Oahu Engagement Photographer – Michelle and Wayne’s photos by L’amour

Michelle and Wayne came all the way from Sin City Las Vegas, Nevada for their wedding at Hilton Hawaiian Village’s Crystal Chapel.  Unfortunately we weren’t available to shoot their wedding, but we did get the opportunity to shoot their “post-wedding portraits”/”engagment photos.” Michelle and Wayne were so great to work with.  We hiked around the Blowhole Lookout and Sandy Beach and got some really awesome shots. This may be one of our favorite ring photos we have ever done.

We wish you of happy years together! Best wishes from Eric and Wendy at L’amour Photography.

* * * Click here to see Michelle and Wayne’s Oahu Engagement Portrait Slideshow * * *

Hawaii Wedding Photographer – Ashley and Robert’s Big Day

Congratulations to Ashley and Robert!

Destination Wedding – Turtle Bay Resort

This couple had a beautiful wedding ceremony in the Signature Glass Wedding Pavilion at Turtle Bay Resort on the north shore of Oahu followed by an outdoor reception under a tent at Kuilima Beach Point.

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 Portrait Photographer – Kaylee and Family

Eric and I were really excited to work with Kaylee when she contacted us about doing portraits of her and her boyfriend, her 4 siblings, and their significant others! We were so excited to work with so many different groups all at once.  We met up with all 10 of them met up with us at Kakaako park in Honolulu and were all dressed amazingly coordinated in white and blue and lots of Lacoste.  I dug it! (Is that OK for me to say nowadays, or is that too 70′s-ish of a word?)

We always try to suggest a few poses or ideas to get everyone’s creative juices flowing in order to get the most “true” photos we can.  Kaylee and her family were really fun to work with and really took off with ideas for pictures. We especially liked their “Shoalin Monk inspired poses.” They are too funny.  We have this theory that if people act like themselves, as much as they can, in front of the camera, the photos will be most natural looking (unlike those horribly stiff posed prom photos we have all seem. I have quite a few of my own.  Someday I will share them with you as an example of the kind of look we are NOT going for!)

Thanks to Kaylee and everyone for a great 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 – Oahu – Keiko and Clarence

There is a Japanese tradition that a wedding gift of one thousand folded paper cranes will grant the bride and groom a lifetime of good luck and prosperity.  Keiko and Clarence were fortunate enough to have a loving guest fold a thousand paper cranes for their big day.

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Oahu Wedding Photographer – Haiku Gardens – Celeste and Joseph

Celeste and Joseph were married at an intimate ceremony on the most appropriate day of the year, Valentine’s Day! We had a great time with this lovely couple who actually also met each other in our hometown of San Jose, California! As much as we love it here in Hawaii, it is always nice to reminisce about our favorite spots in the Bay Area.

Celeste and Joseph were joined by their two beautiful daughters as well as close family and friends for a beautiful reception at Haiku Gardens & Haleiwa Joe’s.

Our thanks to Celeste and Joseph for involving us in their Valentine’s Day wedding!

Hawaii Wedding Photographer – Haiku Gardens – Jessica and Joshua

Jessica and Joshua were married in a beautiful ceremony at the chapel at Haiku Gardens in Kaneohe, Hawaii. These newlyweds were high school sweethearts and exchanged touching vows that chronicled their lives over the years.

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Oahu Engagement Photographer – Honolulu and Waikiki – Marlissa and Daniel

This engagement session was a blast. We went all over Honolulu to get some interesting backgrounds to showcase this couple’s love for each other.  To get some shots with interesting architecture we took Marlissa and Daniel to some of the most distinctive buildings in Honolulu, including Honolulu Hale, ‘Iolani Palace, and Aloha Tower.

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 Wedding Reception at Haiku Garden

Congratulations to Sue and Manny!!! This happy couple had a short Hawaiian beach wedding and then headed over to our neck of the woods, Kaneohe, to Haiku Gardens for an intimate wedding reception.

Eric and I are always happy to head over to Haiku Garden and Haleiwa Joe’s for weddings, dinner, or just some pupus and cocktails at happy hour! This wedding party was super nice and the happy bride and groom were so in love and enthralled with each other that we hardly had to suggest any poses, they just naturally looked great interacting with each other. That always is a blessing as I prefer more photojournalistic shots of couples just being in love and being themselves! Not only were Sue and Manny super cute, I loved their style. Sues shoes were reminiscent of my own wedding shoes for our civil ceremony last year.  You gotta love a girl who wears black and white wedding shoes!

Wedding Cafe Honolulu – Workshop with Leading Oahu Florists

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)

Special Olympics Punt, Pass & Kick with NFL Pro Bowl Athletes 2009

Volunteering with the Special Olympics is always an honor for us. These athletes have the most amazing attitudes, most welcoming personalities and the biggest hearts. It was an exceptional treat to see these athletes joined by some of the most talented and famous football stars in the world, the Pro Bowl Athletes of 2009.

Eli and Peyton Manning, joined by Stephen Gostkowski and Jordan Gross, volunteered their time to coach 30 of Hawaii’s Special Olympic athletes at this years Punt, Pass and Kick event. In addition to the excitement of meeting and playing with these awesome football players, mascots from the Bears, Ravens, Buccaneers, and Texans provided extra entertainment, high fives, and hugs.

(check this article for updates on info and pictures!)

Oahu Engagement Photographer – Sunset Beach – Ann and Sam

We absolutely love doing engagement photo sessions and this couple are the perfect example why we do! We met up with Ann and Sam, who are both Army Emergency Room nurses, on the Northshore of Oahu at Sunset Beach to find the beach fairly empty and the waves with a high swell.  This adventurous couple marched up and down the beach, braved the waves, and played on the reef. I got so wrapped up in taking pictures that I lost my sandals about half way through the shoot. We found one of them, but I think we sacrificed the other to the ocean. Ann and Sam were down to try anything for a great picture. We think their hard work paid off! Thank you Ann and Sam for a lovely day at sunset beach!

Contact us for help with your Oahu Engagement or if you are looking for a Wedding Photographer in Hawaii