Bio

Search knottie bios for vendors, themes, ideas and whatever else you want!

A quick note... please feel free to save as many images as you'd like from my bio - I've tried to make giving credit easy by tagging all my photos with an unobtrusive watermark of my photographer's name and my screen name, and I'd appreciate it if you didn't crop or edit that out. If there's anything you'd like a bigger/better image of, feel free to ask; you can usually find me on the Hawaii board. Now - on to the good stuff!

P.S. If my constant references to Frank the Wonder Photog start to get annoying, I'm sorry. But he is magical, and I'm in awe.

I dreamed of a wedding of elaborate elegance...
A church filled with flowers, friends and beautiful music...
I asked him what kind of a wedding he wished for...
He said one that would make me his wife.
~ Anon.

Putting on my something blue... and also a good shot of my makeup.

Avast ye matey... Frank tried to get the standard putting-on-the-cufflinks shot out of Mr. Redshoegirl. Unfortunately the groom had never actually seen these photos before and didn't realize he was supposed to be showing his pirate cufflinks, not just his hands. Eh, you can see them in the next picture!

All you need to start an insane asylum is an empty room and the right kind of people... that hotel room was a madhouse as we were trying
to get ready - especially due to our nervous, excited mothers frantically buzzing about and shoving people around for photos.
(Also, if you know what film that first line is from, you and I are movie soulmates.)

Ahhh serenity... I have no idea how Frank managed to capture these seemingly quiet little moments among the craziness:

Flashing the photographer... I talk with my hands a lot - which, as it turns out, isn't the best idea when your dress isn't laced up.
I went back into boob holding mode pretty fast.

One day of suffocation won't kill you... and yes, it really does take that many people to lace up a dress. I have no idea how I did it by myself before.

#@()&%$#*!... I love the expression on my mom's face here. That is some serious WTF-ery going on there.

(And this is the reason behind the face)

Eeep!... I wish I could say I was one of those serene brides who slips gracefully into her dress. Not so much:

What's that you say? You want a better look at the faces I'm making? OK then:

Hold my hands... that's my darling stepmother steadying me, by the way. I love her to pieces.

Getting personal... this is why you surround yourself with your nearest and dearest on your wedding day. Who else is going to reach up
the back of your skirt to pull down the laces while you stand nonchalantly in a doorway making faces to yourself?

My very own slave... I'll be honest - photos of brides getting their shoes put on always made me roll my eyes. Please, I'd think to myself, you're too good to put on your own damn shoes just because you're getting married? And now I have my own shoe photos. Because you know what? I literally could not bend over far enough to put on my own shoes. The corset lacing was just way too stiff. I couldn't even sit upright - you can't really see it from this angle, but I'm actually tilted back in the chair like a side of beef. Oh, and unfortunately, I'm also ticklish as hell:

All done... and ready to act bridal for the nice photographer man again:

Or maybe not... I have a serious inability to pose nicely for photos. I think Frank got six dorky face shots for every good one. This is what I mean:

In the final stages of bridalfication... I know it's cliche, but getting my veil attached really was the OMFG I'm getting married moment for me:

Portrait time!... on the right is the classic serene shot wherein a bride contemplates the the magic and wonder of the day. Or, as I was
thinking, "Holy crap, I could totally eat off my boobs right now!" Yup, I'm classy like that.

Soak it in, people... I will never look this good again. *mwah* And yes, those are my real eyelashes. Those and straight teeth are my only genetic gifts.
The rest is a hodgepodge of freakish hairiness, inescapable shortsightedness and an unrelenting tendency towards the chub.

So ethereal... have I mentioned yet what a genius Frank the Wonder Photog is?

It doesn't even show my face... but this is quite possibly my favorite portrait photo. Look at that light. *swoon*

Time to go... well, nearly - the trip to the elevator was held up when Frank shouted, "Hold it! This is perfect! Stand there!" And of course he was right.

Back in gear... at this stage I knew we were running late, and I was hustling as fast as I could in a gown that only let me move from the knees down.

Who knew... that waiting for an elevator could look so stylish? I love this moment with my mom - I don't even remember this photo being taken.

People are staring... I hate being the center of attention, so when we had to walk through the hotel lobby, I grabbed my mother's hand
and frantically whispered, "Mom! People are LOOKING at me!" She just rolled her eyes.

