Love Your Story
Awhile back I sat down to have coffee with my friend Kaye Putnam, Brand Strategist and overall cool human being. We met years prior at a RUSHwahine event and became instant friends.
What I thought was just a casual friends-meeting-for-coffee turned out to have a huge impact on my business practices from that moment on. This girl knows her stuff!
Check out her In Demand Brand Podcast (which I listen to religiously FYI) and take advantage of the amazing freebies on her site, Brandality Quiz and Brand Workbook and you will see for yourself how awesome she is.
While chatting, she asked me a poignant question which got me blabbering on and on about how much I love what I do, how much I love my clients, how much I love digging into their story, how much I love the art of filming, and editing and even the dreaded packaging of the end product, which is typically a custom usb, prints, and some other goodies. I love the entire process!!
As she asking different questions, she stopped me in my tracks and said "Ive got it, the common thread to your entire business revolves around LOVE". I was like, huh?
She further explained that everything I had just blabbered about to her in the last hour had a common thread... LOVE!
my wedding clients are in LOVE
my family clients LOVE being together and value capturing those special moments
my business clients LOVE their craft so much they started a business to share their passion with the world
The conversation with Kaye that morning has never left my mind in all these years. "Love Your Story" has become a tagline and a phrase I use often when referring to our films and photography and an overarching theme in all that we do.
From that moment on, everything I do in my business, whatever its marketing or product packaging or even sending an email, I think back to what she told me and that the common thread is love.
And since all of our films story based (meaning we aren't just showing up and hitting record and throwing all of your footage on a timeline) EVERYTHING we do is centered around getting to know our clients, their love story, their connection with their children, their passion for their craft....and their WHY behind it all.
By digging deep and learning this information before we even show up to film, and LONG before we bring the footage into out editing bay, we get the heart of the story...
And its all about LOVE baby!
Arleen + Zach Wood Wedding at YWCA Laniakea and Cafe Julia | Oahu, Hawaii Wedding Videographer
Happy 3rd Anniversary Arleen and Zach. I will forever be grateful that you allowed me to capture the most intimate and special day of your life. It was the most beautiful sunny day, a gorgeous venue in downtown Honolulu and a such a spiritual, God-centered union.
These two lovebirds have the sweetest love story and the most beautiful 1940's glamour theme. And I had the privilege of capturing it on film for their wedding three years ago today. They professed their love for one another at the alter before their friends and family and shared their long awaited for their first kiss at the alter. Their theme was 1940's, vintage and they pulled it off with such class. Arleen's flapper-style dress was to die for, and Zach looked so dapper. And the get-away car at the end of the evening was everything!
Arleen and my friendship goes back over ten years. She is my dear friend, my spiritual mentor and just the sweetest, most genuine person you will ever meet. Long before Zach came into the picture, we'd pray that the man of her dreams to come into her life, and low and behold one day he did. He was everything she had dreamed of and more. Their love is the kind you read about in fairytales.
While capturing footage before the ceremony, I had gone back and forth between the bridal suite and the groomsmen several times. I had walked away from the bridal suite for a bit to get the mic on the groom while Arleen was doing her last minute makeup touchups and getting into her wedding gown. When I came back into the room, she was sitting in the corner in her glamorous wedding gown, the sun beaming on her through the window, and her beauty at that moment literally took my breath away. I was speechless, and fully convinced that she was an angel.
The ceremony and reception were held at the historic YWCA Laniakea and Cafe Julia in downtown Honolulu and was officiated by their very own Pastor Kuna of Word of Life Christian Center, the very women who mentored them through their courtship and kept their engagement strong and pure before God. The angelic voice you hear throughout most of the film is that of Pastor Kuna.
One of my favorite moments of the day was when they exchanged cards behind a door just moments before the ceremony began. My heart was pounding through my chest as I witnessed the anticipation and love and excitement between them.
This was my very first ever wedding film, and although it is far from being technically perfect, it is perfect in my eyes as it shares their deep love for one another and their faith.
Officiant // Pastor Kuna Supulveda wolhawaii.com
Venue // YWCA of Honolulu and Cafe Juila
Photography // Hailey Faria Photography
Hair & Makeup // Leslie Fair Hair & Makeup
Music // Pastor Kuna Supulveda, Ashley Supulveda, Salani Ainuu