Hey there! So you found the most interesting page on my site. This is my recent Oahu wedding, Hawaii wedding, and...well..lets be honest, it's a blog. The story behind this blog, well, it started out purely about Hawaii Weddings, then it evolved into everything and all of the above. Basically, ITS MY BLOG!! So I write about anything on here. I updated this blog "alomost" on a daily basis. You can learn more about me, my quirks, my style, and of course, you'll get wedding tips here.
Call me if you want to make me richer..I mean, book my services!
It all started one day when Carla bumped into Ray, an old friend, and handyman, while driving on the road. She needed some help at her house, and Ray volunteered. He showed up one day, and as the story goes, he never left. This handyman apparently not only was the answer to Carla's house repair problems, but the answer to everything else as well.
Carla came to Ray with a ready-made family. To most men, including myself (I hate to admit), ready-made family women scare the bejezues out of them, and me. But Ray, did not flinch a hair when he learned that Carla had a young son and a teenage daughter. Was this courageous of Ray? No, I don't think so. If I were to label Ray's commitment not only to Carla, but also her children as "couragous" I would be wrongly labeling Carla's children as something bad. And bad, they are not. So Ray's love for Carla's kids was more of a love thing, than anything else. Bottom line, not only did Ray fall in love with Carla, but he fell in love with her entire family. And on that day when Ray and Carla shared their vows at Ko'olina, I could see that Carla and her kids, definitely opened their hearts to Ray as well.
The new family
So what really sealed the deal for this couple other than the usual stuff? (communication, sense of humor, etc..etc..) Dirt biking. Ray loved to dirt bike and so did Carla. Hey that would seal the deal for me too. It's tough to find a woman who enjoys dirt biking these days.
Carla's daughter watches her mother tie the knot.
At Ko'olina, mid-day
A romantic walk on the beach
Everything on Ray and Carla's wedding day went very smooth. Carla was my first wedding on a day which I had three weddings. Now I don't usually do three weddings in one day. I usually only do one wedding a day. But for some reason, on their wedding day, three couples wanted to get married. And it wasn't one of those special 7-7-07 days...it was just a regular day of the week; not a holiday, not a weekend...but that still didn't mean it wasn't special. If I could have changed anything about that day, it would be the heat. Boy, was it hot.
Laying in the sand....not many couples like to do this pose, but I think it's always worth it.
If there's water, more than likely, I'm going to make you stand in it, it's great for photos.
My last words for Ray and Carla. Thanks for being extremely cool. There's no doubt in mind that you two will last forever together.
Most of my wedding couples usually book packages that consist of minister and photo services. Once in awhile, there's a few wedding couples who book my photography services only. And once in a LONG while, there's that one bride who books me just for video coverage. That one bride is Nam.
She came to me asking for a simple one camera video coverage for her ceremony, then asked later if I could upgrade the coverage to 3 cameras, and edit just the ceremony. I agreed, built her a customized package, and booked her officially with a down payment shortly after.
Nam's wedding was supposed to be an easy in-and-out job for me. I thought to myself, I would just set up the three cameras, hit record, then get out of there. Well, what I thought and what happened were two totally different things. To start, the original plan had called for Nam to get married near or on her vacation property rental. But I knew that wouldn't happen when I pulled into her property. Her vacation rental looked bad. The lawn wasn't manicured, the house wasn't in that great of shape, the housekeeper had his children toys thrown about on side of the lawn. I almost thought, I had the wrong address! But I didn't'!
I ended up shooting a few shots for Nam on my G10 SNAPSHOT.
I met Nam at her house and she told me the vacation rental was just a disaster, and that they were running behind schedule. Their new wedding location, Mokulei'a Beach. But even that didn't work out too well.
On the way there, it started to rain cats and dogs, so we moved the wedding location to a beach park further east, which was technically still part of Mokulei'a. Problem solved? Nope. Someone forgot the wedding bouquets at the house! So thirty minutes pass and someone shows up with the bouquets, so you would think by now, we would be ready to go.
Nope...not yet.
They forgot the groom's maile lei at their house.
Kalehua, the minsiter, made an executive decision for the couple. The show had to go on. He, myself, and the wedding singer, were running 3 hours late, and the show had to get going because the wedding singer had another gig. Kalehua, who I had worked with once before, quickly coordinated the wedding, even though he didn't need to, and we were on our way.
Once the wedding started, everything flowed pretty easy.