This veil isn't going to last long... it was just a tad on the windy side that day.

I wasn't supposed to stop here... my mom went on ahead to make sure everyone was ready and to get my dad to come escort me. Because we were running late, he'd left the beach and was looking for us in the hotel - we'd somehow managed to pass each other on the elevators. So I spent the next 10 minutes nervously waiting by myself while my dad was tracked down as he roamed the resort grounds. For a shy person, standing alone while decked out in a wedding dress in a hotel courtyard full of strangers is the worst possible torture. When he finally arrived, I was so unnerved I'd have blabbed state secrets to the enemy.

Just a quickie... before we go to the ceremony, just a quick note. You know what the best thing about a wedding is? The happiness:

My dad: veil holder extraordinaire... to reach the beach, we had to walk down a narrow rocky path surrounded by bushes just waiting to snag the tulle.

Frank the Wonder Photog strikes again... I love the treatment of this photo - it looks like a vintage newspaper clipping.

Bridal grace went out the window... that sand was so soft, I was galumphing from side to side like a three-legged mule and giggling insanely the whole time.

All the planning was worth it... seeing his smile waiting for me was the best feeling ever.

I loved my drop veil... loooooved it. I really wanted to leave it down for the entire ceremony, but the wind had other ideas that day - it would have
blown around all crazy if Dad hadn't lifted it at the beginning of the ceremony. Actually, it blew around all crazy anyway.

Soooo - do you come here often?... eventually we stopped staring at each other and listened to the guy talk.

Our groupies... OK, I'm going to try not to put too many family photos in here, mostly because I know no one but me really gives a rat's ass - and that's fine, because frankly I get bored when I have to scroll through 287 pictures of someone's nearest and dearest - let's face it, photos of relatives are only
interesting if you're actually related. But I love these, so how about we just compromise with six? Yes? Good. Feel free to skip if you're bored:

A quick interruption to the flow of events... just because I want to perv on a few detail shots. And now
that I look at them, WTF am I doing with my little finger in the left photo? Weird.

Readings... Mr Redshoegirl's mom read the classic Blessing for a Marriage, and my mom followed with an excerpt from The Velveteen Rabbit
(I chose this passage specifically because she always choked up when reading to us as kids, and it held a lot of meaning for
both of us). My stepmom finished with another classic: Union by Robert Fulghum.

(My stepmom started crying during her reading - I reached out to steady her and we held on to each other until she was done.)

Yep... we were those people. We didn't memorize our vows (I was too nervous I wouldn't remember them) and
I never got around to making a cutesy card to read them from instead of a big fat sheet of paper.

Aaaaaand there it goes... this was the point when I just couldn't handle my veil any longer. It had come loose and it was only being held in by one comb tooth, which was yanking savagely on my hair every time the wind blew (which was every few seconds). I spent the rest of the ceremony sans veil.

I won't be letting him forget this anytime soon... right in the middle of a particularly meaningful moment in the ceremony, Mr Redshoegirl
suddenly let out the most enormous sneeze ever. It took a moment to get over the giggles.

The ring exchange... this was one of my favorite parts of the ceremony, and a moment of "Wow - this is really happening!"
To get around the whole where-do-I-put-my-engagement-ring-during-the-ceremony issue, we incorporated it into the ring exchange:
“The engagement ring is a symbol of promise and intention. Now the intention is realized and the promise fulfilled.
Please place your engagement ring on Lisa’s finger over her wedding band to symbolize that
the love that brought you together will always protect and sustain your marriage.”

The blessing of the hands - I love this passage so much, just reading it makes me all soppy and pathetic. (There are a few different versions - the link
is to one that was the most similar to the one we used - for some reason I couldn't find the exact same version. One of the others referenced me
feeling Mr Redshoegirl's "child stirring within my womb" and that just made me feel squicky. Sorry if that means I have a heart of blackened coal.)

Sealing the deal... I was a little excited at the kiss. Just a tiny bit. I didn't realize I looked so psychotically possessive until now. Eh who cares - I was happy!

Hugs all around!... yeah that's right, more pictures of my relatives. How sweet is the one of Mr. Redshoegirl's dad wiping his eyes?

