We can't possibly be more excited about our friends, when they decide to tie the knot. Krystal & Nate will be married in Hawaii this coming October 2012 and we will be there to photograph them, as they officially say "I Do" to one another.

This past week, we travelled to Hawaii and while there, we photographed them for their engagement session. It was an amazing time! The sunsets on the North Shore were gorgeous and the busy city life in Waikiki for part two of the shoot, was equally as exciting. Both are very different locations, but the two of them kept showing their love for one another and we were so incredibly happy to be there with and for them!

Here is a sneak peek of their sessions. We played around on Sunset Beach on North Shore in Oahu and then on the lava between Sunset Beach and Shark's Cove. For part two, we travelled south to Waikiki and  walked the streets, stopping in as many places as possible where the architecture was iconic and the vegetation gorgeous. One of the stops was the beautiful and historic Royal Hawaiian, right on the beach! Gorgeous hotel wow! Another favorite of ours is the Moana Surfrider, also right on the water, where in the span of a few hours in one day, we witnessed FOUR weddings... wow!

;)

Thank you for looking through our "Dreaming of Hawaii Sneak Peek post"! We have edited and organized the rest of the images we took on our trip and are happy to share them with you here. As a recap, Josh and I went for 8 days to Hawaii. Specifically, to Oahu. We stayed in Waikiki and took trips to the surrounding beaches with our new friends Krystal & Nate, who are in some of the images below ;)

This trip came at the perfect time for us wedding photographers... Even though we have already started our wedding season with a wedding in March and one in early April and one coming up at the end of April, we are still in the slow time of the year. When June comes, we will start working no-stop until the autumn, so leaving when we did and for as long as we did, was perfect. We are now recharged, tan, warm, happy and ready to start the season!

Hawaii was beautiful. We could have done more touristy activities, but decided to keep it slow and relaxed instead. We did spend a day on the bus and Pearl Harbor and then back to Waikiki. That day was special and moving and we feel honored to have been able to visit that National Park. We also took a kayaking trip with Krystal & Nate off of Kailua Beach, which is about 35 minutes away from Waikiki, on the eastern side of the island. The day started off sunny and warm, but then, on our way back from kayaking to a small island off the coast, a typical Hawaiian tropical storm hit us and we were forced to hurry back to the car. Regardless, the temperature was warm and our big camera was protected by the underwater housing we had rented that morning, so we had fun anyway! ;)

The next morning we all  set off for North Shore, to Sharks Cove. We arrived there at 7:30am and were done snorkeling by 9:30am! an early day, but perfect for having the cove all to ourselves and having a beautiful morning light for more underwater photography. Among all of the colorful fish swimming all around us, including a super cute yellow one that kept following us as we were moving around (see photo below ;) we ran into two different turtles! What a sight to see... there's a photo of me swimming with one of them below! :)

Krystal & Nate are in love and absolutely some of the most genuine and fun people we have met to date. we ended up spending most of the 8 days with them and it was perfect! We even got to do a little bit of a lifestyle shoot with the two of them and can't wait to see them again here in Portland. That is one of the aspects of travel that I have always loved most. The meeting with other fellow travelers, sharing stories, becoming friends and organizing future trips together. Love it!

Ok, enough words... here are the photos! Thank you for reading, looking and for your support! <3

~ Alice (& Josh)