Selita and Ryan

Here are a few images taken by Shawn Starr at Selita and Ryan's wedding. Selita's dress is the cutest! Congratulations again to the Tolentinos!

Inspirations

Just like any woman, I am a huge Oprah fan. My DVR is flooded with Oprah shows, and I just can't seem to get enough of Oprah, her passion and inspirations.

Last night I watched the episode of Maria Shriver talking about her new book "Just Who You Will Be?". Although I have yet to read the book, but I am already very inspired by her and her story.

Maria, aka the First Lady of CA, touched on a few things she wrote about in the book, but one thing she spoke about really touched my heart. She mentioned that in today's society, we are often so busy with work, achieving recognizable accolades and life in general, that we've forgotten how to simply "Be". I am sure we've all felt the way when every aspects of life is pulling you in different directions and everyone seems to need your attention in urgent moment, but I am a true believer that it is important to take a few moments each day to be STILL. Being still makes me feel refreshed, grateful and renewed, and these, I believe, are ingredients for great work and balanced life.

Erin and Mat

Erin and Mat got married at Lanikuhonua on Feb 15, 2008. I had the amazing opportunity to work with photographer Stephen Karlisch from beautiful Texas. Check out these amazing images! Erin and Mat met at the University of Hawaii, and Hawaii is the obvious choice for them to wed as it is such a special place for them. Erin is a retail buyer in the fashion industry, so having a fashion forward and FUN wedding is a must for her! Mat McBriar, "the famous Australian punter", all UH fans know him as, is currently the punter for the Dallas Cowboys. His 75 yard punt is the second longest punt in Cowboy's history - how cool is that! It was another beautiful, memorable and super fun party at Lani. Congratulations McBriars! I will be cheering on the Cowboys again this season. Hope to see you guys back on the island soon. Pro Bowl 2009, maybe? :)

Erin and Mat are such troopers. They decided to adopt a symbol for their wedding - a Roogle, a blended creature between an American Eagle and an Australian Kangaroo. We had a Roogle ice sculpture luge made for the Passion Cosmo Martini they served at the bar. It was hilarious.

Guest for A Day

Selita and Ryan are personal friends from college who got married this week at Lanikuhonua. I was so fortunate to be able to coordinate their wedding and enjoy myself at the same time, as a guest, at the wedding. It feels surreal attending a wedding at Lanikuhonua as a guest, but it gave me a rare opportunity to really appreciate the surroundings and beauty of Hawaii. It rained all day the day before the wedding, and it was overcast the morning of the wedding. I was so excited to see the sun peeking out right around noon, and everything was just perfect from that point on! I am especially grateful and proud of my two staff at Finishing Touch (Rebecca & Courtney). They finalized the wedding themselves and ran the show entirely on their own on the day of the wedding. The event started on time, set up was done exceptionally and everything was just perfect! It was exactly what Selita and Ryan have envisioned. Thanks again Rebecca and Courtney for allowing me to be "guest for a day"! I truly believe that a great team of personable and professional coordinators is key to a successful and stress-free event - and Rebecca and Courtney examplify just that! Here are a few non-professional pictures from the wedding. Oh - and a few more of Rebecca and Courtney in the Blue Cheese photo booth.

My husband Marvin and I at the reception

With the bride and groom. Congratulations to Mr. & Mrs. Tolentino!



Rebecca and Courtney goofing off, as always :)

Amy and Jeff

Amy and Jeff had a beautiful wedding at Lanikuhonua on March 16, 2008. Here are a few amazing images taken by Frank Amodo. Amy and Jeff wanted something modern and "unwedding" like, so we've created something a bit more "urban and modern" by using straight lines and metro colors such as gray/platinum and steel blue with splashes of fuchsia and chartreuse to really make the flowers pop. It was another beautiful wedding at Lani! Congratulations to Amy and Jeff!

Grace Ormonde Wedding Style photo shoot

It was such an honor to meet Grace Ormonde in person and be able to create a table top design for her to feature in the magazine. FT partnered with Floral Inspirations and Les Saisons in creating this design. Our creative direction was "Pure Romance" with a color scheme of whites, touches of blue and some greens. The wind was a bit strong yesterday at the Halekulani, so we had to make a few last minute changes to our original design for the overall structure to withstand the wind. It was a long day of work, but I think the photos will turn out amazing. Hopefully the design will make it into the magazine!

Non professional pictures of the table

With Grace Ormonde at the reception after the photo shoot. I know this is a horrible picture, but this is what I look like after a long day of work, battling with wind. Please excuse my messy hair :)