Flower Showers, Bubble Showers, and Feather Showers...oh my!

Photo by Amodo Photo

It appears the tradition of throwing rice, symbolizing the bestowing of prosperity on the bride and groom, has become "untraditionalized," evidenced by the fact that in 12 years of planning weddings, we have not once witnessed a wedding where rice was thrown. It is said that the uncooked grains of rice pose health risks to the birds who might eat them. However, several pretty alternatives exist, and make for great photos, too.

Photo by Kai Photo

One of the most popular in Hawaii, would be the tossing of rose petals. They seem to drift upon the couple, truly highlighting them as the stars of the day.

For guests' ease, petals may be inserted into petal cones like these, designed by Emi Ink, to match with the rest of the couple's wedding stationery.

Photo by Kai Photo

These petals cones, sweetly affixed to the backs of the chairs, and feature petals in the form of the original rose blooms.

Bubbles make for beautiful photos as well...

Photo by Kai Photo

As do a mixture of petals, bubbles, and feathers...

Photo by Eclat Photography

Consider the look you would prefer your wedding and choose accordingly. Happy Planning!

Tips and Advice: selecting the right people to be on your bridal party

Photo by Eugene Kam Photography

I cannot underscore enough the importance of picking the right people to serve as your bridesmaids and groomsmen. On several occasions in my wedding planning career, brides and grooms have confided in me, sharing their frustration with the bridesmaid who seldom calls back... or the groomsman whose arm has to be twisted to go in for a tuxedo fitting... or the opinionated bridal party member who shoots down all of the bride's ideas for her wedding... or even the groomsmen who never plan a bachelor "outing" for the groom... It breaks my heart when couples do not receive the support they should when preparing for such a significant occasion in their lives.

Part of the problem lies in the choice of bridal party members. Often times, couples select bridesmaids and groomsmen out of obligation. They feel they ought to ask certain people to be on their bridal party because this is their oldest friend, or their future sister/brother-in-law, or because the other person asked him/her to be on that person's bridal party previously... There are countless reasons why couples have chosen someone to be on their bridal party just because they felt they should.

However, I would urge couples to instead consider those individuals who will truly take their role as bridesmaid or groomsman to heart. These people should be ones who sincerely care for the bride and groom, and who will take an active part in helping the bride or groom ensure the success of their wedding. Such bridesmaids and groomsmen, maids of honor and best men, make all the difference in seeing to it that the bride and groom enjoy not just their wedding day, but the process of planning it leading up to that special occasion.

Photo by Kris Labang Photography

I have witnessed a number of instances where members of the bridal party have gone above and beyond the call of duty to make the bride's or groom's experience extra special. Some will go shopping with the bride for her gown, or they will even plan unique and creative bonding events such as a bridal party scavenger hunt before the wedding. Another memorable example was the planning and preparation of skits for the couple, performed at their wedding receptions. Even just basic and kind-hearted gestures like helping to assemble favors or helping the couple by running errands for them can make all the difference in a couple feeling supported and extra excited about tying the knot. When it comes to selecting your bridal party members, choose wisely; you'll thank me for it.Photo by Kai Photo

Happy planning!

Tips and Advice: prepare photos from your hair and make-up trial for your wedding

Hair and make-up trial or practice sessions with your hair and make-up artist prior to the wedding day help tremendously to solidify your bridal look. We recommend taking photos from the trial session and bringing them with you on the day of your wedding, to best jog your hair and make-up stylist's memory so that s/he can replicate the look, or can adjust the style as you wish by referencing the photos. Some hair and make-up artists will take and bring their own photos of you from the trial for your wedding, but if not, be prepared and take some on your own to best ensure the look you're most happy with on your wedding day.

Note how well Nica Jacinto of Flaunt replicated Shirley's hair and make-up style from the trial session style on the wedding day.

Photos by Kai Photo

Tips and Advice: devise a shot list

As the saying goes, "hindsight 20-20." In retrospect, many couples after their wedding wish their photographer and/or videographer had captured, say, more images of the guests, or a shot just with grandma, or some of the key moments and special touches planned for the day. Of course, nothing can replace those memories, but documenting them through film truly helps to relive those memories and to share them with others.