This is why it's important to hire a wedding coordinator. Stress like this, can be avoided..haha
Paul and his Groomsmen...THE BOY BAND SHOT
Now, you're probably wondering who took these shots in here because Nam only booked me for videography right? They look like mine don't they? Well, they are. I took these with my G10 snapshot camera. And I posed the couple as well. Why did I do that? Well, I felt kinda bad for Nam and Paul because their friend who was in charge of photography, really wasn't a professional. He was missing a lot of easy shots, and I just didn't want Paul and Nam to leave Hawaii without great pictures.
I don't want things to look as though I'm knocking Nam's photographer friend, because I'm sure he gets great photos. But for weddings though, I could tell it was his first, as he was struggling with ideas and composition, and directing family and friends.
I want to make an argument here to why it is important to hire a professional photographer for your wedding. Nam's friend is what I would call a techno-geek amateur photographer. He owns a lot of great equipment, probably knows how to operate them, and has also taken a handful of great photos. But, professional wedding photography is an entirely different beast. And only a professional wedding photographer will know how and what family photos to take, how to deal with families, how to pose brides, grooms, and to work with wedding dresses...etc...etc... It's worth the investment to hire a professional wedding photographer AND coordinator...trust me on this
Love this photo
I also love this photo
I took about about eight photos for Paul and Nam before I left their wedding, all at no charge. It gave me some extra time to practice taking photos on my G10, a camera I carry everywhere I go. That camera, was and is a great investment.
I want to take time here to also note that the reason these snapshots on my snapshot camera look professional is because it always comes down to the photographer, never to his equipment. Before shooting on a full-size SLR film camera, they photographer who trained me, had me shoot on a disposable film camera for 1 year, before I could even think about touching an SLR! I had to prove that I could get professional quality out of a disposable camera. I did....
Honestly, to me, it doesn't matter what camera I use to take photos with. It could be digital or film, a disposable snapshot camera, or my G10, I know how to get great shots no matter equipment I use. I like film better, because I can work with it better. Yes the quality is better. But I just have an easier time working with it.
I think the distinguishing character when it comes to classifying whether or not a professional photographer is professional or not, comes down to what he can do with what he has. It's never about the equipment.....
So back to Paul and Nam. Now you would think that Paul and Nam would be just at each other necks on their wedding day, given all the happenings. No. That didn't happen. Although they were concerned with all the "happenings" of their wedding day...they knew what was important. Love. And in the end, that's all what mattered. They had a great wedding, a great day, and a great funny story to tell their kids when they got older about mommy and daddy's wedding day.
So what in the world is "Precious Justice" you ask? Well, you got me. At the moment I think it's an oxymoron because I got a speeding ticket last month, cruising casually through one of those speed traps, and I did not get any favor from the courts when I wrote in my mitigating experience. In my sick conclusion, there may not be such thing as "Precious Justice" but there could be such a thing as Precious and Justus.
Precious is the last name of Kaye, my featured bride of the hour, and Justus, is the name my featured groom of the hour. By the way, Justus is not a typo. It's actually a play on words. Justus' mom was a single mother, and named him Justus, because it was "Just us." Pretty neat huh. They had been together for six years before deciding to take the plunge. They got hitched alone on the beach, here on Oahu.
Justus and Kaye are a cool couple and simple. They booked the eloping package with me, added an extra roll of film, and just added a few leis. They didn't though, decide to have those rolls of film scanned. So being that I had just purchased my G10 digital snapshot camera, they were cool enough to let me practice a handful of shots on them after I finished shooting my rolls of film. All the pictures here are snapped on my G10. Not too shabby.
The future's so bright, I gotta wear shades...also taken on my G10
To date, I have shot four or five weddings with my G10, all with patriot package. Now, I'm confident enough to shoot everything on manual on the G10, and can easily replicate the quality in each picture. Digital though, is still not as good as film. It really isn't...I wish it were, because it's kinda cool to see what you have when you shoot it. But even that preview screen is not a great representation of the quality you will get when you print those shots out. The LCD screen on digital cameras are contasty, sharp, and colorful, but the actual digital image is not. So in post production, you have to adjust the contrast, add color, sharpen the picture, just to come close to what film can deliver naturally or what you see on that preview screen.
Justus, Kaye, thanks for being patient with me as fooled around with my new digital toy. Stay super cool.
PARADISE COVE LUAU: MY REVIEW Very good, even for this local
This is going to be quick post here, as I am pretty much half awake right now. Yesterday was a pretty long day for me. I had a wedding at Ko'olina with a small party of 30 plus people in the day, and a reception at Paradise Cove Luau. I thought I'd take a jab at reviewing the Luau before I head to bed. So here's my quick two cents before I knock out at the computer.