Soon to be Mrs. ???... in Hawaii you have to sign the license with the name you intend to use in the future. Since I was still on the fence as of that morning,
there was a bit of last minute decision making to be done. (For anyone interested, I decided to use both last names, with no hyphen.)

It was sweet... the photo on the left cracks me up every time I look at it. See Mr. Redshoegirl's dad over on the left, talking to the officiant? He was earnestly explaining to the minister that we had the wrong date on the license, and was very worried it would invalidate our marriage. Mr. Redshoegirl and his family are Australian, and they write the date the same way it's done in Europe (day/month/year), so he didn't realize it was correct for the States.

Group shots... the requisite group photo. And the requisite "perv on the newlyweds kissing" shot.

Blue Steel... I have no idea what was behind this hand-on-the-hip pose. But at least I wasn't the only one acting like a model that day.

Just the two of us... our parents headed off for some much needed refreshments, so it was portrait time. Oh, little story about the photos below.
Our videographer Chrissy asked us to walk the length of the beach and back, to give her some nice tracking shots of us. While we were plodding
along (sorry, there's no graceful description for what I was doing - walking on sand in a constricting dress is a bitch), Mr. Redshoegirl started to whisper
naughty wedding night ideas in my ear. Chrissy frantically started waving at us and shouting, "He's still miked! I can hear you! I'm recording ALL OF THIS!"
That raised bouquet in the bottom right photo is because I smacked him with it after laughing like a lunatic. Pity she didn't include the whispering
in the final edit, but it's probably just as well considering we're sending one to my 77-year-old Nana.

*smooch*... there was a whole lot of kissing going on that day. Mr. Redshoegirl said that by the end of the day, his lips were sore. (And for the sake of the children, I'll refrain from making a "that's what she said" joke here. What can I say - The Office has mentally scarred me forever.)

More bouquet shots... just in case, you know, you'd forgotten how much I loved it. I have to say it looks pretty cute when Mr. Redshoegirl holds it, too.

It really wasn't a Cinderella thing... my feet were killing me from the sand inside my shoes chafing - Mr. Redshoegirl sweetly
brushed it off due to my previously mentioned lack of ability to bend over.

More kissy shots... just in case you hadn't see enough yet.

Swoon... I love this next little series. I'm not even going to spoil it with commentary.

And now for something completely different... OK not really, but it is a little something I like to call "8 Reasons to Wear a Veil":

Sit down and relax... after a while we headed into the bar at Azul, the restaurant we were having our wedding dinner at that night. I love
the photo on the right: "He's not taking a picture of us, is he?" "Nah, just the bouquet." "Thank god. I'm exhausted." "Yeah. Me too."

I am so not a model... I love the way these photos turned out - the dramatic lighting, the washed out colors, and how rockin my figure looks. Shooting them, however, was another story entirely. The dialogue went something like this: "Lisa, sit back and relax - look down. OK wait sit up. But relax. But sit more upright.
Sit up. UP!" As I've mentioned before, it was virtually impossible to sit upright in my dress, and the deep seats didn't help any either - my feet didn't touch the ground, leaving me nothing to brace against and a long, slow slide onto the floor. I think by the end of it I had a serious case of stink eye. Sorry about that Frank.

Time to wind things down... see that photo in the middle? That's my favorite out of all of the 2,941 photos we received. I love it beyond words.

The venue... we treated our guests to Hawaiian fusion cuisine at Roy's Restaurant. I'm not going to post a lot of pics here, partly because it was a very low key party with little in the way of interesting decor (and I know y'all don't want to see 397 photos of people you don't know doing boring stuff like eating), and partly because I was lazy and didn't take any photos (hiring pro photogs for either AHR just wasn't in the budget). However, I think my boobs looked good in that dress, so you might see a fair few shots like this:

Oh look, I lied. There are a grand total of two detail shots:
left... that teensy bamboo was the sole centerpiece or decoration of any kind that Roy's set out. We didn't provide it and have no idea why it was there.
(BTW, the food at Roy's is beyond fabulous; I recommend the baby back ribs or the Misoyaki Butterfish if you ever go - both are melt in your mouth delicious.)
right... my last minute placecards. They were lame, but oh well. Looks like Aunt Harriet was enjoying her piña colada though!

left... new husband + enormous dirty martini = life is good
right... Dad was thrilled he got to break out an aloha shirt for the occasion. I think he has about 782. It's a sickness.

