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But don’t overlook this one either. Your bridesmaid’s dresses will make quite the impact on your Hawaii wedding photos. We want that impact to be one that illuminates the natural beauty of Hawaii and correlates with your overall wedding theme. We also want to ensure that their dresses don’t distract from you + your groom, as this is your magical day!Here’s a few tips for selecting bridesmaid dresses that will enable spectacular Hawaii wedding photographs:
1. Less is more & simple is best.
By selecting simple dresses, your bridesmaids will elegantly enable the beauty of Hawaii to be experienced in every photograph.Our majestic palms, incredible sunsets, colorful blooms, wide open skies, and sea-side greenery will be incredible backdrops for your wedding photos. Also, it’s important to choose dresses created with light fabrics, as the temperatures in Hawaii can be wonderfully warm!
2. Choose soft hues.
Light, softer colors such as blushes and nudes are generally excellent options for bridesmaid dresses. Again, Hawaii offers so much for natural, vibrant coloring and texture, so steering away from the more highly vibrant tones will keep your photographs soft, light and elegant. Although we have started to see a trend toward bold and lovely jewel tones like mustard yellows, plum and wine tones which provide a more bold, yet soft look. Due to them being not overly vibrant in color, they still work wonderfully well with Hawaii’s abundance of vibrant green tones.
3. Feel free to mix & match!
We’ve witnessed some incredibly tasteful bridesmaid dresses of differing style, but similar hue. This is a fun, creative option if you’re looking to represent a couple of different styles in your bridesmaids’ attire. You can keep a crisp and elegant wedding day look, while also artistically selecting different dresses for your girls. Narrow down to a couple of styles, and give your bridesmaids some freedom to find a dress that captures their personality within your palette. Reminiscing on the beautiful way Jade chose this for her bridesmaids!
These are just a few suggestions that we’ve seen consistently create a beautiful look and feel, but we’ve also seen all these rules tastefully broken. So our big message is, take these suggestions with a grain of salt, and we encourage you to follow your heart and choose a style that speaks to you and your best ladies. We hope you’ve found these tips helpful as you prepare to select bridesmaid dresses! Additionally, here are some designers we’d recommend who offer some dresses that align with our above suggestions. Mahalo for reading, & happy shopping!
Bari Jay (Style 1803, 1801 look pretty cute!)
Asos – for the boho lace look, How gorgeous is this dress!?!
Two other brands we love are Flynn Skye and Stone Cold Fox. They don’t have sections for bridesmaids dresses, but maybe a dress for you for the wedding week if anything.
If you have any other beautiful designers / sites that you love that we have not included here, and want to share, please email us at mail@sealightstudios.com, we’d love to update our list!
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]]>India had always been a place of mystery and wonder for me. My parents, before I was born and to this day, go every year to an ashram in northern India. My whole life, stories of this far off land created a collage of mystery for this place that my parents loved so much. And finally this past December, my mom, sister and I made the adventure happen.
We headed for south India, to a magical Ayurvedic retreat to relax, unwind, and share some quality time together. We had a few days in Delhi and a few days in Cochin on our way to Kerala where Nattika Beach Resort
is located. Before I hop into the magic of Nattika, let’s talk culture shock.
We flew from Tokyo to New Delhi, and as we approached, this belt of grey pollution lined the horizon, and yes we descended under it, like going into an under world or something. The clean air Hawaii girl in me, got out my mask to prepare for leaving the plane. Haha, I heard the stories, I was prepared! My mom and sister, no masks. Also before going, a huge issue was happening with government and money, so we were unsure if we could exchange money, and heard stories of 8 hours plus waiting in lines to exchange a maximum of $75. Luckily, grace was on our side, and only 1 hour in line, we were all set. (Yes we used airport exchange booths, it was worth it and so happy we did because banks in town had lines for blocks!!)
