Styled Wedding Hilton Hawaiian Village Oahu | Hawaii Wedding Film
A collaboration between Jireh Artistry, Mimi Calligraphy and local Hawaii wedding vendors Vida Chic, Vanessa Hicks Photography and She Bakes It.
I joined the Rising Tide Society last year in the hopes of connecting with other creatives outside of the photogrpahy/film world. Little did I know at the time that it would result in the meeting and collaborating with some of the most amazing creatives and entrepreneurs out across the world. The Rising tide society is:
"a community of creatives from all backgrounds and industries uniting for one reason. A movement dedicated to the people it serves, Rising Tide Society focuses on building community locally and transforming not only the creative industry, but also the world."
Susan of Jireh Artistry connected with us and wanted to collaborate on a styled wedding shoot in Hawaii so we jumped at the chance to work with her. Her vision was Romantic-Hawaiian-Wedding. Done and done. We love styled shoots because they are an awesome way to film for fun and meet, work with and showcase local vendors talent, and in this case talent from California, as Susan is building her team here in Hawaii.
Our models were Stephanie and Paul Baker, a real-life married couple. Not only were they absolutely drop-dead gorgeous, both of them....but they both have hearts of gold and were the sweetest to work with. Stephanie is no stranger to the camera, as her day job is a mermaid...yep, a mermaid, and a swimsuit model. Paul is active duty Air Force stationed here in Hawaii. As newlyweds, their chemistry together was undeniable!!! I feel extremely blessed to have met them, and now call them friends.
My dear friend Vanessa of Vanessa Hicks Photography and I got together with some super talented Hawaii wedding professionals for this styled shoot collaboration at Hilton Hawaiian Village in Honolulu, Hawaii. The list of awesome vendors are:
Decor & Floral: Vida Chic Weddings & Events, vidachic.com
HMU: Susan, Owner of Jireh Artistry, jirehartistry.com
Photography: Vanessa Hicks Photography, vanessahicksphotography.com
Models: Stephanie and Paul Baker, Mermaid Serenity and Paul
Calligraphy: Mimi Calligraphy, instagram.com/mimivcalligraphy/
Cake: Janae Barcus, She Bakes It shebakesit.com Gown: Lulus, lulus.com
Music: The Rest of My Life by Shane Becker, licensed by Soundstripe
We had the most amazing day at the Hilton Hawaiian Village in Waikiki. It was probably 90 degrees the day of the shoot, but none of us cared because we were having so much fun. It was awesome to meet Susan and see her do her magic with hair and makeup.
Behind the scenes pics from Vanessa Hicks Photography
The uber talented Susan of Jireh Atristry. Her and her team are based out of California, but are available for destination weddings in Hawaii and worldwide.
The Vida Chic team, Janea from She Bakes It and Chava, owner or Vida Chic Weddings and Events. Chava and I share an office downtown with three other gorgeous women entrepreneurs and its always a pleasure to work with her on projects. She and Janae did an amazing job at styling this shoot!
And a few behind the scenes iPhone pics
Two photographers, Jennifer Ryals Photography and Christina Sturgis Photography from our Hawaii Military Spouse Photography group came along to shoot beside Vanessa. Here they are ALL trying to get the shot at the same time at the same place.
We book a select few weddings to film each year, connect with us to see if we have your date available.
Oahu, Hawaii Videographer | RUSHwahine Two-Year Anniversary
Snazzy Pau Hana with successful Hawai'i women business owners? Yes please!
Sweet Rain Media has been a proud member of RUSHwahine for the past three years and we are the official Storyteller Sponsor (aka videographer) again this year.
Here's a little highlight of our 2016 2nd Anniversary Celebration.
There is always such a positive energy buzz in the air when you are surrounded by like-minded, positive, women entrepreneurs. We spent the evening at Morimoto Waikiki capturing the 2nd Anniversary party for RUSHwahine ladies and had an amazing evening filled with success stories, knowledge imparted from seasoned business owners, delicious pupus and course LOTS of laughter.
Owner Terra Foti brought the house down, and as always reminded us to embrace the RUSHwahine motto "Bonding Before Business" baby!
Interested in checking out RUSH and being surrounded by the most amazing women entrepreneurs in Hawaii? Come to the 3rd anniversary Thursday, January 26, 2017 from 5:30-8pm at Altitude 37 at Hilton Waikiki Beach. It's going to be another amazing evening and we will for sure be there to capture it in all its awesomeness. The 3rd annual anniversary event will highlight the efforts and successes of RUSH members across the state connecting the dots of success along the way. Connect, ask questions and learn how the wahine of RUSH have launched and continue to grow in business while networking through authentic discussion.
Click here to register and see what all the buzz is about RUSHcelebrate
Cover Image by Paula Ota
Oahu, Hawaii Family Videographer | Holiday Video Card for Alex
How do you make a US Marine cry you ask?
