Author: mark

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BEYOND THE VEIL : WEDDING VEILS AND DRESSES

As it is getting that time of year that brides are plaining their weddings I decided to ask  wedding dress and veil designer Summer Spence of Beyond the Veil to be a guest  blogger. I have added a few photographs  from our photo shoot at the Royal Hawaiian Hotel.  Without further ado here is Summer.

Wedding day scenario:

It’s finally here… your big day.  Your closest friends and family members hustle and bustle in and out of your hotel room with the last minute details as you and your bridesmaids get ready.  One by one the bridesmaids get their hair and makeup done, then last but of course not least, you, the woman about to say “I do” is in the hot seat.  You are calm but excited as the extremely talented photographer (most likely Mark 🙂 is zeroing in on your lips as the makeup artist lines them to perfection.  MOB is helping you with your jewelry as your MOH checks to see if you like the corsages that the florist just dropped off.  Bridesmaids are returning back to your room dressed in their beautiful dresses with smiles on their faces ( because you let them choose the bridesmaids’ dress).

Hair and makeup done, now this is it, the moment when you get to slip into your gown.  Mom follows you into your room to help with buttons, zippers, ribbons etc.  You are beginning to feel like the bride as you look at yourself in the mirror all dressed in white.  Bridesmaids begin to filter into the room, because you need more help tucking and buttoning.  A few minutes pass as everyone marvels at how gorgeous you look.  AND NOW, it’s the moment when everyone is grabbing their cameras and standing anxiously along side Mark shooting away as I put the veil on your head.  It is such an exciting moment, because this is the moment… you become the BRIDE!

I have lived this day over a hundred times, and the veiling of the bride is always the most exciting moment short of the ceremony itself.  Recently, the style of the veil and/or headdress have begun to shift.  I saw it coming about eight years ago when brides stopped wearing anything in their hair, because of the lack of options on the market.  As a hairdresser specializing in weddings, I was sad to see this happen.  I knew I needed to fill this gap, and create something new and unique.  The veil and headdress finish the look of the bride… it says, ” I AM THE BRIDE.”  The gown is like a beautiful painting, and the veil is the frame.  Not all frames match every painting.  It has to complement and enhance the painting.  I have designed headdresses that are soft and feminine.  I try to emulate the 20’s and 30’s styles.  The women of those days knew how to exude beauty with so much class.  They didn’t need show much skin, because the lines and fabric of the clothing and headdresses excentuated their beauty.  Along with my line of veils and headdresses, I am now designing wedding gowns that cover more skin, while allowing the fabric and design to enhance, soften and exude femininity.

Mark has posted some of our recent shoot together and I believe he will post more soon, if not today.  The photos that he posts are of my veils and headdress only, but I have included a sketch of one of my modest gowns in my upcoming line.  Hope you like them!   Thanks Mark:)

Summer Spence


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ALOHA KO’OLAULOA : HAU’ULA ELEMENTRY SCHOOL APRIL 24 10AM-3PM

THIS SATURDAY COME OUT AND SUPPORT OUR LOCAL HAWAIIAN LANGUAGE IMMERSION PROGRAM!  THIS IS A FUN EVENT FOR ALL FAMILIES- FOOD AND ENTERTAINMENT.  TICKETS CAN BE PURCHASED AT THE EVENT FOR $8 , AND THE PLATE LUNCH IS GOING TO BE ALL HAWAIIAN FOOD AND HUGE.   PRAY FOR GOOD WEATHER, A LOT OF WORK HAS GONE INTO THIS EVENT, COME AND SHOW YOUR SUPPORT!   SPECIAL HOLLADAY PHOTO OFFER FOR THOSE WHO ATTEND- IF YOU COME, FIND ME AT THE EVENT, (I WON’T BE IN A BOOTH, JUST FLOATING AROUND) AND I WILL SNAP A PHOTO OF YOUR FAMILY AND EMAIL IT TO YOU!  YOU CAN ALSO BID ON A IN AND OUT OF THE WATER FAMILY PHOTO SHOOT WORTH $500, AMONG OTHER THINGS, AT THE SILENT AUCTION.

