Congratulations to Amanda and Jeff! This cute couple were married in a sunset garden ceremony on the Winward side of Oahu. Amanda wore an elegant ivory sheath dress with pleated details and beading in the front and covered buttons in the back. Her bouquet was a mixture of roses and orchids with blue accents.
Best wishes to Amanda and Jeff from Wendy and Eric of L’Amour Photography!
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.
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 Hawaiian Wedding Slideshow * * *
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!
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!
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!
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!
Congrats to this cute newly wed couple, Amelia and Aaron! Eric and I were honored to be part of their wedding celebration at Hale Koa Hotel in Honolulu. This was by far the most musically talented family we have been around in a while. Amelia’s brother’s band provided the entertainment for the night with her other brother and sister joining in occasionally to help out on vocals or percussion.
This wedding reception incorporated many personal touches including a family heirloom lauhala mat which was placed under the wedding cake. Of course, Eric will not let me blog about a wedding without mentioning the cake. This cake was from Cake Works and had the most delicious Haupia filling. For those of you who have not been fortunate enough to have heard of or tasted haupia, we suggest you change that soon. This creamy coconut cake filling was absolutely the stuff Hawaiian dreams are made of.
We always try to keep our ears open for any juicy secrets or embarrassing stories that people may sneak into their wedding reception speeches. While we didn’t get to hear any blackmail material, but we were touched to hear some heartfelt praises of Amelia and Aaron as individuals and as a couple. So, if any of you have any funny/embarrassing stories you’d like to contribute… I’m just kidding! We wish Amelia and Aaron the very best in life and love! Congrats!
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.
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!
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!
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.
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.
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!
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.
