The waves crashed upon the north shore of Oahu as the palm trees swayed in the tropical breeze. The breeze blew through the hotel suite, creating a fabulous, pulsing energy. The energy of the bridesmaids making the final touches on their dresses…the energy from the clicking of high heels on the hardwood floor…the energy from every final spritz of hairspray & every final stroke of mascara applied…the energy & the emotion that came when Shariana’s bridesmaids helped her get ready… As the last button on her wedding gown was buttoned, her sweet bridesmaids oohed & aahed over how incredibly amazing she looked. The waves crashed on the shore outside the hotel & it’s energy mimicked Shariana’s excited energy. This was a bride who was ready-ready to walk down the aisle & become Will’s fabulous wife.
The bride & groom were surrounded by family & friends for their gorgeous wedding. The ocean provided a turquoise backdrop for their seaside ceremony & after they said, “I Do,” they partied like there was no tomorrow. If you follow my blog, you know that I am such a sucker for details & this wedding was chalk full of them! I loved the strands of paper lanterns adorning the reception site, the darling hand fans that were given out as favors, I loved Shariana’s incredible shoes. The reception was filled with hula dancing, fire dancing & even fireworks! At the end of the night, the bride, groom & their friends splashed in the ocean & had the time of their lives. Like I told you, it was a party to remember.
Shariana & Will-I hope you know that I love being around the two of you. I love the connection you have as a couple-I love how fun you are together. I am so grateful for the opportunity to have photographed your wedding! I wish you nothing but a fabulous life full of wonderful love & fun! With deep gratitude…xoxo, marielle.
The view from Shariana’s suite overlooked Turtle Bay & was gorgeous…
Shariana’s wedding gown was absolutely stunning. I was obsessed with the ruffles…
Love the look on Shariana’s face as she sees Will waiting for her at the end of the aisle.
This is my favorite photograph of Shariana & Will from their wedding. They look sooooo amazing!
I was so, so, SO excited about this photograph. ANY bride who is willing to lay on the beach in her wedding gown gets a gold star in my book! Love this photo so much!
The food was amazing. Thanks to my fab husband for making the food look picture perfect before digging in!
There was a fire dancer at the wedding who was incredible!
Their love is sweet. Kind. Simple. Pure. Their love shines right through their souls & all the way down to their toes. In essence, their love is what I would say is pretty darn perfect.
Having the opportunity to photograph Jane & Alex’s was seriously such a dream for me. Not only was their wedding picture perfect, but Jane & Alex allotted a few extra hours on their special day for their bride & groom photographs. Note to all future brides & grooms: this is such a fabulous idea! We were able to spend so much time together & I was able to take them to a few amazing locations, which made for some pretty incredible photographs. I basically am obsessed with the photographs of Jane & Alex in the field…okay, I’m totally obsessed with them.
This is just my humble opinion, but I think that anyone who was in attendance would agree that this was a wedding that simply oozed perfection in every sense of the word. The simple & gorgeous details of Jane & Alex’s wedding were to die for: their amazing flowers, Jane’s intricate beaded gown, her custom necklace from November Thirteen, the couple’s first dance (it was choreographed!!), & even the flowers at the Oakland Temple looked extra gorgeous! In essence, their wedding was just as perfect, just as fabulous & just as beautiful as the love that Jane & Alex share!
Jane & Alex-I seriously LOVE you guys. You are both so sweet, kind & genuine & I hope you know I admire you both! I know your marriage will be just as amazing as the two of you are! With much love, xoxo, marielle.
The Oakland Temple’s flowers were beyond incredible. I think I got a little carried away with the photographs of the tulips!
This is hands down one of my favorite photographs of a bride ever. Jane, you are utterly gorgeous.
There was a wonderfully chaotic, exciting buzz that filled the air as Ben & Lisa’s wedding was about to begin…the final touches were put on centerpieces, guests shuffled to take their seats, the adorable flower girls giggled with excitement, groomsmen & bridesmaids lined up to walk down the aisle. As Lisa walked down the aisle & Ben saw his lovely bride for the first time; the chaos turned into pure bliss & contentment. Because for Ben & Lisa, when they are together, the world around them simply disappears.
I loved being a part of this wedding because both Ben & Lisa were amazingly kind, sweet & fabulous. They wanted their wedding to be a celebration of not only their love, but a celebration of all the people in their lives who have helped & supported them through the nine years they have been together. They chose to be married on Valentines Day which made the mood of their wedding even more amazing. I loved the darling flower girls, Lisa’s simple yet amazing bouquet, the delicious sunshine that shined on during the ceremony…I just loved every single thing about this beautiful wedding!
Thank you, Ben & Lisa for letting me be a part of your lovely, perfect wedding day. It’s people like you who make me love my job even more than I already do. Your love & thoughtfulness towards each other is so evident & so incredible to witness. I wish you all the happiness that this life has to offer! xoxo, marielle.
Looooooved this adorable, attentive ring bearer during the ceremony. So cute!
Definitely my favorite photograph from this wedding. I love everything about this photograph!
I had so much fun with these ring shots! Couldn’t pass up having some fun with the Valentines Day candy!
