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Kawela Bay, one of the 1st locations we hit that day

AND THE MORAL OF THE STORY IS...
...well, you'll just have to read on...

Have you ever ran into one of those couples who were just full of energy, that you felt as though if you hooked your stalled car to one of them, they could probably jump start it with every laugh. Well, that's what I felt when I met Jessica and Kevin, an extremely lively couple who made the decision to fly to Oahu to elope.

Before I get start here, I wanted to send a "virtual high-five" to Jessica's students, who probably did the most amazing thing I've ever heard in high school history. See, Jessica is a teacher, and before she left to Oahu to get married, her students threw her and Kevin, a surprise wedding reception, with a wedding cake! You kids, I mean...YOUNG ADULTS, are extremely cool. Whatever you do, don't loose that sense of generosity, it can go a far way in life. Kissing ass, can get you a far ways. I bet you'll all get A's this quarter.

The first shot of the day, WITHOUT FLASH.

So Jessica is a teacher for some great kids, and Kevin is a machinist, which means he can make anything. Together, I think they'll give birth to an Einstein supermodel. I met this happy couple on their wedding day at Turtle Bay. The plan was to spend an hour hitting a few photographic locations, then to hit Sunset Beach for the ceremony.

QUICK PHOTOGRPAHY NOTE: Take a look at the shot above and the shot below. As you can see, they are little bit different from each other. One is shot with a flash, one is shot without. The flash is used to get rid of unwanted shadows. Which one is better? That's purely a subjective call. I always favor the flash though.

2nd shot of the day with the flash, as you can see, there are no shadows
but they lose some dimension on their face. Which one is better?

Getting romantic by the banyans

I always joke around with my couples that wedding shots are basically make-out shots. Well, hey it's the truth! These banyan trees in Kawela Bay were actually used in the TV show LOST. In fact, Kawela Bay just happens to be one of the filming location for LOST. Luckily, the show wasn't filming when we got there, but we did encounter something else...

Kawela Bay is secluded, which makes it perfect for shots, but also perfect for....

So what did we encounter at Kawela Bay? A couple of nude sunbathers, who luckily, did not come over to us, or appear in the shots. I actually used to perform weddings at Kawela Bay until an old nudist colony decided to show up during one of my weddings. Yes, these old men, walked over in the buff to my bride to congratulate her on her wedding day. And, they even posed for pictures. Why they couldn't have been a nudist colony of supermodels, I have no idea....they never are, and life is never fair. So because life is never fair, and that the common occurrence of naked old men at Kawela Bay has become the norm, I make it a practice to only shoot pictures there.

Perfect place for shots...perfect for old naked men too.

The abandoned building, the 2nd location for the day

Finally, at sunset beach, making it official...

Here's that same shot, just from a different angle. Isn't it pretty cool, but just moving a few feet, changes the look and feel, and the coolness of a shot.

One thing that's great about this job is hearing how destiny pulled two strangers together for life. For Kevin and Jessica, it actually wasn't love at first sight. They had first bumped into each other at a wedding, but Jessica didn't really pay any attention to Kevin because her parents had given the Heimlich maneuver to a guest on her table! Picture this strange stroke of destiny, if it weren't for that person choking on a piece of meat, Kevin and Jessica would have talked, and possibly hooked up earlier, but as fate would have it...they didn't talk then.

Sharing their first breath together, a Hawaiian wedding tradition

Time passed, and more time passed, and these two star-crossed lovers did not bump into each other again until...Jessica's father made the first move. YES, HER FATHER! He told Jessica that he had someone for her, a young buddy of his who he golfed with on a regular basis. Jessica had no idea who it was, and she rolled her eyes at the idea that her father was trying to set her up. But she trusted her father, and met Kevin. The rest...was history.

The first kiss as a married couple is always the best. No, Kevin is not punching her in this shot.