It was dusk by this point, and the adventure of experiencing driving in India begins. I should clarify, being a passenger, we would never attempt to drive here – oh my! The Horn, for example the most precious asset of your car in India, and if it doesn’t work, I would imagine you would be in serious trouble. ‘Honk – Honk!!’ I am here. ‘Honk-Honk!!’ – Coming over. ‘Honk – Honk’ – Don’t come over I am here. ‘Honk – Honk’ – No I am really coming over. It was like a language of its own. It was not aggressive, pist off honks you think of here in America, it was a constant conversation, of little light beep beeps, that by the end of the trip, I started to understand more. But really the moment you get in the taxi (ours was a nice comfortable AC van), and you see the driver start to cross the line into the other lane, that clearly can not fit another car, you tighten up and brace for impact. Pretty sure my sister and I were in the back seat squeezing each other and looking at each other big eyed as we seemingly were headed for a sure collision. And for a 45min taxi ride to the lovely Imperial Hotel in New Delhi we saw quickly that everything we’ve been taught about driving does not apply here. lol. I wish I captured photos of the streets jammed, thinking how would any car be able to move, but some how the chaos was fluid, and bringing any structure into this situation, would be a complete fail and surly get you killed, in their world. I could go on, but one more surprising thing here, headlights, another must for your car in India. In the misty morning and pollution filled streets, that sometimes you could not see a cars length in front of you, flashing your lights (while honking your horn) was vital to your survival. There was some other communication of high beam and low beam, that we could not quite figure out, but the person in front of you would give way if you high beamed them.
This very well might be the longest blog post, but hey if you are this far still reading this, you are awesome, and I totally get it, if you just skip to the photos. I am a visual person too. But I want to share this awesome experience, as I was not always taking photos and there is just so much to share of this full experience.
So New Delhi was an adventure, wild and crazy. In short, we found the best vegan, pure Organic food at Devang House (seriously OMG!), had killer dhal (in room service of all places) at the Imperial Hotel, shopped some local favs of my moms that we’ve been getting presents from over the years (Anokhi & Fab India) and then, ended up in the hospital, yes I shut my moms hand in the taxi door on accident (insert huge sad face!!) and man, a hospital in India was something else. I could write a novel on that crazy wild story, but lets just leave it at, my mom was ok, got some stitches from a young Bollywood jazzed nurse (because my mom refused from the old doctor who fiddled in the corner with his books and then bandaged her finger like a 2 year old did it, which we found out later he did not speak english and was waiting for orders, but still, the bandage job was seriously worrisome!) We survived the hospital and my moms finger was ok and today is totally fine! Feeewwph!
Onward to Kerala. Now at the local side of the airport, the cultural experience gets more real. No more english, a smaller plane that feels like an Indian school bus from the vibrant colors, to the music, to the broken english on the flaps on the seat in front of you, to the bathrooms and so on. Landing in Kerla, a huge contrast to Delhi. Palm trees and space. Ok, feeling a bit more relaxed now. A sweet Indian man picked us up at the airport from the resort and we started the 2 hour drive south to Nattika. Smaller roads (still ‘crazy’ driving), lots of palm trees and space.
Nattika Beach Resort was pure magic. You get welcomed with a coconut and sweet lei. And 2 hours later we were in treatments already! Ok, we were already in heaven. Each day we got pampered for 2 hours based off our Doshas and what treatments we needed, but they all consisted of lots of oil and massage. I would get up at 5:45am each morning while my mom and sister were sleeping and slip out the door, in the dark with a blanket wrapped around me, shuffle off to the meditation hut, where others started to quietly gather. As the sun would rise, you would hear songs and chants in the far off distance, crows chipping, and leaves rustling. Then following meditation, yoga was after and I of course stayed for that. I felt so alive starting each day like this, with such self care. Then breakfast around 7:30am I’d meet up with my mom and sister. We’d laugh, eat and drink tea. The whole resort was vegetarian, and they accommodate any dietary need you have, so I was in heaven. The cooks name was ‘Sebastian’, a little something that I loved and made me think of my sweet man at home. He was so lovely and knew in detail our dietary preferences (how did he remember everyones??!?!) and any doctors notes on suggestions what dishes were best. Warm cumin and ginger water started every meal. It seemed odd at first, but now back at home, I see myself wanting to do this more and more. It’s really good for your digestion, and they are not big on cold water or drinks, as it slows down ‘digestive fire’.
The resort had 24 hours guards, so you feel real safe, but my sister and I wanted to go outside the gates and explore. We both were a little hesitant, like was it safe for us to go? They assured us it was, so we took the bikes they offered and went off on the small one lane windy road to see what was out there and biked to the nearest town 30 minutes away. Keep in mind it was HOT, but we are wearing long tights, a dress over that and a shaull over our shoulders to be respectful of their culture. It was one sweaty ride, haha! I of course brought my camera and made many stops for photo ops, but not as many as my creative mind wanted, I just mainly soaked up the ride and this new experience. 
