Eugene Kam Photography's SNAP SHOTS

"I do," APEC or not

 

Many months before the world's leaders decided to converge on Oahu for APEC, Michelle Yoshida and Ian Takenishi had chosen the numerically unique date of 11.11.11 for their wedding.  Despite the warnings of delays in Waikiki due to heightened security, the couple forged ahead with their wedding at the Halekoa Hotel.   

 The 11.11.11 wedding inspite of the global Waikiki takeover made the local news on KITV.  Ian was interviewed by Catherine Cruz minutes before the going down the aisle. 

After the ceremony, the beach was almost free of tourists, and due to security restrictions, there weren't any boaters or surfers in the water either.  The spectacular sunset was the cherry on top of a beautiful wedding that went on without a hitch.

Disney in the details

 

Mickey Mouse was certainly on Kristin Iriguchi's mind as she planned her wedding to Jae Park on November 5th at the Disney Aulani Resort.  The entire bridal party had mouse ears; not for the ceremony, but for a fun entrance into the reception.

Numbers for each guest table were on Mickey-shaped cards and the tables were excused to dinner according to the Disney song assigned to their group.

 

Mickey and Minnie made an appearance again in a fun twist for the bouquet and garter toss.  Jae tossed a Minnie Mouse bride doll to the married women while Kristen tossed a Mickey groom doll to the married men.

 

 

Dynamic couple from down under

Deanne Hipwell and Michael Greig had the right formula for creating unforgettable wedding memories.

• be playful

• laugh

• enjoy every moment

Deanne had a unique gown embellished with white stones, and she used her talents to craft matching sandals.  The gossamer gown was perfect for a relaxed Hawaii wedding.  The couple's ceremony included a symbolic joining of the hands with colorful strands of ribbon, each signifying a crucial element of a good relationship.

Deanne and Michael were married at the Halekulani on November 1 in the Garden Couryard.

 

fr. Kristin & Jae

 

Dear Eugene and Joy,

Thank you SO much for doing such a wonderful job and taking such beautiful phoos on our MAGICAL day!  We were very grateful that you knew exactly where and what we needed to be doing during all the craziness.  We are very HAPPY how everything turned out and attribute that to your expertise and professionalism.  We absolutely LOVE our photos and the way you both captured every MOMENT so we wouldn't forget.  Eugene, we would also like to thank you for our LOVELY engagement photos that you took.  We love them too!  We can't THANK YOU enough...we will cherish our photographs FOREVER!

They say...TRUE love stories never have endings...we say "they're right."  Our wedding day was AMAZING because we were lucky enough to be surrounded by the people we LOVE.  It would not have been complete without the support and LOVE of our family and friends.  We just wanted to say THANK YOU for being part of a very special day for us!  We hope you enjoyed the wedding as much as we did...YOU will always be part of our fairytale.  Your GENEROSITY  and KINDNESS are appreciated more than words can say.  Thank you for our "Happily-Ever-After" and our DREAMS that really did come true.

With Love,

Kristin & Jae

PG-rated pre-wedding games

Lung Lui was fortunate his groomsmen were true friends and endured the pre-wedding games the bridesmaids had planned for them.  To gain entrance to bride Annie Huang's suite at the Hawaii Prince Hotel, the guys first had to hand over all their cash.  Once inside the suite, the gentlemen were attacked with lipstick to prepare for clever games involving skilled lip action that at times got racy and suggestive.

 

Eventually the girls were satisfied that the guys were embarrassed enough and Lung was worthy to receive his bride.  All the torture was worth the smile on Annie's face when the couple saw each other for the first time. 

 

Annie and Lung were married on October 30 at the Central Union Church and later partied all night with family and friends in the ballroom of the Hawaii Prince Hotel.

 

Little details make for a beautiful wedding

 

Sometimes when you look back at a beautiful wedding, you realize it's the attention to the little details that add up to creating the memorable impression.  In his thank you speech, Brandon Kam gave the credit for planning the wedding to his bride, Stella Young.  Friends described Stella as intellectual, detail oriented, and organized and it showed.

 

Stella's Vera Wang gown was delicately covered in flowers resembling lilies of the valley.  These flowers were also similar to the shells that adorned the bridesmaids' bouquets.  In keeping with the Hawaii wedding feel, the girls' dresses were blue like the ocean or sky.

When guests made their way to the reception, in the Hau Terrace of Halekulani, they found place cards nestled in sand and orchids at each place setting.  A unique feature at each table was the photo album filled with pictures of the bride, groom and each guest.  You could see people enjoying looking back at old memories they had made with the couple.  If relaxing in the lounge wasn't your thing, you could ham it up in the photo booth with over-sized sunglasses, hats and feather boas.

 

 

Stella and Brandon were married on the morning of October 23 at the Halekulani.

2 Luxury locations

Even though the guest count was just 7, Kelly Taing and Andrew Chruscht planned a simple, yet elegant wedding on October 20.  The couple selected 2 of the premium properties on Oahu--The Kahala Hotel and Resort and Halekulani for their memorable event.

 

Surprise serenade

Kim Tomlinson and Greg Jones exchanged their vows on October 15 at the Koko Head Gazebo of the Kahala Hotel and Resort.

To the surprise of the guests and especially the bride, what started as a duet turned into a serenade.  Kim and Greg sang a song together as part of the reception entertainment.  When they were through Greg took the opportunity to dedicate a song to his bride.  It was a romantic gesture that was met with with a  few standing ovations and sighs from the crowd.

Hello Aulani!

Mari Nakamura and Grant Masuoka were among the first couples to exchange their vows at the newly opened Disney Aulani Resort.

On October 8, in the Makaloa Gardens, Grant's nephew, the ring bearer, almost stole the show as he came happily running down the aisle and pitched the ring pillow into the groom's hand.  Grant surprised everyone when it was time to seal the vows with a kiss.  He whipped out his breath spray and spritzed himself as well as his bride.

In keeping with the newly-weds' fondness for Vegas, guests were dealt cards to determine the winner of the coveted centerpiece.  Mari's mom undertook a labor of love creating delicately decorated Faberge' eggs for each table.  

 

Adding a little sparkle

Sometimes it is the little details that make the difference in selecting the dress.  This was the case for Jackie Logsdon.  

"I tried a few dresses on, but this one I knew was "the one" once the ladies from Casablanca added the belt.  I immediately sent a picture to my mom, who lives in California.  She called me and agreed it was the one.  I had them sew the belt into the dress."  

Jackie's gown  is the Fanal gown from Pronovia.  The belt is also from Pronovia.