The cool people table. Note the copious amounts of empty booze glasses.

left... new husband before the drinking began
right... new husband about eight beers into the evening. Yes, I realize this photo is très tacky.

Moi. Me mam. Me sisty.

The venue... we were originally planning celebrate at a family home in Sydney, but 3 months before the dinner this had to be changed; we knew we wouldn't be able to find a venue in Sydney (in peak wedding season on a Saturday night? NOT happening!), so we transferred the location to Bathurst and celebrated with dinner and drinks at our favorite pub, The Oxford - sometimes you just gotta roll with the punches! Again, not a lot of pics, mostly because they're boring if you weren't there. Plus my boobs didn't look nearly as awesome in this dress (it was freaking freezing - no way I was going sleeveless!):

Old friends... my darling Beck, who kept me sane during a very, very low point in my life - I don't know what I'd have done without her.
Not that you care about that, but she deserves a shout out.

Yup. That's it... we only have one photo from the dinner! That's the risk you run if you rely on friends and family to give you photos. Most of the time it turns out OK, but we couldn't get people to email/send a CD/upload their pictures to the Flickr account we set up no matter how much we begged and pleaded and offered bribes. Mr. Redshoegirl's mom did give us a few photos, but instead of letting us download them like we asked, she tried to do us a sweet favor by printing them...and then deleting them off her camera, which means we now have 10 prints that we really can't use (his parents aren't really into technology, and she was confused as to why we were excited to receive two CDs of digital pro photos instead of a bunch of prints). OK I'm done whining. We'll get them someday!

It had to happen... the requisite dress-in-the-window shot. Know why everyone has this picture? Because there is literally
no place else to hang the dress without the train dragging all over the floor. Plus it just looks really cool.

Blingy stuff... see that photo of our rings on the left? I've tried to do this with them, and failed miserably. All I can conclude from this is that Frank is magical.

My sweet, precious little shoes... they would have been the most comfortable shoes ever if I hadn't neglected to remove all of the cardboard lining
around the toes before putting them on. In my defense, it was a frantically busy moment and the cardboard was white, so I thought
it was part of the shoe. Mr. Redshoegirl will mock me until my dying day, but come on - can you see it in the photo? Exactly.

Irony is a bitch... when we got our photos back, I was startled to realize that our infamous ring orb hadn't made it into any of the photos. To be fair,
I didn't specifically ask Frank for the pictures (this is something like what I had in mind, if you're curious), but at the same time I couldn't help but laugh - the
one time in my geeky little life that I'm a trendsetter, and I didn't get any photographic evidence! *le sigh* Below you see the one photo the orb made it
into (aside from the ring exchange during the ceremony, where it's barely visible) - how funny is that?!?

Legos!... oh you know it had to happen after the original photo shoot!

(Even the amateurs got in on the Lego model action!)

My beloved bouquet... I was so in love with my bouquet - it broke my heart to have to leave it behind! The cameo brooch was passed on to me when my
grandmother passed away; the lavender ribbon is a tribute to my beloved aunt, who lost her battle with cancer exactly 3 years ago. You can
see the boutonnière on my dad at the right, and there's a decent shot of the corsages below.

We all get inspired by images we find, and it's always interesting to see how the end result differs from the inspiration. So here are a few examples from our wedding of our inspirations vs the reality of how it actually turned out:

stationery
inspiration... |1| invitation by White Aisle, |2| bellybands by Envelopments, |3| wraparound labels by lisakeiko
reality... lei graphic and invite layout by yours truly, dual layer bellybands with floral backing and guest names, custom designed labels incorporating lei graphic (visit my planning bio for more photos and invitation detail)

flowers
inspiration... pinks and orange tones with beargrass accents
reality... roses and mokara orchids with looped beargrass for the bouquet and boutonnieres, and corsages of roses and cymbidium orchids (vendor review)

attire
inspiration... strapless lace mermaid gown (both pictured were unfortunately out of my price range), drop veil
reality... Maggie Sottero - Melena - strapless lace slim fitting a-line (vendor review) and sheer chapel length drop veil (vendor review)

hair & makeup
inspiration... fresh makeup with emphasis on the eyes (plus a face transplant so I could be as hot as Minka or Katharine), curly hair in a low-do

reality... perfect makeup, hair...not so much what I was looking for (check out the vendor review for details)

