It’s a beach in the Caribbean where white sands and crystal waters tickle your toes. It’s that spot in Paris when you met for the first time as exchange students, locking eyes at the foot of the Eiffel Tower illuminated in light. It’s a vineyard lush and laden with fruit, where rows and rows of grape vines serve as the picture frame for the declaration of your love. Wherever your “special place” may be, there’s an unmatched appeal to destination weddings, where you can get married in an atmosphere that is most meaningful to you.

Destination weddings physically remove you from the familiar, everyday constraints of your current world, transporting you to the faraway, the liberating, the exotic. As a couple, you leave your wedding-planning stress behind like loaded baggage and are able to experience the lightness of a vacation where you come back as husband and wife. Where palm trees sway under the sun to a tropical breeze scented with plumeria and coconut, the only thing that matters is the couple and the love you share and celebrate.

With those you hold nearest and dearest in your wedding party, a great team of wedding photographers and videographers to capture your momentous event, and with nature as your canvas, enter a relaxing and fun-filled world created in honor of you. See a brilliantly red Hawaii sunset reflected in each other’s eyes as you say your “I-do’s,” and start your “Once-upon-a-time” in your “land faraway” just a bit earlier than everyone else.

This blog was written by Daisy Luu after her engagement session:

How do a wrist lock and a hip throw lead to an engagement? Once upon a time, wearing a white gi and belt, I met the man that I am fated to marry. Our love story starts out with a mutual interest in martial arts—me in aikido and him in kickboxing. For our engagement photo shoot, I wanted to recapture the story of how we met and fell in love.

In the course of wedding planning, we went with some vendors for budget, some for location convenience, and some because our first choice was booked. But one thing we knew we wanted from the beginning was Michael Soo as our photographer. From viewing his work, we could tell that he put couples at ease in front of the camera so their natural playfulness and beauty, along with that special something that highlights their relationship, are effortlessly captured and preserved.

We headed to San Francisco for the rest of our photo shoot after our playful martial arts session. I felt transformed from normal to glamorous as we went around the city for ideal backdrops. However, the fun was yet to come because we insisted on making a hike around fenced off areas and steep steps to get to the little stretch of beach near the Golden Gate bridge, in a spot affectionately dubbed “Soo Rock” for a dramatic picture complete with crashing waves and a golden sunset.

When my parents crossed the sea in their immigration journey to America, they had to leave behind most of their precious belongings, so they don’t have even one wedding picture as a keepsake. This is part of the reason why photography is such a high priority for me in the ever-growing list of wedding necessities. I can always buy another fancy dress, order a three-tiered cake, take a limousine ride. But capturing the here-and-now-freezing a moment in time—can never really be repeated. In the past, I was someone’s baby girl, a student, a best friend. In the future, I may be a wife, a mother, an old lady whose wrinkles tell the familiar story of age and time. But today…today, I am a young woman whose heart is set aglow like the sun, with the wind in my hair and the waves at my feet, kept warm by my lover’s embrace.

What a breathtakingly romantic shot, right? It’s pictures like these that forever remind me of this moment. But some of them come at a bit of a price. So, Ladies—as you work your way through wedding planning and you’re thinking about that one Money-Maker shot that will capture the essence of your love, let me ask you this:

Are you ready to take on the Soo Challenge?

- Daisy Luu & Tung – 8/25/2012

The historically grand Hayes Mansion used to be a private estate. It now is a grand hotel with lush landscape and dramatic views. Yuanyuan & Mike’s wedding started in that estate and mansion and the ceremony was set at The Ranch Golf Club in San Jose with a sunset that casted a golden glow on the couple, literary.

As usual, Tiffany Chiang crafted a beautiful bride into a princess in both her hair styling and makeup artistry. Although we have never photographed in The Ranch Golf Club of San Jose…in fact, we have never been there but with 5 minutes of prep time and blessings of a beautiful sunset, everything beautiful was showcased in light.

If you know me, I always preach about being able to take a great photograph any place, any time. Location doesn’t matter as much. Being in Hawaii again makes me eat my words. I never appreciated Hawaii when I lived in Honolulu, HI between 1991 and 1994. Then again, I was not a photographer then.

I appreciate it more each time I return. The sunset in Kona, North Shore, Waikiki, etc. makes the sky glow hues of red, purple, blue and yellow in just about every evening.

Brian is an executive in Symantec and a art collector who loves the work of Peter Lik. He already owns four Peter Lik’s landscape art pieces in his home thus far and is looking for collections to match, in his wedding photographs.

