Weekly Wedding Tips #3

Help... I need an assistant... hehe! I will be posting the weekly wedding tip in the next few days. I'm running really behind because it's been a bit busy. Thank you for being so patient. ;-)

Jessica - Maui Portrait & Lifestyle Photography

I have had the privilege to photography many women in my career. Some are shy, some are quite bold and love the camera... but never have I photographed someone who is shy but is an absolute natural to photograph. I had the opportunity to photograph Jessica on Superbowl Sunday. She was a bit shy, having not really been photographed at this extent before in the past... but she was a natural and the camera absolutely loved her. Thank you Jessi for allowing me to photograph you. ;-)

Here's a few shots from her shoot.

Weekly Wedding Tips #2 - The Wedding Invitation

The Wedding Invitation ~

The Invitation to your wedding is just as important as your wedding cake. It helps to establish the theme of your wedding and most importantly, it tells your guests when, where and what. Many couples planning their wedding day do not put much emphasis on their wedding invitation because it is something that they may consider trivial or useless... however, I beg to differ.

A Wedding Invitation sets the state for the type of ambiance that can be expected at your wedding, down to the crystal glassware and/or porcelain chargers... or in some cases, the paper plates and plastic forks and spoons. When creating an invitation - let it speak for you, presenting your guests with a sneak peak of what they have in store for your wedding ceremony & reception.

With our economy in a recession and everyone thinking more budget friendly - there are always ways to make a Gorgeous Invite without putting a large dent in our wallets. When my husband and I got married almost 9 years ago, you could not find invitation stationary with envelopes that you could print at home so I went to a specialty paper store and chose a paper with matching envelopes that would represent my wedding as well as the feel I wanted to portray for my special day. I went home, worked up a bunch of mock ups for the invite and settled on one that I truly loved. It was simple but elegant and even though I bought special paper to use, it was still VERY inexpensive in comparison to the types you buy from huge Invitation Makers.

Now a days - there are "Print your own Invite" kits sold at almost every store from Target and Walmart to Office Max. They have the embossed borders with silver and gold inlay or plain ones that include vellum and all of them can be printed on a standard ink jet printer. They are quite affordable - ranging from $15-$50 for 50 invites, envelopes and sometimes they even include programs. This is a great option for the "Budget Friendly, Do it Yourself" Bride & Groom ;-) If you don't want to do it yourself - there is always the option of working with an Invitation maker to complete your invite for you. Though you are looking on spending a huge cost at times, if this is the route you want to go - you can pretty much guarantee your invites will be beautiful as well.

Another option is a service that Ho'onani Photography provides to our couples as well. It is the Photo Wedding Invite. We have packages that include 50+ invites with envelopes and they are very affordable ranging in sizes to meet every couple's need. How this works is: You would meet with a photographer (like us) or just take a beautiful picture on your own. Design the invite with all the much needed information and then have it printed on photo paper (or in some cases they can be printed on postcards, etc.) and mailed out. When we have a couple that books an engagement session, they have the choice of using their images from the shoot and have us design an invite to fit their needs. This is a popular idea that seems to be ever growing and most photographers have some type of options for doing so. If this is the route you are looking to go - when you plan to photograph your Engagement Session, ask your photographer if this is a service they provide and if they can include it in your package or have the option to do so.

When it comes to Wedding Invites, there are so many ways to be creative and showcase your theme and love as a couple. If you are crafty... pull out those scissors and hot glue gun and hand make your beautiful invites. I hear that the Cricut is also an awesome tool for putting beautiful hand crafted invites together and you can save a lot of money by going this route. Remember to plan out what you want your invite to say, ahead of time... so as to not be rushed or have problems when the time comes. Utilize your Wedding Binder to put the samples of your invites in and make sure to always follow your heart when choosing what is right for you. It doesn't hurt to get a second opinion - but don't let that opinion outrule what you really want if this is something you have your heart set on.

I wish you tons of luck, happiness and fun in finding that perfect Wedding Invite. ;-)

2010 - New Year, Exciting Changes

2010 has begun and it is definitely a year with Many Exciting Changes. As many of you know... Each year, we make changes to our website, blog and galleries to add new flare to our business. Our changes this year reflect a sunnier side of our personalities. If you take note of our splash page, blog and flash site, it has a brighter, cleaner, white backdrop in comparison to our usual Black backgrounds. 2010 is a year for bright cheery changes and sunny outlooks and we wanted our personalities to be portrayed in our sites.

We also have many other changes that we are excited about. As mentioned in our previous post - we have started the "Wedding Tip of the Week!" We hope that this will help new brides/grooms in the planning of their upcoming special day.

Specials and Discounts Galore! Starting with our Engagement/Couple Free Photo Session for Valentine's Day, we are looking forward to rolling out many more specials that are perfect for every budget and to reward our clients with awesome deals.