My rating system...I don't find the A - F rating system very helpful, mostly because "A+++++++++++" doesn't really have any meaning. I want to know two things: 1) what was your experience and 2) what's the bottom line (whether you would/wouldn't recommend them to a friend). I've also included alternates in some of my reviews: talented, highly regarded vendors who I would have probably been just as happy with if our first choice wasn't available on that day.

photography vendor... Frank Amodo \|website\| My experience... we had two criteria when looking for a photographer: talent and price. We fell in love with Frank's talent, and although it was a little out of our price range, Frank understood the need to stick to a budget and customized a package for us so that we could get what we really wanted (3 hours of his superb work) without paying for stuff we didn't really need (extra prints, etc.). I can honestly say that Frank was worth every penny. When we met him, he instantly put us at ease – no small feat considering we both loathe having our picture taken! But Frank somehow managed to make it fun and interesting; he’s just such a fabulous guy, and so enthusiastic and energetic – he came up with so many amazing ideas for our photos. The bottom line... I think his work speaks for itself – it's so stunning, there isn't anything I can say other than BOOK HIM NOW! Alternate vendors... we also considered Shawn Starr, who has a very similar style to Frank and is just as popular. Visionari produces incredible work but is fairly pricey - but check out their more budget friendly division, dulce by visionari.
videography vendor... Josh Johnson Productions \|website\| My experience... Josh's company is very budget friendly – a big attraction considering our limited budget! A few months after we booked, I heard from another knottie that since he was expanding his business, he was farming out the videography to Chrissy from Blue Cricket Productions, who would be the one shooting all the wedding videos from that point on. This didn't really bother me, since I'd heard positive things about her; however, I would have appreciated it if we'd been notified of the change instead of having to hear about it secondhand (although Josh did eventually email me about this a week before the wedding). As it turns out, I was thrilled with Chrissy – she’s so fun and friendly, and kept us laughing the whole time! She and Frank worked together really well, and she's very responsive when you email her with a question. The bottom line...We love our video! It's not as sleek as some of the more expensive companies, and because we only had one camera there aren't a lot of changes in shooting angle, but it's still excellent quality and Chrissy did a great job editing the film and adding the songs we gave her to the soundtrack. I know we could have gotten something flashier, but we would have also paid a LOT more - and considering we won't watch it all the time, that would have been a craaaaazy waste of money. As it is, I'm totally satisfied with both what we paid and the end product - and also so happy that we decided to get a video, since we were on the fence for a long time. Alternate vendors... Big Picture Video is very budget friendly as well, although I haven't read any reviews of their videos.
hair & makeup vendor... Dorys Foltin \|website\| My experience... Dorys Foltin is probably the most highly recommended makeup artist in Oahu, so I feel a little bad giving her a partially negative review. First, the good: my makeup was perfect, and I loved it – it was exactly what I wanted and I looked like the best possible version of myself. However, I was less than thrilled with my hair. I want to be clear that there was nothing actually wrong with the style; however, it was nothing like what I had in mind. I wanted a very simple low-do featuring my natural curl and showed Dorys some inspiration photos; instead, I got something that was oddly straightened in some places and frizzy in others, with few actual curls. It was a windy day, and when Dorys finished I was concerned that the top part might not be secure – she repeatedly assured me that it was “rock solid and not going anywhere," but it came apart even before I left the hotel room, and I spent the entire ceremony shoving big frizzy chunks out of my face (check out this photo - it's supremely unflattering, but I want you to be able see what I'm talking about so you know I'm not exaggerating). I was also vaguely annoyed that she was out of mascara and asked to use mine - obviously not the biggest drama in the world, but I felt mildly aggravated that she hadn't checked her supplies. Dorys seemed a bit rushed and would have forgotten to do some extra things we agreed upon (and I paid extra for) if I hadn't reminded her when she started packing up. She gets so many rave reviews, maybe she was just having an off day, but I left feeling a little disgruntled; I know I wasn't her biggest client, but it still wasn't cheap by any means, and I am sorry to say that I didn't really feel I got my money's worth. The bottom line... Dorys is talented – there’s no question about that. However, I would HIGHLY recommend getting a trial done to work out any potential problems or misunderstandings ahead of time. Due to a tight budget and schedule, I didn't have one – if I had, we probably could have tweaked the hairstyle to better reflect what I wanted. As it was, since Dorys finished less than an hour before the ceremony, I just had to go with what she did. Alternate vendors... Christine Gardner is also incredibly popular on the Hawaii board, and similarly priced.
