Dream Weddings Hawaii

NEW WEDDING VIDEO :)

2012-02-12T22:40:00.005-10:00

ANOTHER WEDDING VIDEO!

Hey, I'm back on the blog! I think it's been two or three weeks since I blogged last. Sorry about that. I've been really busy lately. I was in California for about eight days, and as soon as I came back I had about seven Hawaii weddings. Was it seven? It could have only been six weddings. In any case, its been busy. My phone has been ringing off the hook with wedding inquiries as well. (I love it...keep it ringing.)

I'll update my blog soon though. Maybe later tonight. So much has happened in this world and I need to comment..hahahah...

In the meantime. Enjoy the video!

Steve

RESTAURANT REVIEW: Yogur Story!

2012-01-10T22:35:00.005-10:00

The Ahi Dragon

RESTAURANT REVIEW: YOGUR STORY

When I first heard of Yogur story, I was honestly confused. Were they just one of the hundreds of Yogurt shops that had been popping up everywhere? Or maybe they were a yogurt shop that doubled as a small town library? Why did they call themselves Yogur, without the "T"? Did they even serve Yogurt? And what in the world was a"Yogur?" An animal? A fish? Or maybe an alter-ego superhero in an upcoming movie? A spore? Possibly the name of my new ex-wife?

When I asked our waitress these questions, she just stared at me and said, "The name of your ex-wife name is Judy and she will take all your money. Now here are the specials of the day..."

"That's funny, I don't know any Judy's...yet.."

Yogur Story is a modern cafe/dine-in restaurant whose food quality matches its decor; tastefully done and creative.

For the night, I had some type of fish dish called the "Ahi Dragon." My former elementary school classmate, and sidekick for the night, had the Chicken pasta. Both dishes passed the grade as far as quality. And for service, what can I say. The gypsy/waitress was very prompt, courteous, and predicted my future ex-wife, so I owed her some type of big tip right? An interesting menu item that caught my eye was their prime rib locomoco, which consisted of a slice of prime rib on rice, with two sunny-side eggs, and smothered with brown gravy. That's intense...

Chick Pasta. The chicken is in there somewhere

Yogur story is primarily known for their waffles. Unfortunately, I was just too full to taste any dessert. I predict that their dessert should be pretty good. After all, they cooked my fish dish perfectly, and that's much harder to do than cooking waffles.

Yogur story is located on 815 Keeaumoku Street, which is near the Ala Moana Shopping center. And yes, they also serve Yogurt. Prices range from $12 to $17 per dish, which is not bad at all.

Steve Young

Scott and Rhonda

2012-01-08T23:20:00.004-10:00

SCOTT AND RHONDA!

Scott and Rhonda tied the knot on the west shore on a private property called the Makaha Bamboo Compound. They hired me to provide them with digital photography and 3 camera video coverage.

Their wedding service consisted was a great Christian ceremony that combined a praise and worship session and an awesome wedding service by two of their church pastors. Yes! They had two pastors for their wedding! I mic'ed up both ministers to get full audio coverage of the entire ceremony. The ministers, who know the in's and out's of audio, made sure they positioned themselves perfectly so that I could pick up everything, vows, praise and worship services...

Here is their video in its entirety.

Steve

Vow renewal!

2012-01-06T12:01:00.002-10:00

IT'S A VOW RENEWAL!

I honestly don't do many vow renewals per year. It's not that I turn them down, it's just that more people plan on getting married in Hawaii than getting their vows renewed in Hawaii. So here's a quick video for all of my wedding stalkers. There are definitely more videos to come! I sitll need to blog about my Christmas and New Years too. Anyway....no time for that now. I have to head to out of here and shoot a wedding in four hours.

Enjoy the video in the meantime!

Steve Young

Wedding in the rain?

2012-01-04T19:21:00.006-10:00

MORE FROM THE WEDDING IN THE RAIN
ON 11-11-11

This is their wedding video! It probably was one of the very few weddings where it just poured during the ceremony. Even to my surprise, the video actually came out pretty darn good. Here it is in it's entirety!

I'll be blogging soon about my Christmas and New Years as well!

Steve

Rain rain go away....

2011-12-09T02:48:00.005-10:00

A candid shot. I took this on film, toyed with some filters on the computer
and now this looks like an antique photograph doesn't it? This was a 11-11-11
sunrise wedding. It STORMED across the entire island in the morning...ironically, the rest of the day was perfect weather.

RAIN RAIN, GO AWAY

Plan B for bad weather

One of the most common concerns with couples planning a Hawaii Wedding, or any outdoor wedding is the weather. "What if it rains on my wedding day Steve?" is a common question I get asked all the time.

My answer?

Well, most likely, it will rain on your wedding day somewhere in Oahu. But chances are, it won't rain at your ceremony because I plan most of my weddings on the North or West shore, which just so happens to be the dryer side of the island. Rain conglomerates around where I live, on the windward side of the Island, in Kaneohe, around the east side of the island.

But what happens if rain does strike on your wedding day? And this isn't just a passing shower, it's an "epic monsoon style movie like rainstorm made for Vietnam movies." Well, we have a couple choices to choose from:

1) We could go on with your wedding in the pouring rain (which is never the best option)
2) We can postpone your wedding date
3) We can perform your ceremony and take those blue sky photos on another day if time permits.

I think this shot is one of my favorite shots I have ever taken in my life because
it says a lot. Maybe that marriage can survive any stormy weather?
It falls more into the art category than wedding photo category doesn't it?

Let me repeat!! More than likely, you shouldn't have to worry about rain on your wedding day. Rarely does it rain across the entire island. If it's raining on the North Shore, we'll move your location to the west shore. If it's raining on the west or North shore of the island, we'll move it east. Before each wedding, I check the radar map to see where the rain is at, and will give you a heads up on the weather we are looking at.

And lastly...don't worry about your pictures. If it rains. I still can get great photos for you. They'll just look different than what you're used to seeing on my website.

Oh, before I forget, Andrea got rain on her wedding day.. But, she also got a rainbow on her wedding day...isn't that cool? No computer graphics here.

Steve

Another video!

2011-12-07T01:53:00.004-10:00

Trent and Kirsty from Steven Young on Vimeo.

Trent and Kirsty's Full Wedding Video

Trent and Kirsty tied the knot in Hawaii earlier on September 1, 2011. This is their full wedding video edit, which includes their entire ceremony, and a handful of highlights from the ceremony. Missing are the speeches from her parents and the bridal court. Those speeches can be found on their DVD, in a separate chapter.

Kirsty told me that for her video, she wanted to chronically showcase the pictures I took on her wedding day from the time she got ready to when the end of her day. So this wedding video took on a different look and feel altogether. I employed a new video slideshow software to create some pretty entertaining slideshows to give it a bit more punch.

Kirsty and Trent came from a Canada to get married in Hawaii. Their referral came down from a previous couple who I had their Hawaii Wedding on the same property just a couple years ago. Those friends who got married a couple years ago, also were referred to me by a previous couple of mine, who were also from Canada, and also got married on Oahu, on the same property, about five years ago. Is it five? I think it's five. Time flies by.

Well...Today is Friday, and I have a wedding today. So... I better get going!

Steve
The WEDDING GUY!

Cheap awesome slideshows.

2011-12-03T13:12:00.008-10:00

Spencer and Lesley from Steven Young on Vimeo.

PICTURES FROM A RECENT HAWAII WEDDING

Thought I'd just post this really quick. I'm headed out to a wedding now at Ko'olina. The video slideshow was produced with an automated web based slideshow program that is pretty darn cool that I purchased. I'm offering the service to create these simple yet awesome animated slideshows, to burn a DVD and to stream it over VIMEO, for $75.00.

Personally, I think they are cool, but they don't really have that full story effect of full screen shots that are held for 5 to 7 seconds a piece. But still...I think it's a great affordable and easy way to showcase your photos to friends and family over the web in a very short presentation over your cellphone or through facebook!

On a side note. This is the first wedding in Hawaii that I performed in a hotel room. Hey, there's a first for everything. After the wedding, we headed down to Lanikuhonua's cove and took some great sunset shots. The lighting in the hotel room was EXTREMELY tricky, but not that difficult. Just tricky.

Steve

SLIDESHOW -

2011-12-03T00:40:00.006-10:00

Jenkins comes home from Steven Young on Vimeo.

MORE OF BRIAN AND MARIA

The black and white roll just arrived from the photo lab of Brian and Maria's homecoming pictures. The pictures came out awesome. I put a handful of their selected pictures together in a montage to a song called "Victim of Love" by Jon Roberts. The song is from an unknown artist and he is awesome. That kid is talented. Some of the words don't apply to the slideshow, but it sure gives you that warm and fuzzy feeling.

I blogged about this happy couple last week. If you missed that blog, either scroll down a few blogs or click here

Enjoy!

Steve

December starts!

2011-12-01T00:54:00.005-10:00

Just the bundle of prints from my recent weddings
that are getting ready to head out the door!

DECEMBER STARTS!
Just an update

November was a very busy month of Hawaii weddings for me. Because of APEC, 11-11-11 was as busy of a wedding day as 10-10-10, 8-8-8, or 7-7-7. But the day that followed were extremely busy as I had bookings for two weeks straight! Here are just a handful of pictures from the all of the Oahu weddings that were taken on film.

This shot is even more impressive blown up to a 16x20

Taken on a digital snapshot camera, my trusty Canon G10.
They also had film coverage as well

Another G10 shot. I didn't pick up their film photos from the lab yet, but I know they turned out awesome.

Taken on cheap Kodak Gold film you can buy at Walmart. That film is very good if you know how to use it right.

Not everyone, or every kid, enjoys a vow renewal. I swear I made that face too. I'M KIDDING...

Taken at Iroqouis point beach. It's a quasi-military own residential area, so you have to live there to use it.

Keiki Beach, 11-11-11. Always love long shadows.

In the water we go.

It rained on her wedding day, so a few days later, we shot these perfect shots at Sherwoods.

I love the way these two look at each other.

Running on the beach shot, and I thik I got someones rear in the shot too.

If you don't already know, I shot all of these pictures. I know I repeat this line in a lot of my post, but many brides are new stalkers, I mean followers of mine, and they always ask, "Steve, who takes the pictures for your wedding company?" It's me me me.. :)

December is slower for me. Thank god for that. I have a lot of wedding videos to edit and want everything to get out before Christmas rolls around. There's a lot of in house work I need to catch up on as well, such as...cleaning my office. I swear a tornado swept through my office, but I can't prove it. I also need a mental "unwind" from planning over 20 weddings in a row. It's not that my brides drive me crazy, it's just that I hate thinking too hard.

Hey but if you need your wedding covered in December, just give me a call. I'll work! I'm not that lazy....or am I? Call to find out....

Blog you all later. I better get myself to bed.

Steven Young
The Hawaii Wedding Guy

HAPPY THANKSGIVING!

2011-11-24T21:47:00.002-10:00

Maria, anxiously waiting and nervously texting as she waits for her husband to arrive.

HAPPY THANKSGIVING!

So how was your thanksgiving? Good? Bad? So-so? For me, it was great. In fact, it was really great as I got to do something I had never done before. I got to photograph the military homecoming for one of my past couples, Maria and Brian. To give you a quick rundown on the history of Maria and Brian, about a year ago they hired my company to marry them at sunrise. Now I remember all of my couples faces, but when I met Maria in person this second time around, I honestly could not place her with any of my previous brides. The reason? She had literally lost 70 pounds, and she looked even more amazing now than on her wedding day.

I'm sure you figured out by now that "homecoming" is not a high school dance. It's actually the day, the minute, the second, when all those who were deployed overseas come home. Today, on thanksgiving, the last Marine battalion from Hawaii came home. The chosen venue, an air hanger decorated with a gigantic American Flag, and a band to set everyone in the mood. The atmosphere there was surreal as it felt as though I was backstage at some type of concert.

Hundreds of women were there crowding the security barricades waiting anxiously for their husbands. As the charter plane touched down for a landing in front of our hanger, the families and women screamed at the top of their lungs like teens at a Justin Beiber concert. Meanwhile, Maria, in control, dabbed the sides of her eyes, trying not to ruin her makeup, as she wanted to look the best for her husband.

I honestly like this kiss better than their wedding day kiss

When the first Marine stepped off the plane, the crowd cheered and went wild. The marines slowly shuffled off of the plane and then it happened. Brian, after shaking hands with a wounded veteran and other soldiers, finally found his wife behind the barrier. With long strides he swept over to his anxious wife. His eyes watery, he grabbed her close, hugged her, and whispered something in her ear. Then, he kissed her like the man who did not see his wife for eight months.

And well, that was the exciting part of my Thanksgiving. I snapped a roll of black and white film for them, along with a handful of digital shots. Oh, I did get to shake Brian's hand to thank him for his service (that was also a highlight of my day). Like any true hero, he answered, "It's no problem..." It's men like Brian, heroes like Brian, who really make it possible for people like me to do what I do, peacefully. And I never forget things like that.

Well, Happy Thanksgiving everyone...as you can see, this day was a special one!

Steve

THE NUT BUSH DANCE!

2011-11-20T23:51:00.008-10:00

Fast forward to 2:00 in the video to see the dance.

THE NUT BUSH DANCE
An Aussie tradition! Really? Yes really!

So I learned something interesting from my couples from Australia today. It's called the "Nut Bush Dance" and apparently, it's a custom dance for many weddings in Australia. Given that I am an American and have no sense of rhythm, I have no idea what this dance is. From I learned on the net, this dance was either invented or inspired when Tina Turner was mistaken for a man in drag while on a trip in Hawaii.The tradition is as follows. You call the drunkest family members to the dance floor, play some god awful Tina Turner music, and you start this dance. First one to drop on the floor wins.... No no no.. I made that up.

All kidding aside this is an actual fun tradition in Austrailia. Every kid is raised to dance this song, and if you're an Aussie, odds are you know this dance by heart. Not kidding there.

For me, I think I'll stick to some Korean Girl line dancing...haha

__________________________________

Now is also the time that I apologize for not being active on my blog in the past few weeks. As you know, 11-11-11 happened, and it was rather crazy. I didn't have many weddings, but my day was still long. I actually had to work 8 hours and my spoiled silver spooned butt is not used to working 30 minutes. haha....I kid..I kid. I'm a hard worker! But since 11-11-11, I've basically had a wedding everyday and I really haven't had any time to write meaningful sarcastic blog.

After this Friday, I'll have a lot more free time. So that means I should be able to blog more, tell more love stories, and complain about bad movies. Which, I would like to add, that Leonardo De"Crap"io plays a Edgar Hoover as a gay, and makes out with a dude in his latest movie. Come on! We all know Decrapio is the closet lover of Tom Cruise, but seeesh.

In any case, I'm outta here. Gotta get some shut eye before my next wedding...tomorrow!

Steve

FILM vs. DIGITAL picture

2011-11-10T02:05:00.004-10:00

FILM VS. DIGITAL SHOT

At one of my last weddings I shot this picture of my bride with both my film and digital SLR. There is a reason why I still prefer shooting with film these days. It's just better..hands down. I think this comparison shot says it all.

Still, most wedding photographers here and abroad prefer to shoot many pictures on film because it's just easier for them. Indoors, low light situations, I prefer using a digital SLR. Outdoors, in great light, I'll always go for film.

Steve

A LITTLE ABOUT ME AND PLANNING...

2011-11-09T01:31:00.010-10:00

Me, getting my "workin' grin" on. 34 years old and kicking.

ABOUT ME...AND HOW I GOT HERE....

Time really flies by when you get older. I didn't believe it when I was kid. I "sorta" believed it when I was in my early twenties. Now that I'm 34, I'm always asking myself, "Where did the time go!" One of the most common questions I get asked by my brides is how I ever got to be where I am today: a planner, a photographer, a video guy, a wedding guy know-it-all s.o.b. I really never get to tell the long story of my journey into this industry because a brides wedding day is really about her, not me. Well, I have some free time on my hands right now, so here's the long story.

FROM HIGH SCHOOL TO SCREENWRITING

It all started when I was 17 years old and in high school. I attended a college prep private Christian school in Hawaii where the m.o. was that getting good grades was everything, because good grades lead to a good school, which lead to a good job. About 98% of my classmates were brainiacs. Even the troublemakers managed to squeak out a 3.8 GPA. All of my classmates had high ambitions of becoming doctors, lawyers, and businessmen. Me on the other hand? I honestly didn't now what I wanted to become. At one time I wanted to become a fighter pilot, but that was during my Top Gun phase of my life.

I truly didn't blend in with most of my classmates as I didn't get the good grades they did. I was always on some type of academic probation, always in parent-teacher conferences, and regularly pulled down C's in most subjects, F's in the ones I just couldn't get, and A's for the one I enjoyed. My cumulative GPA was a 2.2, a C average. If you're wondering, I got a D in photography and an F in creative writing. (Ironic isn't it!)

I remember quite colorfully in a parent-teacher conference, my teacher told my dad, "Your son isn't applying himself. He's not studying hard enough because he's only pulling in average grades."

My father fired back, "What's wrong with being average?"

She was dumbfounded, "I'm not saying...."

My father continued, "The way I look at it. People are good in certain subjects, average in most, and are bad in some. In a way, we're all average. Are you saying you are above average?"

"Well, I did graduate from a big university...," my teacher said...

"Yet look at yourself, you pull in a below average salary. I'm not saying there's anything wrong with that, but in your eyes, being below average is not acceptable", my father said sternly. "There's nothing wrong with being average, we're all average."

My father, who is still alive and kicking, and a great businessman, still believes that. But he also believed that in order to succeed in life I needed to be really good at something, not everything, just something. So he and my mother always pressed me to learn skills that I probably would never use. Such as learning how to play the piano, service computers, or to fix laser printers.

Near the middle of high school, I decided I wanted to work in the movie industry. I had bright-eye ambitions to become a movie director, although at that time, I had no idea what a movie director actually did. So after graduation, I flew to Arizona to attend a trade school to learn graphic design, photography, and video editing with the hopes that it would get me into the movie industry. The only problem was that when I got there, I didn't enjoy myself at all. The curriculum was boring, and I didn't feel like learning. So after a few months of trade school, I dropped out to do practically nothing at the age of 18.

But with my extra time, I began to write. And I found out I enjoyed it quite much. Plus, I was quite good at it. It was soon after that I decided that I wanted to set my goals on becoming a professional screenwriter.

A few years had passed, and I had eventually found my way to California. I was a semi-professional screenwriter, meaning I couldn't make a living as a screenwriter, but had a handful of active projects with celebrities. I had an literary agent shopping my scripts to producers, and I honestly felt as though I was on my way to accomplish my dreams. But as I talked to other professional writers, I began to realize that their lifestyle was one that I truly didn't want. Many writers were boring troubled souls. More so, highly liberal, progressive in politics and conspiracy theories, just weird people. And..they weren't rich! More so, struggling to stay alive, always waiting for the next project to pay their bills.

It was then when I talked to my agent and asked him how I could make millions. He asked me, "Do you know who the richest celebrities are in Hollywood right now?"

"Steven Speilberg? Mel Gibson?", I asked.

"No", he answered. "It's the Olsen Twins. They are billionaires. And they did it by creating fun instructional children's videos."

Well, that was all I needed to hear. I needed to create an instructional video! So at 21, I instantly gave up on my dreams of working in Hollywood and flew back to Hawaii.

I then took a look at all the industries in the world, and tried to figure out the industry where clients or customers needed to be educated the most. And that's when I decided...it was was the wedding industry.

