Oahu, Hawaii Photographer | Hawaii Military Spouse Photographers Holiday Party 2016
Approximately three years ago, serendipity brought us four crazy kids together, and as luck would have it, we totally jive and make a great team of admins for the Hawaii Military Spouse Photography group. One of our favorite events to plan each year is the Annual Holiday Party. This was our third annual holiday party with all four of us as admins, so together with Kat of Kat Parker Photography, Sharleen of Sharleen Mey Photography and Chelsea of Chelsea Little Photography, we pulled off another amazing party!
I cant event begin to tell you how much I love the ladies of HMSP. We collaborate together, learn from one another, refer business to one another, have quarterly styled shootouts, monthly coffee meetups and so much more. Being a military spouse has its challenges, and we bond over much more than our love for photography. We have become such a tight knit group that we consider one another family and I don't know where I would be without these awesome girls.
Over 30 ladies attended the party and we had such an amazing time. We laughed so hard our cheeks hurt, played silly games, had a white elephant gift exchange, a raffle, and best of all enjoyed each others company.
We had the most amazing swag bags a photographer could ask for, and a ton of door prizes and giveaways from the following generous vendors:
Because of the amazing swag we received from our generous vendors, we held a raffle for some of the donations and were able to raise $450 for a local charity called Hoʻōla Nā Pua, which is a Hawaii-based, 501(c)(3) non-profit organization whose mission is to provide underage female victims of sex trafficking with a pu’uhonua (a safe place) where they can begin to heal from their physical, spiritual, and emotional abuse. What an honor it was to hand over the money we raised knowing it was going to such a great local cause.
Thanks to all the ladies who attended, and the amazing sponsors that donated such fabulous door prizes for raffles and giveaways.
We can not thank our sponsors and members enough for their generosity!!
As is tradition, we had a sparkly backdrop for some silly group photos. Photos courtesy of Chelsea Little Photography
Hawaii Military Spouse Photographers
Its been said that there is no place like Hawaii. And I couldn't agree more. Just take one look at that beach. I mean, pinch me, do I REALLY live here?
Meet the babes (a few of them anyway) of the Hawaii Military Spouse Photographer's group.
Group Photo Credit: Kat Parker Photography
Not only are we "lucky we live Hawaii" but we are so blessed to be surrounded by so many amazing friends. Being so far away from my own family, my friends here have become "my family" and those friendships are so precious to me.
Connecting with other military families is also dear to my heart since the hubs is a Navy veteran, and I have been down the same road they are going down....deployments, frequent moves, being far away from family, etc.
So not only does this group of women "get" each other and the military life, they are also all amazingly talented photographers from all walks of life and they specialize in all genres of photography.
l've heard many people on the mainland and abroad express that they are shocked at what a close-knit group of photographer friends I have, all so willing to share their knowledge and help one another grow. Typically business owners in the same industry see their fellow peers as competition. Typically they would never share their coveted "trade secrets" or give advice.
Oh but on the contrary, these ladies are so giving of their time and talent, and I am so lucky to call them all friends. We do fun monthly photography challenges, we have regular coffee meet-ups, we plan stylized shootouts, we have annual retreats and just plain old have a great time together. And the best part is they keep me around even after I transitioned my business from solely photography to photography/films.
We rented a private beach for an afternoon potluck get-together. A great time for the kids to run and play and for our husbands to finally meet one another and put a face the name of the women we all talk to 24/7.
We were too busy having fun and chatting that I didn't snap many pictures, but I did catch my cuties in action.