The food, was pretty damn good. The menu consisted of local selections that were tailored to tourist. Local selections included: Kahlua Pig, Lomi Salmon, Poi, and Haupia. Missing from the menu were: Poke (raw fish), Lau Lau, Squid Luau, Chicken Long Rice). I have to say though, that the quality of the food was great. For the small selection of Hawaiian food that they did serve, they pretty much hit the nail on the head when it came to flavor. Everything else on the menu, was also very good. It really surprised me. Their chicken, by the way, is extremely good.
The entertainment was cool
Overall, the entertainment was...hmm...entertaining. As far as the Hula was concerned, it wasn't very good at all. In fact, the Hula downright sucked. I think all the great Hula dancers hang out at Germaine's Luau, as that's where my cousin works and he's one of the best Hula dancers in Hawaii. The fire-knife dancing and Tahitian women dancers were extremely good though. I actually think the Tahitian women dancers were a little too good. Talk about knowing how to shake their butt. Usually Tahitian dancers are a little on the hefty side, but these girls were all physically fit and down right beautiful. It's not right. One word comes to mind....dangerous. That'll be an image that sticks in my mind for some time.
Overall, I give my entire Paradise Luau experience a thumbs up, even for a local. It's not an actual Luau, because local Luau's are thrown at the beach or in your backyard with familiy you can yell at, and with a lot more Hawaiian food. And lets not forget, no Luau would not be a party without that dunk Uncle who spews out stock tips that are 100% right all of the time. But with that said, this Luau at Paradise Coove was fun, and that's what counts.
THE HURT LOCKER A very powerful movie that we should all support
I just saw the director of this movie on Fox News. This movie looks amazing from the previews and premise. It is based upon the Army bomb squad unit which was deployed the Iraq war, during year 2004, when violence was at it's highest peak. I believe if all Americans see this movie, it will remind them on how fortunate we are, and how we should truly give thanks to the true heroes who put their life on the line everyday, so we can enjoy the freedoms we always take for granted. Lets us not take our soldiers ever for granted.
Support the movie by seeing it, and don't ever forget to support our troops.
AHHH...JUST MARRY US ALREADY The extremely casual Hawaii Wedding of Dave and Krista
Dave and Krista's wedding has probably been the most casual and laid back wedding that I had ever planned and attended, in my life. Hands down. It was earlier this year when I got a call from Mya, who informed me that her friend, Krista was coming to Hawaii to get married. Now, normally, I would get a call from the bride herself, but not in this case. I sent over an estimate, and Mya worked as the "middle-woman" to figure out what Krista wanted for her wedding. And within a very short amount of time, they made a down payment to me to officially secure the date. Take in mind here, that I had not talked to Krista, the bride, on the phone, or had even corresponded through email. Usually I do. In fact, I always do! But in this one case, out of the literal thousands of weddings that I'd planned...I didn't.
Eventually, I did manage to talk to Krista, and she was so laid back, I just had to laugh.
She told me, "Yeah, the wedding package sounds good. I really don't care. Yeah, I guess we're going to get married finally, it's been awhile." She let out a little chuckle. Our conversation lasted a few minutes longer, and that was it.
A few days before her wedding, I gave her call again to make sure everything was on track. It was a good thing I did because she had lost her invoice, lost my phone number, and had no idea how to contact me. But the funny thing about it was that she wasn't worried. She didn't even have an idea of what we were doing for her wedding, or that she had ordered a bouquet. She just wanted to get married, that's all.... Casual as can be. Hey I love that type of client.
Always laughing, always adventurous
Krista's wedding day rolls around, and I finally meet Dave, her fiance. He too, like Krista is extremely laid back, but more so, he is extremely witty. Dave could have probably made a living as a stand up comedian if he wanted. His commentaries on life had me rolling. I can't repeat what he said here, but lets just say that his comments all were not G-rated. Dave tells me that he and Krista have been together for thirteen years, and also...that it was about time.
Krista pulled Dave on the rocks when I told them to do something fun
So, for thirteen years this day had been in the making. For thirteen years, Dave and Krista had endured the ups and downs to make it to this day. For thirteen years, you think they had seen everything problem....not so fast.
Houstan, we have a problem. The weddings rings are back at the hotel. I repeat, the wedding rings are back at the hotel!!!
Was it a problem for them? What do you think? For this laid back couple. There was no radioing Houstan. It was more of a matter of shrugging their shoulders.