The old Canoe Girl Website at http://www.caneogirl.com
I still keep it up for memories.

THE RISE AND FALL OF CANOE GIRL PRODUCTIONS

All weddings were to me were low budget movie productions. And this was something I was somewhat familiar with from my short experience from working in that industry. The only difference was that you had to get everything right in one-take versus a few hundred.

To get my instructional video done fast I needed a team, and a talented one too. I needed to surround myself with the best.

Being a greenhorn in business, and an overly ambitious young man, I embarked on creating a production company that specialized in photography, video production, and web and graphic design. I not only wanted to create this wedding video, but I wanted to become the production powerhouse in Hawaii. The company, Canoe Girl Productions, consisted of a few friends of mine who shared my same vision. One friend of mine, Wei-Jen, whom I had met at a party by chance, just happened to be one of the best wedding photographers in Taiwan. I told him my plans, and he joined forces with me.

Soon after he teamed up with me, he expressed to me the need to train other photographers. We tried training a few friends of mine, but they didn't have the time, or the patience. So instead of training others, Wei-Jen trained me. And that's how I learned photography!

Learning from Wei-Jen was like going to Kung Fu class. He didn't let me use any professional camera. I just had to learn about lighting and posing from him. All shots had to be done with a disposable snapshot camera, and not a professional SLR.

I took to photography quite well as it was very similar to the movie cameras I had seen on set. Metering light was the same, composition was the same, even direction. While learning photography, I shot and edited all the video for my company, and did a lot of the graphics. Most of which these skills I learned in California.

A concert we put on in Hawaii.

I remember telling Wei-Jen that I was ready to shoot my instructional wedding video, but the only problem was that I didn't know one thing about putting a wedding together. Research had to be done. And the only way to educate ourselves about the wedding industry, was to immerse ourselves into it. So we did.

One of our most popular pictures that Canoe Girl took.
Photo by "the master" Wei-Jen Wang.

Canoe Girl's (http://www.canoegirl.com/) entry into the wedding industry blew our competitors out of the water. We offered better quality photos and video for a cheaper price. On top of doing weddings Canoe Girl Productions also had two Japanese television shows it was producing, the contract to create most of the in-hotel commercials for Hawaii, concerts to promote, and non-profit organizations to run. We were also one of the few University of Hawaii licensees, other than Nike, so we had shirts to create. Canoe Girl Productions resume sounded impressive, but our balance sheet was far from stellar. We were losing mass amounts of money every year as advertising money had dried up after 9-11. And I as the CEO of Canoe Girl, was placing bad bets on projects. We lost tons of money on just my bad ideas. The only thing keeping us alive were weddings, as people kept getting married.

Six years had passed and Canoe Girl Productions was bankrupt. As quickly as we had risen, we had fallen like the rest of the production companies out there. I had burned through my savings and the patience of a lot of friends. At 26, I filed for personal bankruptcy and started over. At that time, I had only $200 in my pocket, and still my dream to create that instructional wedding video.

Can you tell my movie background comes through my work?

THE RISE OF DREAM WEDDINGS HAWAII

Creating my instructional video was never a priority for Canoe Girl Productions as I thought it would be. My business partner was never too excited about doing anything related to the wedding business, so we never pushed it through. Plus, I still wanted to learn much more about the wedding industry so I had to put the production of the video on hold.

One thing which we did not do at Canoe Girl Productions was to plan actual weddings, large or small. We would plan events, plan concerts, plan television shows, but never weddings. So I thought the next logical step for me to take was to get into wedding planning.

At the age of 26, with $200 in my pocket, I opened up Dream Weddings Hawaii L.L.C in Oahu. And I couldn't do it alone. In the beginning, I had tremendous help from my mom. She no longer helps plan, but she was there in the beginning. Free help + loyal help = the best help you can get only from your mom. I also had the help of Bill Coreless and Larry Fair, two wonderful videographers who lent me their hand and their equipment when I didn't video on my own. (I have to plug my friend Doss White , who did video for me while I had Canoe Girl Productions, and stayed friends with me even after I lost Canoe Girl Productions.)

Dream Weddings Hawaii grew just as fast as Canoe Girl Productions. Within it's first year of business, I had planned over 100 weddings. But unlike Canoe Girl Productions, Dream Weddings Hawaii was and still is extremely profitable.

And like before, I knew that I had to surround myself with the best. So I did. Rev. Elias Parker, Stan Ponz, and Mark Kurnow, I believe are the best ministers on Oahu. Tino Roseto, the best minister in Maui. Van Ohumikini, probably the most talented singer in Hawaii without a record contract. Always Flowers, the best florist in town, and Lin's Lei Shop, the best lei makers on the island. All these people make Dream Weddings Hawaii possible.

In the past two years, Dream Weddings Hawaii has become a virtual company that is based in Wyoming. We don't plan local weddings anymore or advertise in local markets, unless local couples find us through the web. For the most part, we only focus on couples from out-of-state or out-of-country areas who want to get married in Hawaii. It didn't make sense for me to base my company out of Hawaii as I do most of my planning online and through my cell phone. (Sometimes, I'm out of State or country!)

But with that being said, I personally still handle every client of mine. I answer all emails and phone calls for my company, and I am there at every wedding. Yes, I fly back to Hawaii. I also shoot all the photos and video for my weddings as well, to make sure that "movie quality" style couples have come to love always comes through.

As for my instructional wedding video? Well Trust me, I'll get to it. I still have my notes, my dreams, and with every wedding I plan, I learn something more.

So I guess my story has a happy ending...so far! I'm quite the same kid I was at 18, but even better now, I have some maturity. I've learned a lot in my very short business career. I know that in business, you're never a one man army, no matter how good you are. Many people helped me, and continue to do so along the way. I'm also still an overly ambitious businessman as at one time I did own six companies! From a ukulele shop to a make-up service company, to a coffee company... But that's for another story! haha....

Until next time....

Steven Young
The Wedding Guy

NEW APEC DEVELOPMENTS

2011-11-07T02:05:00.007-10:00

AN APEC FEDERAL AGENT OPENS FIRE AT MCDONALDS?

A 23 year old man was fatally wounded by a gunshot to the chest by a federal agent who was most likely in town for the APEC convention. The death is very suspicious as family members believe the confrontation began at bar and the federal agent followed the 23 year old to the McDonalds where he shot him dead. This is only one side of the story and everyone is innocent until proven guilty. I believe there is much more to this story.

ROAD CLOSURES AND PROTESTORS ARE HERE

APEC has started today. Watch the video here. Tons of cars are being towed, ticketed. The usual protestors are writing junk on sidewalks protesting and getting arrested. I've talked to a few of them and asked them would they keep down the noise if they see a wedding happening on the beach. Nope. No such luck. They want to protest the "greedy" wedding companies as well they told me. This is why all of my weddings are happening outside of Waikiki, away from APEC. I'm avoiding politicians and morons protestors with no class.

I checked in at Ko'olina, and public access to beaches are also being restricted. So no Lanikuhonua weddings for the this week.

Steve

ROCK STAR WEDDING IN HAWAII?

2011-11-05T03:02:00.002-10:00

Rock star Wedding? from Steven Young on Vimeo.

ROCK STAR'S WEDDING IN HAWAII?

Well, not really. But don't they look like rock stars? They are more like rock fans, as that's where these two met! At a rock concert.

This was a surprise wedding. The bride and groom had been together for over a decade and decided to tie the knot in Oahu. They wanted to surprise their family who came with them so they told their family to dress up for family pictures.

The surprise though, didn't get pull off as smoothly as I planned. Prior to the bride getting ready, her mother spotted her wedding dress hanging in the closet. Her mother did manage to keep the secret quiet during the family photos, but other family members new something was going on because her mother was rather emotional...haha. Still, it was a surprise for many.

On the day of their wedding, the clouds were a bit overcast. But in this case, it worked well for me as they pictures came out pretty epic looking. You can take a look at all my photos in the video!

Till next time,

Steve Young
The Hawaii Wedding Guru

APEC HAWAII 2011 - Waikiki and Ko'olina access restrictions

2011-11-05T02:37:00.002-10:00

APEC HAWAII 2011 WAIKIKI AND KO'OLINA RESTRICTIONS
SOME GOOD NEWS!

After researching the web for travel restrictions, I am finding a bit of good news. According to an October 20, 2011 press release from APEC:

"Various Security measures will be in effect from about 10pm on November 11th through 11:59pm on November 13th."

If this holds true, this means that the heavy security portion of APEC will bypass the popular wedding date 11-11-11! Restrictions zones during the 12th and 13th will be located at the Halekoa hotel and the Ko'olina resort. So it should be rather easy to travel in and around Oahu until those two days come by.

Now the bad news. Protestors are expected to be here. Not much, since it costs money to fly to Oahu, and most of these protestors are broke. But it is expected that there will be a few hundred of them showing up throughout the week. In past APEC conferences, protest have been large and violent. But I don't believe this will be the case in Hawaii. But these idiot protestors surprise me sometimes.

So far, Hawaii Weddings, Oahu Weddings in particular, seems to have dodged a bullet on 11-11-11.

Steve

APEC SET TO RUIN WEDDINGS IN HAWAII

2011-11-04T04:07:00.001-10:00

The APEC conference is coming to Hawaii on the very same week that many couples had booked years in advance because they thought it was a special date. That coveted wedding date was 11-11-11.   APEC is short for the Asian Pacific Economic Conference, and it will do nothing to help the economy of America, the economy of Hawaii, and is set to ruin many weddings in Oahu.

During the week that the conference here, residents have been warned that Waikiki will be locked down with heavy security. Security is said to be of historical porportions. Roads and beaches will be closed, access to hotels will be limited due to leaders of multiple countries being in town. To make things worse, the freeways are expected to be closed for long periods of time as Presidents make their way to and from conferences, and to popular tourism locations.

11-11-11, will be like many of other busy prior special weddings days in the rest of the world such as 10-10-10, 9-9-9, 8-8-8, and 7-7-7.   The only difference is that here in Oahu, politicians have ruined their special wedding day. It has been reported that many hotels have been forced by APEC to kick out couples from banquet rooms because they were chosen to have their conference there.   If there was anytime to hate politicians, now would be the time. Even if a couple‘s wedding has not been kicked out of their Waikiki venue, it is expected that many of their family and friends will have a hard time getting to the venue on-time. They may even be denied entry!

Aside from the wedding business getting hurt, many other businesses and events will be suffering as well. Our local news reported a local hula competition, which is internationally known, has been kicked out of their venue as well. They need 20k more to book another venue.   Small family own businesses in Waikiki are expecting a large decline in revenue due to closed roads going into Waikiki.   More so, our State government is due to report millions of dollars in cost as for the added security measures our State will submit ourselves to in order to keep the dignitaries safe....

Many Waikiki residents are planning to leave the island of Oahu during the week of APEC.

I had known about the APEC conference for about a year, and I made sure not to book any of my weddings in or around Waikiki. Then, the APEC conference suddenly changed one of their venues to Ko‘olina. This forced me to move all of my 11-11-11 weddings to the North Shore.   My golden rule at for choosing locations on Oahu has always been to get far away from Waikiki.   For 11-11-11, it has changed to getfar away from a politician.

For my brides, because of the location change, I don‘t forsee a major problem. I do expect slight delays for them to get out of Waikiki to the North Shore, but I still don‘t see it as a major problem.

I‘ll be posting more articles on APEC news as the week goes on. So if you‘re planning your wedding from 11-6 to 11-13, you may want to check back soon (even if you‘re not a client of mine).

Steve

Another Wedding Video!

2011-11-02T02:34:00.002-10:00

Charlie and Marybeth's Wedding! from Steven Young on Vimeo.

HERE'S ANOTHER WEDDING VIDEO!

Just for your enjoyment. More to come!

From Kardshians to Halloween to the Eagles

2011-10-31T09:49:00.008-10:00

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....

Steve

PUMPS AND A BUMP!

2011-10-26T04:25:00.002-10:00

MC HAMMER: PUMPS AND A BUMP!

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?

Okay people, I'm off to bed. Enjoy the video!

Steve

Taylor and Brittany's Wedding Video!

2011-10-24T03:30:00.003-10:00

Taylor and Brittany's Wedding in Hawaii from Steven Young on Vimeo.

TAYLOR AND BRITTANY'S WEDDING VIDEO!

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.

Steve

FILM IS STILL NOT DEAD...

2011-10-19T02:21:00.006-10:00

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!

Steve Young
The Wedding Guy

OCCUPY WALL STREET: MY OPINION

2011-10-17T01:17:00.004-10:00

OCCUPY WALL STREET MOVEMENT: MY THOUGHTS

My opinion.

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.

Steve Young

BAD WEDDING PHOTOS

2011-10-16T02:00:00.005-10:00

BAD WEDDING PHOTOS AND IDEAS

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...

Anyway, talk to you all soon.

Steve

Doug and Mary Ann

2011-10-13T12:12:00.002-10:00

Doug and Mary Ann's Hawaii Wedding from Steven Young on Vimeo.

DOUG AND MARY ANN'S HAWAII WEDDING!

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.

Steve

NEW PHOTOS!

2011-10-11T23:14:00.003-10:00

JUST MORE PHOTOS!

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.

Trent and Kirsty from Steven Young on Vimeo.

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!

Steve

Matt and Ashley's wedding!

2011-10-09T19:58:00.004-10:00

Matthew and Ashley from Steven Young on Vimeo.

MATT AND ASHLEY TIE THE KNOT IN MAKAHA!

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!

Steve

Buffet at Aulani (The New Disney Resort)

2011-10-09T19:03:00.006-10:00

MAKAHIKI BUFFET: A REVIEW
Thumbs up for me

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.

Steve Young

BBB Balogna...

2011-10-06T02:39:00.010-10:00

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.

Here is the clip I edited to show the groom.

Testing Lori and Jason, 3 camera - vows from Steven Young on Vimeo.

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.

FEELING MUCH BETTER

2011-10-05T02:36:00.004-10:00

Marilyn Monroe would be proud....

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!

Steve

Christian and Tammy's wedding video

2011-09-30T16:35:00.004-10:00

Chrisitan and Tammy's Wedding Video!

Here is another video fresh off the press. I have tons of wedding videos to post. All new stuff. I just haven't had the time to post them.

Today I spent most of the day sleeping. I'm still battling a very minor case of chest congestion. I have a wedding tomorrow and then I believe I have four days off until October 5th. Just wanna rest so I can be as close to 100% for my bride's wedding tomorrow :)

Enjoy the video!

Steve

David and Lorena

2011-09-30T03:25:00.005-10:00

DAVID & LORENA

Their wedding video. Enjoy!

Its been a busy month

2011-09-30T01:57:00.002-10:00

2nd batch of photos and videos out the door today!

ITS BEEN A BUSY MONTH!

20 plus weddings, and many more in October.

If you've been wondering why I haven't been blogging lately it's because I've been busy editing wedding videos. September has been unusually been busy for me. I believe I did a total of 20 weddings. And many of these weddings had video coverage in them. Today I wrapped up my last gig for the month, a photoshoot at a small local law firm that specializes in divorce. Isn't that ironic? The wedding guy doing a photoshoot for lawyers whose duties include breaking up marriages.

These pictures are waiting for their videos to be completed

I've been busy as of late. Burning the midnight oil editing video, double checking orders, planning new weddings, taking new inquiries, answering emails. It may seem as though I'm a busy guy, but I think I'm really not that busy. See, being self employed allows me to work whenever I want, so I still get to enjoy the finer things in life, like watching my Philadelphia Eagles win (only one game so far this year).

Avid Media Composer busy working. Rendering HD files can take 4 hours!

Did I tell you also that I have a minor case of chest congestion as well? Yes, I'm hacking up phlegm at the current moment. I don't have the flu. That's the good news. The bad news is that I'm in day two of this cold and I think it'll be a week before I'm a 100%. Well, at least I have off tomorrow so I can rest....

Talk to you all soon!

Steve Young
The congested Wedding Guy

Some of my latest photos!

2011-09-20T01:33:00.004-10:00

Someones happy that they got married!

HERE'S SOME MEMORABLE PHOTOS!

So as you probably have noticed, I haven't blogged lately. That's because I've been busy with weddings. September is unusually busy for me for some reason. Man, what's up with you people falling love. Next year, lets all make it a point to not fall in love around football season alright? I need to watch my Philadelphia Eagles and your love life is interfering with my football life. haha. Of course, I'm joking. I truly enjoy your business. I love weddings. Though, I have to say that my girlfriend enjoys your business more because she spends all of the money you give me...

Anyway. These are just some of the pictures from my recent weddings.

Same bride form the picture above...Yes, she was excited too!

Shooting directly into the sun with no burnout. ONLY ON FILM! Gold dress for the bride!

Groom here is a ballroom dance instructor. So he knew how to move.

I wish the couple turned around. Freak wave at Ko'olina! Holy cow!

Cute bride, cute dress. Lanikai Beach on a clear "un-busy" day. VERY RARE.
No crazy lady on the beach as well...VERY RARE TOO!

Sherwoods Beach at 2pm. Sometimes nature just cooperates doesn't it. That waterline is perfect

Night reception! Shutter was held open for 30 seconds! Love this shot.

Twilight wedding. This is when I can break out the special effects. This shot was created with slow shutter speed, and of course, a little help from the computer.

Flirty bride at Ko'olina.

As you can see, every photo here looks drastically different from the rest. The reason? Well, a lot of it has to do with mother nature dishes out that day. For many photographers, especially digital photographers, overcast days tend to be their most favorite days because they get very even lighting for their shots. Personally, I think that's rather boring. I love bright harsh sunlight and splotches of clouds. I don't need perfect lighting because I create my own lighting with my own flash.

Anyway, it's 1:53am in the morning on Tuesday! I gotta head to bed!

Steve Young
The Wedding Guy!

Fresh off the video press... :)

2011-09-09T02:57:00.004-10:00

Trent and Kirsty from Steven Young on Vimeo.

TRENT AND KRISTY'S WEDDING!

Trent and Kristy tied the knot at the Kawela Kai Nani estates. A small group of their close friends and family flew out from Canada to join them in all of their festivities. This is the ceremony only video edit... They needed only the ceremony portion of their wedding video rushed for their reception back home. More videos to come!

Steve

A QUESTION OF RESOULTION?

2011-09-08T00:11:00.005-10:00

The art of pointillism is directly related to photography.
The finer the grain, the more grain/pixels you have, the clearer the picture.

WHAT THE...RESOLUTION?

An easy to understand article that will literally bring clarity to pictures.

For the past five or six years, the political debate between film and digital photography has lively waged on. With the mass majority of professional photographers deciding to switch their mode of capturing into the digital arena, only a handful of hardcore film photographers exists in the world today. Myself being one of those film guys.

One of the subjects that is often debated, is the resolution of a digital image versus that of one captured on film. Which is sharper? Which has more pixels? And which, of course, produces a better image? We'll lets take a look.

This picture of Rey and his wife was taken with a 15 megapixel digital camera. It was shot in RAW format, color corrected, then exported as an uncompressed TIFF. This image, in full resolution, can be printed out to a maximum print size of 16x20, which is the size of an unfolded newspaper.

This is a cropped and magnified picture of the same photo. We can now see the pixel structure of Rey's image. Now, to the amateur photographer, not seeing many pixels, or the smoothness of Rey's skin when magnified, he or she may think that this is actually a good thing, when in reality, this is actually, a BAD THING. Smoothness represents areas of missing information. CCD's, when capturing an image, will prioritize pixels that define an object, then smoothen out the less important pixels to save file space. The camera will then apply a sharpen filter to the edges of the picture to make it look sharper than it actually is.

