Today, I'd like to pay tribute to a man, a friend, and a father, who is looking down from heaven right now, smiling at us. I learned of Larry's sudden passing today when I got home from a wedding. (To learn more about this tragedy, you can read about it at this link) To say the least, I like many, was completely floored.

I met Larry around five or six years ago (maybe longer), when he opened his wedding business, Live Internet Weddings. If there's one thing that I remember about Larry was that even though he was 50 years old, and the odds were stacked against him, he was still positive and bright-eyed about the future. Larry's ambition, to stream a couples Hawaii wedding live over the Internet was a rather revolutionary idea for Hawaii, and in the beginning not many people took to it. It wasn't easy for this gray haired ambitious man, as he was ahead of the curve a that time. But despite the obstacles, he kept pushing forward...and eventually got hotels to hop on board with his idea.

Even though we were competitors, It was Larry who taught me how to stream video over the Internet. And even though we were competitors, it was Larry who helped me when Dream Wedding Hawaii first started. Back in the day, I needed an extra hand to videotape weddings, and Larry was always there to help. I could never pay Larry too much because it would affect my profit margin negatively if I did, but he still was there to lend a hand when I needed it. In return, I tried to teach him as much as I knew about the art of story telling.

Unfortunately, as time went on, we grew distant. Not because our friendship dwindled, but because our interest took us on different paths. Larry's business had flourished to a point where it was more profitable for him to take gigs, and I begun to shoot 3 camera video coverage for weddings all on my own. I remember bumping into Larry two years ago and sharing a casual conversation with him on how he was doing. I don't remember what he said, but I do remember that smile. He was always positive.

Now I'm sure they have the fastest and best computers there in Heaven, so Larry is probably reading this. All I have to say is that I'm really sorry to have lost touch with you while you still had time on this planet, but we'll pick up that conversation one day eventually. And keep on smiling.

Steve Young

The Hawaii Wedding Reporter