Krista used one of her friends rings for the ceremony, and Dave used Krista's thumb ring for his. They had a great laugh about it, and went on their way.
Finally!
Fortunately, Dave and Krista didn't forget their marriage license. I always tell my couples, there are two things that they shouldn't forget when they leave their hotel: their marriage license and rings. That's it. Oh, and don't forget your significant other.....
But with that said, I could tell that Dave and Krista would be together till the end of time. When their rings weren't there, they both didn't freak out. In fact, they both shrugged, trouble-shot the problem, then moved on. I'm sure it's not like that all of the time between them, because all couples argue. But I have to say, the way they handled that moment, was inspiring. It could have turned into a disater. So in conclusion, that's what true love is all about. It's not about the rings, it's not about being excited for their wedding day, it's about the life long commitment that they had agreed to. And that's exactly what Dave and Krista expressed on their very special day.
SETTING THE BAR The Hawaii Wedding of Richard and Jodee
There are not many days in which I conduct more than one wedding, but the day that Richard and Jodee chose to make their relationship official, I actually had three weddings! One in the morning, Jodee's wedding, which was at 2pm, and another at sunset. Now most photographers say that noon is probably the worse time to get married because pictures taken at the wedding would end up horrible because the direct overhead lighting from the sun would cast shadows on your face and body. If I were shooting digital photos, I would probably agree with the pundits, but because I shoot on film I have to disagree. Shooting at noon provides some pretty cool looking photos. And as far as shadows go, that's not a problem for me since I use a flash unit on 100% power to drown out all of those unwanted shadows.
Just married! Check out the perfect lighting at noon.
Richard and Jodee did it the old fashioned way, and met at a bar. Since that fateful day, they have been together for over five and a half years. Richard and Jodee are like myself and sleep, made for each other. And they were similar in many ways, from their smile, to their sense of humor, to the fact that they both wore white. Did I mention that they also had two arms and two eyes too? haha.....
The palm tree shot...great at noon don't you think?
I promise Jodee that this shot would make her look taller. Promise fulfilled...
Now there is one drawback to having a wedding at noon and that is that the sand can get hot at times. But the hot sand didn't stop this cool couple. Speaking of cool, I have to say that both Jodee and Richard, were very cool, along with thier parents. I'm not sure if they have kids, or are planning to have kids, but I can imagine them being two very cool parents that their kids, and all the other kids would like. Just an observation.
Richard, Jodee, I wish you my best. I'll keep you in my prayers.
It was back in April when I got an email from Bryce, one of Roy and Rosalie's three grown-up children, who came to me with a cool request. He,his brother, and sister, wanted to surprise their parents, with a vow renewal. In a quick and brief email, Bryce summed up how special his parents are to him.
This is an excerpt from his email:
"My parents' lives have been centered around ohana. In fact, this was the central theme of their renewal ceremony for their 30th anniversary on Maui. This ceremony is a SURPRISE for them, so I don't have their own thoughts on what makes their marriage successful thus far. But I can tell you that the example they have set for their children provides plenty of insights. My dad is a man of tremendous integrity, who lives to bring peace, health, and happiness to his family. My mom is a free-spirited woman who gave of herself to raise three kids and she seems to find beauty and wonder everywhere (especially in Hawaii). They are best friends who love each other's company and enjoy taking life's adventures side-by-side."
I didn't want to paraphrase those sweet words.
Kalehua, performing a traditional Hawaiian ceremony: Photography by Bryce's family
Bryce requested a ceremony with a handful of Hawaiian traditions weaved into it, and nothing more. His family would supply the flower leis, the photography, everything, he just needed a minister. Most wedding companies out there would have turned down Bryce because the profit margin for a minister only package is very thin. That is not the case with me though. Small or large wedding, if I am available, I am always willing to help out. It's not always about the money. In fact, it's always about about doing the right thing.
The family. The tickle down morality was rather apparent from this bunch Photography by Bryce's Family
On the day of the wedding, everything flowed smoothly. Bryce met myself and Reverand Kalehua, cousin to Reverand Elias Parker, outside of his vacation rental. Bryce snuck us to a side corridor, where we anxiously waited for the thumbs up. His parents and family were busy in the backyard, enjoying the sunset at Lanikai, and having a nice glass of wine. Then, when the time was right, Reverand Kalehua, chanted and walked into the backyard. I'm sure Roy and Rosalie were thinking, "What in the world is this crazy Hawaiian doing in our backyard." But Kalehua quickly explained that this was a surprise vow renewal...
