A day like this only comes along once every hundred years, and for this special couple their wedding day on 10.10.10 was, more importantly, once in a lifetime! Thirty nine thousand couples started the rest of their lives together on this special date, but our Hawaii Destination Wedding couple came all the way from Australia to have their wedding dreams realized in a gorgeous black, white, and green themed wedding. The Ihilani Resort and Spa was the ideal ocean front wedding venue for this stylish and modern Hawaii wedding.
This Black and White wedding dress and bridesmaid dress were custom made to fit the brides ideal wedding dress. The wedding dress was a white sweetheart cut corset top with a ball gown skirt. A black sash with white lining accented the bodice with the back of the dress featuring black covered buttons that actually functioned requiring some effort from her maid of honor and a trusty button hook.
The entire wedding party prepared at their hotel in Waikiki Beach at the Outrigger Waikiki. Once everyone had their hair and makeup done and we all dressed, a charter bus took the wedding party and all of their guests to the wedding on the leeward side of Oahu.
Green wedding details brought a pop of color to this black and white themed wedding. The groom’s boutonnière was a green rose with black ribbon accented by thin white ribbon. The cocktail tables had an arrangement of green roses, hydrangeas, and a few white flowers in a square black vase keeping with the sleek modern feel of this wedding. The bride’s bouquet was made of striking green calla lilies wrapped in black satin ribbon and accented by white pins.
This Australian bride and groom paid tribute to this Hawaii wedding setting with a lauhala covered wedding ring pillow with a black satin ribbon and parasols for the guests.
Outdoor Hawaii wedding ceremony at Ihilani Resort and Spa in Koolina on Oahu. This beach-side wedding venue features a spacious manicured lawn, swaying palm trees and a gorgeous view of the sunset.
This black, white and green themed wedding had personalized M&Ms that said “mahalo” and the bride and grooms’ initials “n + d.” The lower case monogram that was used throughout the wedding design details is a modern style twist on the classic monogram.
The two tiered round wedding cake was simple and modern with black and white fondant. A sweet little bow and fondant flower topped the wedding cake. Framed black and white old wedding photos of relatives circled the table.
So many great Hawaii wedding vendors were involved in the execution of this 10.10.10 Oahu Wedding. Christina Farrow with Pacific Aisles Inc did a wonderful job coordinating this Hawaii destination wedding. Cake Gallery made the beautiful cake. Flower Farm was the florist for these unique green bouquets and centerpieces. Event Essentials provided the lounge furniture and decor. Mood Event provided the drapery and lighting.
Kristen and Michael enjoy nature and the outdoors so when they decided to have their wedding in Hawaii they chose Haiku Gardens in Kaneohe as their ideal Oahu wedding venue. This sweet couple came prepared for their Hawaii wedding and had a cute clear umbrella with white hearts on hand when they received some lucky rain on their wedding day. Congratulations to this wonderful couple. We wish you many great adventures from here on out!
This Hawaii wedding featured red and orange wedding details including glass vases of orange and red roses hanging from the ceremony gold chivari chairs. The wedding card box was made of red leather suitcases embellished with vintage style stickers of the various places they love. The bride’s bouquet had red, white, and orange tropical flowers with lace ribbon and tiny framed photos of relatives. This is a subtle but touching way of keeping your loved ones close on such an important day.
You can call it an engagement session, a portrait session, a post-wedding shoot, honeymoon portraits, or a trash the dress shoot. Any thing you want to call it the fact of the matter is that they are a great way to remember a trip to Hawaii. Our lovely couples come from all over the world to Hawaii for all the same reasons. There aren’t many places in the United States that you can travel to any time of the year and enjoy 80 degree weather. Not to mention the gorgeous tropical island setting, yummy poolside cocktails, beach-front hotels, awesome surfing, hiking and a distinctively unique traditional culture. I could go on and on and so can the throngs of couples who travel here every year for a romantic getaway. No wonder so many couples request that we photograph their portraits to commemorate their trip here and look back on those photos as they freeze through their hometown blustery winters!
This cute couple is newly engaged and wanted to have their engagement portraits done here on Oahu to take advantage of the beautiful architecture of the Moana Surfrider Hotel and the sunset of Waikiki Beach.
