Hawaii Wedding Photographer – L’Amour’s Daily Shot of Love – Vintage Love

We are so happy that vintage style has come back to weddings in Hawaii. We love vintage wedding details like birdcage veils, broaches, covered buttons, embroidered handkerchiefs, and lace. It is so interesting to see how brides have been able to incorporate old family items into their own wedding. Not only are vintage items beautifully made and, more often than not, handcrafted, these items also give you a sense of history and timelessness when you see them.  No wonder vintage wedding details are becoming more and more popular in Hawaii weddings.

While this particular wedding was not really vintage-inspired, it was fun to put a little vintage twist on the edit. This vintage style Hawaii wedding photo was taken at a private garden wedding at Haiku Gardens on Oahu.

Hawaii Wedding Photographers – L’Amour’s Daily Shot of Love

Introducing L’Amour Photography’s new feature, L’Amour’s Daily Shot of Love.  Each and every day we will be featuring one image to spotlight on our blog of Hawaii Wedding Photography Blog as well as our Facebook Fan Page. This is a great way to take a look at more of our recent work and check out great Oahu wedding venues and Hawaii wedding vendors’ work. 

Add L’Amour Photography’s Facebook Fan page and feel free to tag your friends and comment away!

Find L’Amour Photography on Facebook

To see more galleries of Destination Weddings, Become a fan of L’Amour Photography on Facebook. It is a great way to see additional work and to interact with many of our previous brides. We look forward to chatting with you there!

Happy Valentine’s Day From L’Amour!

Valentine’s Day is a very important day to us here at L’Amour – It is a day that we get to take a moment to share how much we love one another and how grateful we are to have such special people in our lives. It is a day that celebrates why we do what we do. We wish you a fantastic Valentine’s day, and a year full of Love.

2009 Hawaii Wedding Highlight Slideshow

2009 was an amazing year for L’Amour Photography. We wanted to share a slideshow that we recently put together that highlights a few of the beautiful weddings L’Amour shot last year. This is a long slideshow, so the file may take a while to load (low-bandwidth beware) Enjoy!!

L’Amour Photography welcomes it’s newest member – Sasha

We wanted to introduce the world to L’Amour Photography’s newest member – Sasha. Born 6/6/2009, Sasha is a Miniature Black and Tan short-haired Dachshund. She is currently just under 4 pounds of concentrated love and comedy.

Sasha’s interests include napping on our laps while we’re editing photos, pouncing on our faces while sleeping, and generally being, in our humble opinion, the cutest puppy in the world!

Oahu Wedding Photographer – Christine and Cameron’s Wedding – Paradise Cove and Hickam Airforce Base

Congrats to Christine and Cameron! We just couldn’t wait to post some of these images. So, here we are the night before flying back to California for our own wedding and I’m at the computer blogging! This wedding was really THAT much fun!

Here is a little teaser. Check back in a few weeks for more pics from this wedding. I promise to post more after we get back from California!

Christine and Cameron had gorgeous clear blue skies at their seaside wedding at Paradise Cove on the West side of Oahu.  Christine looked stunning in a ivory lace sheath dress with her bridesmaids in light pink dresses. Each of the bridesmaids wore a different variation of the dress. While some say uniformity is best, I like this trend in letting the bridesmaids show their own style by picking a dress that suits them best in the same fabric and color. (…more to come soon!)

Oahu Wedding Association (OWA) – March Meeting at Masako Formals

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!) -

Hawaii Destination Wedding Photographer – Tanja and Stephan’s Big Day!

Tanja and Stephan were so much fun to work with on their big day.  With roots in Germany, this couple gathered at Haiku Gardens with many family and friends who flew half way around the world for their special day.  Both Eric and I have German heritage and got some coaching from our German relatives on how to pronounce the German word for “Congratulations.”  They really make it sound effortless, but Eric and I just could not get it right. But, hey, we tried!

Congrats to this cute couple and thanks for the fun time!