There were these magical beach huts on the beach, the resort was beach front to the Arbian Sea. Being Hawaii girls, the beach was less than impressive, and we did not get in the ocean, as it was a bit polluted but we did lounge in the huts lots and take naps. They had a magical pool that we’d daily swim laps in and sun bathe. There were lectures and classes throughout the day you could take if it interested you. I took a few ones on breath, that I loved. I found myself enjoying slowing down the pace of life and enjoying long meals and great conversation, laughter and quality time with my mom and sister.
Although India was crazy, polluted, dirty, wild on the outside, there was something so magical about India on the inside. I have been wanting to really mediate daily, but could never find the spark to really get me there. But something changed within me in this India trip, and the blessings of slowing down, self care and meditating daily have been such gifts to learn. I’ve noticed it brings me more present in each moment. And this moment is truly all we have, so how are you going to choose to experience it?
Enjoy this little photo essay of my trip.
Mahalo for stopping by! Hugs, Fawne
p.s.
If you are wondering where those super cute Kaftans are from, check out my childhood friends awesome company Pondicherie. Modeled by my gorgeous sister.
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]]>The post St Regis Kauai Wedding Photographers | Hawaii Luxury Wedding Photography appeared first on Sea Light Studios | Kauai Wedding Photographers - 808.651.6450.
]]>All the vibrant flavors, colors and traditional elements made this wedding so much fun for us to capture. A highlight of the day was the grooms Baraat. Which is a large procession when the groom, family and friends dance and cheer their way to the wedding location, while the groom, mounted on horse back, is guided to the ceremony site. It took some exceptional coordinating to pull off the Baraat on the beach in front of the St. Regis hotel, but the family, friends and horse did an amazing job bringing this Indian wedding tradition to Hawaii.
Venue: St Regis Kauai | Coordination: Moana Events | Hair & Makeup: Whikd | Florist & Design: Martin Roberts | Rings: Cartier | DJ: DJ Sandeep |
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]]>The post Kauai Photographer | The Meaning of Aloha appeared first on Sea Light Studios | Kauai Wedding Photographers - 808.651.6450.
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When visiting Hawaii, you will often be greeted or sent on your way with a warm ‘Aloha’! But what does the word really mean? It commonly will be used in expressing love and in greetings and farewells. But it means so much more and truly is a way of life here in Hawaii, often referred to as ‘The Aloha Spirit”.
We wanted to dive in a little deeper and share with you the beautiful meaning behind this word, so you can have a new appreciation for it when visiting Hawaii and take this Aloha Spirit home and sprinkle it throughout your life.
Aloha is a way of life, a foundation. It is the essence of communication. From speaking from the heart and connecting with others. To have patience in our conversations and building relationships based on love. And the key to it, and everything is Love; to love one another. To live with Aloha, it is all about living with Love.
A “Akahai” meaning kindness, to be expressed with tenderness
L “Lokahi” meaning unity, to be expressed with harmony
O “Oluolu” meaning agreeable, to be expressed with pleasantness
H “Haahaa” meaning humility, to be expressed with modesty
A “Ahonui” meaning patience, to be expressed with perseverance
So when people first come to our islands, that is the first word they often hear. Even if they don’t understand the depth of it, it does not matter, just the fact that they are hearing it and absorbing the Aloha Spirit has a powerful effect. From the years of being on Kauai, we often hear visitors speaking of how amazing they feel here, and this magic that the islands have, and how everyone was so loving to them – they have experienced Aloha.
But did you ever think that you can take that Aloha Spirit home with you, and ask yourself ‘How am I able to express that spirit of love in every moment?’ And cultivate that in your daily life. I promise you, nothing but good things will come.
This is just scratching the surface of Aloha and to write this blog post trying to define Aloha, comes with such an honor and respect for this ancient way of life. So before we leave you, we wanted to share another layer of this beautiful way of life.
alo – sharing, in the present
ha – breath of life
The idea of Aloha is that you are in another persons spiritual presence exchanging the breath of life.
So as you can see there is really something special about this word and our way of living here in the islands that we all can learn from and put into practice in our daily lives. The Aloha Spirit has the power to make our world a better place, because who doesn’t feel better when Aloha is shared with them?
