Hey there! So you found the most interesting page on my site. This is my recent Oahu wedding, Hawaii wedding page. Honestly, it's a blog. The story behind this blog, well, it started out purely about Hawaii weddings, then it evolved into everything and "all of the above." Basically, ITS MY THOUGHTS!! So I write about anything on here. I updated this blog quite frequently. You can learn more about me, my quirks, my style here. And of course, you'll get wedding tips as well.
Call me if you want to make me richer..I mean, book my services! 1-877-WED-IN-HAWAII or email me at info@dreamweddingshawaii.com
Monday, May 31, 2010
Happy Memorial Day!
President Lincoln
HAPPY MEMORIAL DAY taking the day...sorta off
I'm kinda taking the day off today. I think I may head down to Kaka'ako park to hop on the rocks with my bike. I'm starting to get back into riding "trialsin." It's a form or trick-circus biking where a biker strategically navigates their bike over un-rideable obstacles. I'll have my cell phone with me though in case anyone wants to get a hold of me. Just call the toll-free number on my site, and you'll get me. So if you have any questions, don't hesitate to call. Just a warning though, when I answer, I may be a bit winded...haha.
After today, I have weddings all the way to the 4th of June, then...a good 4 or 5 days off. Ahhh...relaxation. Well sorta. Still have tons of wedding videos to edit!
With that being said, before I forget...here's the Gettysburg address by Lincoln. I haven't read it since high school. Pretty cool stuff to read though, considering it's Memorial day.
"Four score and seven years ago our fathers brought forth on this continent, a new nation, conceived in Liberty, and dedicated to the proposition that all men are created equal. Now we are engaged in a great civil war, testing whether that nation, or any nation so conceived and so dedicated, can long endure. We are met on a great battle-field of that war. We have come to dedicate a portion of that field, as a final resting place for those who here gave their lives that that nation might live. It is altogether fitting and proper that we should do this.
But, in a larger sense, we can not dedicate -- we can not consecrate -- we can not hallow -- this ground. The brave men, living and dead, who struggled here, have consecrated it, far above our poor power to add or detract. The world will little note, nor long remember what we say here, but it can never forget what they did here. It is for us the living, rather, to be dedicated here to the unfinished work which they who fought here have thus far so nobly advanced. It is rather for us to be here dedicated to the great task remaining before us -- that from these honored dead we take increased devotion to that cause for which they gave the last full measure of devotion -- that we here highly resolve that these dead shall not have died in vain -- that this nation, under God, shall have a new birth of freedom -- and that government of the people, by the people, for the people, shall not perish from the earth."
- President Lincoln
Alright people, brides, stalkers, I'm outta here and headed to the park.
This is a small world. The man standing next to me is a friend of my fathers, who is also a friend of my wedding couple who booked me from Iowa.
BEEN BUSY... BUT... I HAVE WEDDING BLOGS COMING UP (so don't worry!)
Have you noticed that I have not blogged lately? Well I have, but not my usual day-to-day blogging. May, has been crazy. I honestly thought I had this week free, but last Friday to Saturday, my phone started buzzing and suddenly...my week got filled up. So, I think in total, this month, I had about 25 or 27 weddings! The average local Hawaii wedding professional only is booked 5 or 6 times a month, so think about how busy I am...lol. I think that's the most I ever had in a month! Is the economy sucking wind? Well...yes, it still is. I'm not booking big package, just a lot of small ones. But hey, small or big, every little counts right?!
I do have two new blogs coming up very soon, one is a wedding, the second one, a very unique and touching story surrounding a vow renewal and the guest who attended it. From today I believe I'm book almost straight solid all the way through June 4th of next month, in which I have 5 days off...THANK GOD!
Anyway, I'm off to watch some Neil Cavuto before I hit the hay. I love his shows on fox. Keeps me sane.... Talk to you all later!
So here's the deal. I have two weddings today. One in the early morning, sunrise, the other at sunset. It's about 1:13am, and I better get to bed so I can at least get a little rest. I had to post this funny wedding video though.
Take care everyone and talk to you all soon. I can still always be reached at 1-877-WED-IN-HAWAII, just not during my weddings for obvious reasons.
X-RAY TECHS GONE WILD Yes, when the go wild, they get married
My favorite retard, Tom Hanks, once compared perfect relationships to peas and carrots. Surprisingly, the low iq'd movie star was right. Perfect relationships are like peas and carrots, or like Oreos and milk, or my favorite, ice cream and brownies. Brooks and April, were my steak and potatoes couple, obviously perfect for each other from head to toe, inside and out.
Now that's a nice scenic shot, don't you think?
Weddings are strangely happy occasions...every time.
The magic all begun at Tripler Medical Center. In case for all of you who don't know what Tripler is, it's the ugly pink building on the hill on Oahu that passes for a hospital. They were both new transplants to the island working as X-ray techs when they first met. The destined couples were co-workers, strictly friends, and had no other plans to be pursue a relationship with each other. Time passed and April quit Tripler, but still saw Brooke as they both hung around the same group of friends.