To the naked eye, you will not see a difference of image quality unless you were to magnify the image through the computer, or to enlarge the image to a large canvas and then walk close to it.

This is a picture of Kristie and her husband, taken on 160 Portra Film. This image has not been color corrected or sharpened, only re-sized to fit the computer screen. The film negatives were drum scanned upon processing, then printed.

Now before I begin the education process in regards to film photography, it is important to note that film resolution, is much different than digital resolution. Resolution of film is defined by grain structure. Resolution of digital photography is defined through pixels. As you can see, film and digital photography, are apples and oranges.

This is a magnified picture of the same photo above. To the amateur photographer, the above image would be interpreted as "overly pixelated" that would produce unacceptable quality when enlarged. The truth though, is exactly opposite. What you are seeing here is a photograph riddled with pixel information. DPI, literally means Dot's Per Inch. You can see through film, we are getting more dots per inch than in a digital picture. There is no smoothing or loss of information in the image. As we can see upon closer examination, the film camera has not prioritized its grain, but more so, given every grain in the shot, its own color and priority. Also note, that we are looking at a scan of a negative and a loss of 1 generation. Much higher resolutions can be achieved if we were to rescan the negative at an even higher resolution.

This image, in it's current scanned form can be enlarged to a 8x10 or a 16x20, and the grain will unnoticeable. With a little help from photoshop, one could enlarge these scans to a 20x30. From the negative, the image can be enlarged to the size of a billboard when scanned at a higher resolution.

SO THE BIG QUESTION?

Which, is better? No matter how well a digital camera may capture an image, it will always be limited to 256 colors. A film camera on the other hand, can see more colors than the human eye. Remember, x-ray machines were film cameras at one time. Film can actually see though flesh!

Does that mean film is better than digital? Not exactly.

Sometimes, it's not better to see more colors than the human eye. For example, film shoots florescent lights green, while your human eye sees it as white. Film will see tungsten light bulbs as orange, while your eye sees it as mildly yellow. Digital cameras, when shooting indoors, and in low light situations, will identify spectrums of light that are more identifiable to a human than a film camera. Plus, digital cameras are capable of incredible low light shots because they do not adhere to the characteristics of film grain, where the size of grain intensifies under low light. Digital cameras in low light situations definitely have the advantage here.

Now on the other hand, in high contrast situations such as sunsets, beach shots, film is much better at rendering a balanced exposed shot. In natural daylight, film can replicate accurately those colors seen by the human eye. More so, the sharpness of shots taken in well lit areas, film will always win the battle versus digital hands down.

AND HERE'S MY FINAL WORD...

As you can see, there are definite advantages of digital and film photography, but I do obviously side on film. Like I tell everyone, there is a reason why the "Movie Industry" is still considered the "Film industry," and why most movies, tv commercials, are still shot on film. It all comes down to the quality. Film just looks better and it feels better.

Well, I hope you learned something new today :)

Steve Young

Love these shots

2011-09-01T02:04:00.002-10:00

NICE SERIES OF SHOTS HERE!

Okay, let me just get this out of the way and say that part of the art of photography is luck. I got lucky with these shots because I was in the right place at the right time. The groom, upon seeing his bride for the first time, broke down. But he just didn't cry. He tried to hold it in, he turned away, he tried his best not to cry, but he couldn't constrain his emotions. He then turned to his soon to be wife and they embraced for a very emotional hug. All the meanwhile, I quickly got myself into the right angles to capture these raw emotions perfectly. Many times, I can't capture every raw emotion as it happens too fast. In this case, it happened perfectly.

Can I repeat these shots again? Most likely not... But who knows, maybe I'll get lucky again right?

To me, these moments define a wedding.

Steve

My first import car show

2011-08-31T01:01:00.008-10:00

Featured above, the TRANSFORMER MOTORCYCLE. Model: Princess.
NOTE: mass amounts of photoshop done to this picture

MY FIRST IMPORT CAR SHOW...

there's a first for everything right?

So last weekend rolled around and I was wedding free. On the books for Saturday was to attend an import car show with a friend of mine who also freelanced as an import car model. I was asked to be her personal photographer at the event and I happily accepted the invite and the new challenge. At 34 years of age, I had not attended one import car show in my life, let alone, been given the opportunity to stalk a woman with a camera.

The import car show was very interesting for me. The car show exhibited amateur street cars like those found in the movie, "Fast and the Furious." I had to shake my head at some of the featured cars though.

I'm really sorry to have to say this, but some of these kids or adults that decorated their cars, they really need to take a class or two on design.

I thought I had seen it all, but drapes on a car? Really?

DJ table in the trunk, LED lights everywhere, rims that are too big for it's tires.
Am I getting too old to think this is not cool?

Angry bird dolls on the dashboard and tiger pattern rugs....
This car can star in the movie "Need for Cheese..."

Hey, you can poke someones eye out with that exhaust...

Never got low rider bikes...

Now this Scion was interesting. It has little nooks that were custom made to fit Ramen, odd sized soda, and multiple cartons of cigarettes. I guess the owner of this car smokes a lot and wants to make saimin in his car?

I had to take a picture of this. Some of these guys look scary.

The true highlight of the evening though was the challenge to photograph my model for the night around a handful of exotic cars. Lately, I have been trying to photograph more than just weddings as I felt as though I needed to re-boost my photography skills. Photographing my model around cars proved to be quite challenging as there was always a crowd to work around. More so, the background of the convention center wasn't the greatest. And to make things worse, the convention center was quite dark, so I had to use a low shutter speed and a higher ISO that I wanted too.

I liked my model the best out of the girls there. Conservative with class and a golden smile. Some of the models I thought showed off too much skin. And yes, that's Optimus Prime's face...

So here is my model next to a Ferrari that I will possibly never drive. This picture is okay, but I just didn't care for it. There were people in the background, trash cans. People have no idea how important a background is to a shot. In fact...it is the shot...

Same girl, same car; but in snow? It's all fake by the way, probably figured that out right? But like I said, background is everything. If only they would have had snow at that import car show....

Overall, I think the shots came out good. Not my best, but good enough that I could use the computer to manipulate them to look interesting. Yes, for a change, I also greatly enhanced my photos in the computer to make things look a lot more interesting. As you may already know, I am not a big fan of using the computer. But in this case, I did....

1958 Chevy Impala, truly a work of art...

So after attending my first import car show, and having fun, I would probably have to say it would most likely be my last. I think the import car scene, or even import cars, are just not for me. I just don't see the art or beauty in import cars, and I think a lot of that has to do with my age. At 34 I'm too old for this stuff! haha.... Man, how I wish car designers would make cars how they used to be. Back when my father was younger, cars were considered pieces of art, not just transportation vehicles.

Well, for this weekend, I am busy. Starting from September 1st, Thursday, I will be busy with weddings until the 5th!. Yikes. I think I have a total of 8 weddings...? Too much to count. Anyway, I'll catch you all later.

Steve Young
The Car Show Photographer Guy?

2011-08-27T00:27:00.004-10:00

COLBIE CAILLAT MUSIC VIDEO
some comments about this song and the production of the music video

Do you remember the old days, the 90's (haha!!!), when MTV actually televised music videos? Fast-forward to the present, MTV has turned into make-out channel, the Snookie channel; basically, the entitlement generation channel. So where do we tune in to get all of our music videos these days? The Internet....of course!

So here is a recent song from Colbie Caillat. I think it's about a year old. It's a great song, romantic song, and perfect for a wedding video. But what I like about it is that some of the shots in here are kept really really simple. And it works.

To start, the entire music video was shot in super 16, 4:3 format, not your usual 35mm 16x9 wide screen format. The director wanted to create a very casual look, so in many of the shots of Colbie, especially the ones shot at the beach, are shot directly into the sun with no lights to brighten up Colbie.

Pulling off these shots require extreme luck, and extreme skill. To start, there must be just the right amount of sea salt in the air to give a haze to each shot. You must also have a relatively clear sky. Third, the director of photography must expose his film correctly for the foreground, and then to pull back the exposure a bit to give just "a little" bit of background....but not too much. I love these shots, but it's almost impossible to pull off consistently.... With my 35mm film photographic camera, I did come close though...

Other than being a great song, beautifully and intelligently shot, the music video actually has a story to it! How many music videos these days actually have a coherent love story with a protagonist, character development, and 3 acts? None! Anyway....I'm rambling...the screenwriter side of me is getting the better part of me...haha.

Anyway people...I'm off back to editing some wedding videos now. Burning the midnight friday oil as always. For those of you on the east coast...BE SAFE!

Steve

BEHIND THE SCENES....

2011-08-17T00:31:00.002-10:00

ONE CAMERA RAW FOOTAGE

Editing not needed here

Ever wonder what goes on behind the scenes of one of our ceremonies? Here is a vow renewal ceremony from beginning to end. The minister, Reverend Elias, quickly goes through some quick marriage advice to the couple. All the meanwhile, I am in the background making sure mic levels are good, cameras are locked and loaded. Then, right before we start, we usually give a redundant check to mic levels, and we are off the races.

The video is of a recent vow renewal. Every moment here is a "Kodak Moment." Many companies choose to crop their shots close when there are kids around. In my opinion, I just keep the camera as far as possible, and record the mischief the kids get themselves into during the ceremony.

We'll, I'm off to bed now!

Steve Young

Fresh off the video press

2011-08-12T02:50:00.003-10:00

FRESH OF THE VIDEO PRESS

Did I tell you how I spend most of my nights? I'm usually editing wedding videos. Ever sinceu I switched to HD cameras, tons of wedding couples have been requesting video coverage for their ceremonies. I, of course, don't mind this, as it's more money for me. But it's also a bit more work. But hey...gotta work for money right?

So, I'm almost call caught up with my queue. But that's not going to last long. I have three ceremonies this weekend, all with video. D'oh!

The video is a 3-camera video edit without the beginning and ending slideshow. The couple, Barry and Emily wrote their own vows by watching my videos and putting a little twist on it. Performing the ceremony, was none other than Stan Ponz. Hope you enjoy it!

Well, I'm off to bed early today...3am. Need to get up early today to prepare myself for Saturday's vow renewal. I'm only performing photo and video services, but it's a bit different as everything will be taking place in a Catholic church. They are very strict here. No moving around, no flash photography, no wiring up the father with a wireless mic. Pretty strict. I'm scouting the location tomorrow to figure out how to light this place, and how to photograph everything. Wish me luck!

Steve

Angela and Dan make it ten years!

2011-08-11T01:40:00.006-10:00

A DECADE OF LOVE

That's 3000 years in Hollywood years.

It was a rather normal morning when I got the call from Angela that she wanted to celebrate her tenth wedding anniversary in Hawaii. If I remember correctly, she told me, "Steve, I want to renew my vow's with my husband of 10 years, then jump out of a perfectly working airplane." It was at that moment when I realized what ten years of marriage could do to the human mind. She then informed me that she and her husband, Dan, had planned their jump at Dillingham Airfield on the North Shore in the morning, so she was looking to do a sunrise wedding somewhere near that area.

"Again," I thought, "Ten years or marriage can do a lot of damage to the human mind... Is she crazy? Morning? I'm not a morning person..."

"I'm ready to pay now Steve...."

Hey, I guess I am morning person! What time should I be there?

All joking aside, Dan and Angela were an awesome couple and an awesome client. I chose Keiki Beach as the ideal location for the vow renewal because it was the closest beach that I could find to Dillingham Airfiled that was perfect for sunrise pictures. The sun didn't really rise out from the ocean, but instead rose from the mountain, which was still very very cool.

It was raining up until 10 minutes before we began the ceremony. When the rain cleared, the sky cleared as well, and we were left with an amazing natural backdrop for pictures.

Conducting the vow renewal ceremony was Rev. Elias Parker, who performed a flawless Hawaiian ceremony.

at Oceans....where it all began!

Dan and Angela met at a club here in Hawaii called "Oceans." Ocean's is a fairly popular night club located on land, and is not known for it's successful dating scene. Women go there to hang out with their girlfriends, and most guys are too drunk to pick up a girl without offending them. Wait-a-minute, did I just describe the entire bar scene...in the world?

Drinks on....?

In any case, Dan and Angela met at Oceans. Angela recalls that Dan was so cheap, she had to buy Dan a drink on ladies night. Dan's smoothness didn't end there. At the end of the night, Dan couldn't remember her name, so he asked her "How do you spell your name?"

Where's the line?

10 years later, the happily married couple revisited where their magic started. Dan insisted he buy her a round this time. And later, after learning how to spell his wives name, he asked "Well, how do I spell my name? Is it Dan with a B?"

I made sure Angela and Dan paid me in full before they jumped out of a
perfectly working plane.

Whose that guy on Dan's back?

I, of course, had a little spending spree with my creative license here. Dan, Angela, it was great meeting you. Thanks for being cool, funny, and for the two dollar tip you left me when you borrowed my truck (I kid...I kid...) I hope to see you again when you make it back down here!

Steven Young

Weighing in on the economy

2011-08-09T01:49:00.004-10:00

THE ECONOMY: MY OPINION

my two cents

So yesterday was a big day for the United States of America as S&P downgraded our credit rating to AA+ from AAA. Consequently, the markets worldwide and the US dollar took a dive while Gold made new highs.

President Obama issued a statement which basically was more of the same mantra I've heard since he took office; that the government needs to tax the rich more and the government has to create more jobs by green-lighting construction jobs. Then some a handful of politicians started calling this the "Tea Party Recession" and began blaming the conservative movement for this so called double dip recession. The democrats then accused the republicans of having no plan to create jobs for America, unlike President Obama who had a plan.

Personally, as a young businessman who owns a handful of successful businesses, I would like to tell Obama and his colleagues that the government has no business in business.

"Mr. President, it is not the government's job to create jobs. President Obama, you don't create jobs by building roads by awarding select unions huge contracts, and hoping they will spend the money in the economy to stimulate it. Jobs are created by the private sector when they are needed by that same company to answer demand. I create jobs, McDonalds creates jobs, Walmart creates jobs, not the government. If the market was just left alone, and not goosed by the government or manipulated by the Federal Reserve, things would have been okay by now. Yes, people who borrowed too much for their homes would have been foreclosed on, and housing prices would have dropped, but that's needed. Businesses would have shut their doors, people would have lost their jobs, but new businesses would fill their shoes, and people would be hired again." - Me

I doubt he would read that...

But President Obama and his former democratic Congress, and the Federal reserve, insists on more stimulus, more bailouts, and more corporate welfare. Printing money has sent the dollar plunging, and because America doesn't manufacture anything anymore, the price of almost everything shot up! Gas shot up because the dollar plunged, not because gas companies got greedy. Gas is traded in U.S. dollars, and when the dollar plunged, it made it cheaper for other countries to buy gas.... and well, the price went up. Of course, Obama and the democrats will just blame George Bush for everything I just mentioned...and the rich.

To all those who still believe Obama is out for the little guy, let me ask you, "Which little guy did he help out?" I'm the little guy. You're the little guy. But I didn't get any of that stimulus money. Big corporations and big unions did. They got bailed out because they were too big to fail.... I thought in business, if a business makes a mistake, they should suffer the consequences by losing customers, sales, or shutting their doors. How about all the small businesses? Were they too small for him l to care?

Now I'm not sure what side of the fence you sit on when it comes to politics, but the truth is rather scary despite your political affiliation. Our nation faces a gigantic national debt at 14.5 trillion dollars, a debt of $46,000 per citizen. Or if we are just counting those who pay taxes, $130,000 per tax payer. Yes, most Americans don't pay taxes. Our nation is literally broke and we are paying off the interest on our bonds by printing more money. Whose fault is this? It's the politicians, both republican and democrats. They got us here by creating program after program and giving countries money that we don't have. Eventually, we will all have to pay higher taxes. Or...our tax code would have to be rewritten.

I realize most American's mosey on through life without caring what goes on in D.C., but in our day in age, they should, especially now.

How does this affect your wedding plans in Hawaii? Honestly...I don't know. But it's not good. I do know that everything is going to get a lot more expensive. Jewelry, rings, because the price of gold is through the roof, will be very expensive. So if you want a gold wedding band...get it...now. Traveling to Hawaii will be a lot more expensive. Qualifying for that home loan, we'll that's already tough.

There is a silver lining though throughout all of this. It's that we are all-in-all, our own little economy. While politicians can screw with our nation's prosperity, our personal prosperity still has very little to do with them. As long as we save, invest, and spend wisely, we'll all do okay. While these times do require a bit more of all three....if we do exactly opposite of politicians, we should come out through this rough spot unscathed.

Well, that's my two cents for today... I'm off to bed.

Steven Young

The Political Wedding Guy tonight

New Wedding Video!

2011-08-05T10:08:00.003-10:00

STRAIGHT OFF THE VIDEO PRESS

Here's a cool couple from the Louisiana. Here's also a smart couple, a good looking couple, and a couple that's been together since they were in high school.

Steve

A vow renewal...

2011-08-04T02:26:00.004-10:00

in the water they go!

RENEWING IT AFTER 10 YEARS!

Russ and Amanda renewed their vows after 10 years. It was an awesome vow renewal ceremony. Words cannot describe how they looked at each other during the ceremony, so it's a good thing I brought pictures!

If you look closely, there's a tear there...

I got lucky on this shot. That caring stare of Russ, and Amanda's closed eyes.
I don't get emotions like this during wedding ceremonies.
Vow renewals are different.

The big hug after there ceremony. How does one describe this in words?

Standard pose here....

Captain Morgan pose here...

Amanda and Russ met in school and there was no turning back after that. It's really nice to see high school sweethearts get together. It usually works in the movies, but not in real life. In this case, it worked really well....

Steve Young
The Vow Renewal Guy in Hawaii!

MARRIED IN MAUI..SAY THAT 10 TIMES FAST.

2011-07-30T02:16:00.008-10:00

Shooting directly into the sun...only with film can one pull off a shot like this

MARRIED IN MAUI
Chris and Sarah

About once a month, or maybe even less than that (I'm not really counting), I fly to the outer islands to perform a wedding. Maui is one of my favorite locations to head to because I already have a great minister I can work with there, so it's consequently cheaper for my wedding couples because they only have to fork over an extra $250 for my air and car travel to the outer islands.

On my favorite beaches in Maui is Po'olenalena beach. I used to perform weddings at Makena Cove, an extremely popular beach on Maui, but once I was found Po'olenalena, there was basically no turning back.

Love that water at Po'olenalena.

So this shot was taken from the opposite angle. Looks like a different beach right?

A generic pose, generic shot, but there's nothing generic about this picture

So a little about my Maui couple. They are extremely fun, have tons of kids together, and are planning to open an awesome bar in Seattle. If my memory serves me properly, they met about five years ago through friends, and there was basically no turning back from there.

Silhouettes...some photographer's claim they are easy to shoot. But in my opinion,
they are the most difficult shots to do. Positioning of limbs are extremely important, lighting, the sun.....

Sarah, to me, reminded me of a new age rock star woman. She had beautiful tattoos, a slender photogenic body, and a bubbly personality that made my day as a photographer very easy. Chris reminded of a bouncer, a tough businessman, but with a soft center...kinda like those expensive overpriced chocolates.

Performing the service....TINO!

