Behind Kawela Kai Nani, on the rocks

JAY AND TARYN'S WEDDING
One year of planning, phew!!!!

So I start off this blog by saying, nice guy's finish first. And it's not just in Jay's case, but in all of my groom's cases. They were all nice guys, and they all landed hot looking women. In this love story, Jay, an excellent hockey player, was an extremely nice guy who had girl-friends who wished "that he'd meet a girl who was just as nice as he was." Well, in stepped Taryn, an extremely energetic, extremely nice, and extremely beautiful woman, who just so happened to really like Jay. The rest, as they say...was history....

The moral of the story? It's the nice guy who always gets to go home with the girl, and it's the jerk who gets left alone in the dark.

Taryn did 99.9999% of all the planning for this wedding, like most brides. As some advice to men, this is the way it should be. Let your woman do all of the planning, all you have to do is nod. All you have to do is make sure she doesn't go over budget. Interesting fact here about women and men when it comes to wedding planning. If you ask a man, "How long have you been planning this wedding?" He'll usually answer...hmm...about a year or so. If you ask a woman the same question, she'll answer..."All of my life!"

Now for some advice to women. If you want your man to be creatively involved with picking out your wedding dress, colors, going shopping with you,....I'm sorry, that won't happen. Why? Because your man isn't gay. If you want to marry a gay man, there are plenty of gay men out there still willing to stay in the closet.... All men care about it the bottom line budget, and that you don't plan your wedding on the Superbowl.

FAILED ASPIRATIONS
So Taryn called me about a year ago telling me about her aspirations to tie the knot in Hawaii. Taryn had spent some time researching online for possible locations, and she came up with "Da Pink House." I had heard of this place before, seen pictures on the web, and all I heard were good reviews. I told Taryn I would check out this place for her just to be on the safe side. It's a good thing I paid a visit. "Da Pink House" should have been called "Da Scary House."

Nice in the picture, scary in person!

Kawela Kai Nani Properties, one of the four backyards

Booking the Kawela Kai Nani properties was not cheap, but since her friends and family stayed in some of houses, it help alleviate the price for her somewhat. The plan for Taryn's wedding was rather simple. To use one backyard for the dancing, one for the buffet, and one to dine at. The extra backyard could be used as a setup area for the kitchen. I setup Taryn with Elmer Guzman, a really great chef here in Hawaii, and he handled her catering and tenting for her. From there, all I had to worry about was the usual (Minister, photo/video, flowers).

Everything on Taryn's wedding day came together well and there a couple of reason why this happened. One, she booked with me (ain't I humble). Secondly, Taryn is very organized. Thirdly, she had a friend who really helped put things together, and to make sure Taryn stayed on track.

About 50 to 60 guest showed up for their wedding...

For the ceremony, Rev. Elias performed a civil ceremony with a few Hawaiian traditions thrown in: a lei exchange for the couple, their parents, and a sharing of the breathes, along with a Hawaiian chant. (I have a video of their wedding which you can take a look at in a blog following this post. You can view that blog by clicking here)

The ceremony ran around 15 minutes long, but it didn't seem that long. None of her guest sat, but stood. It's much better for pictures if your guest stand, not to mention, a lot cheaper!

Somebody is going to cry...

Taryn's Parents watching her seal the deal...

Here's an interesting fact about Taryn. She's a South-African born Chinese woman who lives in Canada. Say that ten times fast. Her parents lived in South Africa before, and actually lived through apartheid. Wow.

Jay's Parents watching him seal the deal. Why is Jay's dad holding the bouquet?

and the deal is sealed with a kiss...Everyone claps, except the photographer (me!) I gotta work.

Happily Married!

So I usually don't do big weddings. I'll try to put as easy as I can, but they can be a pain in the a__! But, Taryn's was a walk in the park because they were fun and laid back.

See those stairs, they are actually crooked in real life...that's not a camera trick

Cloudy skies can make for great effect shots

So here's the only bummer throughout the wedding. Unfortunately, storm clouds chased away the blue skies right after the ceremony. The good thing? The storm clouds didn't stay for very long, and all night, Taryn and Jay had clear skies. That's a really good thing since they didn't order any tenting!

This was the closest thing I could get to a sunset

Good view of the dress

I think Taryn's waist is smaller than 10 inches.

I like this shot...looks like a professional took it. Oh wait...I am a professional?

Hmmm.... are you going to eat that poi?

I was really surprised at the food selection that Jay and Taryn picked out. It was completely local, along with poi! So, Taryn and Jay did try the poi, which...they hated. I don't know if poi is an aquired taste. All I know, is that it rocks...and if you don't like it, you can give me ten dollars! Actually, Poi should be treated like rice. You're supposed to eat it with something salty, as it neutralizes the saltiness of Hawaiian food...

another view of the reception

Candid shot of Taryn...I like this one...

A toast!

Will they be nice?

Yeah, they were nice...

Final verdict from Steve "the wedding guy," This wedding was fun. During the ending of the reception, I bascially hung around my DJ friend, and danced behind the DJ booth. This wedding was a lot larger than most of my weddings that I plan. As you know, most of my weddings are small ones that happen on the beach. While I can do large and gala weddings, I tend just pass on those because big weddings come with high maintenance brides. But Taryn was not high-maintenance at all.

Congrats to both Jay and Taryn! May you have many babies...

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