Sierra & Kyle, Aloha and I Do!

*Sierra & Kyle, Secret Beach, Kailua-Kona, Hawaii*

The night before the wedding, after a long day of snorkeling in the pristine waters off Two Step Beach, friends and family all arrived at the spectacular hilltop venue, high above Kailua-Kona, with the ocean glittering in the distance. We shared pizza, introductions, drinks, and laughs. Sierra and Kyle’s families had lovingly put together a slide show of the two lovebirds growing up.

The father of the bride, Wally, a bold Texan quick to laugh, had orchestrated several surprises for the wedding. His contact in Hawaii came to the house at dusk and we gathered around the poolside to hear him speak. He introduced himself and his lovely wife and thanked us all for coming, and explained it’s traditional in Hawaii for both people in a transaction to leave with a gift for the other person. He took out his ukulele, and as his wife hula danced, he sang the traditional Hawaiian wedding song. I get choked up even now thinking about how beautiful and special and intimate the performance was. It was an auspicious beginning of an amazing wedding!

The next morning while arriving back at the house, first a rooster blocked my way down the long drive, and then I spotted a mongoose! I called it a Hawaiian Traffic Jam. I spent the morning with Sierra and our friend Rachel as they got ready. I poked around the property taking photos, chatting with other family members, and pulled Wally aside to find out what he had up his sleeve for the wedding so I’d be prepared. He’d arranged for a local group to come dressed in traditional clothing and give leis to all the guests, and as Sierra made her entrance, a conch shell would be played. There would be hula dancers at the reception, and the big surprise? At the end of dinner, there would be a fire dancer. I had to promise to not tell the bride and groom!

Kyle’s sister, Tracy, was the officiant, his nieces were flower girls. There were no attendants, but before the ceremony I found Tracy’s husband Luke bringing the rings around to all the guests, having everyone bless them with good intentions. Proud parents came down the aisle, Kyle choked up and I caught myself getting teary eyed as he watched Sierra and Wally come down the aisle. It was a beautiful and personal ceremony, with a traditional exchanging of leis. It wasn’t long before we were cheering the couple as they made their way back to the poolside for cocktail hour.

Everyone mingled, food was served, a fantastic bartender kept incredibly fresh pina coladas coming. There were yard games, lots of time for family to catch up, friends played cornhole and spent time with a volleyball, there was a singer with his ukulele and hula dancers as entertainment. We snuck off a few times for photos, my husband flew his drone around and got some overhead views for me, too. At sunset I followed Sierra and Kyle into their suite and onto their balcony where we watched the sky put on a spectacular show!

Dinner was fantastic, under the darkening sky and appearing stars and the glow of tiki torches and candlelight. The fire dancer was almost a surprise - just before he began his performance one of Sierra’s aunts exclaimed to the head table, “There’s a half naked man in the bushes!” (It remains one of the funniest memories from the wedding.) The fire dancing was breathtaking - we all watched, rapt, cheering when appropriate. It was like all the best parts of a luau had been brought directly to us. We could feel the flames we were so close!

After the performance, the dj kicked things off and the party really started. Drinks flowing, people had their feet in the pool, dancing (including a Soul Train line!), a delicious cake was eventually cut. By late evening people had made it into the pool and hot tub to play ball and relax, and some of the very last photos I took the groom was in his swim trunks. It was a magical, beautiful, perfect day for everyone in attendance.

I got lucky a few nights later, I managed to get one of the last spots on a nighttime snorkeling trip with Sierra, Kyle, and Kyle’s family - we all went swimming with manta rays! I just so happened to be there when Sierra signed her married name for the first time, on the safety waiver required before boarding the boat. I cannot thank the Szocik family enough for allowing me to come along and experience something so incredible with them!

My flight home from Hawaii was late at night, and at sunset that afternoon I went to a secret beach with Sierra, Kyle, my husband, and Kyle’s cousin Matt for one last round of portraits. We had found the beach as a tip handwritten in the three ring binder in the rental house, it was noted as a locals-only spot, usually full of sea turtles; beaches in Hawaii are public by law, but access to this beach wasn’t well marked or known to tourists. (We have yet to see it in any publication or on any website, and will keep it that way.) We had the perfect mix of black lava flow, crashing blue waves, sand, palm trees, and never-ending sky. And we even got lucky enough that we had a wedding crasher: a green sea turtle made an appearance just in time for some photos. What a magical end to an incredible trip!

Thanks a million times to Sierra, Kyle, and their generous and loving and welcoming families. What a pleasure to spend time with all of them during such a special occasion, a trip I will never forget.