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Beware of the many recent transplants who are flocking to Hawaii, scratching to find their place in paradise in the wedding photography and video business. They are offering insane prices and packages with everything for next to nothing. The industry is reeling over this invasion. Some are taking deposits and disappearing, or canceling on brides and going home with their tail between their legs. They do not know Hawaii, they are not stable, and you get what you pay for. We have been in the Hawaii wedding business for over 17 years, have a fabulous reputation and are very stable. Our office is a nice touch for our customers, who do not want to trust their wedding to transient vendors doing business out of their Waikiki apt or car using cell phones.
There
are a lot of companies that we describe as “generic wedding factories”.
You know you are speaking to one when they try to talk you out of a
location that is not close to Honolulu. They will rant and rave about
how great Waialae beach park is. It is actually a pretty place, but
there are often many weddings per hour occuring there, so it is not
our first pick for Oahu locations. It is a good choice if you need to
be close to Honolulu, or enjoy the “rush” of getting married
in a very popular place. Mornings are less crowded, afternoons around
sunset time are the most crowded. It is one of the few spots besides
Waikiki beach that has a beach, so it is very popular with the wedding
factories. The truth is, the beach at Waialae beach park is severely
eroded and rocky, and we can offer other convenient alternatives to
you that have nice sand beaches. We feel it is important to describe
honestly the various locations to you in detail so you are not “surprised”
when you arrive. We are also willing to take you to uncrowded, remote
areas and they generally are not.
Another tell-tale sign is a a short time they spend with you on the
phone, and a short window of time for your ceremony. They also have
no problem “doing business” with you on your wedding day,
they are often very blunt with money issues. We do not like to discuss
business or money issues with you at all on your wedding day.
Take a look at the photo galleries at a generic wedding factory and
you will see a general lack of creativity and imaginatiion. Their sites
are often times strewn with smoke and mirrors, describing the many shades
of blue in the ocean, and the many colors in the sunset etc. They paint
a sexy, surrealistic picture with words, and deliver something quite
different on the day. We strive to be realistic and honest about everything.
We do not think it is nice to mislead people when it comes to their
wedding, and we do not play that game. If you want special, and remote,
and gorgeous, someone needs to actually provide that. This requires
time, actual effort, expertise and yes it costs more, but it is definitely
worth the extra expense. Your wedding is not a bargain hunt at a swap
meet. Our photographic and video services will cost you a little more
than a generic wedding factory, but the value you get, and the warm
memories of your wedding when you choose A Special Moment are worth
many times more than that. What do you want your Hawaii wedding experience
to be like?
Some folks offer both photography and video, and do not tell you that
one person does both. You do not know this until your wedding day, and
we think that going thru your ceremony again to get shots with the video
camera is not exactly what most folks are bargaining for. We always
have separate photographers and separate videographers, It keeps things
more spontaneous, fresh and exciting. Those that do not just want more
money per wedding. We feel that they should at least inform folks how
they do things. We do not think you want to go thru several “takes”
during your ceremony. This is one day that we think you should be “floating
on a cloud of bliss”, and not going through all that.
Many generic wedding factories boast about how they help you process
your wedding license, or assist you in getting your license. The law
and the facts are that only you two can get the license, and all anyone
can do is give you directions to the health dept or stand in line with
you. We do not think you are incapable of getting to the health dept.
and applying for your license. The fact is, the generic wedding factories
say they help you, but really they usually just give you verbal directions
to the health dept and some instructions on how to fill it out. We don’t
think this is something that deserves to be broadcasted as a life-saving
service on their websites. It is no secret where the health dept is,
and the clerk is an expert at getting you thru the process. It is the
Ministers job, by the way, to deliver your license to the health dept
after your wedding. Don’t let anyone boast about how they deliver
your license for you, that is their job. We think it is best to guide
our customers thru a process where we focus on your happiness with honesty
and accuracy, and we enjoy describing different locations to you on
the phone or via email in great detail so your final choice is yours
and not what is more convenient and profitable for us. We are in this
business for the long-run, and we care what our customers think about
every detail related to their Hawaii Wedding. We think your wedding
is actually worth that kind of effort. We don’t enjoy being hard
on these people, but we do feel the need to let people know what the
reality is, what to look for, and who to avoid so your memories of Hawaii
are fond ones.