You send him a surprise holiday video card from his beautiful wife and one year old daughter while he is deployed overseas for the holidays.
We filmed the sweetest family a few weeks ago as part of our Holiday Video Card Giveaway. I had never met Ashley and her daughter Maci and her mother in law Michelle before I arrived at their home, but before I left that afternoon, we had laughed and cried and shared our life stories and I felt like we had known one another for years.
Ashley's husband Alex is a United States Marine and is deployed overseas for the holidays. Ashley entered our giveaway and won this video.
Out of all the entires for the giveaway, Ashley's story stood out from the rest. I was once a young mother with a baby girl in a town far away from my family while my husband was deployed overseas, so her story tugged at my heart when I read it. The Bowman's were recently stationed in Hawaii and like most of us military families here, she doesn't have family here so she was planning to be extremely homesick for the holidays, alone with her daughter and without her husband. That was until her mother in law Michelle showed up in Hawaii a few days before Alex deployed with a plane ticket home for her and Maci to go home with her to visit family and friends. It wont replace her husband being gone, but I know it sure will help.
Hopefully this short film made Alex feel a tiny bit closer to his beautiful family.
She shared it with Alex and said he has watched it every day since and that it just might have made this big tough marine cry (which is my ultimate goal in life LOL).
Contact us to create your own holiday video card or family film.
Oahu, Hawaii Photographer and Videographer | Girl Behind the Camera Series - Always an Hour Early
If you have known me for any length of time or have made an appointment with me, you know I am a very punctual person. I would rather be an hour early than a minute late. I pride myself in always being punctual and find it extremely rude if I have an appointment with somebody and they arrive late. To me, if somebody arrives late, its show they don't respect me and they don't value my time. And let's face it, life is too short to be waiting around on people who don't value you.
There are moments in life when you learn the most valuable lessons in the strangest of ways. I don't remember much about middle school but I have vivid memories of my band teacher who was a brilliant musician but quite possibly the meanest person I had ever met.
He trained me to become a first chair flutist, but he also taught me two valuable lessons.
One was to always use a pencil because you need to continually revise and tweak your craft to improve and be the best you can be.
And the other was to always be punctual. I learned quickly that if I wanted to advance as a musician I would have to arrive early to rehearsal. He'd lock us out of band rehearsal if we were late and would throw music stands across the room if we messed up during rehearsal. To this day I can recall the sound of his voice as he would yell at us for arriving late to band and sectional rehearsals and wouldn't let us in. We would have to sit outside in the hallway and listen with agony while the other students practiced.
To this day, I refuse to be late to ANYTHING. I would rather be an hour early than a minute late. I live by William Shakespeare's motto in that its "Better to be three hours too soon than a minute too late".
So the next time we have a meeting together and I arrive an hour early and you see me sitting in the parking lot catching up on emails or reading you will know why. :)
Girl Behind the Camera Series - I Married a Sailor | Hawaii Photographer
On this Veterans Day, I want to thank my sailor, USN Retired, First Class Petty Officer, Gunnersmate, Affron Herring, and all military veterans for serving our country.
“The willingness of America’s veterans to sacrifice for our country has earned them our lasting gratitude.”
—Jeff Miller
If you would have told me I would one day marry a sailor and live this crazy military life, I wouldn't have believed you.
It was almost 20 years ago when I was in Hawaii on a national student exchange program from the University of Minnesota to the University of Hawaii Manoa. Upon arrival, I knew I was in love with the islands (as I had visited once before in 1993 with my friend Tara), but I had no intentions of falling in love at 22 years old with a US Navy sailor.
When I entered the room of a local Honolulu church "singles ministry" in September of 1997, I couldn't help but notice the tall (dude, he's 6'5", you can't miss him!), dark and handsome man who happened to be in charge of the meeting that night. I sat in the back like a scared little puppy, not wanting to be noticed as "the new girl". I'm not sure if it was my midwest vibe (picture overalls, Birkenstock sandals and a thick Minnesota accent) or my short spikey blond hair that got his attention, but a certain somebody made sure I was on his team for the scavenger hunt activity that evening.
At the time, I had no idea he was in the Navy. So it wasn't the uniform that got me (and I am sucker for a man in uniform...I mean, who isn't??), it was his good looks and charm that won me over.
When the semester at UH was over in December, Affron was supposed to drive me to the airport for my flight back to Minnesota, but he was on an emergency duty at sea and wasn't able to bring me. And, this was long before everybody had cell phones so I didn't know he wasn't available to bring me until it was almost too late and I was moments away from missing my flight. I do believe that by us not being able to say goodbye, it made the "distance makes a heart grow fonder" thing real strong and being 5,000 miles apart really made us realize we had fallen in love.
Once back home in Minnesota, as I was sleeping off my jet-lag, my mom said "this man keeps calling the house phone and wondering if you are ok". Turns out "this man" would come visit me in February of 1998, would give me a ring and would marry me a few months later in August 1998, just a few days before he would be deployed to Afghanistan for six months.