We posted a little while back about a fun shoot we did for La Plume Couture. During the shoot, Christie Nix (www.christienix.wordpress.com, www.strawberry815.com) shot some great footage of the L’Amour Team at work. Enjoy!
One of our recent weddings had such a unique twist with their vows that we had to share it! During the wedding ceremony, the couple ready their vows to each other, and then put their vows as well as notes to each other in this beautiful wood box that also contained a nice bottle of wine and cute ‘I do’ & ‘I do too’ wine glasses.
The couple plans to open the box on their fifth wedding anniversary, enjoy a bottle of wine, and reminisce over their wedding vows. How cool is that! Personally, I think that it beats the pants off of eating old frozen cake!!
Such a cute wedding gift idea!
Underwater photo of two turtles swimming holding fins
In honor of this cute underwater couple, we were inspired to share some of our favorite quotes on love. We have heard some great quotes and readings during wedding ceremonies through the years. Here are just a few that have stuck with us!
“The meeting of two personalities is like the contact of two chemical substances:
if there is any reaction, both are transformed.” ~ Carl Jung (1875 – 1961)
“To love and be loved is to feel the sun from both sides.” ~ David Viscott, 1974
“Love is, above all else, the gift of oneself.” ~ Jean Anouilh, (1910 – 1987)
“There is always some madness in love.
But there is also always some reason in madness.” ~ Friedrich Nietzsche, (1844 – 1900)
“I love being married. It’s so great to find that one special person
you want to annoy for the rest of your life.” ~ Rita Rudner
“He who is in love is wise and is becoming wiser, sees newly every time he looks at the object beloved,
drawing from it with his eyes and his mind those virtues which it possesses.” ~ Ralph Waldo Emerson, (1803 – 1882)
“If ever there were one, then surely we.
Compare with me, ye women, if you can.
I prize thy love more than whole mines of gold,
Or all the riches that the East doth hold.
My love is such that rivers cannot Quench,
Nor ought but love from thee give recompense.
Thy love is such I can in no way repay;
The heavens reward thee manifold I pray.
Then while we live, in love let’s so persevere,
That when we live no more, we live ever.” ~ Anne Bradstreet 1612 – 1672
Trash the dress photos are definitely a favorite of ours. These post wedding photo sessions are more relaxing and with limitless possibilities compared to wedding portraits during the hustle and bustle of the big day. We also love trash the dress sessions because we get to travel to fun locations, like this beautiful spot out on the sandbar on Oahu. We get a chance to really hang out with our couples and have a good time getting creative and letting them be themselves on camera. This couple was the perfect fit for a trash the dress session at the sandbar. They love water and were great at being playful in front of the camera. They even brought out their own stand up surfboards for the trash the dress photos. The boards came in handy too as we trekked all of our gear out to this tiny strip of sand out in the ocean!
We love this trash the dress photo with the couple standing on the sandbar in the ocean off of Oahu
Bride and groom ride stand up surfboards during their trash the dress session in Hawaii
Underwater trash the dress photo in Oahu
Bride and groom kiss during their underwater trash the dress photo session
Hawaii Wedding Photography by L'Amour Photography
Underwater photos in Hawaii during a trash the dress session
Trash the dress session in Hawaii by L'Amour Photography
Trash the Dress Photos by L'Amour Hawaii Wedding Photography
Couple kisses on the sandbar in Hawaii during their trash the dress photos
Underwater photos of bride during a trash the dress session in Hawaii
We love our “jobs.” I tell people all the time that, while it’s by no means an easy job, being a wedding photographer is the most rewarding and exciting profession I’ve ever been in. We get to work with some of the most amazing people on one of the greatest days of their lives – and we get to do it in some of the most beautiful places on earth!
We wanted to give a glance into the behind the scenes of a fun day in the life of a L’Amour photographer. This day we were shooting a Trash the Dress session on the breathtaking sandbar off of Kaneohe in Oahu.
For this Trash the Dress session, we threw a couple Stand-Up Paddle Boards, some dive equipment, and our camera gear in a boat with the adventurous couple and headed out. About ten minutes off shore we arrived at the amazing remote tropical location seen below.