Performing the ceremony was none other than my favorite Maui minister, Tino. I met Tino through a wedding I had photographed in Maui two years ago. My couple had found Tino online and I was sent over to Maui to photograph their wedding. I found Tino caring, warm, and professional, a quality found in the minsters I use at here in Oahu. Finding a great minister is very difficult. So once I found Tino, I knew I could use him for all of my Maui weddings. Unfortunately, I have not been able to find a great minister on the Big Island, or Kauai. I know some exist...I just haven't found one yet.

Looking out shots. Simple shot..but only can be done when the circumstances are perfect.

This shot was taken with a flash...

This shot was taken without a flash. You tell me which one was is better. I prefer the flash.
I always shoot with a flash. I find too many photographers these days shoot without a flash, therefore eliminating contrast from their pictures.

Chris and Sarah ordered the eloping package and 1 roll of film. Sarah brought her own video camera to tape her wedding ceremony. Unfortunately, the quality in video and sound was nowhere near to what I could have delivered. In a recent conversation with her, she told me her only regret is that she didn't get me to provide video coverage for her.

Chris, Sarah, I wish you my best. You two are awesome! Keep in touch....and good luck with that bar!

Steve Young
The Wedding Wonderguy...on MAUI "for a day"
http://www.dreamweddingshawaii.com/

Blogging to let you know I'm still alive...

2011-07-27T02:52:00.005-10:00

Maui from the plane...looks...boring...haha

FROM DONUTS TO MOVIES, TO POLITICS
A blog completely not related to weddings...

It's currently 2:53am in the morning and I finally finished that really long wedding video that I was working on for the past 4 days. Now, the computer is rendering and I really don't want to touch it too much as I risk having it freeze up on me. My computer doesn't freeze often, but if it freezes now, I'll have to re render everything again! It takes approximately 6 hours to render HD video. So you know what that means...I have some free time on my hands.

So here is a blog about anything and everything. First topic...DONUTS

Oh yeah baby...

KRISPY KREME
My love affair...

I love Krispy Kreme. I think their donuts are awesome, sweet, delicate, and tasty. I don't care what other people say, it's my opinion and all those Atkin dieters can kiss my behind as they don't know what they are missing out on. When I head to Maui, the first stop on my way to the beach is their Krispy Kreme. We don't have one on Oahu, so when I travel to Maui, it's a treat!

Speaking about Maui. I'm going to start offering more Maui Wedding services. I have a great minister there that I use, so flying me to that outer island is still very affordable to most of my wedding couples. The trip there isn't too long for me either... It's about a 3o minute plane trip. Not to bad!

DA KITCHEN
Originally from Maui, now on Oahu

The world "DA" is Hawaiian slang for "the," and that's how this restaurant was intelligently named... "Da Kitchen." My Maui minister Maui recommended this restaurant to me on my last trip to his island. The food there was excellent. The Hawaiian food there was probably some of the best Hawaiian food I've tasted on the island.

Very recently, an Oahu location of "Da Kitchen" was opened in town. Their quality is close to the one found in Maui, not quite there. They are still great...but not as great. So here's my two cents. If you're travelling to Maui or Oahu, make sure you stop by "Da Kitchen" for some really great good.

CAPTAIN AMERICA
What a great patriotic movie!

I saw Captain America this past week. It was a great movie and now, I can't wait till the Avengers movie comes out. Captain America is definitely a "DVD BUY" if you get my drift. It's nice to see something pro-America coming out of Hollywood. Then again, most superhero movies are very patriotic. If you have the chance...catch this movie on the big screen before it heads to DVD.

Well, that concludes my rant for tonight....or this morning. Hope you enjoyed it. I'll make sure to rant about something more relevant next time.

Steve Young
The Midnight Oil Wedding Guy

Just got back from maui!

2011-07-26T05:56:00.001-10:00

Just a quick post. It's 5:40 am and I'm about to go to sleep. I was burning the usual midnight oil editing wedding videos. Almost all done with this one....it's a biggie.....45 minutes long! I have both the ceremony and the reception to edit. Nevertheless! I'm about 80% done!

So here is a photo that I snapped of a historic hawaiian airlines photo that was displayed in the lobby. Is it just me, but these are some very good looking stewardesses? Their suits are a lot better too.

Anyway, I'm gonna head to bed. I just have to wake up by 1 pm for my sunset test shoot. (testing out the new kodak film! )

Steve Young

Blogging from my phone!

I NOW PRONOUNCE YOU...ARRESTED?

2011-07-19T00:37:00.003-10:00

Ever saw a bridal mug shot? Now you have.

MARRIED AND JAILED

Here's something I just grabbed off the headlines. Tammy Lee Hinton was arrested by authorities minutes after her wedding. She is accused of all things, identity theft. Her mug shot was taken with her full bridal gown and veil on. Hmm... I wonder if the police photographer fulled her dress for the shot. As you can see from the pictures, Tammy doesn't look too happy.

Here is the article on the Smoking Gun

Hinton's bail was freed shortly after being booked at the jail. I wonder if she returned to her reception after that.....

Steve Young
The Wedding Guy

THIS JUST IN...A VOW RENEWAL

2011-07-17T03:24:00.003-10:00

Do you remember the old Toyota commercials? "Oh What a Feeling?"
Rey and his son have some hops on them by the way...

INSPIRED GOLFER MAKES 10 YEARS

I just shot these pictures yesterday! Rey and his wife Annie celebrated 10 years of marriage yesterday at Keiki Beach. According to Annie, Rey stalked her in high school, then stalked her in Singapore, and then they got married. Then 10 years later, Rey stalked me through my blog, and booked me. Hey I'm not complaining, Rey made me $800 richer. And as for Annie, she's not complaining either. She's happily married and they have three wonderful children together.

The moral of the story. Stalking works and stalking is very expensive.

Family shot here...

Rey's son found this awesome piece of coral...wow!

I like this shot...

One thing I love about Keiki Beach....this shot....

I had a lot of fun with Rey and Annie. Not to mention their kids. They do a lot of fun things in front of the camera which makes my life as a photographer, very easy. Rey and Annie have a vow renewal video in the works, but it's not done yet. (Hey, I just finished their vow renewal yetersday! I'm not that fast!) Plus, the Tour De France is on...I'm refuse to work with the Tour is on... Just kidding.

Walking on the beach...

On a personal note, I love doing vow renewals. Vow renewals always prove to me that love always preservers, and never fails. They also tell me that you need a really good sense of humor in order to make a marriage work...haha.

Rey, Annie, congrats on 10 years. And I'd like to quote the famous Buzz Lightyear now and tell you "TO INFINITY....AND BEYOND!"

Steve Young
The Hawaii Wedding Guy

MULTI-TASKING...AT 3AM

2011-07-15T02:48:00.003-10:00

Editing wedding videos, surfing the net, watching the tour..all at the same time...

I'M A NIGHT OWL. ARE YOU?

...especially now since since "The Tour" is on...

It's about 3am in the morning and I'm not going to head to bed till about 5 or 6am in the morning? Why? Well, for one reason is that I don't have a real job, and two...The Tour De France is on!

I still work while watching the tour though. I edit videos, answer emails, blog. You name it, I do it. I've been burning the midnight oil ever since I could remember. Since my days in high school, to when I lived my life as a screenwriter, till now...I've always stayed up late. Is it an artist thing? Who knows.

Anyway...I'm back off to work...to watch the tour...and to blog, and to answer email...and to.....

Steve

Fuji 400H film and cake on a stick!

2011-07-13T00:51:00.004-10:00

Shot on the FUJI 400H. Nice fashion effect!

FILM AND CAKE? YES, FILM AND CAKE
and they don't go together...wait a minute, they do, but not in this article.

A few weeks ago my local photography shop ran out of my preferred film stock, KODAK PORTRA. KODAK PORTRA is known for creating realistic skin tones and great warm colors. I had no other choice but to purchase the next best available roll of film, FUJI 400H. Fuji film was the choice film of the photographer who trained me. And for a long while, I shot many of my fashion pictures on this brand of film. When I switched to Kodak, I fell in love with the look, and just really never switched back. I was looking forward to using the new FUJI 400H to see what type of shots I would get....and I was pleasantly surprised.

The new FUJI film is a very artistic type of film. It's nothing like Kodak, as Kodak film gives a very neutral, wholesome look, which I think is perfect for weddings. Fuji film, well...400H to be exact, gives a very "fashion" or "editorial" style look. Colors are bold and contrasty. Skin tones are not accurately reproduced, but that doesn't matter because the look is very very artistic. When you're dealing with art, you never reproduce colors accurately. Here are a few shots from the last three weddings that I shot on this new film.

Colors are not accurlately reproduced, but the look is awesome.
Purple sky? It works fine to me....

I swear I can post these in some fashion magazine...love the extra contrast....

Washed out shots, but perfect feeling of brightness.

This can go in a magazine too I think...sunrise at Lanikai. I love the look, the feel,
but I believe that Kodak 160 Portra will do a better job at capturing true sunrise/sunset colors.

Very dramatic shot. FUJI 400H kinda lost the natural blue's, but it honestly doesn't matter.
KODAK 160 will capture more natural colors. FUJI looks more artistic, KODAK is more natural.

Will I use this type of film again? Probably...only if the circumstances are right. For sunrises or sunset shots, I still prefer Kodak. If I have blue skies and an energetic couple who is looking for more artsy type of shots...I'll definitely have to break out this film. I think this film would work great in overcast days where colors are just bland.

This week, I'll also be shooting a new line of Kodak film that I'm really looking forward too. The film is KODAK's new PORTRA 160 line. Many professional film photographers around the world are celebrating it as the best film of the millennium, as the grain is extraordinarily fine, and the latitude of exposure is amazing. This means it's exactly opposite of FUJI 400H...it's not contrasty, and more suited for sunset shots.

My weapons of choice...not pictured, KODAK 160.

AND NOW...

....CAKE ON A STICK!

Okay, now onto the cake the week news. Hey just kidding everyone. Do you think I cake news happens every week? NOT! I can't believe they make TV shows about cakes...seesh.

I attended my cousin's graduation party this past week and I ate the best Red Velvet cake in my life. And, here's the kicker, it was on a stick! Now I'm going to say this is great for your wedding, but isn't it cool? I have no idea who made this, or if it's even a feasible idea for a beach wedding. But I'm thinking here....wedding cakes at beaches are not that great. I mean, all the cutting, the serving, the plates blowing everywhere because of the wind.... Wouldn't it just be a lot easier and cooler if you have your regular cake cutting ceremony, then serve all your guest cake on a stick for the time being...and then service your cake at the restaurant? Just an idea!

Probably the best Red Velvet cake I've tasted...

Alright people...my brides...fellow stalkers. I'm outta here. Time for me to watch THE TOUR DE FRANCE.

Steve Young

Wedding Guru, Wedding Guy, All-Around Bestest Wedding Person in the World.

Video video video

2011-07-12T01:52:00.004-10:00

MISSY AND STEPHEN

I realize it's been an age old tradition to address couples with the men's name coming first, but to me it just feels weird because the bride is usually my client. So, from now on, I'm just going to throw this tradition out the window, and put whomever name I feel should be first.....first!

So this is my latest wedding video to roll off the editing press. Hope you enjoy it!

Steve

Confused about religion?

2011-07-06T09:05:00.005-10:00

CONFUSED ABOUT WHICH RELIGION IS FOR YOU?

I just got this email in from my father. Funny. Crazy, but it actually works! Haha. If you're wondering what type of ceremony you want for your wedding, I have three that most people choose from.

1) Christian ceremony - Where we mention Jesus. 1 Corinthians 13, the definition of love, and a small prayer. Not overly religious.

2) Non-denominational ceremony - Same as the Christian wedding basically, but we don't define who God is. This is great for people who believe in a higher power, but honestly don't know who it is.

3) Civil - no mention of a god whatsoever.

Within each wedding ceremony, we can throw in Hawaiian traditions as well! It's important to note that any of our ceremonies are not overly religious. If they were, I wouldn't be there as well!

If you're wondering what religion I am? I'm just a plain boring ol Christian!

Okay, so I am off to work for today. Delivering lots of wedding photos to the post office.

Steve

NEW VIDEO! ROBERTO AND DAWN

2011-07-03T20:59:00.009-10:00

ROBERTO AND DAWN!
...fresh off the editing line....

Roberto and Dawn tied the knot in December of 2010. Dawn and Roberto were not able to email their growing up pictures, so Dawn made the executive decision to finish up their video without the beginning slide show pictures. Here's what I came up with! Their video is awesome!

Well, I'm headed to bed now...early. It's 9:03pm, and this is extremely early for me. I have two weddings tomorrow, one at sunrise and one at sunset. I find it rather ironic that people are getting married on "Independence Day...." get it...haha. Anyway I'm outta here.

Steve

Happy 4th of July weekend!

2011-07-03T03:28:00.002-10:00

STILL WORKING THIS WEEKEND AND ON THE 4TH!

I don't have a regular job, so any day that I don't have a wedding is technically, my day off. So weekends don't really feel like they did in high school, and holidays don't feel the same way either. With that said, owning my own business, I'm really never off. I always carry around my two cell phones and I can answer any inquiry that comes in via phone or email, if I'm available to do so :)

What does that mean? Hey, if you're lounging around your computer today, or even the 4th, and you happen to pop on my site, and you want more info about a possible wedding...give me an email or call! More than likely I'll answer!

On the 4th though, I do have two weddings! One at sunrise, and one around sunset! I honestly never had a 4th of July wedding before, and now...I have two on the same day! There's always a first for everything right?

Anyway, I'm off to bed!

Steve Young
http://www.dreamweddingshawaii.com/

G10 magic!

2011-06-30T23:28:00.007-10:00

Weapon of choice in some situations: The pocket sized G10 Snapshot camera.

IT'S NOT THE SIZE THAT COUNTS, IT'S HOW YOU USE IT

...and I'm talking about photography here...

Okay, when I say "It's not the size that counts, it's how you use it," I'm not trying to imply any sexual innuendo or joke here, I'm referring to the art of photography. It's a rather common occurrence to find a professional photographer utilizing the power of a large camera when shooting models, scenery, and weddings. While shooting with a large camera does have it's advantages, it still comes down to the camera operator.

One of my favorite cameras to shoot with for the past two years has been my snapshot G10. It fits in my pant's pocket, delivers incredible quality, and pretty much matches the power of most digital DSLR's when dealing in outdoor locations. I do own a Nikon DSLR, and to tell you the truth, the G10 is still my camera of choice when it comes to shooting digital shots because of it's portability.

Still not sold that the G10 can deliver great shots? Take a look at these two shots taken just a few days ago from that same snapshot camera.

The color is enhanced a bit to make the shot pop.

Contrast was added to this shot to bring out the colors. In both pictures, exposure was perfect.

The reason I can deliver great shots on the G10 is because I understand exposure, posing, and story telling rather well. Underlying truth here, it's not the brush that creates a great masterpiece, it's the artists. Many photographers will try to sell you their equipment, but equipment isn't everything when it comes to art.

I employ the G10 on my cheapest wedding package, the patriot package. I will periodically use it in my other packages to shoot family photos. Film though, is still my photographic medium of choice. If you love these colors, just wait till I post the film shots!

Anyway, hope all is well! I'm off to bed.

Steve Young
The G10 Wedding Guy

COLOR CORRECTION?

2011-06-30T02:04:00.004-10:00

This is what I look at when I edit :)

IT'S ALL ABOUT THE COLOR BABY
..is the sky really that color....

So it's another 2:13am late night blog and I have just wrapped up a good two hour video editing session on my computer. That means I edited a wedding ceremony, checked to make sure all the sound levels were perfect, and made the color of my presentation...believable.

If you've read my biography on my website, you probably know by now that I am an ex-Hollywood screenwriter turned wedding guru. If you didn't know that...now you know. (And according to G.I.JOE, knowing is half the battle!) Because of my artistic history, this turns me into somewhat of a perfectionist when it comes to my craft...or in this case, crafts.

If everything goes according to plan, it takes me roughly about 3 days to complete a wedding video presentation. It takes me roughly 1 day to edit the ceremony and to color correct it, 2 to piece together all the b-roll sequences to the ceremony, and the last day is spend rendering the completed piece to DVD or Bluray. One of the questions I often get asked by professionals and clients concerns the equipment that I use for my weddings because the footage looks awesome.

In all honesty, I use the highest grade prosumer camera there is out there on the market. The quality is quite good, but once it's color corrected, it really gets nice.

Here are some examples of how footage on my cameras look like with and without color correction.

Raw HD footage...plain and boring.

Adding color, the right colors, make all the difference doesn't it...

There are not many professionals in the wedding or movie industry that know how to color correct footage correctly. In fact, color correction in the movie industry is an entire industry within itself. Luckily, I am probably the exception to the rule as I can turn almost any footage into gold. By just hanging around the right people in California, I learned through observation and osmosis how to restore color in film footage utilizing a program called Avid Symphony. In the past 5 years, the tools in Avid Symphony had trickled down to Avid's editing line, Media Composer, a program I use religiously to edit. Now I can turn dull HD footage, into some real pieces of work that look as though they were shot on a 200k camera.

One rule though applies to when performing any type of edit, especially when it comes to video or film editing. Story is king, everything else comes second. This means that the story actually affects how I edit, including how I color correct. When the mood of the wedding gets warmer, I always add a little more red, pinks and yellows, to subtly enhance that "love" feeling. This of course goes unnoticed, and is recognized more by your subconscious than anything else. After all, editing, technically, is a subtle invisible art. If you do it correctly, no one notices you did a great job.

Every "cut" is color corrected, and color matched to the other active cameras. How many cuts are their in a wedding video? Too many to count! Let's just say the process of color correcting is rather tedious.

Talking about cutting, or editing, this too also an art that you've probably heard of when it comes to video. I'll talk about this art form in my next upcoming articles. Hope I didn't bore you!

Steven Young
The Wedding Guy

Brian and Billie!

2011-06-28T01:18:00.004-10:00

Brian and Billie! from Steven Young on Vimeo.

BRIAN AND BILLIE

...fresh off the editing queue....

Introducing Brian and Billie, my latest completed wedding video. I really really loved Billie's stylistic "pin-up" hair and make-up. This was the first bride for me that dared to push the limits of wedding make-up, and guess what? It worked. Maybe Billie can start a new trend?

The ceremony is also a good one, so make sure you watch the video! This is tearjerker. If you keep watching the video after the ending credits, you will catch the raw footage of the marriage license signing. I think I will start adding that raw footage at the end of each wedding video. Technically, that into itself is a wedding ceremony too! Just the federal one...for tax purposes.

Steve Young
Hawaii Weddings

FILM AND AIR PRICE STUFF

2011-06-25T22:42:00.009-10:00

AIRLINE PRICES GOING UP? REALLY?
...yes, on average by 13%!!!!!......

Have you noticed that the price for air travel are heading skywards? Last week, a couple inquired about travel to Honolulu from Birmingham, Alabama during March of 2012. Their travel agent quoted them $1500 per person. The cheapest price they could find on Expedia was $1200. The cheapest price I could get for them was $800. Yes, it's cheaper, but still...what the hell right? If a couple were to book early, in my experience, they should be able to land a $450 of $550 airline ticket. Not right now.

According to a recently published article, North American airfares have jumped 13% on average, with some cities citing airfares rising up to a whopping 28% price increase from last year. The airlines cite rising fuel cost and rising demand.

I honestly am not sure if prices will go down later this year. So if you're planning to come to Hawaii to marry, make sure you book those tickets asap before prices start to really go up.

