during cloudy days....are they possible? Yes and no. During an overcast day, the sun races the clouds to horizon. If the sun wins, then you can get a pretty nice sunset shot. If the clouds win, you get nothing but a dark sky. Luckily, most of the time, the sun wins because heavy clouds don't move as fast.

The sun wins the race to the horizon!

It's literally a gamble when it comes to shooting sunset shots on stormy weather days. The photographer literally has to guess if it's a good idea to wait if the sun pops out or not. If he waits too long, and the sun doesn't pop out, then the last five picture on the roll will be gloomy and gray. If he's right though, he can get some of the best sunset shots he's ever taken. Luckily, I've been a lot more right than wrong when it comes to shooting sunset shots in stormy weather.

FACE BOOK ME AND STUFF
Random thoughts from the brain of ME!!!

It's about 9pm here in Hawaii right now. I just finished an awesome episode of 24. Does anyone watch that show? Man, that show is awesome. I got addicted three of four years ago, and I swear, Jack Bauer, lets just say I hope in real life, we have more people like him.

What's new with me? Nothing much. So I'm heading to bed rather early today. I have a surprise vow renewal tomorrow in Waikiki, then a wedding at Ko'olina around sunset time. I'm picking up the couple from their hotel in my Toyota Tacoma, and driving them to their wedding spot. Today was a rather laxidasical day. I woke up, answered a few wedding inquiries, had about 4, then got a long over due haircut. I finally don't like a hippy anymore...hehe.

REGARDING FACE BOOK
I joined up early last year. I have to say, it's quite interesting. I'm not sure if any of you are on there, but I am. You can add me. My email is steve@canoegirl.com It's a great way to keep up with friends. But do you notice, though, that some people there treat their face book page like their own reality show. They update exactly what they are doing, what they are eating, even pictures of the food that they are eating. It's kinda ironic that just a few years ago, people were complaining that the Patriot Act would violate their privacy, and some of the same people who are complaining about that basically put their life on the net for the world to see.

What do I have on my facebook page? Nothing much. I put a lot of news articles on there...and say hi to past wedding couples, etc..etc.. Add me if you want!

Did anyone see his news conference today? zzzzz

Yeah, Obama is a great speaker, or great script READER, but boy does he write some boring speeches. There's only so much a sane man or woman take before checking out. Luckily, I find financial information interesting. What I don't understand is this. I realize that Obama inherited a failing economy. But he keeps saying that he doesn't want to repeat the mistakes of the failed economic policy for the last 8 years. When he says that, he's talking about tax cuts for the wealthy did not work, and basically was blaming those cuts for causing the economic disorder that we're in now. But Obama does his homework, he would realize that since '85, our economy has been booming, due soley to drastic tax cuts. Singapore and Hong Kong, have low flat taxes, and their economy is doing great. China pays less taxes, on the wealthy, pays less taxes than us, and thier economy is not hurting as bad. I have an idea for a stimulus plan:

• Cut capital gains for the stock market to 0%... and we would see the stock market go up overnight, people will get their retirement back.
• Cut capital gains for the housing market to 0%
• Base the dollar on gold...and we will see our dollar stabilize
• Scrap the IRS, and instill a flat federal sales tax on all items. There will be no graduated taxes....You will not get penalized for making more money.
• At a trillion dollars, that is how much the federal government actually takes in per year. Why not have a 1 years federal tax holiday!
• Cut federal gas tax to 0% make all freeways privately owned, but monitored by the government
• People who can't pay their mortgage, must lose their homes
• Get rid or mark-to-market accounting for banks.... Banks are actually not doing as bad as they seem to be.
• Get rid of the death tax
• Start building nuclear power plants across the nation.

That's my plan...doesn't it make more sense? I really don't see how creating road construction and fixing schools, etc..etc...will creates jobs for all of us or start banks from lending, or give the stock market back it's life. Anyway, lets just say I disagree with him on the stimulus.

Carrie and Don, signing the marriage license

And the RANDOM THOUGHTS CONTINUE!! Isn't it really cool when older people find love? I think it's pretty darn neat. Some comments on the photo. Good luck shooting a shot like this with a digital camera. You'll get nothing buy white skies.... I shot this with FULL flash, something which is a no-no, when you shoot digital. You notice here, I still have color in the skin tones, despite 100% flash.

Carried and Don on Sunset Beach

This is what Sunset Beach looks like when the sun is not setting. Sunset Beach is rather unique. It's so big, that you can basically have your own portion of the beach when it's crowded, and still feel as though you're having a private wedding. Sunset Beach is a great hangout spot for the locals. Not only do they surf there, they also drink there, out in the open...which is illegal. But no one stops them, not even the cops. This is...local style.

