Warner and Julie Married!

This past Sunday, I had the honor of shooting Warner and Julie's wedding at the Halekoa Hotel in Waikiki. I was already excited to shoot this wedding when the couple had informed me during the consultation that they were planning to play taiko at the reception! Having played a lot of taiko myself, I was pretty stoked to photograph their special day!

Warner and Julie were one of the most laid-back couples I've ever worked with, and everything about their wedding reflected their personality. Warner wore a nice dress shirt with slacks, while Julie wore a simple but beautiful cream dress. The ceremony was extremely short (like 10 minutes short!) and knowing the guests would be hungry, Warner and Julie structured their program so everyone could get to the ono food asap :)

The taiko performance blew me away! Warner and Julie were spectacular, and I had to really restrain myself from dropping my cameras to go play with them :) In the morning, Warner had asked me if the group should play the taiko softer for the guests, since everyone would be seated closely together. I said for this occasion, just go all out. And they did.

Congratulations you two!

The bride was in the room, so Warner's eyes stayed closed...

the centerpieces, which I found out later were jewelry stands. The cranes were a nice touch :)

talk about tough lighting at 10:45 haha

doin da paperwork...

my favorite shot from the formals. Flash didn't want to work, so I went with natural lighting. 

couldn't resist. 

usually, groomsmen don't bring $7000 cameras to weddings lol

The food was ono! This is my fourth wedding at the Halekoa and their food has always impressed me. Thank you to Warner and Julie for providing a meal for me :D

And the taiko begins!

so focused!

This is Ichiro...he was also shooting photos during the wedding and was gracious enough to serve as my temporary assistant during the formal photos. Thank you Ichiro!

I love the emotions during the wedding speeches. You get to know the bride and groom very well, through both tears and laughter.

The thank you's to bring the wedding to an end...