FILM FILM FILM
Film still is king

The summer movie season is in full swing, and so far, every blockbuster movie that has hit the big screen was shot on Kodak film. Many amateur videographers, especially those in the wedding industry claim that their digital SLR's are capable of shooting the same quality of movies, but they have no idea what they are talking about because many of them never worked in the movie industry...(like me!) Many photographers also claim that digital pictures can match the quality of film. All hogwash.....

Well, why don't you be the judge? The following pictures were taken from one of my latest weddings.

This is a 24 Megapixel unedited digital picture

This is the same digital shot, touched up to add a little more color, contrast, and warmth.
All digital photos must be touched up in order to make it acceptable to the client.

This is shot on film and is not touched up at all.

Film just naturally makes everything feel more alive. Skin tones accurately replicated. Let me back that up. All tones, not just skin tones, are more accurately replicated in film than digital. Digital does not give a photographer true color tones, but a base to which a photographer can add color to try to come close to CREATE true color tones.

Shooting directly into the sun with a DSLR... DIGITAL SHOT
Do you notice the sun is a gigantic fireball?

Shooting directly into the sun on a film camera. Notice the sun is not a gigantic fireball.

Another advantage of shooting with film is that it has a very high tolerance to contrasting light situations. If a photographer overexposes a digital shot, he looses detail very quickly. But if a photographer overexposes a negative, he actually gains detail. This becomes very apparent when shooting directly into the sun with a digital camera. Digital cameras just can't shoot sunsets very well.... The sun just turns into this huge ball of fire because of the high contrast nature of the shot.

Okay, so beauty is in the eyes of the beholder right? To me, film is still king. It's obvious to me...how about you?

Anyway, this is my two cents for this weekend. I'm heading back to video editing hell. Talk to you all soon!

Steve Young
Your Hawaii Wedding Guy

ANOTHER VIDEO AND AN UPDATE.

2011-06-21T02:33:00.006-10:00

Stephen and Tracy from Steven Young on Vimeo.

STEPHEN AND TRACY!

So here's a new video to keep you tuned in. I'll be posting a new love story pretty soon. Sorry, I've been swamped with work. Plus, I'm writing a wedding location book! Yes....I'm back in the writing game. I'm in the research phase, which is rather a pain-in-the-ass and exciting. The book will focus on beaches on Oahu, and will be filled with pictures, tons of pertinent information on which beaches are great to get married at.... It should be completed by November of this year, and ready for online publication by the beginning of 2012!

Steve Young
The Wedding Guy

Signing the marriage license...

2011-06-19T14:42:00.005-10:00

Making it legal, and getting engaged? YES! from Steven Young on Vimeo.
Mother makes it legal, daughter gets....engaged?

MAKING IT LEGAL IN HAWAII
...a very very simple process....

Getting married in Hawaii is extraordinarily easy. All you need is a picture ID such as a driver's license, passport, or state ID, and well...that's it! There is no waiting period, no blood test, no need to post your name on a bulletin board to see if anyone objects to your marriage! Yes, that is actually still part of the marriage license process in England. The minister, of course, needs to be commissioned by the State of Hawaii. And regarding witnesses, you honestly don't need one because the minister can actually be the witness for his own ceremony. I realize a lot of wedding companies will claim you need to pay for a witness, but it's hogwash.

To get the marriage license, you can either head to the Department of Health, or to an independent agents house if you want to get your marriage license after hours, or on the weekends. Once you obtain the marriage license, all you have to do from there is to bring that license to your wedding with you. After your wedding ceremony, my minister and you and your then husband, will make it legal by filling out the blanks on the marriage license. This is where the bride, or the groom, has the opportunity to change their last name. In all my history of planning weddings, only once did I ever have a groom take his bride's last name.

After all the signing is done, my minister will mail off your license to the Department of Health. The Department of Health will then process the marriage license and turn this into a certificate of marriage. That process can take up to 200 days! I know what you're thinking.... 200 days! Don't worry...if you turn in the green paper that comes with the marriage license, plus $10, they will take about 3 to 4 weeks to get your marriage certificate to you.

So, did you watch the video yet? It's a video clip of one of our couples making it legal. Then, at the end of the video, her daughter gets the surprise of her life. It was truly a special moment! I don't get to be there for many engagements. In fact, I think this was my first one that I video taped.

Till the next post...

Steven Young
The Wedding Guy

Another Wedding Video

2011-06-14T01:34:00.002-10:00

Nigel and Jameela from Steven Young on Vimeo.

ANOTHER WEDDING VIDEO!
...Nigel and Jameela...

Here's yet another video for you to look at. I completed this video earlier this year, and I believe I didn't post it to my website yet. Nigel and Jameela were an awesome couple. One of the challenges of photographing these two were their extreme height differences. Nigel is literally one foot taller than Jameela!

Actually, I think challenge would be the wrong word to use here, because shorter brides always make for cuter pictures. They can pull off "tip-toeing to kiss" shots quite well. Also, by placing them two inches closer to the lens, that pretty much compensates for their difference in height.

Well, I'm off to watch some tv... It's 1:40am in the morning and I think I should get betting to bed soon!

Steve

INSANE TRAFFIC VIDEO

2011-06-12T02:12:00.004-10:00

3-Way Street from ronconcocacola on Vimeo.

INSANE NEW YORK CITY TRAFFIC VIDEO

I have quite a few couples who are from New York City. They continuously tell me that New York drivers, bicyclist, pedastrians, are probably the worse in the country. You know what, after watching this video, I have to believe them.

THE CAR IS THAT WAY

2011-06-12T00:28:00.002-10:00

The car is that way

RANDOM THOUGHTS FROM A HALF-AWAKE WEDDING PLANNER.

Today I realized that I work faster than the speed of light. Whenever I shoot into the sun, I have to use a full flash to make sure my subjects are more than just shadows. And well, it takes sometimes 15 seconds for the flash to recycle. So technically, I work faster than the speed of light, and I have proof. I guess I can say I'm superman.

Lately, I've been realizing that I have a huge ego as I have figured out how to address myself in the fourth person. This is something NFL receivers have yet to do, which makes me feel even more of a man. How do you address yourself in the fourth person? Well, it's quite easy. It goes a little like this. "Well, if I were that wedding couple, I would have booked (insert name) to shoot my wedding." See, it's that easy.

All joking aside, I'm quite a humble person. I just know that I'm the best photographer-planner-videographer-know-it-all-in-Hawaii and I'm quite upfront about it. It's what I do to make the world a better place. Oh wait, let me address myself in the "fifth person." If I were a News Reporter, I would interview a bride who would say that Steve Young does his best to make the world a better place.

Of course, all what I say is in good humor. I kid...I kid....and guess what, I don't have any kids. Okay my fellow brides slash stalkers, time for me to get lazy and watch some horrible b-movies on TV. As you can see, I'm a funny funny guy....

Steve Young

SUPER 8 MOVIE: MY TAKE

2011-06-11T03:34:00.003-10:00

Super 8 is "Stand By Me" with a pissed off monster

SUPER 8: THE MOVIE REVIEW, NO SPOILERS
...not for everyone...

It's 3:38am on a Saturday morning and it's time again for a late night post. This time, a non-wedding related post!

I saw the movie, Super 8 tonight. Three out of the four people who went to see the movie tonight didn't like it. I was exception to the rule. I thought it was a "good enough" movie. It wasn't an awe inspiring movie, but it was good. I think I liked it because I have a movie background, and a lot of the scenes that many considered boring were filled with screenwriter nerd talk, so I pretty much felt at home. To sum up Super 8 in a nutshell, take the innocent kids of E.T. and combine it with the storytelling of Cloverfield (I didn't enjoy Cloverfield by the way)

If you hav to choice between seeing X-Men and Super 8, I would go with X-men. I didn't see X-men yet, but I have a feeling it'll be better. If you didn't see Thor yet, I would see it because that is a good movie. And Hangover 2, that was pretty funny as well.

I'm not really much of a movie goer, but I do watch a handful of movies at home. I watch them for two reasons. One, to be entertained, but two, to make sure screenwriting craft stays in tune. As many of you know, I used to be a screenwriter, and if you don't use it, you lose it. And everything I do in the wedding industry stems from my screenwritng skills believe it or not.

Anyway, I'm off to bed... Hope you all have a great weekend!

Steve Young

HEY LOOK, IT'S ANOTHER WEDDING VIDEO

2011-06-09T01:52:00.002-10:00

Harold and Gwen from Steven Young on Vimeo.

HAROLD AND GWEN
..their wedding video...

Guess what I'm doing right now at 1:53am in the morning. Editing yet another wedding video. Ever since I switched over to HD video coverage, which was about a year ago, I truly have been selling a lot more video packages. I have to admit, videotaping weddings in HD truly changed the game for me. To be able to compose pictures in a 16:9 format that was similar to film, well, it just made everything so much easier! Plus the resolution is just incredible. Editing...well, that's another story. It's a pain in the butt. It takes about three days to get one of these 15 to 20 minute videos done. The editing isn't too hard, but it's the rendering that just ties up the computer for 5 hours at a time!

I have another wedding today that includes video....yay! haha. Do you sense a little sarcasm in there? Haha...nah. To be honest, shooting video doesn't bother me anymore. These HD cameras are small enough for me haul around in a little tote bag. And the tripods are these cheap light ones (gotta get those for the beach). Lets just say, the technology has gotten so much lighter...

Alright, I'm back to editing...you can hit play on this video.

Steve Young
The Video Editing Wedding Guy

Did I ever tell that I was close to bald?

2011-06-08T02:16:00.008-10:00

Just taken yesterday, that's me on the right, with lots-o-hair on my head.

I WAS CLOSE TO BALD, BUT I'M NOT ANYMORE...
I may have actually found a cure

It's 2:19am and I'm blogging just to blog. Anyway, here's a topic that just popped into my head. Did you know that I was pretty much close to being a completely bald person about one and a half years ago...maybe two years. And now, I pretty much have more hair on my head than I had when I was in my 20's? I'm not kidding here.

I started going a little thin in my mid-twenties. By 28, my hair was so thin, I couldn't style it at all. At 32, I didn't have enough hair on my head for a comb-over and I decided to wear a hat most of the time to protect my head from the sun. So what happened?

Well, one late night, I began surfing the web for hair transplant doctors. I found one doctor which I thought was really great. His name, Dr. Scott Alexander, an honest and caring doctor who practices hair-transplantation in Arizona. I sent him pictures of my head and he told me that my balding was so bad, that I would need two hair transplants....or I could try these to fix this with medication. I told him I would try the drugs first.

Dr. Alexander put me on a daily dose of Propeica and then told me to use Rogain in conjunction with it. I had used Propecia before and had horrible results. I used a form of Rogain before and that too yielded poor results. But Dr. Alexander was insistent that these two drugs had to be used to together to yield great results. So I got myself on the Propecia regimen, then bought 15% minoxidil from amazon.com. The 15% minoxidil was 10% stronger than Rogain, and I only had to apply it once at night instead of twice a day like Rogain.

Well, to make a long story short, within a month I had grown back quite a bit of hair. When month 3 came around, I had enough hair that at certain angles, it looked like I had a full head of hair. When 8 months came around, I pretty much 80% of all my hair back. It has now been a year and a half since I started my treatment and I literally have more hair on my head than I did than when I was in my 20's. My hairline has receded in the front and I may think about correcting that with a minor hair transplant, but other than that....everything looks great.

So men, if you're looking for a cure for baldness...try propecia and 15% minoxidil. It honestly works if your balding hair has turned into limp baby hairs and has gone fine on you. Places that you are completely bald and have no hair follicles...well, in those areas, you won't grow any hair back. Take note that if you do stop this regimen, you will lose all your hair that you grew in. So yes, I'll be on these drugs for the rest of my life.

Wanna also here something cool? I told a few of my couples about it, and guess what? When the grooms showed up on their wedding day, they had a full head of hair.... amazing isn't it? If you want more info about it, just ask me.

Anyway...I'm off to bed.

Steve Young
The Wedding Guy...with hair!

Looking back....

2011-06-07T00:01:00.004-10:00

Me with my clients. Another happy customer...I think? haha..yes...of course

I'VE BEEN PLANNING WEDDINGS
FOR OVER 14 YEARS

Today is June 7th, 2011. And today, I will be planning, photographing, and video-taping my 1483rd wedding. Can you believe that? That's a big number. Some of my competitors always downplay the number of weddings which I plan because most of them are not "gala-style" weddings. While this may be true, as I only plan 1 or 2 "gala-style" weddings per month, the amount of planning that goes into an elopement is exactly the same as a gala wedding. The only difference between the two weddings is that with the gala-wedding, I just work with a rental company and caterer, and well, that's it. Some of my competion loves to jab at me because I'm truly never on the vendor side of the business, but more so, always an advocate for the bride...

Anyway, time truly flies by. Just today, I was looking at some of the articles I wrote when I was a novice in this industry. Man, was I an idiot. Well, maybe not an idiot, but there's just no way I could ever compare myself to the planner of the yesteryear, to the wedding guy of 2011. Holy crap, did I just address myself in the 4th person? I didn't even think that was possible.

You wanna know something really something strange? With as little knowledge that I possessed in 90's about the wedding industry, it was still "plethoras" more than my competitors. Fast-forwarding to the present, the wedding industry has truly changed. 15 years ago, wedding videos were still being delivered in VHS format. Now everything is HD, streamed on the Internet, and video cameras are almost obsolete, except in the professional broadcasting industry. There's a lot of new blood in the wedding industry, and they are bringing their own modern twist to weddings. Some of it is awesome, a little of it is bad...but eventually, the bad will twiddle itself out.

Well, I'll be updating a lot of my articles throughout my website. I just need to. Many articles are just outdated and a complete redo is needed. I also have to update the about me page as well. I just have a lot of updating to do..... Looks like I know what I'm doing this weekend!

Anyway...these are things just on my mind... Don't mind me, I'm just free-blogging. Is that even a term? I think I'll do this free-blogging a bit more...

Steve Young

A WEDDING VIDEO...

2011-06-06T02:45:00.005-10:00

Mike and Anna's Hawaii Wedding from Steven Young on Vimeo.

A VIDEO AND AN UPDATE

Hey, well guess what? I haven't posted a wedding video in awhile. Actually, I have tons of videos, I just haven't posted them to my blog. If you want to see more videos, follow this link ----> http://www.vimeo.com/dreamweddings/videos I post most of my wedding videos in their entirety on there.

Mike and Anna got married on January 1, 2011 if I can recall accurately. I do remember shooting over 13 weddings in the course of 4 days during the New Years, and I was deathly sick. I had a fever of about 103, and there were times where I just wanted to puke my guts out. In fact, if I can recall correctly, I did puke my guts out on the way to a wedding...ha ha. Out of the 13 weddings my company booked, I was able to make it to 12 of them. I just couldn't muscle up the strength for the last one and had to call my good friend Mark to cover for me. So...take in mind when you watch this video, I was actually extremely sick. Everything still came out nice though.

From a recent wedding...

What have been up too lately? Not much...just editing a lot of wedding videos. That and watching a lot of movies on Netflix...and, working out. Exciting life huh? And to think, a producer wanted to make a reality show about me a year ago. Man, that would have been cancelled within a week....

We had some of the worse weather in Hawaii that I had ever seen in a long time this weekend. But now, everything seems good. We actually did a wedding on the beaches of Waimanalo during a lightning storm on Saturday. Now that was interesting. I couldn't catch any lighting on camera though. I'm just not that quick.

On other news, I've been writing a few long articles that will be critiquing the wedding industry rather harshly. Honestly, with the new blood coming into the industry, I see it evolving in a good, yet bad way. There's a double edge sword here. I'll explain it further in the articles. These articles have been difficult to write because there's a lot of great information in there, and I just want to make sure it's as entertaining as it is informative.

Okay, well..peeps...I'm outta here.

Steve Young
The Wedding Guy

Shots from my Maui Wedding...

2011-04-30T10:05:00.003-10:00

SHOTS FROM MAUI
Po'olenalena Beach - My favorite beach in Maui

If there's one thing that I love about Maui, it's that there's a Kripy Kreme there. Everytime I head there to do a wedding I always end up eating nothing but Krispy Kreme donuts for the entire day. Anyway, here are some effect shots that I took the other day with my snapshot camera, G10.

Alright, I'm off to answer more email. Blog you soon.

Steve

ROYAL WEDDING

2011-04-29T15:52:00.006-10:00

THE WEDDING OF THE YEAR
Prince Williams and Kate Middleton tie the knot.

The wedding of Prince William and Kate Middleton was truly the wedding of the year, probably the decade, quite possibly, even the century. And guess what? I missed it. I was busy watching Korean movies at night here in Hawaii while they were tying the not, and after that, I went to sleep. In fact, I didn't even know that Prince Williams and Kate had gotten married until I woke up. I honestly thought their wedding was happening on Saturday.

So what did I think of their wedding? After viewing videos on Youtube, I thought it was cool. Very royal. Princess Kate, well...she pretty much is what you would expect a princess to look like: beautiful, classy, luxurious. And Prince Williams, boy-o-boy. I remember when I was younger, Prince Williams was said to be handsome and that he inherited his mother's good looks. Well, it looks as though the inbreeding bloodline from his father has caught up to him.

Their wedding ceremony was good. It was your traditional ceremony with a few Catholic traditions thrown in. The video coverage was perfect. The three camera coverage which I perform at my weddings is very similar to the ceremony coverage at their wedding. I honestly think my coverage is better. The camera cut away from Kate a bit too much during her vows in my opinion. But with that said, the cameras gave the TV audience the best seat in the house.

The procession back to Buckingham palace was probably the best part of the wedding. What a spectacle. Now, I believe the more horses you have at a wedding, the more you look like royalty, and the more poop there is to clean up. Take a look at the video above. That's a lot of poop on the streets! I thought it was just rather funny to have the Royal Newlyweds, riding in their carriage back to their palace, and at the same time, to have their carriage wheels rolling over horse poop, flinging off the wheels in every direction. I'm sure it smelled really bad too. Fresh rolled over horse poop smells awful.

Princess Kate's wedding dress is one which I really didn't care for. It's much better than Princess Di's dress, which looked more like a failed weather balloon experiment. But I thought she had lace is all the wrong places. Her dress is probably one that photographs really well, but in live action shots, it doesn't look as good. I believe though, that she is probably one of the few women in the world that could pull off wearing a dress like that.

My final thoughts on the wedding of the year? I hope it last. And I hope Princess Kate doesn't get hounded by the press like Princess Di. I hope she's ready for the limelight.

Steve Young

The Andy and Karen Story

2011-04-12T16:12:00.010-10:00

THE ANDY AND KAREN STORY

For Andy, it was a usual day. It was a crisp sunny day in Wisconsin. "Sunny, but blistering cold," Andy corrected. He showed up a little early for work as usual. Never the first one in, but early enough to impress the boss, as usual. And as usual, Andy turned on his computer, tapped his fingers on the desk as he warmed himself up with that horrible bitter coffee he had picked up on the way to work. But before he could settled, the call came in over his police radio. They needed him at the crime scene, a-sap. Andy grabbed his crappy coffee off his desk and paced out of the police station. "Still usual..." Andy thought.

--------------------

"Another day, another crime, " Andy said to himself as he stepped out of his issued patrol car. "Just another...wait a minute..."

Andy's head swiveled left and saw her. She was amazing. Her hair, brilliantly shimmering in the cold Wisconsin sunlight; her skin, smooth as porcelain; smile, perfectly bright. Like Andy, she was dressed in her blues and had been called to the crime scene. Andy, while still keeping his cool, eagerly approached her.