One thing which I never got about Sunset Beach, is the sunset. So the sun sets at Sunset Beach, and the beach there is on the North Shore. But at the same time, the sun is setting at Ko'olina, which is on the West Shore, on the opposite side of the island! What the hell man. Are there two suns in Hawaii?

A little black and white for you... Linda Reeves...kiss..

This is actually a color shot, desaturated in the computer to give that black and white affect. It's really not the same effect as film. Here's a modeling shoot which I did with black and white film.

Kaina.....a very talented musician

Black and White film actually has silver in it and it's really sharp, and not as contrasty. And the prints actually last forever. If you ever seen some hold black and white shots, I swear, you would think it was shot just yesterday.

Well, that's the end of today's random thoughts. Write more tomorrow. Take everyone.

Steve

cell me at (808) 479-0685

Jason and Meg
December 31, 2009

Hey, I'm starting to really like this blogging stuff again. I think it's because I finally got that RSS feed thing working 100%. Apparently, the more I update my blog, the more my front page changes, and apparently, the search engines like that stuff. So my rank raises, and my phone rings more, and the more business I get in....So...all-in-all, I'm kinda getting paid to blog. Hmm..just like the good ol days, where I got paid to write.

Anyway, I was looking through some of my pictures, and I thought I'd write a little bit about Jason and Meg's wedding, which happened on New Years Eve. Jason and Meg are an extremely cool couple. The really cool thing about their entire wedding is that Jason actually did most of the planning. He got in touch with me, emailed me, talked on the phone with me, for months before their wedding. This guy really put this thing all together for Meg. You know, usually, it's the other way around....woman puts everything all together, man just shows up. Not in this case.

So on their wedding day, Jason shows up, and I know a little bit about him already....that's he's a NFL fan, along with is fiance. But he gets out of the car, and I realize this guy is a lot younger than I thought he would be. He's there smoking his cigarette, laid back, ready to get married. And Meg there is sharing a few good laughs with him. So we start our usual conversation about everything from football, to how they met, etc..etc... And then I find out that Jason is some type of University Professor, or something really close to it. And something like a double major, something with Philosophy. Lets just say, that Jason doesn't look like the academic type....no offense Jason! But stereotyping wouldn't work here.

The ceremony went off perfect. We got great pictures, and Jason and Meg said some pretty sweet stuff to each other in the end. Here are more pictures from their wedding.

Jason gives a lei to Meg...part of the lei exchange ceremony

Meg gives Jason his lei

Let me get technical here. So the way you just saw here is the lei exchange ceremony. It happens after the couple exchanges vows and their rings. The lei represents love as well, but in a different way. My pastor says it the best, "the leis are like like our love. They are beautiful, circular, and never ending, and delicate... But over time, if not taken cared for, they can whither, and fade away. Always take care of your love, so it will last forever..."

On a technical note. Jason's maile Lei is actually a tea leaf maile lei. It's much different than those other cheap tea leaf leis that you see on other websites. This one has some meat to it, and it looks like a real Maile Lei. I switched to the tea leaf maile lei because it's actually better. See, the real maile, is a vine. And it's rather fragile. So fragile, that by the end of the wedding, it's usually falling apart. The tea leaf maile on the other hand, last basically forever, and are durable. They won't fall apart, and best of all, when you're done with the wedding, you can take it home, and drape it over your wedding picture frame....it dries nicely, and can be kept...literally forever.

Sharing of breaths...

This happens right after the lei ceremony. Couples share the first breath together as a married couple, as Rev. Elias, performs a Hawaiian chant over them. It adds that little hawaiian touch. Baiscally, they touch noses and foreheads together, and share their first breath.

FINALLY, THE KISS

Most couples don't kiss like this. But when they do...wow, it makes for great pictures doesn't it! To take these pictures, you kinda have to be fast to react...and always ready for it. Once the groom picks up his wife, you flip that camera and snap, hoping the horizon is as straight as possible. It also helps to shoot the shot a little below waist level, to give the couple a "superiority" look.

Well, that's my wedding post for today!!!

Pro Bowl in Hawaii!
May be the last time.... I don't think so...

So as many of you die hard football fans have probably heard, the Pro Bowl will not be in Hawaii next year. It will be played the week prior to the Superbowl, in the town in which the Superbowl will be held, and will not include any of the players whose teams have made it to the Superbowl. Well, as I've been watching the NFL network, and the loads of interviews around town with NFL players, I can tell you...they don't like it.