flowers vendor... Watanabe Floral \|website\| My experience... it was a huge challenge to find a vendor who would provide a small order without charging an arm and a leg. Watanabe Floral were the most affordable and helpful of all the florists I contacted; Rona was also one of the few who didn't sneer at our limited budget. This is probably because Watanabe isn't actually a wedding floral company – they do all kinds of flowers, for all kinds of occasions (as well as wholesale if you're interested in DIY), and therefore don't have the automatic wedding markup. When she's busy, she won't reply immediately to emails (though you'll usually hear from her within a couple days), but since we had plenty of time this didn't worry me, and she was always friendly and open to my ideas. But. OH. MY. GOD. Rona was amazing. Seriously amazing. I think my bouquet may have been my favorite thing about the whole day (well, aside from marrying Mr. Redshoegirl). It was stunningly perfect. It was EXACTLY what I envisioned, and at a fraction of the exorbitant price that wedding florists had quoted! The boutonnieres and corsages were gorgeous as well, but I have to say that my bouquet stole the show. It was just so beautiful in person, total strangers came up to me to say how much they liked it. It broke my heart to leave the flowers behind when we left Oahu! The bottom line... if you have a limited budget, I truly cannot recommend Rona enough. Alternate vendors... We also considered Flower Farm, and if we had a bigger order I'd have loved to hire the fabulous Flower Girls.
dress vendor... Chrissy O Bridal Boutique \|website\| My experience... I knew from the beginning that although I'd choose my gown in a bridal salon, I'd order it from an online retailer. (In Australia, wedding dresses are marked up for more than double what they would sell for in the USA.) I contacted every reputable seller I could find, and ended up buying my dress from Chrissy O Bridal for a significant discount (click here for details of my bargain shopping). Ask on the Dress board for recommendations; places like Chrissy O are legitimate authorized retailers who also operate an online business (think of it like Target - they have both physical shops and online shopping). The bottom line... not only did I get a good price, but the girls there were helpful and quick to respond to emails, and I received my dress on time and in great shape. Alternate vendors... I also received great quotes from RK Bridal and Pearl's Place - both are very reputable brick-and-mortar stores.
veil vendor... Occansey Designs \|website\| My experience... I was extremely fussy about my veil. Kathy at Occansey Designs was fabulous - she patiently answered my many (probably inane) questions and the end result was a beautiful, totally custom veil that was exactly what I wanted - and at a far lower price than you'd find in a bridal salon! The website also has a fantastic gallery of veils to help you narrow down what you're looking for (ignore the scary mannequins). The bottom line... great product at an even better price, with speedy service and a very helpful owner. Alternate vendors... Veilshop comes highly recommended by many knotties, and has similar prices to Occansey Designs. I briefly considered ValuVeil, but nixed them when I discovered that they only carry 54" wide tulle (72" and 108" are the other standard widths, and I wanted a custom 70") - however, they have excellent reviews and prices.
officiant vendor... Rev Mike Nelson \|email\| My experience... we chose Rev Nelson because he emphasizes that he does custom ceremonies, and was one of the few officiants that we could email (critical when you’re planning from Australia). When I contacted him a few weeks after booking, he got me confused with another bride and then asked for our event info again; since he apologized for the mishap and explained that it was a busy time of year, I shrugged it off. Then, when I emailed him a week prior to our wedding with the notes he'd requested to cover what we wanted in our ceremony, he again had no idea who I was...and proceeded to criticize how we wanted to say our vows, snippily stated that one of our readings "didn't have much meaning" and complained that my notes were so extensive that I'd "practically written the whole ceremony" (I'd sent two short statements we wanted to include, plus copies of of our readings and vows so he could preview them). At that point red flags were waving frantically, but since we were one week from the wedding, we held our breath, ignored the rude comments and trusted the good things we’d heard about him from a couple other knotties. The final ceremony was nice enough, although it irked me that he included part of one of our readings in his homily – when my stepmom did her reading, the entire last paragraph was needlessly repetitive. Mr. Redshoegirl and I also agreed later that it didn't seem like there was much feeling in the ceremony; I know that might sound silly (after all, it’s not as though we had a close relationship with him) but we both left with the sense that he was just going through the motions, and it felt like he had somewhere else he'd rather be. The bottom line... if you like constant communication and have specific ideas about what you want in the ceremony, then Rev Nelson probably isn’t the guy for you – I think he's happiest when he gets to make all the ceremony content decisions. Alternate vendors... Rev Frank Mak is very popular and always gets glowing reviews - phone (808) 536-5224.
