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, October 31, 2011
From Kardshians to Halloween to the Eagles
KIM KARDASHIAN FILES FOR DIVORCE AFTER 2 MONTHS OF MARRIAGE
I'm not one for celebrity gossip, but since my blog has somewhat to do about weddings, I thought I'd mention this story. Kim Kardashian, as of today, has filed for divorce from her NBA husband, Kris Humphries. Humpries, according to TMZ, has been blindsided by the news as he learned about the Kardashian's intentions through the tabloid website.
This is the second marriage for Kim Kardashian. She was married before to music producer Damon Thomas for 4 years (whomever that is). Shortly after her divorce she was engaged to NFL former superstar, Reggie Bush, for many years. But her engagement suddenly ended when Bush learned that she had cheated on him with Ray J, through a sex tape that was released to the public. Kim Kardashian has also dated Dallas Receiver Miles Austin and model Gabriel Aubry (who the hell is he?) I wonder who will be the next man to fall victim to her good looks.
All of her relationships ended because she had irreconcilable differences. We can either conclude that she's a sweet girl who dates the wrong type of man or is just a plain horrible woman under all those good looks.
The moral of the Kardashian story here is that while Kim may make a horrible wife, and a horrible girlfriend, she would make a wonderful client for me. Kim would spend millions of dollars with my company, and then comeback two months later with her next perfect man that she found, and do it all over again. I can only pray that she contacts me for 3rd or 5th wedding. I would never want her as a woman in my life, but I would pray for her to be a client....haha.
The true moral of the story is that is it doesn't matter how much money one spends on their wedding. No amount of money, large or small, no amount of superstitions followed, is going to make a marriage last. Kim Kardashian is reported to have spent close to 10 million dollars on her wedding and had followed every superstition in the book. What a waste of money.
Next year, I'm going as ironman....this is too cool.
HOLLOW-WEEEEN?
Is it just me, but does anyone actually miss being a kid on Halloween? Halloween wasn't what it used to be. God I feel old when I say that, but it's true. Today, a whopping 10 kids stopped by my house for candy. That is a 1000% drop from the amount of kids I had last year. Most of the kids went to the mall to get their candy.
THE MALL!!! REALLY????
Since when did kids start going to the mall to get their candy? I went there one year and all it consisted of was a huge centipede line that trailed around the entire mall with kids and their parents picking up candy each store. There was no "trick or treat," just a conveyor belt of kids opening their bags for free HEALTHY candy. Healthy snacks...come on!
When I get kids, I'm taking them from house to house. There's a huge untapped resource in my neighborhood where they can get loads of candy that will be enough sugar for them and my entire family.
WEDDING INDUSTRY BEING FLOODED BY "IMPOSTORS..."
I've been noticing this, but in a recent article by ewednewz, (click here for article) they confirmed my suspicions that the wedding industry is being flooded by more wannabes than before. A "wannabe" in my eyes is a vendor who does not possess the needed skill to produce professional quality that would be acceptable to most brides. As more and more people get laid off, more of them have looked to the wedding industry as a safe haven as they believe that the wedding industry is recession proof.
So finding a great vendor that you can trust is going to become a bit more difficult for brides to find as there is a lot of crap out there. Here are three rules that you can use to weed out the good from the crappy-crap-crap-ass vendors out there.
1) Quality of work, not years of experience - I honestly don't care how many years a company has been in business. It comes down to quality of work. For example, I have seen wedding photographers who have been shooting for 30 years, and their work is horrible! To me the impostor would be the photographer who has been delivering crappy work to couples for 30 years. A photographer who has honed his craft in 2 months, may actually be a natural and light years ahead of his competition would always be the better choice. Always go with quality over years of experience.
2) Ease of accessibility - How hard it is to get a hold of your wedding vendor. Emails should be returned promptly, as well as phone calls. A wedding vendor who goes AWOL for long periods should never be considered.
3) Deals that are too good to be true - Weddings are expensive and you're going to pay for quality. I know of a company that offers the minister, photography, edited video, leis, limousine, cake, bouquets, for around $550! So what does a get? A husband and wife team who is the photographer, videographer, and minister, and singer. They are ordained ministers through the internet, they can't take photos, they can't shoot video, and oh man...they can't sing... Even at $550 you're still getting ripped off.
Well, I'm done with my rant for today! I have a Vow Renewal later today... But I think I gave you something to chew on for now....
What does this have to do with weddings? Absolutely nothing. I just think it's a funny song. Not to mention, MC Hammer is wearing some awfully revealing underwear in this video..hahaha. What was he thinking?