(POSTERS BELOW DONE BY YOURS TRULY)

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ANGELA & DOMI : HAWAII MATERNITY PHOTOGRAPHY, NORTH SHORE OF OHAU

While photographing a wedding in northern California last fall I meet Angela and Domi.  They are also wedding photographers and work between Hawaii and Canada.   You’ve got to check out their photo booth at www.photoboothhawaii.com, I wish I had one of these at my wedding.  Well I had a lot of fun taking their maternity pictures, and I was so excited when they wanted to go in the water.  We stopped at a few different beaches on the north shore of Oahu and even ended up getting in the surf at Waimea bay.



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KELLEY & ROB : DESTINATION ENGAGEMENT PHOTOGRAPHY, OAHU HAWAII

Photographing Kelley and Robs engagement was so much fun.  I knew how much they love the water, and they let me be creative with it.   I asked them to tell you their story to go along with their amazing pictures.

When Robbie and I met, we were fourteen; we actually met the summer before we both made the awkward transition into high school.  Although we both had slight crushes on each other in the beginning, this quickly faded as immature high school relationships typically do.  We were strictly friends throughout high school and when Robbie moved our senior year, we heard about each other often as our family friends and social groups continued to unite our worlds.

When Robbie served his mission in Detroit, I sent him one letter.  Undoubtedly it was his favorite letter received.  Not because it said anything important but because it was written on the back of a page ripped out of Surfer Magazine.  I guess I knew how hard it must have been for him to be so far away from the ocean that had practically raised us both.

As soon as I returned from my mission in Russia this last October, Robbie flew home from BYU-Hawaii for Thanksgiving break.  He made the drive up to Santa Barbara to surf Rincon and casually come pay me a visit.  That trip up the coast changed everything for us.

Since our engagement day, Robbie and I have been excitedly waiting to take our engagement pictures with Mark.  Mark is so fun to work with mostly because of his great epiphanies he envisions with clients.  He’s very good at improvising and building upon what is coming at him through the lens.

One of the most unique features of Mark’s photography is his ability to be in the water with his clients.  For both Robbie and I the water is everything.  His underwater portraits are what made us fall in love with his work.  It is something so unusual that nobody else does and something that we had to have to remember our “young and in love” stage of life.



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ELIZABETH & PAYDEN : HAWAII ENGAGEMENT PHOTOGRAPHY, KANEOHE BAY

This had all the ingredients of my favorite kind of photo shoot: sailboat, water, fun people, adventure.  On my way to the shoot I called the surf report and heard there was a small craft advisory with a 3-5 foot swell on the East side where we were going.  I thought maybe we’d just stay on the dock.  We didn’t.  We went to sea, out to the Kaneohe sand bar about an hour sail.  Despite the gale force winds and nearly flipping over a couple times, we all had a great time.  The sun came out for us and the sandbar was amazing.  Captain Earl brought Kaka the duck, I will try to get some photos up of them since they were one of best parts too.


Hawaii engagement photography Kaneohe bay sandbar.

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CODY : KAILUA HAWAII NEWBORN PHOTOGRAPHY

This is my 3rd time photographing Heather and Drew’s family.  First was their wedding, the second was the amazing underwater maternity pictures, and just recently they call me a few days after the birth of  their newborn son Cody.  I get to meet some really cool people being a photographer, and I think Cody is one of them.  Congratulations Heather and Drew, and thanks for having me in your home to photograph Cody’s newborn pictures.

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PICTURE OF THE DAY 3 : HAU’ULA HAWAII PHOTOGRAPHY

These were taken in my studio in Hau’ula with some wonderful ambient light coming through the windows. My daughter was getting ready for a date with mommy to go see a play.  She was excited to get her hair curled for the first time.  She tends to dislike posing for the camera but I think she’s as cute as any Jcrew kid.