hotel - ko olina, oahu vendor... J.W. Marriott Ihilani Hotel \|website\| My experience... this place just oozes luxury, from the fabulous rooms to the stunning lagoons and delicious restaurants. Our room had a gorgeous view of the ocean (and incredibly, overlooked the exact spot we got married!), and even the regular rooms are enormous, with super comfy beds and massive, luxurious bathrooms. For our wedding dinner we ate at Azul, one of their four restaurants, and it was superb – truly some of the best food I’ve ever tasted. Of course, all this doesn’t come cheap, and our week-long stay at the Ihilani was one of our biggest splurges of the trip; however, I can genuinely say I have no regrets about spending that money – we’re usually a bit more reserved with our hotel budget, but on this one occasion we wanted to splash out and stay somewhere really special. Note: I got my wedding day manicure and pedicure at the divine hotel spa - both were very nice, although of course outrageously overpriced. The bottom line... if you want to play in Waikiki all day, the Ihilani isn't very conveniently situated – you'll need to fight traffic to get there and pay exorbitant parking fees when you arrive. However, if you just want to lounge by the pool with a drink (I highly recommend the deliciously addictive Lava Flows!) and stroll along the beach, you can't beat the Ihilani. Tip: sign up for the free Marriott Rewards before you book, and call the hotel to ask for the Member room rate – we saved over $100 a night! Alternate vendors... the resort also houses Marriott's Ko Olina Beach Club – although it's more affordable than the Ihilani, it still gets rave reviews, and there are rooms available with kitchens if you don't want to have to eat out all the time.
hotel - hilo, big island vendor... Volcano Village Lodge \|website\| My experience... although the most popular resorts are located in Kona, Mr. Redshoegirl and I wanted to stay in Hilo for easy access to the Volcano National Park. The Volcano Village Lodge was absolutely one of the best experiences of our honeymoon – Mr. Redshoegirl still can’t stop raving about it! Kay, the super sweet lodge owner, has created a blissful B&B out of a former artist’s retreat, and her touches can be felt everywhere – from the luxurious cedar flooring and cozy fireplaces to the eco-friendly soaps and delicious organic foods she provides each day. We stayed in the Kilauea room, which is the smallest of the five cabins, but also the most fascinating – three of its walls are floor to ceiling windows, leaving you with an incredibly intimate sense of being tucked away inside the rainforest. Privacy isn’t a problem, as the cabins are all carefully separated by gravel and timber walkways, and the stunning rainforest gardens (tended by local Buddhist monks, no less) provide a natural screen. The single drawback (at least for us, with our strict ‘closed door’ bathroom policy) was that the cabin had an open floorplan – the walls of the bathroom don’t extend all the way to the ceiling, meaning your other half can hear everything that happens while you’re in there. :-P However, I can honestly say that this was just a small hitch in an otherwise incredible visit, and we’d gladly stay there again! The bottom line... if you’re looking for pure peace and tranquility, this is it. Alternate vendors... I really can’t think of any, although there are dozens of B&Bs in the area – Kay’s lodge is simply unique!
hotel - waikiki, oahu vendor... ResortQuest Waikiki Beach Hotel \|website\| My experience... on our return trip to Australia, we had to spend a night on Oahu before flying out the next morning. We wanted a hotel that was relatively low priced but also well located so we could spend the evening walking around Waikiki. This hotel has a fantastic location on the beach, with a funky open air lobby and reception area, daily breakfast by the pool, and very friendly staff. (It’s also home to Tiki's Grill & Bar, a very popular venue for casual rehearsal dinners and receptions.) Our room was on the small side, but it was recently renovated, with sleek dark wooden furniture and trendy red and white décor. It only took us a couple minutes to walk to the heart of the tourist strip restaurants and stores on Waikiki’s main street for dinner and a bit of last minute sightseeing. The bottom line... we’d definitely stay here again! It’s fairly well priced for the Waikiki area, and although the rooms aren’t enormous, they’re nicely presented. Alternate vendors... there are about a bajillion hotels in the Waikiki area – the Aqua Resorts are popular on the Hawaii board for pleasant, low cost accommodation, and if you have a more generous budget, check out the Moana Surfrider – my dad and stepmom stayed here and it’s gorgeous! (P.S. I can 100% NOT recommend the ResortQuest Waikiki Circle Hotel, where Mr. Redshoegirl’s parents booked – they were looking for someplace a bit more budget friendly, but this particular hotel in ResortQuest’s chain isn't worth the savings: it’s old, in desperate need of renovations and quite noisy).