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]]>The post Hawaii Volcanoes National Park | Big Island, Hawaii |11 Year Anniversary appeared first on Sea Light Studios | Kauai Wedding Photographers - 808.651.6450.
]]>Sebastian secretly planned a trip for us to spend a few days in Hawaii Volcanoes National Park on the Big Island. The trip was a complete surprise and he only let me in on the secret a few hours before our plane left Kauai. I was so incredibly excited, I had the biggest smile ear to ear all the way to the Big Island.
Driving into the park we were taken back by the beauty and mystic of our surroundings. Fern tree rain forests and the misty clouds creeping over the mountain letting us know we were in a very special place. Little did we know that our visit happen to coincide with a major geological event. The lava lake that sits inside the Halema’uma’u Crater, located in the park, had reached a record high and you can witness huge plumes of lava bubbling within the crater. Of course, this was incredibly exciting to hear but we knew the best time to view this spectacle was at night. We spent the day exploring the vast park and enjoyed a few incredible hikes. It is amazing to be surrounded by such unique landscapes, from pristine rain forests to harsh barren lava flows. One of our favorite hikes was the Kilauea Iki trail, it was stunning from start to finish.
The hands down greatest highlight of the trip was to witness the erupting lava lake in the craters center. There was an immense buzz around the creater lookout and we had to drive over a mile away just to get a place to park. There were so many locals and tourist alike flocking to see this rare and amazing site. Seeing lava, bubbling and shooting out from the earths core was one of the most amazing experiences and something we will never, ever forget. Not only that but there was a local halau that sung Hawaiian Chants, which together with the bubbling and shooting lava was deeply moving, it gave me goose bumps. We felt like we were transported to the earths beginning and witnessing this creation, it was something so powerful and profound it truly can not be put into words, so we’ll just leave it at – it was unforgettable.
Enjoy our photos we captured from our anniversary trip and cheers to celebrating life with the one you love!
Hugs,
Fawne + Sebastian
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]]>The post Kauai Bohemian Elopement | Princeville Ranch| Hannah & Norman appeared first on Sea Light Studios | Kauai Wedding Photographers - 808.651.6450.
]]> Of course, their Kauai wedding would not be complete unless we finished their fine art portraits at a near by beach for the last bit of sunset. It is so refreshing to have clients that put in the thought and effort to make their wedding unique, special, and classic. Thank you Hannah and Norman for being such a joy to work with and for the opportunity to create beautiful art with you both!So if you are excited about having us photograph your special & stylish elopement, please reach out to us with your dream and vision. Be passionate. Be inspired. Let your personality shine.
Be creative, be unique, make it your own!
Mahalo for stopping by!
Hugs,
Sebastian & Fawne
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]]>it is something you design for the present.”
One of our major goals and places we are focusing our intention this year is to design the life we want to live, and making sure we take time for ourselves, outside of ‘work’. We love what we do so much, that we can happily get so focused and driven that we can not find time for all the things that inspire us (which there are many.) This year, aside from all the amazingly inspirational things we have going on with Sea Light Studios, we are making it an even more of a priority to find balance in our lives and go out and explore our magical island and do all those adventures we dream of. And to share it with you all! You are letting us into your lives, so we are letting you into ours. We have been dreaming up our year, both creatively and personally, and wanted to share with you a stunning hike we recently did to one of our favorite spots on our lovely little Garden Island. It is about an 8 mile hike roundtrip and something you really want to devote your whole day to, so you can soak up all the goodness along the trail. And we did just that. We planned on our next day off to do this hike. We packed our bags and took off early in the morning for our adventure. We are so happy we did as it truly is so rejuvenating to be out in nature, especially Kauai nature, and something we both just love so much. The stillness that rustles in the jungle as you walk through, the air that flies off the waterfall that fills your lungs with the freshest oxygen, the smell of the damp earth as you walk through the fern covered trees, or how about the light that dances through the jungle. We will have lots more of our Kauai adventures to share with you this year, but for now, enjoy this awesome one to Hanakapiai Falls.
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]]>When we’re not busy shooting a lovely wedding or tending to our numerous office duties, we always try and make some time to play in the ocean. Whether it be surfing, paddling or just a quick dip, it always refreshes our spirits and soothes our souls.
Make sure to explore Kauai and enjoy the water for yourself!
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