Lanikai during perfect weather...

THE GOOD, THE GOODER, AND THE GOODEST OF OAHU
...determining what's the best beach for your location, through a scientific point of view...

I love science, always have, always will. I think it started back when I first saw that movie, Back to the Future, and they had that character played by Christopher Lloyd, "Doc." Wasn't he cool with his "1.21 GIGAWATTS!" and his "flux-capacitor!" lingo. Really cool stuff. It's ashamed I didn't dive into science further in high school, and during college. All I was really was interested back then was football, and the science of football... But now, that I'm in the wedding industry, science, believe it or not, has come in handy. It's come in handy for photography, lighting, choosing colors, to observing the "chemistry" between couples...all the way to choosing the right location for your wedding.

Yes, I use science, that nerdy little tool that helped us get to space, to choose your wedding location.. I just wished my competitors would do the same.... I mean I've heard horror stories where wedding couples were promised sunset shots at Lanikai beach.

Note to my dearest stupid competitors: Lanikai is on the east shore...the
sun doesn't set on the east shore, therefore it's scientifically
impossible to get sunset shots there. Stop lying to your customers, it just makes you look...well, that much more dumb, and untrustworthy.

So how do I use science to determine the right location? Pretty simple. Read on!

Take a look at all my notes in yellow and red

So on my map here, you can see I have four main notes marked on each corner: WHERE THE SUN SETS, WHERE IT RISES, AND WHICH WAY THE WIND BLOWS (Trades and Kona winds). Very important here..... so back to my lesson of the day.

The first thing I ask all my couples is what type of photos they envision for their wedding. If they envisioned sunset shots, which most do, immediately that eliminates the EAST and SOUTH shores, because the sun doesn't set there. From there, it's a matter of what of when they are going to get married. If they are going to get married during the rainier months of the year, which is November through January, I have them get married on the West shore, because the West shore is a farther distance from the Ko'olau mountain range. The Ko'olau Mountain range, tends to be our natural rain gutter of our islands. It traps clouds, and basically makes them rain on east and North Shores a lot.

The time of day also determines which location may be best for a wedding as well. Say for example, a couple may want to get married on the windward side of Oahu, the rainy side, but wants blue skies. Well, although I can't promise the weather, we can always choose the best time to get clear skies near the mountain range.....which is the morning. Why is that?

It's for the simple fact that the wind shifts directions depending on the time of day. Usually, the wind blows inland during the day, then out to sea during as we get closer to sunset. The winds actually continue to blow out to sea in the morning, so the chances of clouds getting cozy with the mountains are very low. Because the Ko'olau mountains are facing the east shore, mornings work even better as the sun lights up the mountain range with some great front light.

it rains almost everyday on the windward side of Oahu...not much in the morning though

clear skies in the morning as you can see...

So back to my map with all of my arrows on it. If you notice there, in red, I have Kona Winds, or South Winds marked. Once in awhile, the wind shifts directions on us, bringing us humid voggy weather. Yes, voggy is not a misspell word. It's actually volcanic fog. The stuff is like fog, except worse as it can tear up your lungs. The vog creates a hazy mist for wedding photos which is only good for sunsets. But if there are Kona winds, you can kiss your blue skies away, along with your blue oceans. So heading over to Lankai during Kona winds, is not a very good idea.

Voggy conditions, of overcast skies, can turn even the most torquise oceans, rather gray. Picture at Lanikai....

What to do if Vog hits? Usually I stay clear of East shore locations such as Lanikai or Waimanalo, as their locations don't have much color, other than blue ocean. If that blue ocean goes, then all of the pictures go bland. At least if I were to shoot pictures where there's at least some greenery, the pictures wouldn't be so dead in colors.

Now I know what's on your mind. You're probably asking yourself if I ever moved locations once my couple and I had agreed on a set place. The answer is...yes I have. There have been a handful of locations where I moved my couples from one side of the island, to the next, just to avoid the rain. This is the great thing about having a small wedding party, or people who are eloping; you can just pick up and head on over to a better location where blue skies are a blazing.

These clouds in these pictures hugged the mountain during the ceremony. By the time sunset came around, the clouds were chasing the sun. Happens all the time. Picture taken at Ko'olina

So the million dollar question has to be, what is the greatest location out there? Well, my favorite has to be the Secret Cove at Ko'olina, which is officially called Lanikuhonua. The wind is manageable there, the sunsets are easy to shoot, it's secluded, and it feels like an island.

Running in second is Sunset Beach on the North Shore, for the very same reasons. Plus, for the fact, that there are very cool locations to shoot at around that beach.

Coming in third would have to be Waimanalo Beach. I don't do much wedding here, as I push everyone to my favorite two beaches, but sometimes people just want that blue water shots. And I can get them...if the weather permits me. The reason why Waimanalo or any east shore beach such as Kailua Beach, Lanikai, isn't high on my list, is because it can get extraordinarily windy there. From my map, you can see that the east shore of Oahu gets pounded by the trade winds. If you do want to get married on an east shore beach, just make sure that you wear your hair up, and you don't have too poofy of a dress...

Now I realize that I probably lost you here in all of this science mumbo jumbo. Hey, all I can leave you is with this. Book with me, trust me, and I'll find you that perfect wedding location.

Well, that concludes the lesson for today. Class dismissed. School is out.

Steve Young
The Hawaii Wedding Guy
http://www.dreamweddingshawaii.com/