For those in the process of planning their wedding, we suggest creating a photo shot list, to include things that the photographer and videographer would not intuitively know to capture. For example, it would be unnecessary to include "bride and groom together" on the shot list because naturally, your photographer and videographer will know to shoot this, but the out of the ordinary requests are those that should definitely be included. Perhaps you would like a close-up of your grandmother's handkerchief that she has shared with you for your wedding, or it could be a photo sharing a toast with the groomsmen and the fathers prior to the ceremony. What touching images these would make!

To illustrate, here are some shot requests by other brides and grooms...

The bride and groom's "first sight" shot when they see each other for the first time on their wedding day, but the groom instead being more overwhelmed to see his "true love" (his car)

Photos by Kai Photo

A photo with the littlest and dearest member of the family - their dog

Photo by Kris Labang Photography

Photos at sunset

Photo by Kris Labang Photography

Photo of the bride and groom shooting themselves with their cell phones (to tie into their "When Apple Meets Droid" theme) after being pronounced "husband and wife"

Photo by Kai Photo

Note: an overly extensive shot list will mean that your photographer and videographer may end up spending more time checking things off the list than on capturing some great candids, so review your list with your wedding planner, photographer, and videographer to ensure that the list makes sense given the timing of the day.

Happy Planning!

The Knot's 2011 Cocktails and Connections Honolulu event - Part 2

Photos by Chrissy Lambert Photography

The Knot's Cocktails and Connections 2011 Honolulu event for wedding industry professionals featured such a plethora of creative contributions by so many of O'ahu's talented vendors, that one blog entry just would not adequately sum up the many facets of the event. Here's part 2 of my recap of the August 23, 2011 event held at the YWCA.

To create much of the ambiance, particularly after the sun had set, Eggshell Light Company "worked their magic" to highlight the different areas of the space and to create a festive and dramatic mood. The playful patterns projected onto the courtyard, against the walls, and into the swimming pool effectively yet subtly broke up the space without shining into guests' eyes. Even the layers of colors created by selecting different hues for the foreground and background created lots of visual interest, not often seen at weddings with hard-and-fast color palettes.

Entertainment for the evening consisted of a slam poetry performance by Kealoha of Slam Hawai'i, a flare bartending performance by Ryan Pierce of Lift Your Spiritz, on-site painting of the night's scene by Kimi Werner, a same day edit featuring guests in attendance, and a very special presentation from The Knot.

As a parting gift, guests chose a bottle of their favorite Waialua Soda flavor (root beer, pineapple vanilla cream, mango, Kona Red, or lilikoi). Each bottle sported a favor tag from Emi Ink to match the rest of the stationery items, and the gilded frame on the table from Scene Events instructed guests to help themselves. These bottles could then be tucked into a swag bag filled with goodies including delightful chocolate dipped sweets from Big Island Candies; a gift certificate for wine tasting for two and corkscrew from Oeno Winemaking; a water bottle from The Knot; and a chocolate bar with gift card entitling the bearer to 20% off spa services from The Spa at Trump.

Before bidding each other a fond aloha and goodnight, participating vendors gathered round for a group photo, waving "shaka" (or "hang loose") signs in the air. As with any event, it amazes me to see months of hard work pass by in just a few short hours, but the good times had by all make it always well worth the effort. A sincere and heartfelt mahalo goes out to all who contributed to making the event possible, and to those who took time out of their busy schedules to join us.

The Knot's 2011Cocktails and Connections Honolulu event

If you by chance happen to be reading this, then you are already familiar with The Knot and its tremendous presence in the wedding industry. Understandably, then, you can imagine what an honor it was for us to be asked to orchestrate their Cocktails and Connections event in Honolulu earlier this year (on August 23, 2011, to be exact). Our response was a hearty "yes" and we dove right in to the planning.

As with planning any event, one of the very first steps involves selecting the location. Darby Sherwood, Account Executive for The Knot, simply requested that the venue be one that was located in Honolulu, and rather new or unpublicized in wedding circles. After a couple of site visits and a bit of deliberation, the YWCA Laniakea emerged as the choice of locale.