Oahu Military Wedding Photographer – Caprice and Manny’s Wedding

We always have awesome brides and grooms as our clients. They are always so cheery and nice to work with, it really is always a pleasure.  Caprice and Manny absolutely fall into that category.  It was so much fun chatting about girly wedding stuff with Caprice before heading down to the chapel at Haiku Gardens.  I LOVED her dress and was kicking myself for not choosing a dress like hers for our own wedding (coming up now in less than 3 weeks!!!).  I love light and flowy wedding dresses like Caprice’s sheath dress.  They are really the best of both worlds: beautiful and comfortable.  However, since we are having a church ceremony back in California I chose to go with a more formal satin gown with a huge train (I love it, but I cannot say that it is going to be nearly as comfortable as a sheath dress. *sigh*)

Manny looked very sharp in his Marine dress blues. We did feel bad though because it was pretty warm that day.  Oh, the things we do to look good.  Side note: I think wedding days are quite possibly the only day that men will understand what we women go through and the uncomfortableness that comes hand in hand with looking good.  We suffer with heavy corseted dresses and uncomfortable but really cute shoes while the grooms totally suffer through a sauna in their suits/tuxs.  Sounds fair to me! But, I digress…once again…

We had a great time playing with some fun lighting amongst the bamboo and on the path around the pond.  Manny and Caprice were whisked away to their reception in the Haiku Gardens Eco-cart complete with “Just Married sign!

Mucho Mahalo to Caprice, Manny and Family for a great wedding!

Hawaii Wedding Photographer – Bernice Puahi Memorial Chapel at Kamehameha School and The Willows Restaurant

Eric and I started this wedding day with heading over to the Royal Hawaiian Hotel to capture the bride and bridesmaids getting for the big day! I’m always excited to shoot somewhere new and was particularly excited to finally get to see the newly remodeled  Royal Hawaiian Hotel in Waikiki.  When Eric and I moved to Oahu back in October of 2008 the Royal Hawaiian Hotel was closed for renovation and just recently reopened.  So, needless to say, I couldn’t wait to finally getting to shoot at  “the Pink Palace of the Pacific.”

Lauwa’e enjoyed some good girl time with her bridesmaids while getting her hair and makeup done by Jaque Rojas.  I hung out with the ladies as they got ready while Eric headed over to the wedding ceremony venue to capture the groom, Jay, and his brothers getting ready at The Bernice Puahi Bishop Memorial Chapel at Kamehameha School. This was our first time shooting at this venue and we were instantly struck by its culture and beauty.

The lively group of family and friends headed over to the The Willows Restaurant for a delicious dinner. Not much of a public speaker myself, I always am in awe of people who can give funny and touching speeches at weddings.  Jay’s brothers and sons definitely have that gift. I will have to get them to mentor me in case Im called upon to make a speech.  (I mean, I have gone to great lengths to get out of speeches. I even spent weeks scanning photos and putting together a slide show to take the place of a speech for my good friend Brittany.  Somehow I managed to shut the power off to the DJ while doing my slideshow and ended up rambling “im sorry” into the microphone while we all waited for the DJ to re-boot all his equipment!… but I digress)

Eric and I broke from our “pre-wedding” diet (30 days to go!) to try some of Lauwa’e and Jay’s wedding cake and oh my gosh it was definitely worth it. This cake was done by one of our favorite cake artists Sunshine’s Cake Creations. We never cease to be amazed each time we see and taste Vikki’s work.

Best wishes to Lauwa’e and Jay. Thanks so much for allowing us to be part of your beautiful big day!

Happy Belated Valentines Day from Wendy and Eric Leslie-Mansperger!

We really meant to put up this blog on Valentine’s Day, I promise. You know how little projects turn into huge projects.  Things just keep jumping onto our plate (it’s a very nice problem to have!).

Valentine’s Day is one of my most favorite days of the year right after Halloween. I mean, I like Valentine’s Day so much that I’d take it over Christmas! Our Valentine’s Day started out by shooting a short wedding at Haiku Gardens in Kaneohe. To our surprise, the couple actually met in our hometown of San Jose, California. We always like working with clients from California and reminiscing about familiar places that we miss. Its like taking a little trip home in our minds : )

We gave ourselves the night off and had a great time together. Our first Valentine’s Day as a married couple!

Below are two Valentine’s Day cards we received from family: Eric’s 89-year-old grandmother sent us this hilarious chimpanzee card that made ridiculously loud kissing sounds when we opened it.  The other card was from Eric’s Mom and Stepdad. A chipmunk with a camera! It doesn’t get much cuter than that!

We hope you and your loved ones had a great Valentine’s Day too!

