A Hawaii Destination Wedding: Amanda and Shauna on Oahu
A real destination wedding on Oahu: an oceanfront veranda ceremony above Waikiki, portraits on the lava coast and at Koko Head, and a sunset that made the whole island glow.
We have photographed weddings in nine countries, and Amanda and Shauna's is one we still bring up when couples ask what a Hawaii wedding can feel like. They flew their celebration to Oahu, an oceanfront ceremony above Waikiki and a reception overlooking the water, and we flew out to document all of it.
Two brides, one island, and a single day of coverage that had to hold everything: the getting-ready, the vows, and a sweep of the island's most beautiful light. This is destination photography at its best, and its most demanding.
Waikiki, and the Details That Traveled
Nothing sets a Hawaii wedding like the view from above Waikiki: the turquoise arc of the beach with Diamond Head rising at the end of it. We opened the day there, then turned to the details that had crossed an ocean to be here, the rings nestled in a beaded clutch, the orchid leis, the palm-stamped escort cards.
Amanda wore a lace mermaid gown; Shauna wore a crisp white suit. Two very different looks, one shared palette of white, gold, and green, and a wedding that felt entirely theirs.
Vows on the Veranda
The ceremony happened on a white oceanfront veranda, orchids on the rails, the Pacific stretching out behind them, and the two of them holding hands in front of family who had made the trip. When they kissed, the whole veranda came apart with joy.
An intimate destination ceremony is a photographer's gift: no crowd to work around, ocean light on every face, and nothing between the couple and the horizon.
The Lava Coast and Koko Head
Then we chased the island. Oahu gives a photographer more range in an afternoon than most places give in a week: black lava rock breaking against the surf on one coast, and the golden slopes of Koko Head at sunset on another. We took Amanda and Shauna to both.
The hero image of this story came at the end of the day below the crater, the two of them small in all that light. Knowing which corner of an island will glow at which hour is the whole job on a destination wedding, and it only comes from planning the day backward from the sun.
Mahalo
The reception overlooked the water in a bright, arched room, orchid centerpieces, sparkling linens, and a gold mahalo sign that said everything about how the day felt. We stayed through the toasts and the dancing, because on a destination wedding you are not just the photographer, you are part of the small group who traveled for this.
If you are dreaming of marrying somewhere far from home, our destination weddings page covers how we travel, and our Aruba destination wedding shows another island celebration end to end.
Planning a Hawaii or Destination Wedding?
We have photographed weddings across nine countries, from Oahu and Aruba to Cabo, Lake Louise, and Lake Como, and we travel as one crew so nothing about the coverage feels far from home. Start with our destination weddings page, then check your date and build live pricing, or start a conversation. We are based in Los Angeles and Dallas-Fort Worth, and we photograph weddings worldwide.
