888

Erica and Paul is our lucky couple this year who got married on August 8, 2008. It's hard to believe Erica and I have been working on this wedding for 2 years! As you can see, everything turned out beautifully and flawlessly at their wedding at The Kahala. The beautiful floral arrangements and canopy were created by Fong of Floral Inspirations. Photography by Frank Amodo. The funny thing is, I worked with Fong and Frank last year on 777; and of course, this year on 888. Who knows, we may be working together again next year on 999 just to keep the tradition going :) Congratulations to the Harpers!

Lucky I live Hawaii

Presidential candidate Barack Obama is in town this week. Our "local boy" is back home for a vacation. It's so amazing to see someone with such celebrity stature to come home and still be able hang out at the beach like us regular folks, with minimal security too. Being from California myself, Hawaii's laid back mentality and the locals' genuine spirit have captured my heart from the moment I stepped foot on the island. Seeing Mr. Obama being able to enjoy his vacation here, remains me once again on how lucky I live Hawaii! Pictures taken from the Honolulu Advertiser.

Lighting

I love playing with lighting. I think lighting can totally help bring out the ambiance of an event by 110%. I've been trying to capture some good "before" and "after" photos to show my brides what lighting can do to enhance an overall look of an event. But guess what? Lighting is EXTREMELY difficult to capture on regular people's point and shoot cameras - so much props professional photographers for always being able to capture lighting like it's a piece of cake. Here are a few "decent" non-professional photos that I took last night at a Lanikuhonua wedding. Yvonne Designs did all the flowers, lounge set up and lighting - they turned out amazing! Check out the before and after photos!

Before: 30x30 tent with standard lantern lighting



After: Same 30x30 tent with ivory tent liner, leg drapes, spot lighting on all the guests tables. What a difference! The same sized tent feels much warmer and imitate with custom lighting.



More photos of the set up





Custom gobo designs projected onto dance floor and band tent