Brooke eventually started to fancy April and mustard up'd the courage up to ask April out to dinner. April's reply, "Sorry, I don't do that." Brooke's first reaction was that April didn't eat dinner, but what April meant was that she didn't date friends.
Just as a side-note here. Rejection to most men is never a solid "no." It's a start.
The usual pump-fist given by the bride
Perfect for Brooke's new album cover
Eventually, after four tries, April agreed to go out with Brook. In her words, she said that Brook was "Smart, funny, and gorgeous" so she had to give him a chance. Their first date was 14 hours long and consisted of dinner, Dave and Busters, a movie, and bar hopping in Waikiki. Since then, they have been inseparable.
It's important to note here that Brooke only had to ask April once to marry...no convincing needed there.
Good looking couple!
Good looking couple at sunset
Picking up the bride shot, always nice
Like Borat said..."Very nice."
My thoughts on April and Brooke, Brooke and April...they truly are a perfect match, especially when it comes to their personalities as they both have the same sense of humor. It's funny, sarcastic, you know...good stuff. And... their sense of humor showed in the pictures.
Congrats again to Brooke and April! I wish you my best. And I will leave this blog by quoting my now favorite Jedi Muppet Yoda by saying "May the force be with you."
Hey everyone. Just writing to write a bit here. Sorry that I haven't been blogging about weddings lately. It's just that May has been really busy for me, and sometimes the last thing I want to do when I get back home is to think about more weddings. Don't get me wrong, I really enjoy what I do, but too much of a good thing makes your crazy as well..haha.
Today's wedding is happening at Keiki beach. It's kinda my new favorite beach to do weddings at on the North Shore. Sunset Beach is cool, but Keiki beach truly possess some unique photo opportunities. I still have yet to do a wedding there when the waves are big though. We'll see what today brings.
ARE YOU KIDDING ME? Robot married Japanese Couple...Creepy.
That is just so wrong.
Okay peeps. I'll be blogging later tonight. Just wanted to share this video with you folks. A Japanese couple married by a frigging robot. The Japanese always find a way of taking technology to the "-nth degree of creepy."
Tony Starks as Robert Downy Jr. in "Man in Red Suit." A POST ABOUT EVERYTHING: MOVIES, WEDDINGS, MY TRUCK, HD! yeah, it's one of those post again
Have you noticed that I have not posted a new blog in about a week? Sorry about that. I'm not forgetting about any of you, I've just been busy with weddings and other stuff. So, to make it up, here's a post about everything that's been happening. First, I'd like to start off with a movie, then I'll finish up with a HD test wedding video for you to all see.
MOVIE REVIEW: IRONMAN 2! Kicked some major ass
Alright, I just saw Ironman 2 at the IMAX theater. One word desribes it best: SuperAwesomegottaseethatmovieagain!.
Great storyline, simple, yet effective and it kept you guessing. Stunning visual effects, great fight scenes, and some great acting by none other than Robert Downey Jr. The movie picks up where the first left off, and well, that's all I'm going to say. See it, you'll enjoy it. I realize that there are movie critics who hate the movie, but when were movie critics ever right? If you do see it, it's honestly worth seeing it in an IMAX movie theater since the large screen will make it easier for you to follow some of the high speed action scenes.
One thing I'm wondering about Ironman is the costuming. I want a suit for Halloween. I'm just not sure my pumpkin sized head can fit in there.
Hey, look whose truck got smashed
$2800 IN TOTAL REPAIRS, SO FAR
My beautiful truck got banged about a week ago right in front of my house. My neighbor, who totaled their car from a previous accident, backed up into my truck at full speed with the new, three day old, car! Can you believe that! Luckily, I don't have to fork over one cent, and luckily no one was hurt. But these types of accidents are truly not supposed to happen in front of your own house right?
My new toys, Panasonic HD-TM700K's HD cameras I CAN SEE YOU...IN HD NOW.
I finally made the full conversion over to HD just this past week. These cameras, along with the newer HD cameras shoot in MPEG-4 AVCHD, which is pretty much the same compression a Blue Ray Disc uses. The quality is simply amazing. At one time, I considered purchasing the Canon 7D cameras for weddings, but because I like to keep the camera rolling during the entire wedding, the Canon 7D'S, didn't fit my shooting style as they can only record 12 minutes at a time.
Now, all of my videos will be shot in HD. You will have to pay more if you want it delivered in HD on Blue Ray Disc though. It just takes a lot of time to burn Blue Ray disc these days.
This wedding video is from a wedding I just did this past weekend. It's a simple 3-edit ceremony only camera edit with no slide shows, no music. It's still quite sweet though.
Is it just me, or did Mariah Carey just double in size? Yes...but she didn't have to look this big. It was the wrong camera angle!