That day, Roy and Rosalie marked their 40th year anniversary, that's 250 Hollywood years by the way. You would think after 40 years of being together, that eventually, the flame between any couple wouldn't be burning as strong as it did when they first met. But it was. And probably burning stronger than ever, for when Roy and Rosalie looked into each others eyes and renewed their vows, they cried, and looked nowhere else except at each other.... It was rather sweet to observe this with my own two eyes, instead of looking down a lens.
Two words come to my mind here... "Simply Awesome..."
Paxton and Shelly's Awesome Hawaii Wedding Adventure
Paxton and Shelley, right at sunset
OH WHAT A FEELING! The Hawaii Wedding of Paxton and Shelley
Remember back in the day, there were those Toyota commercials that played on the box that ended with a satisfied customer jumping off his feet yelling "Oh what a feeling...Toyota!" Well, I wish they'd still run those jingles, because it would fit Paxton and Shelley, like a glove. See, Paxton and Shelley, currently work at Toyota, and met while working at a car dealership (not sure if was Toyota), and fell in love. Nine years later, they chose the island of Oahu to make everything official, but a wedding guy who owned a Toyota Tacoma. Fate....what can you say....
Rev. Elias making a funny face during their wedding, just kidding.
Paxton and Shelley are an extremely cool couple, and made my job feel as though I was on vacation. They not only got married at Ko'olina, but also stayed at the JW Marriot Hotel, which is just a walk away from where they got married. Paxton and Shelley actually paid Rev. Elias and myself a visit the day, at the cove, the day before they were going to tie the knot, just to say hi. How cool is that! It was rather funny, but the next day, when I met Paxton and Shelley in the lobby of the JW Marriott, I almost walked passed them. Paxton, I swear, had darker hair than I remembered, and I didn't recognize Shelly in that cool looking sleek wedding dress.
Renegade Shot#1:On the grounds of the JW Marriott Ihilani
So there was a little bit of twist to the photo shoot for Shelley and Paxton. Instead of shooting all of their photos at the cove, since they were at the hotel, they elected to snap a few shots there. Now, I don't have permission to shoot at the hotel, and Shelley and Paxton, sure didn't pay any $1000 shooting fee. So, we decided to shoot the shots, renegade style...which just happens to be my favorite style. I quick broke out my camera, and shot off four or five shots, in five minutes. They came out looking extremely nice.
Renegade Shot#2: Kissing without getting caught. Kinda like kissing behind the bleachers in high-school huh?
Non-renegade shot....
So there wasn't a clear sunset on Paxton and Shelley's wedding day, but you have to do the best with what you have right? Theses are the shots I were able to pull off, and I think the cloudy effect worked well... I actually prefer cloudy sunsets to clear sky sunsets. There are more colors when you have just the right amount of clouds.
This brings back memories for me. I'm going to go off on a tangent here, but I remember a bride I had about a year ago, who was so disgruntled at me because her pictures didn't have blue skies in the background, that she wanted a 100% refund of her pictures. I took a look at the pictures, and thought that although they didn't have blue skies that day, the pictures came out very well. In fact, they came out so well, I had no problem posting them on my website for everyone to view. I didn't blog about that couple since the bride would qualify as a bridezilla, but I dunno.....some brides think I can control the weather. I'm just a simple photographer slash wedding guy peeps....
These high altitude clouds always reminded me of 4x4 tire tracks....
I wrote down in my notebook here that they are both God fearing Christians, and that pretty much stuck with me. You know, it's one thing find a partner-in-crime who you click with, but it's also another thing to find someone who share the same political and religious beliefs with you as well, and I think it's cool.
There's this verse in the Bible that is read over and over at all of my weddings, even if they are civil weddings. It starts off with "Love is patient, love is kind, love does not envy and love does not judge...." You've heard it before. This poetic set of words always gets my couples, and this is when the tears usually start to flow. This verse basically describes what love exactly is. That it is a commitment, not a feeling, not an emotion. Feelings come and go, turn off and on, but love is always there. I've heard the cliche before that starts off with "I have this love hate relationship with.. (fill in the blank). But every time I heard it, I always thought to myself, "Well that cliche is completely wrong, because love is a commitment, hate is an emotion. Love is not the opposite emotion of hate..."
I think it's extraordinarily cool that because Paxton and Shelley are both Christians, and that they understand the biblical definition of love. That makes me confident that they'll be together forever. Oh what a feeling? I think it's more about "Oh what a commitment!"
