Saturday, February 26, 2011

Maui Wedding Packages - How Much Photography is Enough?

When booking any Maui wedding package it is very important to ask the question 'how much photography is enough for my needs'? It is a question not very many brides ask in the planning stages, when they really should. People often get so wrapped up in booking the wedding, they don't think enough about how many poses they want with their family and friends.
Maui Wedding Packages - Group shot

Since our blog is tailored to suit small weddings and Maui Beach Weddings, usually under 50 people, brides just assume that 1 hour is plenty of photography time for their wedding. Look at the photography example below and see just how much time is used throughout the ceremony, pictures of the bride & groom and family shots.

Total Photography time (included in package): 1 hour
Ceremony: 20 min
Bride and groom shots: 20-30 min.

That leaves you with roughly 10 to 20 minutes for family/wedding party shots. When we shoot the family and group wedding photos it usually takes 4-5 minutes for each pose on average (moving people in and out, catching the children that need to be in the shot that are running half way down the beach, making sure everyone is looking nice and smiling, getting the pose right, then finding all the right people for the next shot and posing them). This estimate may seem high, but it is really just an average, because once you put grandma and grandpa in a few shots, which can sometimes take 7-10 minutes just to get posed and photographed, it is evident why we estimate 4-5 minutes per shot average.

Here is an example of just a few shots:

Bride, Groom, Bride's Immediate family (parents, siblings) -5min
Bride, Groom, Grooms's Immediate family (parents, siblings) -5 min
Bride, Groom, brides's grandma and grandpa -5min
Bride, Groom, Groom's grandma and grandpa -5min
Bride and Maid of honor- 5 min
Groom and Best Man -5 min. 

= 30 min (from above family and friends poses) + Ceremony 20 + Bride and Groom shots 30 min = 1 hour 20 min.

It is important to have realistic expectations of what you are going to get for your money.

If you want shots with family and you have more than 20 people in your group, make a list of all of the groups you want. This will either help you understand that you most likely need to upgrade the amount of photography or will really pair down how many family photos you want.
Maui Beach Wedding - Maluaka Beach

If you take anything away from this post, please remember, you are the 'Super Stars' of your wedding.  You need to be sure to have enough photography time dedicated to just yourselves. If you want lots of family included photos you need additional photography time. In the whole scheme of the entire wedding cost, an extra few hundred bucks to get that extra 1/2 hour of photography you really want is nothing, especially if got the images you dreamed about, on your special day.   







Friday, February 18, 2011

Maui Beach Weddings: 4 Tips You Need to Know

When having a Maui beach wedding there are a few tips that brides often don't think about, and wedding planners or other Maui wedding professional don't usually tell you to avoid information overload.

TIP #1 - Don't Wear High Heals On The beach
Maui Beach Wedding footwear

I know you just found the most beautiful pair of high heals that go perfectly with your dress and will match your tiara perfectly :), but you don't need them. It is hard enough to walk on the beach in flip flops or bare feet sometimes, but those heals just aren't going to cut it. Ditch the heels for now and break them out at the after party!

Tip #2 Wear Make up


Even if you don't wear make-up, wear some, it looks good in the pictures. Karma Hill, of Good Karma Photography explains that, "wearing make-up evens out your skin tone and helps prevent you from looking washed out when using flash photography. It also helps enhance you faces' natural features and reduces shine immensely".
 
Tip #3 If You Can: Wear an Updo

Maui Beach Weddings Updo
Hawaii in general is known for its trade winds and if you haven't heard much about trade winds, it means the wind blows about 330 out of the 365 days per year. With this little tidbit of windy information, you should plan for wind and if it isn't windy, consider yourself the lucky one.

When planning for wind you really need to have an updo so your hair doesn't blow in your face. If you are constantly fighting with your hair, it annoys you, and can really dercrease the amount of quality photos you get from your photographer. So do yourself a favor, get an updo and you won't have to worry about pictures of you with your hair covering you face.

Tip # 4 Avoid Wedding Day Stress: Have Your Stylist/Make-Up Artist Come to You

Would you rather spend your wedding day driving all over town to have your hair and make-up done or have someone come to your hotel room? If you have the stylist come to your hotel you and your wedding party can just sit back, relax with a glass of wine and enjoy the view from your amazing Maui hotel room. Having your stylist/make-up artist come to you doesn't usually cost that much more than going to the salon either. If you have a decent sized group they sometimes even give you a better deal because everyone is all in one place, captive and ready to go.

