Real Wedding: Megan & Andrew

When I was in Birmingham at the A Bryan Photo workshop, I had the pleasure of meeting a number of talented photographers, including Kristopher Orr who shot today's wedding. I thought for the first real wedding feature of 2010, this Hawaiian getaway might be a nice escape for everyone who is ready for some warmer weather. Though the couple lives in British Columbia, the groom has family in Hawai'i, so it was a natural choice for them to get married there. The lovely bride, Megan, shared a bit about why she and Andrew opted for an intimate destination wedding:

As long as I can remember, I always imagined having a destination wedding. Immediately after Andrew proposed, we knew it would be Hawaii for two reasons. First, we knew it would be about us and only the most important people in our lives would make the effort to come. Secondly, my family had never taken a trip together - my Mother had barely left Canada, so it was the greatest excuse to give her a well-deserved vacation. Looking back, I wouldn’t change a thing. It was perfect.

And now, the pictures!


Megan, Andrew and their guests hopped on a plane for a short flight from Oahu to the Big Island, where their ceremony would take place at the Kona Temple.






Andrew's mother, father, and cousin and Megan's mother attended the ceremony, and Andrew's mother surprised the couple with traditional leis: a maile lei for Andrew and a haku lei for Megan.


The wedding party gets a shot under this amazing umbrella tree.


After flying back to Honolulu after the ceremony, Andrew and Megan celebrated with 9 guests at Sam Choy's.


Megan shares a favorite moment: The absolute best part was the Hawaiian band that just happened to be located right beside our table. They sang everything from love songs to comedic interludes. They played our first dance and entertained us the entire evening. It was way better than having hired a band and so unexpectedly memorable.


Though Andrew and Megan didn't plan to have a traditional wedding cake, their families surprised them with one purchased at Dee Lite Bakery in Waipahu.















Ceremony venue: Kona Temple

Reception venue: Sam Choy's

Maile lei: Watanabe Floral

Haku lei: Waipahu Florist

Bride's dress: custom made

Happiest wishes to you, Megan and Andrew! Thank you so much for sharing your beautiful wedding with us - further evidence that a simple wedding can be just perfect. In fact, Megan shared this sound advice: Remember the reason for the day. Don’t start your marriage off by going into debt if you can help it. The only things that should last forever is your marriage and your photography – everything else is just details.

Thank you, too, to the talented Kristopher Orr for sharing his work with us - you can bet that we'll be seeing much more of his photography in the future. You can also see more great photos from Andrew and Megan's wedding on Kristopher's blog.