How, oh HOW has it been a whole week since I’ve blogged? I’ve had a crazy busy week & by the end of the week I will have photographed three weddings! Wedding season is here & in full force! Let me tell you, I am looking forward to 2010 & all the amazing weddings that I am lucky enough to be a part of. Call it a crazy hunch, but I think 2010 is going to rock my socks!
Here’s a sneak peek from a Valentines Day wedding I shot this week. I love the feel of this photograph…so timeless & gorgeous!
I’m looking forward to shooting this couple’s wedding on Friday at the Oakland Temple….
And I’m looking forward to heading out to Hawaii on Saturday for this couple’s wedding….
When I look back on my wedding, I look at it & remember every single perfect detail. I remember all my friends & family who came to celebrate. I remember the way I felt in my dress & how excited I was to become a Mrs! When I look back on my wedding day, there is only one thing that I think I would change. I wish more than anything that Sam & I would have opted to see each other before our wedding so we could have a First Look.
For those of you who’ve never heard of a First Look, it’s what all the cool kids are doing. Seeing each other before the wedding ceremony takes place & having your photographer snap some incredible memories for you while it happens. Some couples have chosen to take their Bride & Groom photographs the day before the wedding & some couples have chosen to take their Bride & Groom photographs before the wedding ceremony. Either way, I am always soooooooo excited when couples choose to see each other before the ceremony in their wedding day attire. It’s such a good idea that I could go on & on & on about it. Obviously as a photographer, I prefer for my clients to opt for a First Look, but how do my clients feel about seeing each other before their they walk down the aisle?
Some of my clients have decided to push tradition aside & to go ahead with the First Look. And I’m happy to say that each one of them has been totally happy with the experience. I’ve asked them to share their experience…
From Brandon & Rachel:
“The one aspect of our wedding that we wanted to put extra effort into were the pictures. It was our photographer who would be preserving the most important memories of our lives. When Marielle gave us the idea to take formal pictures as ‘bride and groom’ before our wedding, we knew it was what we needed. They say it is bad luck for the groom to see his bride in her dress before the wedding day. Well we’ve found it to be the exact opposite. Taking formal ‘bridals’ beforehand eased such a stressful burden off our backs on the actual day. It is always hard to plan for every contingency come your wedding. Our ceremony ran late and we knew we had a reception to get to and guests to greet. But we weren’t worried about sacrificing great picture taking time because we had so many excellent shots already. All in all, it was a great decision for us. And there’s been no bad luck to speak of! We look back on all the many pictures Marielle took of us, and couldn’t be happier. And to us, those pictures represent so much more than just one day in our lives, but our entire relationship and the happiness we’ve experienced from it. We spend hours at a time looking over all the wonderful memories Marielle captured for us, and we couldn’t be happier. We would never have had so many pictures of us looking so great had we not chosen to do formal bridals together as bride and groom. We definitely recommend to all our friends that they do the same thing.”
From Connie & Mark:
For sentimental reasons, we knew that seeing each other on the day of our wedding was going to be overwhelmingly emotional. Whether Mark saw me before the ceremony or right before I walked down the aisle, it would be a special and memorable moment either way. I knew it’d be special for us to be alone for the first time we got to see each other so we could really take in the moment with each other. It was super intimate to get almost a whole hour of just him and me – the ONLY time in the entire day where we got to be alone together on our wedding day.
Logistically, it was efficient. We knew after the ceremony our family and friends would be lingering to take photos, so we didn’t want to keep them waiting if we went to take our portraits first. On the second hand, we didn’t want to take all the family photos first then be pressed for time to rush our photos and make it to the reception on time.
The rest of the day you’re hosting 100+ guests, and you don’t get to be alone on your wedding day until the very end when you’re exhausted, but happy, obviously. Taking photos before the wedding unfolds is a great experience to be alone when we are both freshly made up, energy and jitters are high, and you get better photos when you’re that energetic and excited! With extra time, you get to use the photographer’s creativity for longer – you get a lot of fun and artistic photos you may not have time for later.
Finally, both moments were so different – seeing each other for the first time on the wedding day and seeing each other on opposite sides of the aisle. In a sense we created an extra special moment on the wedding day. Mark thought it might ruin how he would react to seeing me for the first time standing with my father, but he said it was a completely different reaction seeing me for the first time alone. It’s like he got a very special privilege seeing me before all the guests – that’s a pretty cool gift to your groom!
From Sarah & Mike:
We decided to take the majority of our photos the day before our wedding. It turned out to be one of the best decisions we made in planning for the big day. We met Marielle for a three hour photo shoot and we were able to take all the pictures we wanted and more. Without the busy schedule of the actual wedding day, we had time to shoot in a variety of locations in the Bay Area. It was wonderful to spend time with each other the day before our wedding—we were excited, relaxed and enjoyed being together. On our wedding day, we took a few additional pictures with family, friends, and the wedding party, but for the most part we had all the photos we wanted from the day before. Instead of being pulled away to take photos, we were able to talk with guests who had traveled to Oakland and really soak in the joy our wedding day. In the end we ended up with so many beautiful photos because we had the advantage of a two-day photo shoot.
Whether you decided to see each other right before the ceremony or a few days before the wedding, it’s a fabulous idea. Ultimately you will have more time for photographs & more time to create incredible memories! So, heads up to all you future brides- the way to get the most bang for your buck is to opt for a First Look!!!