Here is Brittany and Taylor's wedding video. It has to be modified just a bit, because apparently I mistakenly added two of Brittany's baby pictures to Taylors slideshow. My bad! That problem will be fixed though shortly. Sometimes, babies just all look the same...haha. Especially, these two.
On another note, I made an executive decision to shoot at least one camera of video coverage at all my weddings. The reason is that for couples who don't book any video coverage for their wedding, regret it. We'll, now they don't have to regret it. If they want one camera footage for their wedding, it will always be available for purchase in the future. If not, no big deal, but I will always have their wedding on file if they want to purchase it later down the road.
Today (October 24, 2011), I don't have a wedding, so I'm enjoying the day off. Well, sorta. I'll still be answering emails, editing wedding videos, and virtual wedding planning...AND answering phone calls. So call if you need me.
This is your standard 35mm Panavision Movie Camera
FILM IS STILL NOT DEAD
"Everyone is going to digital! It's so much better than film. You have to go full digital if you want to shoot professional! Everyone's shooting in digital! Did you hear. All movies are shot on digital SLRS these days! FILM IS DEAD!"
WRONG.....
This is the jargon that goes around the wedding community from time-to-time on photography forums. Unfortunately, most wedding professionals don't know what they are talking about as they spent most oftheir entire life in the wedding industry; unlike myself who worked waist deep in the movie production. And I can tell you confidently, for the most part, most films, both studio backed and independent, are still shot on Kodak Film. In fact, most sitcoms, hour long dramas, and commercials are ALL still shot on film. Did you know that The NFL still uses film as their choice of medium when they feel there is a story to tell? Yes, film, is the true storyteller's medium when it comes to recording anything live action.
In my quick conclusions, film will never be dead as long as the movie industry continues to thrive. While Kodak Films may not sell as much consumer film as they used to, they will still sell mass amounts of film to the professional community. In fact, just a month ago, Kodak was completely sold out of their top-of-the-line PORTRA series film. Yes, there is still a large group of professional photographers who still shoot on film. Myself included...(see http://www.choosefilm.com/)
Here are pictures from a recent wedding that I shot with both a digital and film camera.
This is shot on my Canon G10, 14.7 Megapixel Camera at ISO 80. This camera, even though it is a snapshot camera, shoots the same quality as many High quality DLSR in normal daylight. It is the camera of choice for many war photojournalist as it is small and does not look like a missile launcher. In fact, it has grown to be the main camera choice to many professional photographers. To see more amazing G10 IMAGES click here:
This is the same picture retouched in Adobe Lightroom. I'm actually very good in color correcting photos since I understand exposure rather well. I always try to make digital shots look like film, but still, it's not quite the same.
This is shot on 400 ISO PORTRA Film. The exposure and color for this shot is not corrected. Light passes through the negative, creates an image on the paper, and this is what you get. Even when digital photographs are retouched to look like film, the pictures still don't feel the same. Don't you agree? Look at the skin tones, the three dimensional feeling on the faces... the contrast...better isn't it?
It's important to mention that a bad photographer is a bad photographer, no matter what medium they may choose. I recently met a photographer who bragged that she was the only wedding film photographer in Hawaii. My photography lab, the only professional film processor in Hawaii, did not know of her personally. The reason? Well, she doesn't shoot on professional film, and develops her pictures at a local drug store. A local drug store! Are you kidding me! I wish I could tell you the name of her company but I can't on the web because I would probably get sued. But if you call me, or email me personally, I'll spill the beans.
A true professional film photographer who really knows what they're doing, understands the art of photography much better than the photographer who learned the art through digital mediums. Since they can't preview exactly what they shoot, they have to rely on their knowledge of science, math, and former experience to get the perfect shot. And do they perfect shot...more than often, yes!
So when it comes to your wedding, I always ask. Do you want digital or film quality. Almost every bride chooses film and are happy that they did so.
Well....I'm off to work more today. In fact, I'm heading out to drop off some film to the photo lab!
If you've been following the news for the last month, chances are that you've probably caught a glimpse of the "Occupy Wall Street" movement that has caught fire across the country. The protester's message, according to their website, focuses on protesting corporate greed, equality for everyone, and corruption. They say they represent the 99% of the people in America as they believe that all the privileges, opportunities, and wealth, has stayed and risen to the top 1% in America.
On the surface, their message would seem as though it would be very easy to stand by. Why, who wouldn't be against equality and corruption? And what about those greedy corporations who favor making money over giving more jobs to the middle class? Profit is evil. Businessmen are evil. Bankers and CEO's are at the top of the list when it comes to people to hate. After all, in the movies, the bad guy is always some wealthy businessman who must have more than just money. He must have power, control over society, and must pollute the world!