We look forward to working with our past and new clientele and are ecstatic that 2010 will be an awesome year. ;-)

Introducing... Weekly Wedding Tips - 1st Wedding Tip in the series

Having been a bride once before... (almost 9 years ago) and having planned numerous events as well as photographed them, I must say that I have some insight on a thing or two about weddings. I wanted to ensure that I pass on this useful knowledge to my clients (old & new), fellow photogs, vendors and my twitter followers, blog readers and facebook fans. Each week (I'm shooting for Mondays), I will be posting a "Weekly Wedding Tip" that I hope will assist future bride & grooms or those looking for inspiration in their upcoming wedding. The tips will include everything from general information to info meant mainly for Hawaii Brides & Grooms. I also hope to have a few inspirational quotes listed from time to time. I hope that this will benefit everyone in their plans for the special event.

My goal is to provide important information and ways to help make the planning process go smoothly. ;-)

If you have a special tip that you would like listed, send me a comment or an email with the info.

WEDDING TIP #1:

"Use a binder to jot your notes, vendors contact information, meetings, ideas & to stay organized. "

With many Brides & Grooms taking charge and planning their own wedding, whether it be because they need to be more budget conscious or because they like to be in charge... this is a sure way to keep everything organized and neat. Wedding Planning Binders can be costly or sometimes they are not published with information pertaining to your location... so this can be the perfect substitute. Though - I must say, if you are able to get your hands on a Wedding Planning Binder from the store and it is tailored to your every need, make use of them... they have very valuable information. ;-)

By the time I walked down the isle in 2001... my binder was so HUGE - it couldn't even close. But, I had every idea for the wedding in one place and I knew exactly where all the information was. My binder consisted of some of the following things:

• Date, Time, Location and other information pertaining to the wedding ceremony, reception and rehearsal.
• Vendors that I had previously contacted for services, their prices, my pros & cons with hiring them, samples of their work and if I did hire them... a copy of their contracts.
• Invitation and stationary samples... this one is important, especially if you are choosing corresponding ribbons to go with napkin rings/holders, decor, etc.
• Wedding Vows (I wrote my wedding vows more than 5 times and they were all different. In the end I was able to combine words from each one to make the perfect vows for the wedding... though I was so nervous, I didn't end up using them... hehe!)
• Favors, decorations, Ribbons & Balloons and Floral Samples... everything you can think of that will go with the decor from actual samples to photographs should be included. This will allow you to pick and choose and always reflect back to what you decided upon. This is equally important if you decide upon a design - pay a vendor for that look (that they said they could recreate) and Heaven forbid, they aren't able to pull it off... this is a great documentation to use later.
  
• Any Documentation from a vendor: including but not limited to emails, mailers, approvals, quotes, etc. If you agree on a certain design or photograph of something, have the vendor initial and date (you do this too) on the photograph acknowledging that they know what you want. This will protect you later.
  
• Bridal party attire - photos & sample material swatches. It makes a whole lot of difference on how something will look on someone, depending on the type of fabric and cut that is used. This is a perfect area to also list the measurements of everyone in your bridal party so that you will always have this info on hand. That way, if someone is not available, you already have their measurements for last minute questions.
• Music Choices. You can write/list the name of the song and the artist and if you want, you can even separate them by Genre. This comes in handy and this list should be provided to your DJ for his/her reference.
  
• Photography/Videography information. I used this area to put CD/DVD samples, flyers and samples from the Photographer & Videographer.
  
• Transportation - if you are renting limousines, town cars, etc. - this is a perfect place to put photographs of the vehicles you choose to ride in, vendor contracts, etc.
• Cake & Caterer - contracts, photographs, set up outlines and designs... menus, etc. All of that will be placed here for your reference. You can also have a list of vendors that you did taste testing with and your comments next to the items on how you enjoyed or disliked the tasting.
• Officiant - you can combine this information with your vows if you like. This is a perfect place to keep your information on the Marriage License, wedding vows, certificates, etc.
  

There can be many more tabs and dividers that can be used for your Binder along with other topics pertaining specifically to your wedding... and you can decorate it to match your theme or however you decide. It is good habit to take your binder with you to your vendor meetings and when doing Wedding errands to keep you organized. You can easily purchase a binder from any office depot, officemart or officemax store for a few dollars or more and you can make your own dividers or buy premade ones there as well. Another good thing to have are binder wallets that you can seal with a velcro or string to keep your samples from falling out of the binder (especially DVD or CD samples) and many office supply stores have filing envelopes that you can reuse for this very purpose. Business Card Sheets and Sheet Protectors are an awesome way to keep things neat, organized and clean too. Don't forget to have a pen handy and a note pad that already has 3 holes punched in it for easy filing into your binder.

If you have any questions regarding other things you can input into your Wedding Binder... feel free to let me know. I wish you awesome Wedding Planning & Organizing and hope these tips help you along your journey.