Our “Do It Yourself” Wedding Invitation Extravaganza Weekend

Eric and I love making stuff, but honestly with the Wedding Photography business keeping us busy, we have unfortunately put our own wedding planning on the back burner for far far too long. Heck, I only ordered my wedding dress earlier this month (to the shock and dismay of the ladies at Masako Formals in Honolulu…”Your wedding is this MAY???”) For those of you who don’t know, Eric and I are actually already married, and had a civil ceremony in September 2008, but are having our actual wedding back in the California Bay Area this May!

With my history in 911 call-taking, I have mastered the art of multitasking and really feel out of my element if less than 5 things are going on at once.  So of course for Super Bowl weekend, we decided if we were gonna sit and watch the game for that amount of time we can FINALLY get our own wedding invitations done.

Our very good Wedding Planner friends Michelle and Justin from Au Lait, Inc. lent us their expertise and manpower in crafting over 100 invitations.  If only everyone could be so fortunate! Eric, Michelle, Justin and I spent … well, I’m not going to admit to how many hours getting each paper slice perfectly strait and every envelope licked and stamped.  After a few needed breaks for refreshments (beer) and snacks (Clausen pickles), the fruits of our labors finally paid off and most have been sent out, squeaking by just under three months before the wedding.

Mucho mahalo to Michelle and Justin of Au Lait, Inc for their skills and to their Shiba Inu “Inuki” for playing the role of official mascot of the Leslie Mansperger Wedding “Do It Yourself” Wedding Invitation Extravaganza Weekend.

Oahu Hawaii Beach Wedding Photography – Makapu’u Beach

Simple. Laid-back. Beautiful.

Emily and Rui’s Makapuu Point wedding was a complete reflection of their style.  The couple was joined by only 10 close family and friends at the Makapuu lookout point. The sunset ceremony was simple and sweet with the minister reading Bible verses and offering the bride and groom communion.

We loved how laid back this wedding was.  Emily proved that you don’t need an elaborate wedding gown to be a beautiful bride.  She looked stunning in a short white cotton eyelet dress with a satin sash. Rui wore a black and tan Hawaiian Aloha shirt with khaki shorts.

I try really hard to not tear up at weddings, ESPECIALLY when I’m the photographer, but the bride and groom were so clearly emotional while exchanging their vows that it was hard not to tear up!

Thank you to Rui and Emily for letting us be your wedding photographers at your intimate and touching ceremony! We wish you the very best!

Oahu Wedding at the Moana Surfrider Hotel – Honolulu, Hawaii – Hannah and Andrew

Congratulations to the new Mr. and Mrs. Davies!!!

Hannah and Andrew traveled half way around the world from Wales (in the United Kingdom) to Oahu for their beach wedding.  Eric and I had a blast being their photographers on their big day. Not only were Hannah and Andrew a fun couple to work with, their wedding party was incredibly lively and hilarious.  Eric and I kept thinking to ourselves, “Can you believe our lives? We are shooting a beautiful wedding in Hawaii and are surrounded by amazingly fun people. Life can’t get much better!”

Hannah and the girls got ready for the big day in a suite at the Moana Surfrider Hotel while Andrew and the boys were getting ready at the nearby Ohana East Hotel. Hannah and Andrew had a beautiful wedding ceremony at the Moana Surfrider Hotel on the Diamond Lawn. Their closest family and friends traveled from all over the UK and United States to watch Hannah and Andrew exchange vows and rings.

Hannah and Andrew were hoping for a bright and sunny wedding in Hawaii since they hadn’t seen a real summer back in Whales in the last 2 years! Hannah kept in good spirits in the face of a rainy forecast for her Hawaiian beach wedding.  Her optimism, and all of us keeping our fingers crossed, must have paid off because there wasn’t a cloud in the sky during their ceremony.

Hannah and Andrew took a little road trip with Eric and I to Iroquois Point Beach where we photographed their wedding portraits at sunset. The newly overcast sky made for an awesome backdrop as the sun set.

Hannah and Andrew had an intimate reception in the Roof Garden on the 6th floor of the luxurious Moana Surfrider Hotel.  Family and friends feasted on a delicious dinner and laughed and cried during the heartfelt speeches.  And to top the night off, the whole wedding party sang Happy Birthday to Eric, whose birthday was fast approaching at midnight.  Eric was so touched that the first people to wish him Happy Birthday this year were the happy wedding party! We could not have hoped for a better start to Eric’s birthday!

Thank you  to Hannah and Andrew and their wonderful wedding party! It was our pleasure to be your wedding photographers!