Really?
I'm a businessman. And I've been one since I was 19 years old. I love making a profit and hate losing money. When it comes to taxes, I fall pretty close to that top margin that pays close to 50% of their income to the government. I own stocks, silver, and other commodities. I am whom they consider "wealthy." The bad guy. The evil businessman who trades stocks, speculates on real estate, and cares about profits....
I'm evil.... Really?
The truth behind it all is that the protesters of Occupy Wall Street stand united behind a message that is given to the public, out of context. On the surface, they may very well seem to share the same message as the Tea Party, as they are against Corporate Bailouts. But they are not telling us the full story. The Tea Party stands against all forms of excessive government spending. They don't want the government to spend money on corporations, nationalized health care, subsidies, or any form of government handouts. The "Occupy Wall Street Movement" doesn't want Corporations to get bailed out, but instead, they, the protesters, want to get bailed out by the government, businessmen, and corporations. They want to tax the wealthy because they can afford it, and they want that money in forms of handouts.
The protesters have had a very hard life. Many have lost jobs and have mounds of debt. But these people point the finger at everyone else except themselves. They claim they can't find a job that pays well because corporations only care about money. Now, maybe companies won't hire them because they don't have the skills needed for that position. Or maybe, they won't hire a modern day hippy that doesn't care about making that company money.
Some protesters are in debt. Now whose fault is that? The wealthy? It's not my fault those people borrowed too much and overspent on their credit card. I don't even own a credit card because I know that cash is king. I don't want over reach myself when I go shopping.
The protesters say Wall Street is "stealing the American Dream." How exactly does one steal a dream? Is that even possible? And hasn't Wall Street given the American Dream to many Americans? Wall Street has turned more ordinary people into millionaires and billionaires in America. Wall Street turned home based garage built businesses such as Microsoft and Apple, into companies that changed the world. They provided the capital to turn small car companies like Ford, into what they are today. Without Wall Street, there would be no America.
Unfortunately, the Occupy Wall Street movement doesn't seem anywhere close to ending because they don't know how to succeed in life. I wish that these kids, these protesters, would just get a clue. Anyone can attain the American Dream. Despite what the government does, what Wall Street does, all it takes to attain the American dream is hard work, skills, and the ability to problem solve.
I graduated at the bottom of my class in High School. I went to one semester of college then dropped out. I went into business for myself at the age of 19 and lost a lot of money for years. I stuck though the hard times, learned from my mistakes, and now I'm a successful businessman. No one stole my dream when I failed, and no one gave it to me when I succeeded.
As the protest grows, and each day passes, it becomes more obvious to me that those who occupy Wall Street don't have much gray matter occupying the space between their ears. They are trying to attain the American Dream by protesting instead of learning a skill, getting a job, spending within their means, or saving and investing their money.
It's been four weeks hippies. Four weeks. Stop pounding on that drum. Pull up your pants, comb your hair, and get a job.
It's 2am in the morning on Sunday. I need to head to bed. I have an Eagles-Redskins game to watch today, and, I also have a wedding at 5pm.. These are just wedding photos that I had to post. Funny stuff...
This couple will go down as one of my favorite couples of all time. Doug and Mary met 15 years ago at a singles dance and have been inseparable since. Although they are an elderly couple, they are in extremely good physical shape and full of energy. Doug regularly plays tennis and runs, and Mary is a power-walker. They are not just in great shape for their age, they are great shape...period. They were able easily navigate the entrance to Ko'olina with more ease than any of my other couples who were decades younger than them. When we were walking on the beach, they did not get winded at all unlike some of my other couples. It was just amazing to be in the presence of two people who were in amazing shape, despite their age.
I'm going to be busy with weddings this week so I can really blog that much. Here's a recent batch of photos from a wedding that took place on the Kawela Kai Nani properties. These were shot on film, then touched up on the computer. Yes...I used the computer to enhance film photos. Surprised?
I don't do it often, once in a very long time. And when I say a long time, I mean it.
Now all digital photos must be enhanced. Film doesn't need to be enhanced. But when you do enhance film shots...sometimes, they come out looking really really good....Enjoy! In this case, I had to enhance these photos because I though the colors of that day could have looked just a tad bit better. I think this is the first time I actually touched a roll of film with the computer.
The video featured above is not their full wedding video. It's just their ceremony. I'm currently putting the finishing touches on their video. But if you wanted to see their wedding in action, hit the play button above!
Matt and Ashely tie the knot on a vacation home rental property in Makaha, then booked me for another photo session at Ko'olilna. Here is their full wedding video!
