Jamie & Yly’s Kailua Wedding

Saying that I was excited about photographing this wedding would be an understatement.  I met Jamie about 6 years ago while attempting to play roller derby.  As in all things with even a tiny bit of competition implied, Jamie excelled and was a roller derby rockstar. We bonded over rock concerts, hiking adventures and our craze for using a Dyson vacuum. I think it is pretty safe to say that we were both grateful to have found a friend who liked the same things, including a mild obsession with all things Hawaii.

When Yly surprised Jamie and proposed while they were on a Mexican getaway, I was thrilled! I knew their ceremony would be in Hawaii and I could hardly wait – I’ll come up with any excuse for time on the beach.  When they asked me to be their photographer in just about the cutest way possible, I felt honored to be the person they chose to capture their big day. It’s probably a good thing I was behind the lens too because I cry at all weddings, but this one would have leveled me. Nobody wants to see my ugly cry.

The gorgeous, yet casual wedding took place at Yly’s Aunt Jennie’s home in Kailua. Jennie’s house reminded me of the home in the original parent trap movie; nestled between swaying palm trees right on the beach on the windward side of O’ahu, it couldn’t have been a more perfect location. In the Hawaiian Language Kailua means “two seas” or “two currents”,  kai (meaning “sea” or “seawater”), and ʻelua (meaning “two”).  The colors they chose pop out of the images and I can’t seem to shake the term Malibu Barbie and Ken out of my head when looking at them (even though I know Jamie won’t like that term).  This day couldn’t have been any more perfect and I had a really hard time narrowing down which images to post here.  Photographing this wedding was a true labor of love for me, and I could not be happier for Yly and Jamie to have found one another and to have been a part of their big day.