We are two lucky photographers! You can only imagine our smiles when Min and Kimo hired us for their wedding in Hawaii.
We were nervous in the beginning because the closest thing we’ve shot as a destination wedding was at Roche Harbor in the San Juan Islands. Shooting a destination wedding has a lot of factors that aren’t present in local weddings. The obvious one is not being familiar with the location and venue as well as the local traffic times and mostly importantly how to get our gears there safely. Ideally we want to be able to bring all of our gear, even if we don’t get to use them all. Not getting the shot we wanted because we didn’t have the right lens at the right time was not something we wanted to experience. As well as for emergency in case we drop a lens, knock on wood it hasn’t happened yet but we have dropped our flash a couple of times! Call us paranoid (maybe a little) but if it does happen we are prepared as many of our lenses overlap ranges and we have lenses that can pull double duty. It turned out carrying all of our gears was a breeze! Thank you Think Tank! We used the amazing Think Tank Airport Carry On Roller Bag. This roller allowed us to bring all of our gear and feel safe about it. It also fit in the carry on overhead bins nicely. The lock did break on our way back, I think the TSA agents did something to it because it worked fine before they got their hands on it. No worries Think Tank has a lifetime warranty and had no problem replacing it. Gotta love good customer service!
All of our paranoia was for nothing..lol. We met Min and Kimo for the first time when they came and pick us up at our hotel for their engagement session a couple days before their wedding day. It was like meeting old friends. They drove us around downtown Honolulu where we shot their engagement session and then we stop at their venue to get a glimpse of it as well as to know how to get there. Min and Kimo had a smooth and perfect day. Much of it had to do with the great communication they had provided us, as well has hiring a great wedding day coordinator to keep things on track.
We started the day at the awesome Sheraton Hotel in Waikiki. It was right off the water and had a nice modern and classy feel to it. Just outside of the window you could see surfers catching the waves and people catching some rays at the infinity pool. The beach was literally a stone’s throw away from the hotel. We know which hotel we’re booking the next time we stay in Waikiki!
After getting ready we headed to their venue for their first look. Min and Kimo elected to do the first look at the YWCA in Lanakia. What a great venue! Cindy and I really appreciated the unique old school feel as we don’t see this type of venue much in Seattle. It wasn’t what normally comes to mind when you hear YWCA. It had plenty of character and was very appropriate for a tropical wedding, such as the cool archways and nice airy feel to things. Lanakia literally translated means ‘open skies’ or ‘wide horizons’. How appropriate! The ceremony and reception was held in a beautiful outside courtyard. Though we were pretty much in a business district of Honolulu, it felt more like we were at some island estate. Cool place indeed!
Min being Korean and Kimo Filipino are just like my parents. It’s not a common combination of ethnicities, so it was pretty cool to be able to shoot these two. Their wedding consisted of many familiar elements that made me really feel we were shooting a family member’s wedding versus a couple we had just met. Thank you Min and Kimo for allowing us the opportunity to shoot your dreamy wedding! Anytime you guys visit Seattle, feel free to hit us up for some great Seattle eating!
