Witlarge Family Portraits

My latest project was a Sunday Funday morning with the Witlarge family. Their session was photographed on the East side of Oahu, Hawaii. I’ve known Malia and Dwight for a while and in fact I did their maternity photos when they were pregnant with their oldest girl. It was my first time meeting their daughters and they were so much fun to photograph. They LOVED the swing, especially Malia (mom) LOL!!! Maybe next time we can get Dwight (dad) to have fun on the swing as well!

At one point during the session it started to rain (as it usually does in the morning on this side of the island) but it didn’t stop them from having a fun time! Since they were already wet from the rain, the family decided to have fun on the shoreline too.

At the end of the session, the girls wanted to build a sandman (Rasta style). I must say their sandman turn out cute!!! Thank you Witlarge Ohana for letting me capture these precious moments for you.

Pierantozzi Family Portraits

I absolutely loved photographing the Pierantozzi family from California. Their son is definitely a firecracker and a handsome hapa boy (Hapa means half and half nationality in Hawaiian). For the past two years, the Pierantozzi’s celebrate Mia’s (mom) birthday by coming to Hawaii for a vacation. This year her birthday present was delayed by a month but the important thing is, they made it to Hawaii!

We met at the lobby of the Turtle Bay Resort and our original plan was to take pictures at Makapu’u Beach but the strong trade winds rearranged our plans so we decided to take their pictures near the horse stables. Their son, Bryce, was very curious to see and touch the sand here in Hawaii because where they come from, the sand is a bit harder and easier to walk in. He was mesmerized by the way his feet would disappear into the soft white sand, LOL!

It was a fun morning and I can’t wait to see them again next year hopefully. Mahalo Chris, Mia and Bryce!

Ko'olau Fall Bridal Open House 2018

It’s that time of the year again future brides! Do you dream of having the majestic Ko’olau mountains as your backdrop on your wedding day? Look no further!

This Wednesday, October 10, 2018, the Ko’olau Ballrooms will be hosting it’s annual Fall Bridal Open House from 5:30pm-9:30pm. Myself along with other top wedding professionals from Hawaii will be there for you to meet in person!

There will also be food sampling, entertainment, prize giveaways and the admission is FREE! So mark your calendar, bring your bridal entourage and I’ll see you there!

You can RSVP at rsvp@koolauballrooms.com or call them at 808-954-7000.

Yamamoto Family Portraits

It was a year ago that Kevin and Morgan’s daughter, Paige, was barely a year old on their first family portrait shoot at Puu Ualakaa State Park at Roundtop Drive. This year, we used the beautiful backdrop of Waimanalo Bay Beach Park (Sherwood Forest). Paige has grown so much in one year. She now talks and walks and tells her furry brother, Koge, what to do (It’s so cute!). She also has a special word when ever you want her to laugh, “Dodo!”

Her furry brother, Koge, is also very energetic, photogenic (as you can see in the photos) and loves the ocean. At one point during the session, Koge was showing off to his human sister, Paige, by jumping as high as he could to try and take away the leash from his human daddy, Kevin.

I’m excited to see what next year will bring for this amazing family. Hopefully Paige will appreciate the sand crabs her daddy catches. Thank you Kevin, Morgan, Paige and Koge for having me capture your precious moments!

Hawaii Destination Wedding | Giorgia and Damon

September 30, 2015

Family and friends of Damon and Giorgia flew to Oahu from all over the world to witness their Hawaii wedding.  Our couple from Australia had planned to perform two ceremonies to accommodate both religions: Christian and Persian.

The first ceremony would be a Christian ceremony, performed by the Pastor John Fuchigami, at the Akala Chapel.  Shortly after the first ceremony, the second ceremony would be a short-version of a Persian ceremony.  The Persian ceremony was performed in the Rainbow Suite, which was transformed to accommodate this amazing ceremony.  With the help of family members and the staff from Savvy Weddings, a section of the Rainbow Suite was transformed into something I had not seen before.  I was truly amazed at the detail work that was done for this lavish event.  The details consisted of a variety of ornaments, fruits, cookies, a little bowl of honey, two cylinder blocks made of sugar, a white cloth to hold over the couple during the ceremony and a padded bench for the couple to sit on.  

During the ceremony the bride is presented with gifts from the grooms family.  At the same time, members from both families held the white cloth over the bride and groom.  One person was assigned to rub two cylinders of sugar over the cloth and another would be doing some sort of sewing on the white cloth.  Once the bride accepts the marriage, the couple would dip their pinky fingers into the bowl of honey and feed each other the honey to signify their marriage.  Then the guests would shower the newlywed with flower petals.  

The reception was nothing short of fun as well.  The laughs, smiles and love for each other really showed on each and every persons face in the room.  One thing that caught my attention was a knife dance performance prior to the cake cutting ceremony.  In a Persian wedding reception, one person from the groom’s family would perform a dance displaying the knife to be used to cut the cake.  Before the knife could be handed over to the couple, the groom would have to present the knife dancer with gifts or money.  Once accepted, the knife will then be handed over to the newlywed so that they can continue with the cake cutting ceremony.  The rest of the night ended with lots and lots of dancing!

Experiencing a Persian wedding was truly amazing.  I can only imagine what it would have been like had it been the full version.  Thank you Damon and Giorgia for sharing this experience with me!  Aussie-Aussie-Aussie!!! Oy-oy-oy!!!

Thanks to the following vendors who helped make their day possible!

Coordinator: Savvy Weddings

Entertainment: David Asing

Cake Design: Cake Works

Videographer: Digital Expressions

Hair/Makeup: Faith and Beauty

Venue: Hilton Hawaiian Village

Officiant: Pastor John Fuchigami

Ceremony Venue: Akala Chapel

Florist: Spinning WEB Florist

DJ: Status Entertainment

Linen/Décor: Wedding Linen Company