When he returned from our first deployment as a married couple, he was required to do recruiting duty, and as luck would have it, Minneapolis/St. Paul was one of the location choices. So we lived in the Twin Cities where I was able to finish my college degree and he was a navy recruiter from 1999-2002.
Our daughter Raina was born in Minnesota in June of 2002 and one month later the Navy moved us to San Diego where Affron was stationed at Coronado. Unfortunately for us, he was then sent on a 10 month deployment and missed the entire first year of Raina's life.
As the ship pulled back into Coronado in September of 2003, he had a retirement ceremony on the ship, at the age of 37 with 20 years of service.
The Navy then moved us one last time back to Hawaii where we have lived every since.
This military life has been a crazy one, but one that I am so thankful for all the things it has given us. Now as a retired veteran, Affron is able to receive wonderful benefits from the Veterans Association, nearly free medical care for our family, access to reduced rates at military stores and the commissary and many other things.
Have you filmed your HOLIDAY VIDEO CARD yet? | Hawaii Family Videographer
Why send a holiday card when you can send a HOLIDAY VIDEO this holiday season?
This year we are so excited to announce that for the first time ever we'll be filming Holiday Mini-Session VIDEO CARDS!
I know, I know...it's not even Thanksgiving yet! But trust me, you'll be glad to have this checked off your list before December arrives, and the holiday chaos that comes with it!
What exactly IS a holiday video card, you may ask?
Think of it as your tradition holiday card, only WAY MORE AMAZING. And, you don't have to lick any stamps or go to the post office.
While sending family and friends a traditional holiday card is nice and all, it doesn't really capture the essence of you and you family...how much the kids have grown, their cute little kiddo voices and all the love and squishes shared between you.
Click below at the Searcy Ohana's day at home baking cookies and snuggling in their jammies!
The Details:
Amount of time:
We come to your home and capture footage of you for 1 hour. The activity you want to do during that time is your choice. You can bake cookies, jump on the trampoline, sing karaoke, play board games, or just hang out and play while I capture the essence of your family. Within a few moments of me arriving, I promise you won't even notice I am there. After awhile, I am like a fly on the wall and the camera continue to roll as the magical fun of your family unfolds.
What you receive:
You will receive a high definition, digital download of your Holiday Video Card via Dropbox, which can then be shared to any social media platform you choose. It will be 1-2 minutes in length and contain a licensed music track. All films will be ready for delivery by December 15th.
Filming Dates in 2016:
We are taking holiday video card clients on the following weekend dates.
November 12 - 13, November 19-20, December 3-4, December 9-10.
Price: $250
click below and Select your filming date & let's get started planning your holiday card!
Oahu, Hawaii Videographer | Lucky Latina Clothing ~ Brand Film
We are so thrilled to be a part of Sharon's journey with her Lucky Latina Clothing brand and jumped right on board when she said the brand vision is to celebrate strong, sexy and unstoppable women.
Done and Done!
From initial consultation to finished film in 3 weeks. Boom, we got right down to business on this one folks. Show her some love at crowdfunding Indiegogo page and on her facbebook page or go to Lucky Latina Clothing to shop.
Fur baby Chupacobra and Joy joined in on the fun at the end for some fun bloopers.
Island Adventure - Location Scouting with Gloria | North Shore Oahu Hawaii Photographer
Out location scouting for an upcoming video project with my girl, and fellow photographer Gloria of Gloria Posada Photography and we found ourselves at Kualoa Ranch Beach Park, Kahana Bay and Dole Plantation
Nature never ceases to amaze me. I've always been fascinated with trees and flowers and being outdoors. I fell in love with the texture of this weathered tree and this driftwood just spoke to me and begged me to turn it into a black and white photo. Hawaii has no shortage of awesome stuff to photograph so go out and find some cool stuff!
Always loved finding little rocks and shells as a kid. This little guy just spoke to me and I had to photograph him, he is so cute and small in contrast to the Ko'olau Mountains in the background.
Gloria squealed with delight as she found a childhood favorite plant, the Mimosa Pudica which closes or sleeps when touched.
Found this little beauty while grabbing a pineapple dole ice cream.
Yeah for girlfriends on a Friday that are as obsessed with their camera as me. Thanks Gloria for coming along on the mini island adventure. Always more fun to explore with a friend! The giggles were a bonus and much needed therapy after a long week.
VIP Sweet Rain Media Facebook Group Invitation | Hawaii Photographer
Pssst. We've created a private group for Sweet Rain VIP including past clients and anybody interested in getting news on exclusive promotions and our advanced travel schedule for 2016. To be added, go to https://www.facebook.com/groups/VIPSweetRainMedia/
A special promo code will be posted exclusively in the group this week so be sure to become a member of the group today so you don't miss out.