Trash the Dress photos behind the scenes with L'Amour Photography in Hawaii
We started the Trash the Dress session above the water before we really jumped in. For this one, Eric strapped on some SCUBA gear and headed under while John did quick dives and helped the bride and groom. The crystal clear waters in Hawaii really make the colors pop!
Eric in Dive gear with John catching a wave - Behind the scenes at L'Amour Photography's Trash the Dress TTD session
We took the opportunity to grab a few shots of the photographers of the day. I’m not sure if you can tell, but we take ourselves extremely seriously… Meet (from left to right) Eric, Wendy, and John.
Trash the Dress photos underwater with L'Amour Photography
I said it before and I’ll say it again – we love our jobs. 
Trash the Dress Session Behind the Scenes in Hawaii
Don’t forget to check out this shoot’s blog article here – Underwater Trash the Dress Photos
We couldn’t have asked for a better engagement photo session. Gorgeous couple, diverse scenery and great weather. As L’Amour owners and photographers, Wendy and Eric, were born and raised in the San Francisco Bay Area, when planning out this engagement photo session, we had many ideas of landmark places to stop at. However, as is typical on any of our shoots, when passing by an inspiring alley, flower shop, or stream of light we just had to make a quick detour to take advantage of unexpected and exceptional situations. We spent a few hours going around San Francisco with this newly engaged couple to capture their engagement photos in various settings that reflect their personal style. Classic, modern, edgy and romantic. We had such a fun time traveling around the city by the bay with this perfectly paired couple.
One of the best parts of a Hawaii Destination Wedding is knowing that the sun will likely be shining bright on your big day regardless of the time of year (well, aside from intermittent showers, and rare stormy days). When you come to Hawaii, for vacation or for a wedding, make sure you lather on High SPF sunblock. The sun is much stronger here and we have seen plenty sunburned and peeling brides, grooms, and guests! Help ensure that you and your guests stay cool and shaded by using wedding parasols. Wedding parasols are a classy and colorful wedding accessory you can employ to make sure you and your loved ones don’t leave your Hawaii Wedding looking like baked lobsters.
Simple: White or Cream colored wedding umbrellas or parasols are an easy addition to any wedding theme or color scheme.
Colorful: Choose a color that accents your wedding color scheme. If your wedding colors are yellow and orange, choose the color that is least used on the wedding party attire to make the parasols stand out and blend in at the same time.
Patterns: If your wedding is looking rather classic and simple, consider using wedding parasols with a pattern on them to add some accents to the overall feel of your wedding decor. Some of our personal favorites are paisley, flowers, damask, polka dots, swirls and initials.
Lace: If you want to add some elegance and vintage details to your wedding, a lace parasol can be the perfect fit.
Whether you provide a parasol to just your wedding party as a fun accent, or as wedding favors for your guests, wedding parasols are a useful and beautiful way to stay cool during your Wedding in Hawaii.
Here are a few sites where we have seen a great selection of wedding parasols. Happy planning and Happy Shopping!
Luna Bazaar , Pamela’s Parasols, and Bella Umbrella
We just love the vibrant colors in this Daily Shot of Love. We are so lucky to live in Hawaii and be surrounded by such colorful plants and flowers all year round. Our team has a great time at every wedding using the surroundings as a back drop for the wedding details.
These beach sandals are perfect for a destination wedding in Hawaii! Sandals with no heal or wedge are key to a stable walk down the aisle for a beach wedding. These wedding shoes were simple silver but also had a nice accent with sparkling crystal details for a bit of a fancier look than your everyday dressy sandals.
Here are some of our other favorite blogs about destination wedding shoes. Little helper putting on brides shoes, How to choose your wedding shoes, a cute idea to make your shoes make a statement!
As promised earlier in our Hawaii Trash the Dress shoot teaser, here are more photos from L’Amour Photography’s recent Trash the Dress shoot!
Many people ask us, “What is a Trash the Dress shoot?’ I was trying to think of an eloquent answer, something more than “a no-boundaries, day after shoot where the bride and groom don’t have to worry about wrinkles, getting wet, sandy or dirty.” However, in lieu of a more articulate definition, here are some examples of Trash the Dress photos at the beach, on the rocks, and in a fountain! Simply put, just a fun day at the beach playing in the water!