Part of the nostalgia of playing in the Pro Bowl is to bring the players and their family to Hawaii. They've all played across the nation, it's a matter of them playing in a State which they don't usually play in....LIKE HAWAII. They players want it in Hawaii, and they don't want it a week prior to the Superbowl! Hey, to me, having Superbowl players in the pro bowl is part of the draw too right?

So if the NFL players don't like it, the fans don't like it, I am sure the NFL will soon change their opinion on everything.

Well, I'm off to do some non-wedding work now. Talk to you all soon.

Oh, I figured out the RSS feed thing. Apparently, RSS feeds don't updated the instant you hit the publish button. It takes awhile for the feed to update. So apparently, I was doing something right!!!

GETTING A HAMSTER BRAIN

Okay, so apparently, I'm not as smart as I thought at was. I thought I had this RSS feed thing hammered out. I don't. I can't get my blog so far to sync with my front page here. Why can't this web stuff just be point and click. I swear, learning how to web-program crap is like learning another language.

I'll get it....I will.

I'm burning the midnight oil trying to figure this out. Just came back home from the Pro Bowl NFL party. I have a side comment. You know these cheerleaders, is it just me or do they look a little bit more out of shape than what they should look like. I mean, honestly, look, if these girls jobs are to be pretty for fans and in shape, shouldn't they not have little pot belly's? Just my two cents.

Picture above: Laura Thielen blowing hot air

WEDDING INDUSTRY, FIGHTING PERMIT LAW
....AND WINNING

It has been brought to my attention that about a week or two ago, the wedding industry of Hawaii, mainly the Maui Wedding Planners association, has filed a lawsuit against the DLNR, to halt the beach wedding permit law here in Hawaii. This is one of two lawsuits that are being brought to my attention. The second lawsuit was filed against the DLNR by a church here in Hawaii.

For those of you who may not know...sometime last last year, the DLNR started to require all weddings which were conducted on all beaches here in Hawaii, to obtain a right-to-entry permit, in order to get married on the beach. The problem with this permit was rather obvious:

• The State did not own the beach, so they could not issue land use permits. The state was quick to point that they did not own the beach, especially when the State was sued for having unclean beaches which lead to the infection of the flesh eating bacteria in a local woman's foot. They were quick to point out that the State did not own the beach... So how could the state issue out permits for land which they did not own?
• The DLNR permits were socialistic. They limited the free market in the wedding industry. For example, for a popular wedding day...such as 8-8-08, a wedding company could sweep in an purchase all availble beach permits for Waialae Beach park, virtually forcing couples to book with the sole wedding company which held the permit.
  
  The permit also by restricted the relgious freedom for couples to get married on the beach. In other words, couples would have to pay for their God given constiutional American right, in order to get married on the beach. That's not right.
  
• The DLNR was breaking a 2001 supreme court ruling that stated that no permit would be needed to conduct a wedding on the beach.

Laura Thielen knew what she was doing, knew that she was going against the 2001 ruling, but still tried to control, and to do all but eliminate the beach wedding industry from Hawaii. Now, of course, she is playing stupid...but like all wedding professionals who listened to her talk, she knew exactly that the 2001 ruling existed.

It looks like as though the wedding industry is winning so far...

Read the article here:
http://www.mauinews.com/page/content.detail/id/514319.html

Alexis and Mandy
My first same-sex marriage

You know, I just realized something. I should make it a habbit to blog after I wake up in the morning. Even if it's a short one. I think I'll start doing that. I'll do it as right after I brush my teeth. It may not be about weddings, but maybe it'll be what's on my mind.... Afterall, this blog here is more about me and my personal opinions about everything rather than about weddings....hehe...

But today's blog is actually about my first same-sex marriage wedding ceremony. To start, I would like to say that I am God fearing Christian, and while I do have my own opinions about same-sex relationships and marriages, I reserve those opinions for myself, and do not judge others on how they choose to live their life. I realize for many Christians, this may be a stretch, but it is not my place to "judge" others sexual preference, or whether or not they are going to go to hell if they do choose to be attracted to the same-sex. Thou shalt not judge.

With that being said, one of my best friends is gay, and is married to a great guy who loves him in California. And I'm happy for him.

Now do I offer same-sex ceremonies with my company? Yes and No. No as in, all of my ministers who are Christian ministers, will not perform the ceremony. Yes as in, I will take photos, video, supply leis, wedding singers, you name it for the wedding....and I will even find you a minister for your ceremony.

Happy couple....