Calling all Couples - Valentine's Day Special

Love is in the Air and Cupid is releasing his arrow all over the place. Ho'onani Photography would like to help Cupid this year and offer an Awesome Valentine's Day Special
to get couples in the Love Groove.

So... what's the Special?

Ho'onani Photography is offering
FREE VALENTINE'S DAY PHOTOGRAPHY SESSIONS for Couples.
This is perfect for couples who are newly engaged
or those who are just looking to get a special photograph taken of them.

Guys... use this as a Gift to your Hunny - a way to express your Love for her.
Ladies... this is your time to go all out and dress to impress.

Getting Married - use this as your Engagement Session and you can use the prints/photos
for your Wedding Stationary, Invitations, etc. (we can design that for you too).

Prints and DVD with all of your images are provided for a fee.
Book your session date before Valentine's Day (February 14th, 2010) to Qualify.
Session does not have to take place before Valentine's Day -
but must be done before the end of 2010.

Session includes:
30 Minute Couples Photo session.
(Kihei or Central Areas are included. West Side and other areas for a fee)
FREE Online Proofing Gallery with embedded Links for email provided for 30 days.
FREE low res image provided for use on your Facebook, Myspace, Website, etc.
(company watermark will be placed on image)
FREE 8x10 included with purchase of a Print Package or DVD.

This offer is a Huge Steal.
A 30 minute Photo Session is valued at $350 and you are getting it for FREE. ;-)

Contact us for details.
Phone: (808) 870-5597
www.hoonaniphotography.com
info@hoonaniphotography.com

Here are a few samples of a couple we photographed for an Engagement/Couples Session.
We look forward to working with you.

Happy Holidays to all...

Happy Holidays. We hope that all of our Family, Friends and Clients are enjoying this Holiday Season as much as we are and we are surely looking forward to a Happy and Prosperous 2010.

So much has happened in 2009 for our Family. Our lives changed forever, with the birth of our Twins - bringing our family from 3 members to 5 overnight. Luke Keoki and Isaiah Keali'i graced our lives on September 8th and have been great companions for their older brother Ka'eo. They are now almost 4 months old and are busy cooing and kicking - and keeping us on our toes. They like to giggle and smile when they are tickled and enjoy being talked to and engaged in conversation. At first, they did not like riding in the car... but it has grown on both of them. ;-)

Ka'eo (Kevin) is in Kindergarten and he is loving all the adventures that come with going to school. Though he still enjoys Spiderman, he has been venturing into new types of Superheros and other Cartoon figures like Ben 10 Alien Force and of course, Transformers. Now that he is a big boy, he's been able to help his Daddy & Papa George with putting up the big tents for parties and the Christmas lights at our House and Grandma K.'s - he's truly enjoying his time with the big boys. We just can't believe he will be 6 in about a month - where has the time gone? He REALLY loves his baby brothers and looks forward to every second he gets to spend with them. Kevin and I are truly lucky to have such an independent and loving son as our oldest - his brothers are lucky too. ;-)

Our Dog Koa is "same ol Koa". Always looking for love and attention. He is 10 years old already and is keeping himself busy chasing after the creatures that grace his play area. He's still very active for his age... though we swear that he is a puppy instead of an adult doggie... he always wants to play. ;-)

Kevin and I are doing well. As any parent knows... we've been keeping busy with the babies and Ka'eo and trying to balance work and home life. Kevin is now a Recruit for the Maui County Police Department and this is a new venture from his last line of work. Ho'onani Photography did quite well this year. We have been lucky to have worked with many awesome clients this year and have taken many awesome photographs as well. We've been able to meet with clientele from all over the States - from California to New York. We have also had the privilege to meet new vendors and network with companies and individuals all over the world... VERY COOL!

This year has definitely brought us many challenges and many blessings. Thank you all for being a part of our lives and we hope you all have an awesome Holiday Season and wish you the best for 2010.

Love & Aloha,
Kevin, Honey, Ka'eo, Luke & Isaiah

Braceros/Hinau Family Portraits

I have been very lucky in my career to have met and photographed many people with all kinds of personalities. One family that has been our constant clients have been the Braceros/Hinau 'ohana. Last year, we had the privilege of photographing their family portraits for their Christmas cards... and wedding photos for Joe & Kim. This year, they are back again... first, allowing me to capture Corrina & Hoalii's school portraits and again, their family photos for their Christmas cards this year.

This past Sunday, we found ourselves up at the Ali'i Kula Lavender Farm, where the mist was slowly creeping over the mountains. The overcast made way for great photo lighting... and of course, the family photos came natural for this large family... (though we were missing a few children this time) ;-)

Here are a few photos from the session. Thanks to Joe & Kim and all the keiki for always calling us for your photos... we enjoy working with you all and look forward to our next session together. ;-)