"You must be new around here," Andy commented.

"Transferred in. I'm from Minnesota."

Crap, Andy thought. What if she's a Viking's fan? He continued, "Well, welcome. We could use some new blood here."

"Thanks. Karen," she said, extending her hand.

Andy shook her hand. "Come on, lets see what we got here." He said as he escorted her to the crime scene.

Suddenly, through the thick packed snow, ninjas jumped out from the snow armed with three-foot long swords!

"Stay back", Andy said as he drew his knun-chucks from a secret pocket in his pants leg.

..........aaannnnd......scene!

Alright! I had to stop myself there before I got carried away. Man, I was having a flashback of my old screenwriting days. Phew! I was just about to write in some crazy ninja fighting scene and have Andy and Karen bouncing off walls. You would have liked that... wouldn't you? I think I already took too many creative liberties on how Andy and Karen met. Truth be known, that Andy and Karen did meet at a death investigation. Their friendship blossomed from there, and about a year and a half later, that's when they started dating. And...I think there were ninja's involved somewhere down the line, such as on their first date or something. I forgot the exact story.

Andy and Karen were one of my 10.10.10 brides. For those of you how don't know the significance of 10.10.10, that's October 10th, 2010, a popular wedding date because of the obvious pairing of numbers. I believe that on 10.10.10 I had about six total weddings at Ko'olina beach. Crazy huh? Andy and Karen were my fifth wedding for the day, and a blast to work with.

So what were Andy and Karen's first impressions of each other? I'll let them answer it for themselves.

Karen: He seemed confident, smart, and was easy to talk to. This was obvious because I talked way too much the first time I met him.

Andy: Listening to her talk, I found her voice to be mesmerizing. :) I also thought she was hot!

Curious on how they Andy popped the question? Here's each of their personal accounts.

Andy: I proposed to her in downtown Minneapolis on a cold November evening. I took her shopping in the Twin Cities and we went for a walk down Nicollet Mall and she complained about being cold. I got down on one knee and asked her to marry me, and she forgot about being cold.

Karen: We had to walk many blocks from the metro train to a park on Nicollet Mall where he proposed. I was freezing and couldn't figure out why we went to an empty park. After whining about the cold, he pulled out the ring and said he had something that would warm me up. As I said "YES" and put the ring on my finger, I practically ran to the train to warm up and enjoy my ring!

Andy truly knows how to warm Karen up for a marriage proposal. Shopping before popping the question? Nice!

Andy and Karen, like me, are big time NFL fans, but their loyalties like on the opposite sides of the river according to Andy. Andy is a die-hard Greenbay Packer's fan, and Karen is a crazy Minnesota Viking's fan. For those of you who are not NFL fans, basically Packer's and Viking's fans don't really like each other. They are like oil and water....

Andy: When I found out she was a Vikings fan, I offered up Brett Favre as a gift! She could have him! She is one of the most knowledgeable women I know when it comes to football, even though she wears "Purple Pride".

Karen: I view his Packer backing as an incurable disease. I, however, am a critical thinker and try to remain open to alternate views and thinking! I forgive his shortcomings!

Andy: Packer-Viking games get very interesting around our house! Aside from the football differences, we find we have a lot in common, including a love of traveling to warm destination (we hate the cold and we WILL be back to Hawaii!). The most important part about our relationship, besides our Pomeranian Sable :), is the fact that we really enjoy each other's company and have fun together.

Andy and Karen from Steven Young on Vimeo.

Well, that about brings my story of Andy and Karen to a close. My last notes on them, Andy and Karen are an awesome couple. When I dropped their photos off to them we spent an hour or so talking in the parking lot about nothing really important. Just having fun.... I'm hoping on their trip back to Hawaii that they look me up! We'll share more laughs and interesting conversations.

Steve Young

The Wedding Guy slash Ninja guy
Hawaii Weddings

HAPPY BIRTHDAY...TO ME!!!

2011-04-07T23:44:00.015-10:00

Missing in this shot, all of my friends and family, haha....

HAPPY BIRTHDAY...TO ME!
I turned 34 on March 27th, 2011

Wow, has it been a few weeks since I blogged? How time flies by when you're not typing on here...haha.

So what have I been up too? VIDEO EDITING HELL! Yes, I've been on my computer almost every night, editing wedding videos. I have about 6 more to go and then I'm completely caught up. I think at one time I had about 20 something videos to do.... seesh.

Also, while I've been away, I managed add another year to myself as I turned the big THREE-FOUR on March 27th. I didn't have much of a birthday party at all. Usually, I have my grandmother and parents over my birthday, and a handful of my close friends, but that didn't happen this year. This year, I just rang in my birthday with my parents and just one friend. My grandmother couldn't make it this year because a tree had blocked the road going to my house; and as for my other friends, we'll...they are either married, living off island, or doing something better with their lives.

For my birthday, there was only one thing that I wanted, and that was a god-made, heaven sent, gigantic cookie cake from Sam's Club. I tasted this cookie cake about six months ago at a child's birthday party and thought it was the next best thing to that hot Korean woman that I have been calling for the last 4 years of my life. So a few days before my birthday, I ordered an "Optimus Prime" cookie cake....

Is this what Heaven looks like? Maybe in Robot Heaven.

Now that I'm thirty-four, I feel as though I'm a bit wiser than I was when I was 33. Have I learned anything new in the last year? No, not really....but I FEEL wiser. Isn't that the new-age thing? To "feel" everything out rather than using actual logic and reasoning? Gotta love my generation.

WHILE WE'RE ON THE SUBJECT OF BIRTHS...

TRUMP'S VIEW...DO YOU AGREE?

While I'm on the subject of birthdays and births, let me switch gears and chime in on Donald's Trump's latest heated topic regarding Obama's birth certificate. Trump, like the birther's, claim that Obama has not yet produced a valid birth certificate that would validate that he is a U.S Born Citizen, and therefore, not eligible to be the President of the United States. Is Trump and the birther's crazy conspiracy theorists, or do they actually have a case? Here are the plain simple facts that you have not heard about in the media.

Here is Obama's "birth certificate" from his website:

This birth certificate is actually a "Certification of Live Birth" and not a birth certificate. All this says is that Obama was born. This certificate though, can be used to get passports, driver's licenses, and even a marriage license. But if you are Hawaiian, it cannot get you Hawaiian homestead land... Why? It's because this certificate is a short abbreviated version of the real birth certificate and it can be amended, unlike the original "Certificate of Live Birth". So if someone wanted to get homestead land, which is basically free land, technically one could just amend their certificate to say they were 100% Hawaiian.... This is why the Office of Hawaiian Affairs demands those receiving homestead land show the original.

My father's birth certificate! The real one! It reads "Certificate of Live Birth" not "Certification"

This is a picture of my father's birth certificate that shows the attending physicians, mother, father, legal name, sex, weight, registrar, etc...etc... It is also shows where he was born, and his ethnicity as defined by the doctor. I have one exactly like this. If Obama was born in Hawaii, he should show this one..the black one.

As you can see, here in the State of Hawaii, amendments can be made to the issuing birth certificate, but not the original. Those who had a sex change can actually change their sex information on their birth certificate! Children who were born in another country, can be adopted in Hawaii, registered with the State of Hawaii, and then issued a local "certification of live birth" as though they were born here... But, they cannot be issued a "certificate of birth."

Obama's birth was announced in two newspapers, the Honolulu Star-Bulletin and Honolulu Advertiser in the classified section. Announcements of all births, including adoption amendments are issued by the Department of Health to the newspapers. What's strange is that the address listed for Obama is not his mothers, but his grandmother's address. His mother did not live with his grandmother during her pregnancy or the birth of Obama.

Obama with his grandparents, the two people who raised him.

We do know that Obama's grandmother, Madelyn Dunham, raised Obama from a child, not his mother. She was one of America's first female Bank Vice-Presidents, an extremely successful woman, and rather wealthy. While her daughter gallivanted across America, she raised Obama and sent him to Punahoe School, and took the role of mother to Obama. Now, what happens in America when a parent goes AWOL and the grandparents are forced to take care of that child? Well, the grandparents usually end up adopting that child rather quickly so they won't lose it to social services. Could Obama's grandparents have adopted him, therefore amending his birth certificate? Could this be the reason why Obama's grandparent's address is listed in the newspapers and not his mothers? Things that make you go hmm...

There's only one thing that could clear these questions. Obama could just show his original birth certificate, as how I showed my father's. This would shut the birther's up, and allow the country to be focused on other things. But until then, Trump or the birther's are not wasting their time as they are upholding the constitution.

Other questions? Why has Obama spent millions on a shield of lawyers that would sue anyone from peering into Obama's birth records to academic records to previous work records. Why is there such a secrecy.

The Senate Judiciary Committee held hearings to make sure John McCain was eligible to run. CLICK HERE for more info on that But not one hearing was held for Obama?

Birther's just have questions. They are not racist, bigots, or crazy conspiracy theorist. They just have questions. That's all. Questions...just questions... Now it's time for you to decide where you to stand...and for me to get back to VIDEO EDITING HELL....

Steve Young
The Wedding Guy

All Clear in Hawaii

2011-03-18T01:09:00.007-10:00

Taken the same day the Tsunami struck...Oahu is a.o.k...and so is this couples' family (they're from Japan)

MOST OF OAHU IS OKAY, KONA TAKES THE BRUNT

The day after the tsunami hit I had a wedding shoot at Ko'olina Beach. As you can see, everything looked the same. In fact, the beach wasn't affected at all. If anything, the beach actually looked better because all the footprints were washed away. The waterline did look rather strange, but nothing significant.

Here is a video of what happened in Kona. A lot of the shops on the ocean were completely devastated. The Kona Village Resort, a nice little luxury bungalow village is completely ruined.

By the way, the guy who shot this is an idiot. He could have gotten killed.

There are experts who are predicting a rather big quake in either Alaska or California. I honestly think they are right. In the past year, Chile, New Zealand and Japan have had incredibly destructive earthquakes. That's three of the four corners of the ring-of-fire that had a major earthquake. You San Franciscians are next... Japan shifted 13 feet closer to Hawaii, which means the pressure on his continental plate needs to go somewhere.

Scary stuff huh...

Steve

ALLCLEAR IN HAWAII

2011-03-11T11:36:00.002-10:00

Just to let you know, it's all clear in Hawaii. I'm heading to Ko'olina today for a photoshoot. I'll report if there is any damage to the beach there.

Steve

Tsunami to hit Oahu at 3:07am

2011-03-11T00:38:00.003-10:00

TSUNAMI ON THE WAY!

1st wave to hit at 3:07am

It's 12:38am and I'm anxiously awaiting what will happen at 3:07am. I'm pretty farther inland and at a high elevation, so I'm very safe from a tsunami if it hits Oahu. So there's truly no need to worry about me. As I write, the tsunami warning sirens are going off and the police are making sure residents in the lower lying areas of Oahu are evacuated. I think the Pacific Tsunami Warning Center said that we may have a 6 or 9 foot wave hit us. While that doesn't sound like much of a wave, this is not a normal wave. This is a moving tide wave that doesn't break like your normal wave. It's extermely long and moves across the ocean at a speed of 500mph. The power is just incredible.

Like you, I've been glued to the footage that I've seen on the television. The amazing footage of the tsunami that came ashore in Japan is just incredibly horrifying.. You could literally see this gigantic wave of ocean swooping across the farmlands of Japan at an incredible speed. It was terrifying to watch dozens of cars and vans on the highways of Japan try to avoid the oncoming tsunami. It was terrfiying to watch cars make the wrong decision and then get swept away....

I'll be shutting down my computer after I write this post so I'll be unable to answer my latest emails inquiries for a bit. I'm truly hoping we have power throughout the islands tomorrow. I'm hoping that tsunami won't take out our power plants, but that is truly a possibility.

I'm not worried, but throwing some prayers toward us won't hurt. Once this passes over, I'll give you an update on what's happening.

Steve

EXTREME HOME MAKEOVER YOU HAVE TO SEE

2011-03-07T02:30:00.002-10:00

EXTREME HOME MAKEOVER WITH WEDDING!

I've been extremely busy this week so I haven't been able to really post anything new here on my blog....but, I did just find this cool Extreme Home Makeover episode with a wedding in it. It's a tear jerker episode, like all of them.

Hope you enjoy it like I did!

Steve

Jury Dooty....

2011-03-02T13:04:00.004-10:00

I think I'm a lot better looking than Pauly Shore,
but I felt as though I were in a movie!

JURY DOOTY

Hurry up and wait, there‘s a murderer in town

If I didn‘t answer my phone on Monday, it‘s because it was off, as I was in court serving as a juror. Yes, that‘s juror, not the defendant. I'm the LEGAL wedding guy. So how close did I get? Lets just say I was literally a hair from being one of the 12 jurors as my my number was actually pulled during the lottery process. Luckily, the judge dismissed me because I expressed to him that I could not be an impartial juror due to my prior life experiences.

A large part of me wanted to serve as a juror on this case as it was a good one. It was a murder case, one that would gather a lot of local media attention, and the case that the State's had brought forth was based highly on circumstantial evidence, so this meant that the jury would have to something to mull over. But if I did serve, it would mean that I would not be available to the future weddings that I had planned in the beginning of March as this case would probably finish mid or late March.

ME IMPARTIAL? NO WAY.

But what surprised me was that I couldn‘t be impartial juror to the defendant. I do believe that in court, the defendant is presumed innocent until proven guilty. But when the lawyers questioned the jurors to find which juror would best fit their case, I could already figure out what the prosecution and defenses arguments were going to be, and I had come to a predetermined assumption that this guy was guilty. I sat there in the jury pool and listened to these lawyers pour over metaphors and to the jurors who were picked, and it I knew how they were going to present their case. (I think my screenwriting past helped me.)

The nail was put into the coffin when the defense dismissed jurors because they either owned and fired guns. A former Air Force soldier was dismissed by the defense because he knew too much about gun safety. When that soldier was being questioned, I saw the defendant get highly uncomfortable in his chair. A second later, the defendant and his lawyer held a conference and they dismissed the soldier.

In my mind, I kept thinking “You did it you bastard.“ Maybe I came to this pre-conceived conclusion because I watch too many crime mystery tv shows, or maybe it was because of my past experiences. I just couldn‘t be an impartial juror. This guy was not innocent until proven guilty to me, he was 100% guilty......

Steve

Just blogging to blog

2011-02-13T01:48:00.001-10:00

Hey there,

I‘m just checking in here. I haven‘t blogged that much this week because I‘ve been busy answering the tons of email inquiries that came in this week, shooting weddings, and not to mention...editing wedding videos!!! I did take a few hours off here and there to eat dinner and to work out...but in all honesty, I have been a workaholic this week.

I still have a few email inquiries to go...then I should be all caught up with my emails.

Well, Valentines Day is right around the corner. Do you know what that means? Well, it‘s a big proposal day, and also a big wedding day. At one time, I had about 5 inquiries for this day. For one reason or another, the wedding coulpes either changed theie minds.... so...I only have one wedding on Valentines Day!!! I‘m actually kinda happy about that. God forbid I‘d do 5 wedding videos on Valentines Day...that would just push me further back in my editing queue!!!

Now this is my opinion when it comes to wedding dates. There are two definite dates you don‘t want to get married on: 1) Superbowl Sunday 2) Valentines Day.

The reason for not getting married on Superbowl Sunday? Well, women, you just don‘t want to compete with the spotlight that the Superbowl will steal on your anniversary! If you ever wanted to plan an anniversary party....you‘ll of course have to incorporate the Superbowl. And lets not forget about your husband who may be a die hard football fan. He will honestly not want to get married on Superbowl Sunday, more so...he would not want to give up his Superbowl Sunday traditions of bbqing and hanging out with the guys to celebrate your anniversary. Is that me just talking? I‘m sure I would not get one man to agree with me on this in public in front of their wives....but in the back of their head.....they are agreeing with me. Now, if you, the bride, were a die hard football fan and insisted that you‘d celebrate your anniversary by going to the Superbowl every year, my advice to you is to move to Hawaii, marry me, and we‘d live happily ever after.

As far as Valentines Day....well getting married on February 14th will just make every anniversary more expensive and more of a headache. Flowers will cost three times more. Hotels will jack up their prices. Restaurants will be more difficult to book. Airline tickets will be more expensive. You get the picture... Valetines Day is the most expensive romantic day in the world. God forbid the Superbowl would ever fall on Valentines Day.... (this could actually happen if they extend the football season!)

This is all just my two cents of course. To each...their own. Anyway...I‘m off to finish up answering the rest of my emails. Blog you all later

Steve

(blogging from my phone)

SUPERBOWL!!!!

2011-02-07T02:21:00.004-10:00

Just us seven watching the game this year

IT'S THE SUPERBOWL!
...the only day of the year I don't take weddings...

I will work on Christmas, I will work on New Years, Valentines Day, even my birthday, but you cannot get me to work on the day of the Superbowl. So don't even think about asking me to marry you on Superbowl sunday. Brides, I'm sure you can't even get your husband to get married on Superbowl Sunday.

This year, like every year, I hosted the Superbowl party. Unlike other years, the gathering was rather small. In the years past, there were quite a large amount of people. My cousins, friends, Uncles and Aunts would come over. In total, we would have around 20 to 30 people at our place. This year, there were only seven. We were missing just one more group of friends because they actually took a wedding on Superbowl Sunday! Crazy huh. I liked having it small this time around. Even though there wasn't as much yelling, there wasn't as much cooking and cleaning. Hey...that's pretty awesome in my book.

The game was pretty good till the end. I was rooting for Green bay actually. Speaking of which, my next couple I'm blogging about are huge cheese heads. In fact, they had their reception on February 5th, the day before the big game. Now, they won their Superbowl....What a weekend they must be having.

Hey, how'd you like the Superbowl commercials this year? To me, it was pretty crappy. There a few funny ones. Now, is it just me or are these Go.Daddy over-sexualized commercials rather uncomfortable to watch. I mean, who really cares about Joan Rivers or Danica Patric, or whoever the next sexy go.daddy girl is. It just seems too over the top for a Superbowl commercial. When that commercial comes on, you have married men who don't want to stare too long so they won't get in trouble. You have wives sitting there shaking their head. You have little kids in front of the TV wondering what's going on. And then you have your drunk friends in the corner yelling at the screen about how they want to have Danica's children. Really Go.Daddy?

Well, now that the Superbowl is over, it's back to reality for me on Monday.

Catch you all soon.

Steve

Things to do in HAWAII that you already missed

2011-02-01T01:29:00.009-10:00

Chinese love money, don't you know that? (I can say that because I'm Chinese)

THINGS YOU MISSED IN HAWAII
...but maybe next time you'll catch it....

Hey so this weekend was full of activities. I didn‘t have any weddings from Friday to Sunday so I decided to hang up my wedding hat for once and to see what was cooking outside. And while there was no barbecue going on this weekend, it was smoking...litereally.

My weekend started off with the Choi Chang celebration in Chinatown. Every year, about two weeks before the lunar new years, the streets of Chinatown are closed down and the local Chinese Martial Arts clubs flood in with with Lion Heads to bring good luck to the businesses.

The lions and fireworks are supposed to chase away evil spirits that keep a business from making money.

These guys were fearless. The fireworks were literally at times, inches away from dancers.

Chinese Lions also do acrobatics. I have video of their full performance but I'll save it for another blog.