I have mixed feelings about the advice section of bios. Sometimes it's useful. Sometimes it's annoying. Mostly it's common sense. I'm not egocentric enough to think that my advice is any more valuable than anyone else's, but hey, you never know when someone might pick up a helpful hint - so here are some of my thoughts now that the wedding is over...

Prepare for the unexpected. In addition to the numerous minor things that went wrong, we had issues ranging from financial problems (our already modest budget was dramatically affected by my being unemployed for 6 months prior to the wedding, which was then compounded by taking on unexpected expenses for our Australian AHR), to one of Mr. Redshoegirl's drunk relatives telling a startlingly racist joke as part of a toast (gee, thanks Uncle!). The point is: things WILL arise that you didn't anticipate, and you WILL have to make compromises and handle things that you didn't expect. You need to be flexible and gracious enough to accommodate this without turning into a flaming bridezilla and ripping the head off the nearest bystander. No matter how much you might feel like it at the time.

Take time to breathe. I'd read this numerous times before, but it really is true - the day DOES go incredibly quickly, much faster than you expect! In the hours leading up to the ceremony, our hotel room was full of people rushing about, taking pictures, fretting over minor issues, etc. I appreciated having our mothers for company, but they were all so nervous and excited and flustered that my stress level actually rose by having them with me; I wish I'd been able to just sit down alone and quiet my mind a little before the ceremony instead of rushing around so much.

It's OK if it's not perfect. I'd say that in at least half the married bios I've read, the bride gushes about how perfect their wedding was. P-E-R-F-E-C-T. Well...ours wasn't. There were a lot of things that went wrong, from an ill-fitting wedding gown (dress fittings were a casualty of the budget cuts I mentioned a moment ago - I've culled the worst of the pictures out of egotism, but trust me - it was atrociously poor fitting), to frantic and nerve-ridden parents, to a sub-par officiant that left us both disgruntled. But in the midst of it all, when I saw Mr. Redshoegirl waiting for me on our little beach with that huge smile on his face...suddenly everything became better. All the problems didn't magically go away, and there were still more things we had to deal with before the day was out, but it was OK. It wasn't perfect - not even close - but I was marrying the love of my life, and all that other stuff was just details.
In the interest of full disclosure: for a few days after the wedding, I privately sulked about some of the stuff that went wrong, especially my gown, hair and our officiant. I'm ashamed to admit this because it's so superficial (didn't I just finish rhapsodizing about how getting married was the only important thing?), but in a way I think it was unavoidable; after all, we'd spent nearly two years planning something, so disappointment was natural when it turned out significantly different to what we hoped for and imagined. But after a couple days, I again realized that it really didn't matter - we were married, and that was worth everything. (Plus, thanks to the wonders of Photoshop and film editing, my hair and gown can still look fab, and the worst aspects of our officiant can be cut. Guess I'm shallow after all.)

Bow chicka bow wow... sit back and enjoy the awesome photos of these lovely ladies, all who have inspired me, awed me, made me laugh, made me jealous, and in times of stress have made me appreciate how wonderful a wedding can be. (Side note: as most of you know, Shutterfly recently changed their photo hosting settings - as a result, some of the photos in the bios below are now ridiculously weensy. I've temporarily left these bios on my list in the hopes that the girls will be able to fix this problem so we don't lose their inspirational bios!)


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