THINKING SKINNY
The camera can add a few extra pounds to you...if, the photographer is not careful
We've all be there before. You know...we've taken a picture, then when that picture popped up on your digital camera, for some reason, you looked a few inches wider and cussed, "What the hell!" Yes, it's true, the camera does add a few extra pounds, and in some cases, a few extra 10 pounds. But don't worry, most weight gain via the camera is due to lens distortion.
In consumer cameras, especially digital point and shoot cameras, lens distortion is quite apparent when the camera's zoom is it's widest landscape position. This is also true for professional zoom camera lenses. The lenses I use are no exception. If I am not careful, I can make you look 20 pounds heavier.
But why do all of my brides look their best in my pictures? It's because I know a few tricks of the trade. Here are a few of them:
Distortion on a lens can also make you look skinnier if used properly. The center of the lens sheds pounds in most cases!
The right poses can cut a persons weight in half! For example:
If a bride has wide shoulders, then I will never shoot them with their shoulders parallel to the me (the photographer)
Having the bride stand a few inches behind the groom, makes her appear skinnier
If a bride has larger than average arms, whether it's muscle or not, it's best to not have her arm straight as that flexes the tricep muscle, making her arm even larger
The right lighting also helps. Taking advantage of shadows cuts the weight of a bride almost in half.
I've always believed that aside from composition, a bride would always judge whether or not a photo was great based on a few factors. One, the look of her hair and make-up. Two, if her arms looked big. And three, if that were any photo showed that little "arm pit bulge."
Anyway, this is a long overdue post. I better get going. I have tons of weddings this week!! I'll promise to post more wedding stuff soon.
EXT. KO'OLINA BEACH - PERFECT DAY The writer gets his match
On first glance, you're probably wondering "what gives?" with the title to this love story. Well, if you're a screenwriter, aspiring or professional, or anyone associated with the movie industry, you know exactly "what gives." If not, here's the insider scoop. The title is a scene heading in a movie script. "EXT" is short for "External Shot," and means that this scene takes place outdoors. Next in line is the name of the location, followed by the time of day. In any given movie script, you'll find it littered with 50 to 75 scene headings, not to mention, a bunch of other terms. Why did I use this as the title for this article? Well, it's because Sean used to be a professional screenwriter like myself, and personally, I think it's pretty cool because I never had another professional screenwriter as a client before.
Now, onto the love story of Sean and Nuri. I'll let Sean take the floor from here:
"Nuri and I actually met through Match.com (success story). History of it: I set up a profile on the website, and she contacted me first. However, I am not one to chit-chat via emails, so after two messages, I asked for her phone number and called her.
We didn't like one another at all over the phone. One thing, she kept asking "what?" to every word and phrase I stated, and I got sick of repeating myself over and over. Finally, I just asked her to meet me for a for bite to eat because I was tired of the lousy phone conversation. When we hung up, I thought she wasn't too bright; Nuri now admits that she thought I was "pushy."
This was a long time coming
I have to say, that is a great smile.
During the vows
"So the following weekend, we met in downtown LA at a popular spot called Olvera Street. I picked the location because I figured if the date went sour, at least I would be enjoying great Mexican food. But... from the moment we spotted one another --- the sparks flew.
And they lived Happily ever after
Sweet shot I think
When we met in person for the first time, I discovered that Nuri was bright after all. So bright, she is now my life's brightest star.
We sat down for lunch and spent nearly three hours talking. When it was time to leave the restaurant, we decided to stay together for a longer chat, and we hit a poolside restaurant at Hotel Figueroa in downtown LA. Before we knew it, the sun was going down and it was time to depart. And the kicker: even though we met over the Internet, we discovered that we have mutual friends, and we most likely had bounced into one another in the past. So I guess fate granted us a second chance to take better notice of one another. We did, and now we are together forever.
- Sean"
Bright bouquets always help
Walking on the beach at Ko'olina
Sean had to do a shot with his hat
Sean and Nuri's wedding went perfectly as planned. The weather was awesome that day, and the clear skies with just he right amount of clouds, gave me some awesome sunset shots. Before the day was over though, I had to make sure I got some shots with Sean and Nuri. Here they are.
Again, it was really cool to run into another screenwriter, especially one who shared the same opinion as me when it came to the movie industry. It's a very very tough business to be successful in to say the least. The odds of any script you work on will become a movie is literally 1 in a 100,000. I believe that sustaining a living while working in the movie industry is much harder than breaking in. For me, I left it at the age of 21 and never looked back. Sean on the other hand, left the movie industry just recently and is moving on to becoming an English professor. That's pretty cool. He'll be grooming the next great writers of our generation.
From the moment I met Sean and Nuri, I knew they were a match. They truly went together perfectly like peas and carrots (stealing a line from Forest Gump.) Everything from their sense of humor to their perspective on life just...well..matched. When you think back to when they first met, and that their first impressions of each other were completely wrong, and fast-forwarding to the present. It's crazy to think that they were "this close" to not meeting each other. Love though, I guess is like that in most cases. We are always "this close" to not meeting that perfect someone. Life is amazing sometimes.
Till next time...and Sean, Nuri, please keep in touch.