The YWCA's stately architecture drew to mind images of grand European fine art museums and hence arose the museum theme for the event. To bring to life the theme, we enlisted the services of stationer, Stacey Shiroma Branch of Emi Ink, who created beautiful program with fold-out maps and admission tickets for guests upon arrival, and placards for the various "art" displayed throughout the venue. In fact, even the valet tickets were customized to match all of the stationery pieces in matching fonts and card stocks.

As far as "art" was concerned for the museum theme, human statues graced the hall, and were poised on custom-made all white platforms beneath the charmeuse draped arches along the hall. Christine Gardner and Nica Jacinto of Flaunt airbrushed the models in gold make up to match the wedding gowns, also painted in gold by Christine. The placards on the platforms describing each statue completed the look for the "Hall of Statues" created in the space that separated the pool from the Courtyard.

Other pieces of "art" included the floral displays by Spinning WEB Florist, placed purposefully in the middle of the Courtyard, as well as in the "Portrait Gallery," which by day, serves as the YWCA's Cafe Laniakea. Wendy of Spinning WEB added a Midas touch to many of the items, playing with the white and gold color scheme of the event, incorporating over-sized frames to further emphasize the fine art feel. We added stanchions from Accel Party Rentals and Designs as well, to rope off the floral portraits on the walls, as one would find in many major museums. To top it off, benches from Vignette in front of each of the floral designs allowed guests to pause and admire the artwork.

Inside the Portrait Gallery, The Spa at Trump set up a mini spa for guests to enjoy chair massages and Gemstone hand massages with oils from Dubai. Naomi Lee and Cari Nakanishi of Vignette delineated the space with panels of sheer fabric and softened the area with a plush all-white, faux fur area rug and satin covered benches. Guests knew exactly which services to choose from by viewing the spa menu, designed by Emi Ink and set in a gilded gold frame from Scene Events.



Mahalo to all the participating vendors who made The Knot's Cocktails and Connections 2011 Honolulu event possible:

A Cup of Tea
Accel Party & Design
Ben & Maila
Big Island Candies
cakelava
Casablanca Bridal and Formals
Chrissy Lambert Photography
Eggshells Light Company
Emi Ink
Flaunt
Ginniberries Catering
Hawai'i Slam
Kai Media
Kimi Werner
Les Saisons
Lift Your Spiritz Mobil Bartending Service
Market ADvantage
Oeno Winemaking
Prestige Valet Service
Randy Allen
Scene Events
Shakabooth
ShowTime DJs
Spinning WEB Florist
The Spa at Trump
Vignette
YWCA - Laniakea
Wahoo's Fish Tacos
Waialua Soda Works
Weddings by Grace and Mona

Money Dances in Hawaii

Photos by Dave Miyamoto and Company

Several different cultures have some form of a money dance at weddings. At certain weddings, male guests will pay the maid of honor to join in a dance with the bride or female guests will pay the best man to dance with the groom. At others, such as at Samoan weddings, the guests will literally shower the happy couple with money. The most prevalent style in Hawaii, however, most likely evolved from the traditional Filipino money dance.


Typically, the money dance occurs at the end of the program, and often leads into dancing for the rest of the event. By placing it after all the other formalities such as cake cutting, toasts and speeches, parent dances, etc., a lengthy money dance does not preclude the guests from enjoying any other portion of the program, especially since money dances can last the duration of several songs. Following the money dance, guests may choose to return home, or stay for dancing.


Once the money dance begins, guests politely form a line, coming up to the bride and groom one by one, and placing a bill on either the bride or groom, for the other to retrieve with his or her mouth. The result is a sometimes provocative and entertaining display, as well as swollen coffers for the bride and groom to embark on their married life together.


Some tips if planning on this style of money dance:

• choose several songs to dance to, especially if anticipating a large number of participants
  
• assign someone to assist by collecting the money received
• prepare slips of paper to wrap the money in for hygienic reasons
• pack a bag or basket in which to collect the money
  
• ask someone to hold on to the money until the end of the reception, or deposit into the safety deposit box if at a hotel

Here's to a prosperous life as husband and wife!