Being able to do what you enjoy for a living makes every day a pleasure, but some assignments really remind you how lucky you are. When I met up with the lovely couple Stacey and Savas in the UK to discuss their future wedding, little did I know I would be travelling 7,280 miles to Oahu in Hawaii for one of the most exciting jobs of my career.
The perfect venue, a relaxed setting right on the beach, and the sun and the sand that make Hawaii such a popular destination – everything was in place for a magical day. But what really set this wedding apart was the people; 12 incredible guests and of course, the bride and groom, who I think are just brilliant.
The story begins with Barry (my fantastic assistant) and I leaving London in the early hours of Sunday morning, for a long, 11 hour flight to Los Angeles International Airport. We then jumped on a rather uncomfortable flight to Honolulu, but any weariness from the travelling was negated by the overriding feeling of excitement at what lay ahead.
After arriving on the Sunday night – what for us was now Monday afternoon – we stayed over in Waikiki before driving up the next morning to our Airbnb accommodation on the north shore. We’d managed to get ourselves a convertible Mustang as our hire car for the trip – oh yeah!
The day before the wedding we’d agreed to meet up and do a little pre-wedding shoot, which is usually a great opportunity to catch the happy couple in a slightly less formal way ahead of the big day. However, we’d brought the UK weather with us and a front had moved over the island. The rain was lashing down so we headed off and hoped for a break in the clouds.
Here’s a few photos from the pre-wedding shoot:
Fast forwarding to the wedding day itself, and unfortunately the weather had pretty much carried over from the day before, with contingency plans in place just in case the rain continued. Stacey and Savas were so relaxed about the prospect that it might rain! But as luck would have it, five minutes before the ceremony, the rain stopped.
The wedding ceremony was conducted in traditional Hawaiian style and the wedding venue – Tiki Moon Villas – offered stunning views of the sea right behind where the couple were getting married. It really was perfect.
After the wedding, the group danced and played games, enjoying each other’s company for the rest of the evening. The atmosphere was electric.
I would like to say a massive thank you to Stacey and Savas for asking me to photograph their wedding, and also to all of the guests that helped make this one of the most special events I have been involved with. Finally a huge thanks to Barry Stingmore for coming along and helping with lights, and also taking some pretty cool photos.
Here is the gallery from Stacey and Savas’ Hawaii wedding. Enjoy!
