I’m going to start this post with something non-wedding related. Michael has many happy memories from Hawaii, where his Nana had a vacation home. I’ve seen many photos of him as a child playing on the beach, and swinging on banyan trees. I was excited to visit Hawaii with my family for Kendra and Rene’s wedding, and to start creating some of those memories for my children. This is one of my favourite moments from our trip – on our last day on Oahu we drove around the island and found a secluded beach (where the TV show Lost was filmed). As we walked along, we spotted a lone sea turtle on the beach, and many more swimming in the waves. No tour guide, no other tourists, just us, our very excited little boy, and our very own sea turtle. It was perfect.
It’s magic like this that makes Hawaii so special, and I can easily see why Kendra & Rene chose paradise for their destination wedding. Kendra is the sister of David who we photographed several years ago, so it was wonderful for us to celebrate with their family again.
Kendra is stunning, I had such a wonderful time photographing her.
She attracted quite a bit of attention from the (other) tourists!
Rene and his brother.
Their ceremony at the Outrigger Reef was perfect – a beautiful tent to shade the guests from the tropical sun, and a gorgeous arch with a palm tree backdrop. The best part – no one had to get sand in their shoes!
Kendra requested ‘hand-tied tropical bouquets’ – I think the hotel did an outstanding job.
This shot was a fluke – we were walking to another location when I stopped dead in my tracks, pointed, and said ‘I need you to go THERE’. I was recently asked by a prospective client what my strategy is for photography. It’s not that I don’t have one, but I love being surprised and finding something amazing.
The sunset reception at the hotel was incredible – wonderful food, a beautiful cake (complete with graham cracker crumb sand!) and Kendra & Rene treated their guests to a luau!
The following day we joined Kendra & Rene for more photos – we could have spent hours in the banyan tree alone. Hawaii is so beautiful and so inspirational – the perfect way to head into our busy summer.
You can’t have a wedding in Hawaii and not take advantage of the stunning sunset.
Congratulations Kendra & Rene, and thank you for bringing us all the way to Hawaii for your wedding in paradise. Aloha!