Beyond his deep appreciation in Landscape art, the Hawaiian within him yearns for an escape to serenity and love. The latter, he acquired in abundance from Dee, his wife-to-be, in about a month or so, October 8th.

Capturing landscape and people well require a multitude of skills such as lighting, meteorology and people skills. Brian also wanted his dad’s home in Aiea, Oahu, Hawaii where he grew up to be photographed as well. That required the photojournalism part of me to emerge, to understand his story, his life in this beautiful home. A home to a large mango tree the he used to climb, growing up, a basement of dirt that he played in and a view from the entry to his home.

We were at Waikiki, Honolulu for a few night scenes and the next day, traveled north to Turtle Bay Resort, Oahu for some of the photos as well as an abandoned building that doesn’t even show up in Google map!! Then, to end the day, an unknown beach in the North Shore. It’s a beach that is filled with sea turtles, climbing up shore for a breather. We saw at least 10-20 sea turtles during our scouting trip there.

An amazing day with fantastic friends. Nothing beat the dinner after at Ige’s and the 19th Puka. Thank you, Brian & Dee for such an amazing time. Tiffany Chiang’s makeup and hair styling was beautifully done, as usual. Her help in directions and ideas made the day wonderfully pleasant.

Photographer Mike Goedde (pronounced as “geddy”) of Episode Photography interviewed numerous high end photographers for his wedding for months. His candidates include Wedding Photographer of the Year, Gene Higa, award winning, Salles Photography among others. Mike booked us immediately after meeting us at our studio. We were truly honored. It is flattering and quite a grand privilege when a phenomenal photographer wants us to photograph his/her very own wedding!!!

The expectations coming from a fellow photographer are usually huge. On the bright side, they will usually go above and beyond to collaborate for great imagery!

Here, the intellectual groomsmen study and plan in the library of Pine Inn, Carmel by the Sea to find the best spots for photography.

Pine Inn is mere minutes away from the wedding ceremony venue, Carmel Mission, aka San Carlos Borroméo de Carmelo Mission. The mission is an absolute photography heaven. We could easily spend the whole day there, taking one breath-taking shot after another for the couple. Here are just a few of the photographs we shot in the short amount of time we we were there.

Alexa was resting in the vintage Chevy after the ceremony at Carmel Mission. I immediately noticed a transparent sticker on its window that says “Just Married” and the shadow falls upon her arm. How appropriate!

Alexa and Mike love to travel. Hence, the theme of the wedding revolves around cities across the world. A old world map was also printed as a mural-like setup on the reception in the St Andrew’s Banquet Hall in The Inn at the Spanish Bay in Pebble Beach.

Here are the rest of the images, one with them silhouetted against the fiery sunset, a real treat since the week leading to the wedding was sprinkled with rain. On the wedding day, the weather was perfect. The sunset surrounding the Inn at the Spanish Bay, Pebble Beach, spectacular. An impeccable way to start a new life together. Congratulations, Alexa and Mike!

Making food photography look better than before using natural AND artificial lighting!

I hope you didn’t blink. This is the last shot of the day where the baker made an amazingly beautiful wedding cake in less than 2 hours!!!

We were using the stone background when the setting sun started shining it’s warm golden light onto the wall (top right), casting the shadow of the structure 50 feet above. It lasted mere minutes.

I whipped out my 35mm lens to include more background in the shot, change the 5 lights setup in 2 minutes (if you’ve done wedding or engagement photography, that’ll improve your reflexes and thinking speed. Anything “wedding” has to be done in lightning speed, both physically and mentally.

The lighting on the cake itself was controlled to show the depth of a white cake that still has texture within itself.

The light behind the cake was carefully metered to be subtle and to accent the background, lighting what was supposed to be dark. Its dual purpose is to light up the “La” in “La Baguette” as well. Now, it glows a halo around the cake. Nice! Just what I needed. Within 2 minutes, all the lights were setup to show the white cake on white tablecloth nicely while the composition is surrounded by darker shadows (except the La Baguette paint). Perfect.

I took 4-5 shots and the light that hit the wall was there no more.

Could I recreate it? Of course!

How much would it cost me to recreate a cookied shot like that using the best equipment?
$10,000. (A high end Fresnel light + powerpack + a nice tall lightstand + a cookie board)

Uh, any cheaper way?
$3000. (A fresnel light modifier, the light of course, a tall light stand and a cardboard)

Still expensive?
$300. (Two really tall light stand, a cardboard and a light source but you need to do it at night.

How much would it cost to do it with nature’s help?
Priceless!

- MS