So does popping fireworks and lion dancing bring good luck business to the Chinese? Lets see...hmm. The Chinese are taking all of our manufacturing jobs and loaning back our money to us in the form of t-bills. The answer is...no. The Chinese are just smarter businessmen than the average American politician, it has nothing to do with luck.

Saturday and Sunday were all about the NFL since the Pro Bowlers were in town. On Saturday, our State closed down the streets of Waikiki and threw a NFL block party. There were five stages which fans could hang out at. Three were dedicated to local Hawaiian bands, one was dedicated towards auctioning off NFL merchandise, the last was dedicated toward the NFL players and fans got to see some NFL all-time greats get interviewed.

Me and my dad at the block party and big white nfl ball

One of the 5 stages on Kalakaua Blvd. The bands were pretty good.

Eric Dickerson to the kids "Listen to your parents because they know more than you."

Marcus Allen to the parents "Everything changed when my positions coach told me to "Make Sure" rather than "don't" It changed my perspective in life and I took careful chances."

Devon Bess, Hawaii's own, starting slot receiver for the Miami Dolphins. To the kids "Work hard, nothing ever comes for free."

Chief's cheerleader is also a school teacher.

Sunday was all about the Pro Bowl. The entire day was an adventure, from the parking lot, to the game, and getting out of the parking lot.

I'm a supporter of Michael Vick.

No anti-cheese here. I'm rooting for the Pack's this Superbowl by the way.

So right by our section was a stage that featured cheerleaders and dancers. These girls looked better than the NFL cheerleaders in person. But in photographs, the NFL cheerleaders looked much better.

Terri Bradshaw. Okay I took this shot after he sneezed. He was looking at his boogers in this picture.

Front and center, the Eagles pro bowl cheerleader! Do you know these girls only get paid $75 a game! Geez.

Yes, my dad is a Cowboys fan.

Look at this line to get on the bus to get to the parking lot on Ford Island! It took a hour to get on the bus!

Taken on my truck bed after we finally made it to the parking lot. It took about an hour to get off Ford Island. Check out the traffic jam behind us!

Well, that was my weekend. The Superbowl is coming up this weekend. Which means I‘ll be blogging about a Wisconsin couple this week. I‘ll see if I can dig up a Pittsburgh couple as well.

Okay folks, I‘m outta here...back to work...

Steve

HOT DEAL: $89 A NIGHT FOR A LIMITED TIME!

2011-01-27T10:01:00.004-10:00

OCEAN RESORT HOTEL WAIKIKI
$89 PER NIGHT FROM 1-4-11 TO 3-11-11!

Just bringing this to your attention if you're on a budget and either you, friends, or family members need a cheap yet good place to stay. The Ocean Resort Hotel is a budget hotel that is newly renovated. It's located near the end of Waikiki, in the non-busy area. Rooms are clean. Make no mistake, this is not a luxury hotel, just a great budget hotel that's very clean, newly renovated, and safe. Book now between 1-4-11 to 3-11-11 directly on their website to take advantage of these great deals. Click here to go to their page

THE PRO BOWL IS HERE!

2011-01-27T02:17:00.002-10:00

Guess whose heading to the Pro Bowl? Me!!!!!

The Pro Bowl is in Hawaii and I'm going. These low-level corner end zone seats cost me only $84.00 a piece. Actually, that's not bad considering there are some other seats right nearby that are going for $150. I think sideline seats are going for $500! Face value is $45, but hey...market value is market value right? I see nothing wrong with ticket brokers or "scalpers" marking up the price. They will charge what the market will bare. It's the same theory of baseball cards. You buy them for dollars, land a rookie if you're lucky, and sell it for $100's.

Payton Manning is probably one of the friendlist NFL players you'd ever meet.

I know what you're thinking, even if you're a die hard NFL fan. "The Pro Bowl? Really? That's a waste of money because the pro's don't even play that hard." Yes...you're right. But see, I live in Hawaii and I don't have access to real NFL football games, so this is the best that I got. Plus, our State PAID the NFL 4 million dollars to host the Pro Bowl here, so as a tax payer...I help bring it down right? A stupid move yes, given that Texas didn't pay one dime to host the Superbowl. And also a stupid move yes, that our State will only see a 3 million return in tax revenue derived from this venture. At minimum, a 1 million dollar lost, and that's not counting the extra cost of security, clean up, etc...etc.. of services for the events that will surround the Pro Bowl.

Being a bad man's boyfriend for 2 years in prison can really change a person's view on life

If you haven't read my blogs yet, just to let you know, I am a die hard Philadelphia Eagles fan. I'm also a fan of Michael Vick...haha. I really think he has turned over a new leaf. I honestly believe that spending 2 years in prison being some bad man's boyfriend can really change a person's view on life. What do you think?

During the Pro Bowl, Ko'olina closes off access to Lagoon 1 unless you are a guest at the JW Marriott Ihilani, or a NFL Pro Bowler. This means that during the Pro Bowl, we have no access to the Secret Cove at Ko'olina to do weddings.... Keep that in mind when if you're planning to come down to get married around this time. Also keep in mind, that if you want to stalk NFL players and their families legally next year, book a room at the Ihilani.

Alright, I'm outta here,

Steve

TIME MAGAZINE: Who needs marriage?

2011-01-26T03:39:00.020-10:00

TIME MAGAZINE'S VIEW ON MARRIAGE

Positive or negative? I'm sure you know that answer

I don‘t usually buy magazines these days as I tend to spend my money on the more important things in life, such as video games or movies. But when I saw Time‘s recent headlining article titled “Who Needs Marriage?“ I had to pick it up. After all, I am the Wedding Guy, and weddings is what I do.

To tell you the honest truth, I‘m not a big fan of Time magazine. I really don't appreciate their point of view. They seem to viciously attack the many cultural values that you and me stand for, in this case: love and marriage. So when I plunked down the four bucks for the magazine, I knew what I was getting myself into. And I knew for certain that I had just wasted 4 bucks that could have gone toward a tasty sandwich.

That's a positive image....

When I arrived home, I immediately tore into the magazine. And there was the article staring at me in bold letters “Marriage: What is it good for?“ sandwiched by a gloomy picture of a bride and groom facing in opposite directions. Hmmm...I wonder what they were trying to imply. This was going to be fun.

The article wasn't very fun to read. I swear, by the time I finished reading the article, blood was ready to shoot through my eyes. It had been awhile since I had read an article written by Time, and to my big surprise, I found out that their writers were not that great...writers. They truly failed to express their opinion clearly in the article. Their writing was rather confusing to undersand. I knew they were against marriage, but they really didn't want to come out and say it. They were little chickens and wanted to take stabs at marriage from a far without getting dirty. But more disturbing, they truly failed to make the article interesting.

Time magazine‘s conclusions?

“...a successful marriage is increasingly becoming the relationship equivalent of a luxury yacht - hard to get, laborious to maintain....“ - Time Magazine

I mean really. Really? Are you kidding me? A luxury yacht is probably impossible for most people to get. But a successful marriage? That‘s not impossible. Maybe the writers of Time magazine could be a bit more careful with the analogies they choose?

The magazine continues....

“As it stands, the way America marries is making the American Dream unreachable for many of its people.“ - Time Magazine

Okay brides, now is the time for you to boycott Time Magazine because they are basically blaming you, my American marrying couples, for making the American dream unreachable. Now, the big question is how did Time magazine arrive to this conclusion? Read on.

Near the beginning of the article, Time stated:

“In 1960, the median household income of married adults was 12% higher than that of single adults, after adjusting for household size. By 2008 this gap had grown to 41%. In other words, the richer and more educated you are, the more likely you are to marry, or conversely, if you‘re married, you're more likely to be well off.“ - Time Magazine

Their conclusion to this statistic is obviously flawed. For starters, the stat that married couples make more than a single adult is a post-marriage statistic. It is not a pre-marriage statistic. One cannot conclude that the "richer" and more educated one is, they are more likely to marry...especially from this one stat. With the stat that they offered, we can only conclude that couples make more after they're married. That‘s all. We can speculate that they make more because both husband and wife work, and because married couples are more likely to be responsible with their money than the single adult.

It is extremely obvious that the author is trying desperately to tie marriage as a privilege for the wealthy.

So that takes us back to square one. Remember when Time said "The married are making the dream unreachable for many Americans?" Well, according to Time, most married couples are rich. They compared marriage to a luxury yacht. Therefore, the rich, the privileged, are making the American Dream unreachable for many Americans.... Haven't we heard this type of "blame the rich" dribble before?

Yes we have. This is echoed throughout the Democratic political parties, CNN, left wing blogs. It's your typical blame the wealthy stance which they embrace.

Why couldn't Time use a picture like this for their article?

So what is marriage good for according to me?

Why don‘t I come out and say the obvious. To provide a solid foundation to raise kids. How about for the fact marriage honors your spouse and yourself with a level of commitment that can only be described as unending faith, hope, and love? Unending...meaning immeasurable, something in which no scientist, statistician, professor, could ever measure...

Yet, they try...

According to Andrew Chelrlin, a sociologist at John Hopkins, he says “Getting married is a way to show off to family and friends that you have a successful personal life. It‘s the ultimate merit badge.“ Okay, so getting married to him is a status symbol, a yacht, a way to show off. Man, this guy is from Johns Hopkins and he still doesn‘t get it! Could you imagine if you were his wife and you read his quote? Man, someone is sleeping on the couch.

So you may agree or disagree with my assessment. Who knows. It's just one man's opinion here. But I think my opinion is a bit better than Time Magazine's.

Well, I'm out. Blog you all tomorrow.

Steve

"The New Time Magazine Boycotter..."

Ko‘olina Beaches back to open?

2011-01-24T12:04:00.003-10:00

"that's a filled blood vile"

KO‘OLINA BEACHES, SAFE TO SWIM AGAIN?

...an update....

Just yesterday, Sunday, the State of Hawaii issued a statement that Ko‘olina and the portions of the Waianae coast that were contaminated by medical waste, is now safe to swim at. The beaches are now completely open to the public, and open to the 1000‘s of NFL Pro Bowlers and families who will be traveling to Hawaii in the following days.

Personally, my opinion, is the timing of this statement seems a bit too convenient and the beaches are still not safe to swim at.

In the past week, Oahu had been hit by a handful of extreme downpours which caused extensive flooding on the west side of Oahu. Farms were wiped out, roads were flooded, and most notably, portions of garbage landfills were washed downstream. The Waimanalo Gulch Landfill which sits on the mountain directly above Ko‘olina, doubles as the disposal site for our States medical waste. This medical waste, by the floods, made its way downstream, to the ocean, and then washed ashore, littering the beaches of Ko‘olina and the Waianae coastline.

Found on the shoreline were used hypodermic needles, used test tubes, and filled blood viles. Consequently, the State immediately closed the beaches down to swimming and fishing.

In the days that followed, the State of Hawaii sent a handful of small crews to pick up the medical waste that washed ashore. Their small crews unfortunately did not work diligently enough as residents of the area were still able to easily find medical waste along the shoreline. The State also issued a statement saying that the medical waste was sterilized and decontaminated, so the public was not in any true medical danger.

Really? How can filled blood viles be decontaminated? Isn‘t medical waste supposed to be incinerated?

Much of the cleanup at Ko‘olina was done by the resort itself, and not the State. Volunteers, not the State, cleaned up most of the Waianae coastline. The State of Hawaii though has taken credit for the cleanup.

What troubles me that although the shoreline may be free of medical waste, is the shoreline actually safe to swim at? Although the medical waste would float to the top of the water, is there a possibility that the huge surf we experienced during the storms could have embedded the medical waste into the sand below? Before opening the beach, shouldn‘t the State send divers in to clean the reefs and sandy bottoms of these popular swimming holes? Shouldn't there be some type of dredging going on here?

These were found at the cove adjacent to the cove that we use.

My opinion. The beaches at Ko‘olina may still not be safe to swim at. I wouldn't believe the reports by the State that claim they are. Their safety statement was purely a political one to make sure the Pro Bowl would stay in Hawaii for years to come.

Picture taken one day after the medical spill...

For weddings though, the cove in which I perform our weddings is still safe to use. In fact, in the day following the medical waste spill, we had a wedding there! There were no signs of any medical waste at the cove which I frequent. But at the cove next door, the beach was littered with needles, blood viles, you name it. So rest assured, that we can still have your wedding there if you choose to. I just wouldn't go swimming in the ocean around that area anytime soon.

Steve Young

The Wedding Guy Report
http://www.dreamweddingshawaii.com

And...today, Sunday, is a rest day.

2011-01-23T20:10:00.006-10:00

Mark Sanchez, keeping it real

TODAY I'M PRO-CHEESE
And it'll stay that way through the playoffs.

Well...what can I say, it‘s going to be a PACKERS-STEELERS Superbowl! Yes, today I broke my own rules and became a fan of the cheese. I know it's plastered throughout my entire website that I'm anti-cheese, and that I don't care for the Packers, but all that is in good humor. I'm still the same anti-cheese photographer today than I was yesterday. For football though, I‘m pro cheese.

My day off today has been great. It just consisted of me, a TV, football, and food. What more can a man want? I could use 10 women in bikinis sitting next to me, but hey, we can't have everything.

You know, I find it funny, but as a self-employed businessman, there is really on such thing as a day off. Something is always on my mind that has to do with my business. Even though I'm off, I still carry around my wedding phone in case any bride calls, new or existing; and I still check my business email constantly on my phone so I can respond to any questions or email inquiries that may flood in. All I can say is that god for smart-phones, because I don‘t have to lug around a laptop anymore.

Many wonder who has taught me about weddings...

So here is some wedding information to chew on for today brought to you from yours truly, the wedding guy. Did you ever realize that the wedding industry is one of the few industries that does not obey the market rules of supply and demand? For the most part, there is always a steady stream of brides coming in through the front door, and no matter how great a job a vendor does, good or bad, the demand is always there. Think about that. No matter how crappy a wedding planner, photographer, or videographer does, he or she can still count another bride walking to them for business. This is of course because most brides are not repeat customers.

So then, how do you find the right vendors for yourself? Well, some of it has to do with luck. If you book with me, you truly don‘t have to worry about finding anyone better (haha...it‘s true though!) But all joking aside, there are three golden rules that I use when weeding through the maze of wedding vendors.

And the three golden rules are:

CONSISTENCY - A great vendor should be consistent in quality and customer service, or at least come close to it as possible. For example, a great wedding photographer should consistently deliver great photos on matter what the weather conditions are, no matter what the scenery is, no matter how photogenic a couple may be.
EXCELLENT COMMUNICATION SKILLS - A great wedding vendor should communicate with you effectively through all mediums, the web, and phone. They should always answer emails promptly, return phone calls promptly, and always be accessible to you. In other words, they shouldn't take weeks to answer an email or to return a phone call.
QUALITY THAT YOU‘RE SATISFIED WITH - Quality, like beauty, is in the eyes of the beholder. Make sure that you, the bride, is the beholder and not your mother, your mother-in-law, or friends. It‘s your wedding, your money, your call.

Well....that‘s my blog for today!

Steve

Hello there! An update

2011-01-23T03:28:00.006-10:00

For the short time, I am pro-cheese.

BLOGGING JUST TO BLOG

So this is a much needed update. First off, like always, I must give you my standard apology for not updating this blog. I used to update this blog everyday....and I think I'll do that from my android phone. Unfortunately, I won't write too many epic long love stories everyday. I'll try to squeeze them in here and now. But I tell you what....I'll write something just to let you know what‘s on my mind.

What‘s on my mind now? Not much. At the moment, it's 3:14am in Hawaii on a Sunday morning and I'm just about to hit the hay so I can wake up and watch the NFC and AFC championships. I think the first game begins at around 10am. So I guess what's on my mind is whether or not I'll wake up in time.

Vera Wang, are you kidding me? REALLY?

Okay, so here's some wedding stuff that‘s been bugging me lately. It's Vera Wang. Now since you're getting married, you probably know who she is. Supposedly, she's some famous wedding dress designer in New York. My opinion of her dresses. They're nice, but they are not worth what she's asking for. Some of her dresses go for 20k, and they are made in Thailand, which means they cost 10 dollars to make. You would think that for 20k, you get something handmade in America. Nope, it's just "assembled" here. But I honeslty don't have any problem with how much she charges for her dresses. Maybe some bride wants to spend 20k on a dress and if she does...well she does.

My main problem with Vera Wang is that she's plastering her name out on everything under the sun. At the Halekulani, there is a bridal suite that is designed by Vera Wang. What does Vera Wang truly know about interior decorating? From what I can tell, interior decorating and wedding dresses are a worlds apart right? Okay... she also has her own line of Serta mattresses out. I know this because I actually went bed shopping a few weeks ago. What does Vera Wang know about bed mattress construction? She's just a wedding dress designer!!!!

And guess what, holy smokes, she has her own line of China. What‘s next, her own line of hydrid cars? Mortgages? Ughh....

I realize what companies are doing as they are trying to use her name to entice newlyweds to buy certain products associated with her name, as many women "may" associate Vera Wang with quality. But don‘t you think this just a little desperate type of marketing? Consumers are much smarter than this.

Just my two cents. It's just one man's insane opinion.

Well, I'm off to bed. Blog you all soon!

Steve

Another wedding video

2011-01-07T12:32:00.003-10:00

Damian and Katie from Steven Young on Vimeo.

Damian and Katie's wedding

So the story goes that Damian and Katie are an extremely cool wedding couples who is planning to move to Hawaii in April! Here is their wedding video!!!!! I'll blog more later. I have to head out to buy a subway sandwich...plus, I'm still recovering from a bad case of the flu...

Steve

Victor and Jill's Maui Wedding

2010-12-17T09:56:00.004-10:00

Victor and Jill's Maui Wedding! from Steven Young on Vimeo.

JUST MAUI'D...
The Maui Wedding of Victor and Jill

I don't do much outer island weddings. It's really not out of choice, but I just don't market myself to brides who wish to marry on the outer islands. But, every now and then, I get a request! Here is Jill and Victor's maui wedding.... Enjoy!

Steve

Blogging from my android phone.

2010-12-11T05:11:00.001-10:00

So this is a test. I wan to see if I can generate a sensible post through my android. If I do post from here, I don‘t think I can post any pictures though. I did post a picture here, but I‘m not sure if it‘ll show up.

Anyway, the jist of this post is to just ignore what I‘m writing.....hahaha.

Blog ya soon....if this works.

Neal and Anna's Hawaii Wedding

2010-12-08T23:25:00.003-10:00

Neal and Anna from Steven Young on Vimeo.

Neal and Anna's Hawaii Wedding!

Well look who just tied the knot yesterday! Why it's Neal and Anna. These two love brids met at a pool. Now that's one I never heard of. This is their wedding video, 1 camera coverage, unedited. Like all my wedding videos, this is their entire wedding video from begininng to end.

Hope you enjoy it!

Steve

Mike and Amy's wedding!

2010-11-23T00:44:00.006-10:00

Mike and Amy

November 22, 2010

Mike and Amy tied the knot yesterday morning at the vacation home they rented here on Oahu. It was raining all week, and then luckily, everything stopped a few days before their wedding. In fact, I couldn't ask for better weather that day. It was perfect for photos, perfect for video....just perfect.

The following video is just of their ceremony and does not include their slideshows. This video is purely for their friends and family back at home. Enjoy! I'm off to Maui for a wedding today.

Mike and Amy! from Steven Young on Vimeo.

Steven Young
http://www.dreamweddingshawaii.com

James and Brenda's Hawaii Wedding

2010-11-08T22:02:00.014-10:00

This is not a posed picture...