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Monday, February 14, 2011

Maui Wedding Packages: Brides Most Frequently Asked Questions - Part 2 of 2

This is a continuation of my previous post about questions brides often ask about Maui wedding packages.

6. Q: What size of Wedding do you recommend for a beach wedding?
A:  We recommend the absolute maximum guests for a beach wedding is 50. Due to state laws and regulations you are not allowed to have chairs set up on the beach for your wedding. Without chairs it makes it extremely difficult for a group of guests over 50 to hear and see your wedding, making for an unpleasant experience.
Maui Beach Weddings
7. Q: What's the Weather like in Maui? 
A: First of all don't fret when looking at the weather forecast and don't look at the forecast for Oahu, because Oahu gets much more rain than Maui. Weather can be very different depending on what part of the island you are on! One side can be pouring and the other side can look like the best day of summer you can picture in your mind. When you look at Maui's forecast you will most likely see clouds, but there are almost always clouds in the sky in Maui, but most of them are just passing through. 

Just plan on having your wedding on the West side of the island (Ka'anapali & Lahaina side) or the South side of the island (Kihei & Wailea side) as these areas very rarely get rain.

8. Q: Can I have a 'mid day' or 'afternoon' wedding start time?




A: 'ALL' of the photos on our website  and Karma Hill's website are taken in the morning or at sunset, because these are the optimal times for lighting. The intense sun can make it very difficult to get great shots as it creates tons of shadows. We can definitely accommodate a mid-day or afternoon shoot, but it does make for really sweaty people and decreased photo quality.
9. Q: Can I just set up an appointment with a wedding licensing agent when I get on island?
A: Wedding agents are by appointment only and don't have a set state office. It is extremely important to call and make an appointment before you arrive on island to ensure you have a meeting with the agent to get your marriage license. We will provide you with a list of licensing agents you can call once a booking payment is received and you are formally booked. 



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Sunday, February 13, 2011

Maui Wedding Packages: Brides Most Frequently Asked Questions - Part 1 of 2

 Here are a few answers to questions brides have ask about Maui Wedding Packages.

1. Q: Which is better, a sunset wedding or morning wedding?
A: They are both great, it really depends on the look you want for your pictures.  The mornings give a brighter more tropical look, the sunsets have a more orange light and the opportunity to have a Maui sunset in the background.

Maui Beach Weddings
2. Q: What is the best Maui Wedding location?
A: We are very lucky on Maui, it is hard to find a BAD spot! Although all Maui beaches are beautiful we do have our favorites!  If you have already looked at our Maui Wedding Locations page and don't know which location to choose we can recommend one for you! Our absolute favorite location for a Maui beach wedding is Southside beach, this beach has consistently good weather, is the least crowded of all the beaches we work on and has a great mix of features such as white sand, palm trees, lava rock and some green area. If you are staying in West Maui and you don't want to make the drive to this beach, we recommend Kapalua bay for a beautiful beach wedding. This beach has a variety of scenic locations for a romantic wedding as well as beautiful sunsets and beautiful white sand and blue water..   

3. Q: How do we get our Hawaii Marriage License?
A: We will provide you with a list of locations where you can obtain your marriage license as well as their hours of operation.  We recommend you get your license as soon as you arrive on Maui, once you get your license, you have 30 days to get married. For more information from the State of Hawaii on this matter visit: http://hawaii.gov/health/vital-records/vital-records/marriage/index.html

4. Q: Can we have our wedding on Kaanapali Beach?
Maui Wedding Packages - Flowers
A: Kaanapali beach is restricted for commercial activity, meaning, no weddings on the beach. That is the reason you see beaches available north and south of Kaanapali beach on our Maui Wedding Locations page for the West Side of the island (Kaanapali, Lahaina, Kapalua area). The state can and will fine for conducting commercial activity on the beach up to $5000.

5. Q: Can we have chairs or arches on the beach for our wedding?
A: All the beaches of Maui are considered public property and chairs, arches or any other thing that could obstruct use of other people using the beach is not allowed, no, not even for 15,20 or 30 minutes. 

These are just a few of the questions asked by brides. I will be posting more Maui wedding packages frequently asked questions soon. 


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