The buffet at the new Disney Resort, the Aulani, is probably the best buffet on the island. The price is rather steep, at $43 per person, but the quality of the food, and the atmosphere, is excellent!
This weekend I had the great opportunity to treat my mother to the buffet dinner at the Makahiki restaurant at the new Disney hotel. If you must know, my family is all about food as we are all pretty good cooks, and rather good culinary critics of real food (not gourmet food.) Buffets restaurants are probably amongst our most favorite choices of dining choices because we all just love to eat. Quality is also very important as buffet dinners don't come by very cheap.
The Makahiki buffet lacks a desirable amount of food stations. There are about three food stations in total: a cold station, an entree meat carving station, and a dessert station. In all honesty, I have seen more stations at other buffet's in town, such as Todai's, which consist of 10 or 15. But what the Makahiki buffet lacks in quantify, it makes up in quality.
Their Hawaiian food, especially, their Lau Lau, was excellent. Their shoyu poke and Lomi Salmon, were very good. As for the carving station, they featured a New York Loin Roast. It was above average tender and the flavor for their meat also very good. Their other entrees, guava bbq'd ribs, steam fished, Korean style bbq meat, etc..etc... were excellent. As for their desserts, their bite sized cheesecakes and brownies were to die for.
At $43, the buffet was much worth it. Despite the lack of stations, almost every dish there was of high quality. You don't get much of that at many buffets. You usually just get a lot of crap right? More so, I came out full, stuffed, and very satisfied.
This buffet is still rather new, so I expect the restaurant to eventually add more stations, and hopefully a soft-serve machine in the future.
Now is this the best buffet on the island? Yes. A very close tie would be the Kuhio Grill in Waikiki, which is $25.00 and features crab and the best prime rib on Oahu. But when I compare this buffet to buffets I have been to in Vegas, where there are at least 15 stations with food that is equivalent in quality, such as in the Belagio, it loses. Still, for Hawaii, and probably most other places in the world, it's very very good.
DO YOU TRUST THE BETTER BUSINESS BUREAU? THINK AGAIN!
Chances are that you have probably heard of the Better Business Bureau, and have probably turned to them to investigate the service of a business you planned to use. The BBB advertises that they are consumer advocates. And through their simple grading system, A through F, they claim that they can clearly steer you, the uneducated customer, to a trustworthy business. That claim, is a flat out lie.
Dream Weddings Hawaii, was once a registered business in the State of Hawaii. During this time a rogue unregistered business opened with the name "A Dream Wedding Hawaii." The company did not pay taxes in the State, and was not registered in Hawaii either. But the company was a member of the Better Business Bureau, and HVCB (The Hawaii Visitors Convention Bureau) despite not being a registered company with the State of Hawaii! More so, they maintained an A+ rating despite massive complaints that they were not showing up for weddings!
The complaints which were filed against "A Dream Wedding Hawaii" were directed towards me, "Dream Weddings Hawaii" since I was the only legit company under that name. But because I was not a member of the BBB, my rating dropped from an A+ to a C-, even though my company was innocent of committing any sin towards a bride.
To date, the same wedding company "A Dream Wedding Hawaii" operates in Hawaii with an A+ rating. This company, still is not registered to do business in the State of Hawaii, but is still a member of the BBB. And yes, they still don't show up for weddings at times from what I heard.
For me, when I became a virtual wedding planner, moving my business from Hawaii and into the virtual world, I decided to incorporated in Wyoming. I don't plan any local weddings for local brides anymore. But any bride outside our State who is contact with me through the Internet and wants to come to Hawaii, is fair game. Dream Weddings Hawaii LLC in Hawaii is dissolved. But surprisingly, the BBB still files complaints from that other company and pushes it onto my dissolved company. Can you believe that?
Now, if you're wondering if I ever had a complaint against me filed at the BBB, the answer is yes. In fact, I have a complaint, my only one, which I am addressing right now. And it's frustrating me.
At the moment I have a disgruntled know-it-all groom whom is demanding a rather large partial refund. The groom chose to edit his own wedding video and bypassed the $350 video edit upgrade to the ceremony package. He instead paid for $150 for the raw footage of my 3 video cameras. I gave him all the native HD footage needed to create a great video in three different HD formats.
A week after he received the footage, he accused me of delivering to him raw video that was not clear, poorly composed with inaudible audio, and not white balanced. The groom clearly did know how to edit his video as he was not a professional video editor. I wrote him back with a detailed instructional work flow, but he was still unable to produce video which was comparable to my edits. Then, he started pointing the finger at me. I edited the vow portion of his wedding video to show him how his video should look like after he accused me of giving him unprofessional video. He took my advice and my video example as an insult and then complained to me more.