So Alexis and Mandy....how was this couple different than any other wedding? Well, not much really. The only question that I had in my mind was, who was going to wear the wedding dress? Mandy wore it in this case. The ceremony was performed by Kainoa of http://www.arainbowinparadise.com/ and it was pretty cool. In the end, Kainoa said "you may now kiss your princess.." which I thought was a great twist on the standard wedding ceremony. Alexis and Mandy's ceremony was small as well. Their parents came, along with Mandy's son, of whom they incorporated into their ceremony.

All-in-all, the wedding went perfect...with the perfect weather, perfect wind and sun; my first same-sex wedding actually was like any other wedding I did... It was fun, romantic... and normal.... well except for one thing, their friend who decided to show off their boxers for one shot, with the words "naughty" printed all over it. That never happened to me before....

This is actually a posed shot....but their friend did want a picture like this....funny

Pattie and Marshall, Turtle Bay, December 6, 2008

Hey everyone...well, first off, let me apologize for not updating my blog recently. I've been rather busy lately trying to make sense of to where this economy is heading, and what to do next with my company. The state of the economy in Hawaii, has not been well. Hotel occupancy is at all time low. From what I heard and read, it's lower that great depression levels, and staying there. This is a lot worse than what post-9/11 tourism levels were. Back then, tourism hit an all-time low, but then it bounced back within a few months. Right now, there just are not a lot of tourist traveling to Hawaii....and tourism is droping slowly every single month.

How will this affecting the wedding industry?

Well, not good at all. Bookings for me are not down, but I have noticed that couples are spending less and less. More so, the number of cancellations have gone up. This month alone, I have had up to 10 cancellations so far! That is as much as last year all together. 2 years ago, I only had 1 or 2 cancellations in 2 years! The reason...people are just losing their jobs left and right. The economy is just that bad. People are losing their jobs, losing their retirement, losing their homes. The big question is when will it end? How will it end? And more so, is this economic stimulus plan the answer?

Now I know you're probably shaking your head and yelling "STEVE, WHAT DOES THIS HAVE TO DO WITH MY WEDDING!!!" Truth is...everything.

The average wedding used to cost around $32,000, with the majority of that cost going toward the reception. That's 32k, spent in one day. Two or three years ago, that really don't pose to much of a problem for most. Couples usally had that in savings, or took out a credit line to pay for their huge wedding. But now, you, me, hey, we all can't afford to spend that much for anything. So the big question is, what to do now? Here's my two cents:

OPTION#1: Don't get married now, wait a couple years until the economy recovers, and then throw your big wedding when the economy is kicking again. The problem with that is, I really don't think a bad economy is a good enough to reason to put off a commitment. Money is money, love is love, they are not interconnected.

OPTION#2: Don't put love and commitment on the back burner. Get married no matter what...just do it cheap. Elope, get married by the judge, or scale back TREMENDOUSLY on your wedding plans. Even if you have job security, go cheap as WE ARE ALL IN SURVIVAL MODE. Cheap doesn't mean you don't love each other less, it just means you're being more realistic. Hey, think about it logically....maybe it's a good idea to invest that 30K, rather than to blow it in one day. Especially right now..there are great investment opportunities out there at the moment.

Should you travel to Hawaii to get married? I don't know... yes, if your budget allows. The cheapest package I have right now is $295. Travel, for the most part will be around $1400 for two, for the cheapest air/hotel/car package. Stay for 6 nights, sending 150 per day, that's $900. So, traveling to Hawaii to get married, will probably run you at least $2600.00 with air/hotel/car/food/and wedding....that's not bad. If you can afford it, I would say go for it...but make sure you can afford it...especially in this economy. On the high end, you may spend $5,000 for everything, and over the course of 7 days... still a far cry from $32,000 in one day.

And as always, it's always been a lot cheaper to runaway to get married because you wouldn't spend the big dollars on a huge reception.

So what are my predictions on this economy. It's not good. If this stimulus package passes, our U.S. dollar will weaken tremendously as our treasury will simply, print more money.. Obama has basically put a 500K salary cap on all executives which companies receive bailout money. I realize this will make a handful of people happy, but these top executives, if they are top teir talent, need to get paid. I fear we will be losing our best executive talent to overseas companies which will not be shy about paying them their worth. With that being said, I see the nationalization of banks, cars manufactures, insurance companies, etc..etc... and a step toward anti-capitalism, and socialism. I believe we will be headed for depression times, and will not recover from this economy in the next 6 years....sad to say. It's going to get worse guys and gals, so hold on...this is the good times.

As for my company. I'm going to keep chugging along and surviving the best I can :)