Shazarie and Nicholas came all the way from Washington for their intimate beach ceremony at Waialae Beach Park.
Shazarie and her girls got ready at one of our favorite places, the Sheraton Moana Surfrider Hotel at Waikiki Beach. It was an absolutely gorgeous day with perfectly blue skies out her window as she got her hair done by Sarah of Wendy Robin’s Studio W. You may recognize makeup artist Wendy Robin’s name from our previous article about Eric and I modeling wedding gowns for the Oahu Wedding Association meeting at Masako Formals. If you haven’t yet, you must check out Wendy’s work. Not only is she a sweet person who does amazing hair and makeup, she has also done makeup for celebrities including Carmen Electra, Ali Landry, and Michelle Rodriguez.
Shazarie, Nick and the whole group were picked up by two limos and taken to Waialae Beach Park for their ceremony which was officiated by Shazarie’s father.
* * * Click here to see Shazarie and Nicholas’s Wedding Slideshow * * *
Wendy and I spend a lot of time hiding behind cameras at weddings. It sorta goes with the job. This last Oahu Wedding Association meeting we got a chance to walk a mile (or a few runway lengths… I tend to over exaggerate) in the shoes of our Brides & Grooms. We got to play bride and groom, again, and get all made up to model some of Masako Formal’s wedding attire.
Not only did we get to rock a wicked tux and wedding dress, we had a chance to work with some of our fellow OWA members in a much more up close and personal role than we normally get. Wendy and I were both sized and dressed by the lovely staff at Masako Formals. This turned out to be a repeat for Wendy, since she actually bought her wedding dress from them a couple months back.
I was fitted for a silver Italian tux. It turns out that it is a very popular look for many of the Japanese weddings here. It further turns out - I don’t fit the normal Japanese sizes. No snag there though - they brought the tux to the back and was quickly back out with the tux adjusted to my size. Go go gadget tuxedo!
Not only did Wendy get to wear another beautiful wedding dress, she was pampered with makeup by Wendy Robin of Studio W of Honolulu. Now this part gets confusing - I have to describe Wendy Robin’s (the make up artist) work on Wendy Leslie (the wife). Wendy R. is an INCREDIBLY talented makeup artist and a wonderful person. She was trained in Hollywood, worked in paris for print photographers, and then came back to LA to do makeup for the stars. The list of people that she has worked with reads like the who’s who list of Hollywood - Matt Damon, Carmen Electra, Dwayne “The Rock” Johnson, James Earl Jones, Bernie Mac, Jack Black, and Jaime Pressly the just name a few. She has skills. Numbchuck skills, bowstaff skills… She has plenty of skills. Wendy R. did an airbrushing job for Wendy’s makeup. I lucked out and only got a quick powder. Ahhh the joys of being a man.
After all the prep, we had a BLAST walking down the runway in front of all of our peers in the industry. It was so much fun and I felt like the luckiest guy in the world to get to escort the most beautiful woman in the world down the catwalk. We were both lucky to have some of our wonderful photographer friends there to capture the whole shabang.
All in all it was a GREAT evening. It is always such a treat to hang out with so many amazing people. We are really blessed to work in this industry with these people. Millions of thank yous go out to OWA for the opportunity to dress up and party like its 1999… I mean 2009.
-E
Check out Geralyn’s cutting (it slices, it dices) hair-do, and Mona’s convertible Kimono -
Special thanks to Grant Gomes for snapping the below collage pics for us!
And to Eugene Kam for the below (yes ladies and gentlemen - that is my wifey! I’m a lucky guy!) -
With many of our brides coming from all over the country and the world, Eric and I often get questions for referrals for anything and everything wedding related. With our growing family in the Oahu Wedding Association, we are in abundance of wonderful Hawaii wedding connections. One of our newest friends is from Island Treats Creations.
Eric and I had the pleasure of going behind the scenes to the workshop of Island Treats Creations where all of the magic happens. Merryl is the owner and is the sweetest person to work with! She showed us around and let us sample their delicious cookies and chips that she offers for her baskets. Let me just say, oh my gosh, they are so delicious. Eric and I munched on some Taro Chips and Coconut Cookies during our sunrise fashion photo shoot this week.
Island Treats Creations is located in Kailua on Oahu and is a must stop shop for Hawaiian cookies, candies, chips and gifts. Check out their website or stop by the store to see their many options for wedding favors, gift baskets, and treats!
If you live in Oahu and have not been by the Wedding Cafe yet, you absolutely must! This dual purpose cafe combines yummy drinks and treats with a plethora of wedding planning resources. You can browse through tons of Bridal Magazines, local wedding photographer’s albums, venue information and more. Let me tell you, if I had been able to come to the Wedding Cafe early on in our wedding planning, it would have saved me tons of hours of searching for good magazines, books, and contacts.
Not only do they offer all of these resources, but they also offer weekly workshops on every aspect of wedding planning: Budget and time lines, hair and makeup, florists, photographers, etc. Eric and I rushed over from shooting the Special Olympics Punt Pass and Kick with the NFL Pro Bowl Players (including Eli & Peyton Manning!) to attend the workshop on Tabletop and Decor. The room was absolutely packed with soon-to-be brides and some soon-to-be hubbys too!
The professional panel gave advice on what to consider when picking out floral arrangements and decor. One of my favorite tips was to ask for organically grown flowers to accent the cake to prevent any pesticides from making their way onto your wedding cake! Eric and I are always looking for “green wedding” tips and loved Debbie Hemingway’s suggestion to use live plants as centerpieces that can be planted after the wedding instead of just thrown out like other flowers.
So, in closing, as I pass out from a busy busy week…. Check out the Wedding Cafe at Ward Center and learn all about weddings and local resources. GI Joe put it best: “And knowing is half the battle!”
Here are some photographs of the lovely floral and decor displays by the following companies:
Designs by Hemingway (photo directly below)
Floral Inspirations
My Florist
Passion Roots
Spinning WEB
Su-V Expressions
(photo collage of these displays directly below)
February 6th, 2009 in
Events,
News,
Resources | tags:
Bride,
Floral Decor,
Flowers,
Oahu,
Photographer,
Planning,
Tabletop,
wedding |
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As Oahu Wedding Photographers, Wendy and I get many questions from soon-to-be brides about anything and everything related to getting married. Here is a quick article on how to get a marriage license for your wedding in Hawaii.
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