Another week passed, and When he couldn't deliver the same quality, he asked me to edit the video. I agreed and then quoted him the same price I would quote to edit any wedding video in post production, $350.00, for editing only (no slideshows, no color correction, no HD streaming). He was not entitled to all the benefits of the "Video Edit Upgrade" because he chose to bypass the upgrade upon purchase. The upgrade has to be taken at the time of the purchase of the ceremony package. The groom wanted his $150 credit for 3 camera coverage to go towards the $350 video edit upgrade. I apologized and told him, "Sorry it doesn't work that way. I operate like any company. Discounts, upgrades, are like coupons. They have to used at the time of purchase."
He then accused me of ripping him off and that's when he told me would complain to the BBB. The know-it-all groom fails to understand that it would require 6 or more hours of labor to re-input his video onto our hard drives, and for that extra labor, I have to charge him for that.
So the groom complained to the Hawaii BBB, and filed the complaint against my old company which doesn't exist in Hawaii...haha. Remember, I'm Incorporated in Wyoming. In any case, I did reply with a lengthy explanation. The BBB still had my old mailing address, that's how they contacted me.
His complaints were very much wide spread. From the production quality of my video, to my drum scanned negatives, to my minister's service, and for the fact that I just gave him horrible customer service.
"Horrible customer service?", I asked myself. For this groom's wedding, I was there for every step of their wedding planning process. Every call, every email was promptly answered. I even accommodated the couples choice of location, in which they switched between Ko'olina and Sherwoods Beach until a week before their wedding. This was a strain on my vendors if you could imagine . And more so, because they didn't rent a car, I picked them from their hotel, drove them to their wedding location and back, for free so they could save $250 on a limo. I just didn't get it.
For a couple to insult my work and my service like this it hurts. And for this groom accuse me of something which I am not guilty of stings. I've posted my work here just to let my work speak for itself. I believe I delivered a great product. If I were to edit their wedding, it would come out superb.
So here's where the story takes a turn.
The BBB gave me a chance to respond to each of his complaints. They then told me that in order to resolve this complaint that I should come to a middle ground with my former client. My former client demanded half of his money back, and that would be the only resolution that would be acceptable to him. Well, no refund was going to happen. The BBB then told me that if I signed up for a year membership, that his complaint would be wiped out and I would get an A+ rating. And if I didn't sign up, my rating would drop to a C- or a F. Yes..that is 100% true! Now I want to file a complaint against the BBB.
So after doing some research, I ran into this video on Youtube. Apparently, 1000's of businesses have complaints against the BBB as well! Hamas, a terrorist organization, got a A+ rating, along with a White Supremacy Group. Wolf Gang Puck has a F rating, but was offered an A+ rating if they signed up. Ritz Carlton had two complaints over 1 million customers, but they have a F rating....wow.
.... just wow.
Ever since I've been a young businessman, I had a feeling that the BBB was up to no good. Now I know that the BBB has been nothing more than racketeering company that's unworthy of my trust.
As for this disgruntled groom... He's not getting any refund that's for sure. What a bastard. I mean really... I hate to call any of my former clients this, but he is. There's nothing honestly wrong with the quality of pictures he received. Nothing wrong with his video. He's just looking for a way to get his money back. But after planning more than 3000 weddings, there's always going to be a few of those bridezillas or groomzillas that you just wish you didn't have in your life.
Steve "The Wedding Guy" Young Your virtual wedding planner and ANTI-BBB man.
UPDATE: FEELING MUCH BETTER Chest congestion is almost gone!
To all those who wished me well this past few weeks, thank you very much. My chest congestion is finally clearing up, which means I don't have to hack up a bucket of phlegm every two minutes. I had a very nice four day vacation filled with nothing other than sleep, football, and food. Man, I wish I could do that everyday for the rest of my life!
During my four day sick/vacation extravaganza I didn't brush my hair or shave. My voice was raspy and for some reason, I walked with a limp. I have no idea why I walked with a limp. I'm thinking I put my underwear in the dryer too long and it consequently shrank, cutting off circulation to one leg, causing me to limp. That's my story and I'm sticking to it. I walked around the mall just to get out of the house and for some reason I drew stares. I think everyone thought I was homeless.
You see, I'm not one of those people who don't have to try to look to look good. If I don't take care of myself, I don't turn into superman. I turn into superman's leftover armpit sweat. Hey, I'm just saying.....
Anyway. I am feeling better! I'm clean shaved, hair slicked back, and I have my nice CK Jeans on, my long sleeved shirt rolled up, and I'm ready to marry people today!