THE JAMES AND BRENDA STORY
A MUST READ

Let me just say that for the most part, when I blog about my wedding couples, I do most of the writing. I take off my "wedding guy" hat, slap on my dusty old "screenwriters" cap, and start pounding away at the keyboard to tell the love story of my couples. For James and Brenda, I didn't have to do to put on my "screenwriters" cap at all! When I asked them to send me bullet-points of their love story, they sent me an awesome, well crafted, love story that I didn't have to edit! Basically, I just had to hit the cut and paste button on my computer! Hey less work for me...I'm not complaining here. So here is their love story, unedited, word for word.

I'll let James take the floor from here:

"So, long story short...

Brenda and I attended high school together. We both had huge crushes on each other, but nothing ever came of it because we both were too afraid to tell one another. Right after high school we both worked for the same company and again we both didn't share our feelings with one another. More simply put, I was blind to her feelings. What a stup! Anyway, I joined the military in 1989 and moved away. A couple of years later I got married and had two beautiful children.

Brenda waited her entire life to make this walk

And you may kiss the bride

It wasn't until 1996 that we ran into one another again. It was purely by luck, (or was it divine intervention?) that we were both traveling home through the Minneapolis-St Paul airport on Valentines Day no less! Those crush feelings came flooding back, but were magnified 10-fold by then. We stayed in contact for a period after 1996, but Brenda ended up getting married and had a beautiful daughter of her own.

Leap forward a few years and little did each other know, but we were both single and just waiting for each other... On Oct 18, 2009 I sent Brenda an e-mail saying "hi" and congratulating and complimenting her on her beautiful daughter. She sent back a response an agonizing two weeks later. It wasn't until the 3rd or 4th e-mail that we shared our relationship status with each other. From that moment on I knew that I had to do whatever I could to find out if she was truly the one meant for me. She's always been the girl I've held in comparison to others and none have ever compared. Up until Mar 4, 2010, the day of our first kiss, she had always been my one and only 'could have been."

That all changed with one single kiss and my sun now absolutely rises and sets with her. Have I ever mentioned to you just how incredibly gorgeous this woman is? OMG...

Okay, Brens turn... Lol"

- James

Alright, hmm....lets hear what Brenda has to say:

"Well, James' story seems a little one-sided so let me fill you in with a few more details . . .

Yes, James and I went to high school together and knew each other through mutual friends. He will still tell the story today of the first time that he saw me on the stairwell at the high school. What a silly guy. I thought he was waaaaay out of my league when we went to school. He won't admit it, but he was such a player-or at least I thought so. He looked so adorable in his denim/flannel jacket and the girls flocked around him! Especially with that Magnum PI hairdo . . .
Anyway, we didn't really talk to each other too much during high school. Our story really began right after we graduated in 1986. We started working together and that's where we really got close to each other. I could talk to James about anything. He quickly became my best friend and my closest confidant. And, unknown to him, the object of my affection. I had such a huge crush on him, but I didn't know how to tell him. Oh, and I tried!! Just ask his best friend Roy. It was obvious to him, but not to James.

Neither of us really remember how this happened, but James invited me to parent's house to watch a movie one night. It was simply two buddies hanging out (or at least I thought so). I mean, how could James be interested in me?! So, I went to his house and we never really got around to watching that movie. He showed me all of his prized possesions and we looked at pictures of him growing up etc. I loved hanging out with him and his family. Let me tell you about the romantic side of James. So, we were 19 at the time and one of James's most prized possessions was a wedding ring set that he bought to fit the girl of his dreams when he was 15. It was beautiful. And I got to try it on. Let me tell you, that really started some daydreaming about us being together. But, again, we were just buddies so it wasn't going to go anywhere. Looking back, that was the day that I really fell in love with him . . .

So, we hung out and talked about everything. I was going to college and working a ton of hours, so here's the embarrassing part of the story . . . When we finally did get around to turning on that movie, I fell asleep on his parent's living room floor. Remember that denim/flannel jacket that I loved to see him wearing? Well, I was wearing it when I fell asleep that night. His mom covered me up with an afghan and there I slept. At one point I thought I remembered James leaning down and thought he was going to kiss me, but he didn't. Later, he will tell me that he was planning on it, but chickened out. When I woke up a while later, I was mortified. So, I got up and snuck out of the house in the middle of the night and went home. I was so afraid that I'd made such a complete fool of myself in front of James that I couldn't face him.

We worked together for a while after that, but neither of us really ever talked about that night. I still kept my crush hidden from him and life went on.
Then, James joined the military and moved away. We didn't really have any contact for several years, but he never left my mind. I always wondered what he was up to and where he was. And then came Valentine's day in 1996. I was traveling from Wisconsin to Montana and was on a five hour layover in Minneapolis. As I was walking through the airport, I thought that I saw James pass by. I looked for him in the crowd, but lost sight of him. I thought it was just my imagination until about two hours later when he walked up to me. He still says that he saw me first, but little did he know that I'd seen him earlier. It was such a coincidence . . . he was traveling from Finland, I was coming from Wisconsin and we were both booked on the exact same flight to Montana! I was shocked! We talked for a few minutes and then told each other that we'd meet up at the gate. When I got there, James had gone and bought me a rose. We sat together and talked the whole way home. He was home for about a week and we met for coffee one night. It was still so easy to talk to him. We started up right where we left off.

The day that James left I found roses on my doorstep with a card tha said that he wished that he would have kissed me that night because he wondered where our lives would have been if he had. Who knew?! Up until this point I was oblivious to his feelings for me. I thought we were just buddies.

So, I decided to run to the airport and tell him how I felt about him. Sounds like something in a movie, right?! I race up to his gate to tell him that I'd always had a crush on him, but he wasn't alone. He was there with his inlaws and now I felt like a fool. They had already seen me and I couldn't tuck my tail between my legs and run, so I just stood there like an idiot. I just told him that I wanted to say goodbye. We hugged and he got one the plane and flew away. I thought I'd never see him again. I'd never be able to tell him how I felt about him. The timing was terrible--he was married and had two wonderful children. What a stupid thing for me to do. So, we lost contact with each other after that.

I received a few letters and phone calls throughout the years, but the timing was never right to say anything. Just as before, I kept my feelings hidden and never told him why I'd come to the airport that day.

Over the years, the contact lessened and we both went on with our seperate lives. I often wondered about him, but had given up on ever seeing him again. Although, every time I was in an aiport, I would always look for him. It's a hard habit to break even to this day when he's at my side!

After both of our marriages had ended, out of the blue one day, I received an email from James. I was shocked!!!! And I didn't know how to respond. I figured that he was still married so I didn't email him back right away. I wrote and rewrote that email over and over again. I think it ended up being something so simple like " Good to hear from you. How are you doing?" After a few emails, I had to ask about his wife and kids. Yippee! He had been divorced for some time then. Yet, there was still the problem of us living a world apart and not being able to tell him that I still had feelings for him.

We fell back into that easy pattern of being able to tell each other everything. My heart flipped when I received a call from Afghanistan late one night and it was James' voice on the other end of the phone! There was no mistaking that it was him. My heart was racing. We ended up growing that relationship from friendship to love in a short period of time.

It was funny how our lives mirrored each other's. Our lives had paralled each others in so many ways. We came to find out how much alike we both are. It wasn't until March 4th of 2010 that I was able to see him again. It had been since 1996 when we had said goodbye at the airport since we'd actually seen each other.

And that was it! There was no turning back from that point on. The moment he held me in his arms I knew that I was where I was supposed to be! He always was my one true love!

We've talked about where we would have been if he would have kissed me that night. But, we both agree that it wasn't our time. We had to spend time becoming the people that we are now to really appreciate each other.

When I look into his eyes, I know that it's for real and that it's everlasting. He is the person that I'm supposed to be with. He is my best friend, my true love, my confidant. I can't imagine being apart from him again. Our story has reached over many many years and it will continue on for many more.

Thanks for being a part of our story, Steve. I know that this was supposed to be a few quick bullet points, but our story is anything but a few quick points. Maybe if he would have kissed me that night back in college . . . . Who knows? Maybe it would have been a lot shorter, but where's the fun in that?!"

- Brenda

James and Brenda from Steven Young on Vimeo.

AND NOW, IT'S MY TURN TO SPEAK...

So James had a Magnum P.I. haircut? What exactly is a Magnum P.I. haircut anyway? I can imagine a Magnum P.I. mustache. Seriously? James...do you have a picture?

When I first met James and Brenda, I couldn't believe my eyes. Now, all of my couples are in love, there's no doubt about that. But James and Brenda sure do act like teenagers in love, and I mean that in a very good way. They have that puppy dog love that usually only exist...well, when you're in high school. I'm not sure how to describe it, but they way they look each other it seems as though that anything is possible, that together, they can do anything. Get what I'm trying to say here... In any case, it's awe inspiring.

Steve Young
The "Cut" and "Paste" guy
http://www.dreamweddingshawaii.com/

HEY IT'S A VOW RENEWAL!!

2010-11-04T04:18:00.002-10:00

April's Vow renewal from Steven Young on Vimeo.

IT'S A VOW RENEWAL!

More blogs to come soon. Enjoy this video this vow renewal video in the meantime!

IT'S ELECTION TIME IN HAWAII AND...

2010-10-25T13:42:00.014-10:00

WEIGHING IN ON POLITICS
...IN MY NON-HUMBLE OPINION....

I'm back up and blogging. I have to say, I'm glad I'm writing again because I have to get a lot much off my chest. I'm pissed.... And luckily it's not about weddings, but about politics. It's election time throughout our nation and lately our airwaves have been getting hit by campaign ads and poltical debates. You can't avoid them. And I swear, blood is about to shoot out of my eyes.

Am I a political person? No. If anything, I'm politically incorrect. But I watch politics very closely as government policies truly affect my lifestyle. Many people label me as a republican, but I'm not one at all. I'm an independent voter who will side with the candidate who I feel best represents me. I do pull more for conservatives though.

So in steps Colleen Hanbusa, our local candidate who is running for a Representative s one of the most corrupt, cunning, and clueless candidates I had ever seen in my life. Watch this short ad campaign video she put together explaining how the financial crisis came to be in her eyes:

HUH? YOU HAVE TO WATCH THIS

According to Colleen Hanabusa, she believes, like many other democratic politicians, that the financial crisis came to fruition by two wars, the "Bush Tax Cuts," and the collapse of Wall Street. They keep pounding this message of "Blame Bush for everything, and to elect me because I'm against George Bush's policies." This is pure politics. But more so, her answer in this video tells me that she has no idea what truly cause the financial collapse. I have to say, Colleen Hanabusa is an idiot...and she's on record. Am I being politically incorrect for saying she's an idiot?

Now I'm not a politician, not an economist, just a young businessman, so Collen may cast a little doubt on my economic theory, but here's what I believe what caused the financial collapse. "Americans, of all financial classes, over-borrowed and over-spent." American's decision to over-borrow and over-spend had nothing to do with the Iraq War but was highly influenced by several factors. The two major factors were the federal reserve keeping interest rates too low, and congress pressuring Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac to give mortgages to high-risk individuals. The result... people bought homes they couldn't afford, got themselves into loans that they could never pay off, and once they stopped making payments, their problems trickled up to the bank, which trickled up to businesses, which trickled up to Wall street, and eventually the government. CAN WE SAY TRICKLE UP POVERTY?

How can Colleen come out and say Two Iraq Wars caused this financial mess? Wars don't make people buy more homes or take out loans which they cannot afford. Unbridled greed does. When someone can buy a $600,000 home with no down, that's when greed kicks in. Congress, Barney Frank in particular, created this environment when they pushed for an affordable housing act, and argued that no housing bubble would be created. Democrats were blind to the housing bubble, and in fact defended the Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac. Here is an edited video of democrats defending Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac, when republicans and the Bush administration confronted them on the risk of these companies being forced to give out risky loans.

Democrats like to claim that George Bush caused this housing bubble, but in 2001, George Bush recognized this problem and tried to push legislation to regulate Fannie and Freddie. Here's the video:

There is a reason why 20% down payments were needed to get a loan BACK IN THE DAY. It forced people to save and it got people into a different frame of mind. When congress forced banks to make these no-down loans, well, it changed the entire landscape of purchasing a home. Suddenly, it was easier to get a home than to buy a car. Unbelievable. It was easier to buy a home than to get a SBA Business loan.

POINTING THE FINGER AT THE RICH....WHY?
It's easy to point the finger at fat cats because we are all envious of their lifestyle. But still, I don't think we should be pointing the finger AT the rich. George Bush did give the wealthy tax breaks. But even with George Bush's tax cuts, the wealthy still pay more than their fair share of taxes as their federal and state tax combined income tax totals close to 50% of their income. You never hear that the wealthy pay close to 50% of their income to taxes. Well, it's true! The so-called rich pay more than everyone else...

George Bush also lowered the capital gains tax and abolished the real-estate "Death Tax." Capital gains taxes are not directed toward just the wealthy, but to everyone. Anyone who trades stocks pays a capital gains tax... Even your average-joe will pay capital gains. The Death Tax taxes property at 50% after death, even though that property was 100% paid for by the former owner. Is that right? Shouldn't that be abolished? Not according to democrats.

And how does the rich affect the middle class in a negative way. Just because the rich have more money, does that mean the "Joe-Middle-Class" needs to buy that new $10,000 plasma screen? How does Colleen or any politician explain how tax cuts for the wealthy cause a crisis? If the wealthy have more money, they spend more more money, thus creating more jobs...right? Last time I checked, it's the so called "fat cats" that fund research for cancer, life-saving drugs. They are the ones that fund 3D technology, fund movies, open amusement parks, open banks, restaurants. They are the ones that buy technology when it's too expensive for the ordinary person, thus funding the research so eventually we can afford it. In other words, they provide jobs. Have you ever worked for a middle-class person or a poor person? No.

What Colleen and many democrats doesn't understand that rich people make the middle class and the poor... richer. Wealth trickles down.... And it trickles down faster when rich people are allowed to spend. When I get a wealthy client, I get richer.... I love the extreme wealthy! I'd wish more them would spend money on me.

Colleen, and many of her democrat colleagues are purely pushing the politics of irresponsibility. To them, it's not the home owner who is facing foreclosure's fault that he is losing his home, but the mortgage company, the bank, the fat cats on Wall Street, and George Bush.

THE THOUGHT THAT BILL CLINTON DID EVERYTHING TO CREATE A ROBUST ECONOMY IS... (YOU FILL IN THE BLANK)

Democrats will usually look to the Clinton years and point out that during those times, the economy was doing quite well. Unemployment was low, the stock market was rallying (mostly because of the internet bubble), and people had high paying jobs...well...everywhere. A lot of that is true. But lets take a look at the record. Clinton just took credit for an economic boom that took on a life of it's own when Reagan instilled his economic policies back in 1983. Clinton is like a backup quarterback who entered into the last minutes of football game when his team was leading, took a knee, then took credit for the win. If he were playing football, he's be considered a sand-bagger and duct-taped to the locker room wall.

Here's a graphic I created to explain my point.

If you take a look at this graphic, you'll notice that Clinton was not responsible for the economic boom. He just didn't get in the way of what started in 1984 by Reagan.
The internet bubble was not Clinton's fault, but more so, the result of over-tightening by the Federal Reserve. The market crashed, economy crashed in the last two years of Clinton's term and the reigns were handed over to W. Bush
After just 1 year in office, terrorist attacked Wall Street, crippling our financial system. Our economy was still not recovering the internet bubble and we got hit. By cutting taxes, the stock market and economy recovered.
Democrats took control of Congress, failed to pass legislation to regulate Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac, and the housing bubble burst.

FINAL WORDS:

What we need in D.C. is common sense, not politicians... We need people who understand the simple theories of supply and demand economics. Here is my dream candidate:

1) One that believes that the federal reserve has too much power over our economy and will fight tooth and nail to dissolve it.

2) One that believes that social security is not the answer an American's "secure retirement." Social Security is a ponzi sceme that dwarfs Berni Madoff's scam.

3) One that believes the government's primary roll is to define and to defend it's borders

4) One that believes that taxes should be low for everyone, and success and wealth should not be punished.

So...there you have it. My opinions. Hey what can I say? Am I right, or am I wrong? It's just my opinion. Agree, disagree, love me, or hate me. It's just one man's opinion right? Election season, gotta love it...

Anyway, I'm off to touch up photos. Talk to you all soon!

Steve Young
Proud man of Conservative Principles
http://www.dreamweddingshawaii.com

The Wedding Guy at Work

2010-10-14T00:13:00.004-10:00

I don't usually require a titty twister after weddings, but this was the exception to the rule.

A THANK YOU TO ALL OF MY COUPLES :)

Just the two cents off the top of my mind

So let me paint a picture for you right now at what I'm doing right now. I'm sitting at my computer at 12:15am in the morning. My desk is littered with paperwork. I have my trusty video cameras and photography equipment laying neatly to the side, ready to go like a fireman on call. I'm still recovering from a few things. First, it's the long Sunday I just encountered. In case you were buried under a rock, 10-10-10 was an extremely busy day for all wedding companies. I had SIX WEDDINGS! UGH!

But honestly, not so UGH.

All of my wedding couples on 10-10-10 were extremely awesome. In fact, let me say this. 99.9% of all my wedding couples are extremely cool. I do have the .01% of my brides who I can do without...haha. But for the most part, they are, you all are way too cool.

Me with my couple from 4 years ago! Earl and Colleen! They're expecting!

This brings me to a few revelations. First, I really want to thank all of my couples for being extremely cool, and making my life as a wedding guy a lot easier. Thank you. From the bottom of my heart. If it weren't for you...well, first I'd be rather poor...but more so, I would have probably lost all my hair by now if you didn't make my job so damn easy. I've forged many friendships with many of my couples, many lifelong. And I've been wondering if this is something normal that goes on with all wedding companies. Or...is it just me? Do I have some type of friendship disorder where I need to make friends with everyone, including my clients? haha.

Don't answer that.

Anyway. Thank you again. And sorry I haven't been blogging. I've been so freaking busy. I probably won't be able to blog regularly until the month of November. I have tons of wedding videos to finish. But in the month of November, I'm not booking any weddings for the first few weeks. I'm taking a much needed break :)

Steve

Video slide-show time

2010-09-21T13:52:00.002-10:00

Dan and Jen Ambrose' Maui Wedding from Steven Young on Vimeo.

DAN AND JEN'S WEDDING IN MAUI!

Well, as you probably know, I've been extremely busy. I've been busy ever since summer started! I've had on average, about two weddings everyday. That's crazy! Luckily, things are going to slow down in October and November.... Well, not on October 10th...I have 6 weddings on that day!

Anyway, here's a slide-show I put together for one of my couples that I shot in Maui. I took ALL of these pictures with my snapshot G10. As you may know, that is my digital camera of choice and it is just as powerful as any professional DSLR out there on the market today. Check out the slide-show and you be the judge for yourself.

This blog is not Dan and Jen's wedding blog by the way. That is soon to come. This is just a quick example of some of my photos.

Need to head out to a wedding now. Blog you all later...

Steve

Sorry haven't blog...been super busy

2010-09-18T00:48:00.003-10:00

Me with my couple this past week. I'm sweaty in this picture!

SORRY, BEEN SUPER BUSY

Just a quick message. I've been extremely busy over the past few months and blogging took an extreme back seat. I promise I'll start blogging again sometime next late next week. Just been back logged in work.

Steve