Waimea Bay, Northshore Oahu

Have you ever heard of a trash the dress photo session? If you haven’t this is a pretty good explanation why you might want to consider it: Trash the Dress  

TG and I went to the (one of many) Wedding Expos at the Hawaii Convention Center earlier this year and although I had basically picked out the small selection of wedding photographers I was going to choose from I ran across a booth with a picture of a couple kissing underwater. Upon further discussion with the photographer’s sister (she was manning the booth because he was busy shooting a wedding) and finding out that this creative soul is/was a water sports photographer, I made my final decision. Actually, I was teetering on the edge of that decision but finalized it when we met Nick Pugay at JJ Dolans in Downtown Honolulu. Nick is a super laid back, easy to talk to and fun guy to work with. He creates the most amazing photos and is truly a pro. I’m looking forward to the actual wedding day (to see how he handles my stress… heh heh).

Hair? Done. Dress? Dry. Being held by my Sailor? Amazing. And yes, I was going for the cheese.

So on June 6, 2010, David and I headed out to Waimea Bay on the North Shore at about 6:30 AM, where we met Nick in the parking lot.  There were a few stray clouds in the sky creating an overcast shadow above us and chilling the air but they went away. then came back. then went away. came back and one more time went away for the rest of the photoshoot. 

Yup. That's me. and Him.

Nick was really good at placing us and telling us what to do, how to look and where to not put my hands. *wink* (I keed .. I keed) Luckily, in this digital age, we got to see some of the shots that were taken and they were truly amazing and can only be done by someone with a great eye. We began shooting around 7:30 AM and as we meandered through the sand and eventually into the water, the audience tourists started to stream onto our backdrop.

We're the ones in white

One of the many best parts about this day was when we jumped off the big rock (AKA: Da Big Rock). So there’s this huge rock that local kids jump off of at Waimea Bay. The rock is somewhere between 20 to 40 feet high (I’ve tried to look up how tall it really is but the number isn’t consistent) and if you don’t time it right (to jump during a swell) you are liable to end up paralyzed or something.  There I was in a wedding dress and TG in his summer whites. So the first jump (oh yes .. we jumped more than once) as he kept track of the incoming wave/water rising I looked out onto the beach to see everyone watching US and some with cameras. Can you imagine .. “Hey guys! Look what we saw on our vacation to Hawaii!!!”  

Let me give you some background on me, first. I was that kid who went up the big platform diving board and almost walked right back down when I looked over the edge. My heart would race out of my chest and my mouth would go dry. I didn’t want to chicken out because kids are mean and you’d never live it down but I questioned whether or not I would come out of this jump (plummet, fall, accelarated death leap) alive?  

And now, as an adult, I can look down 31 stories, strapped into some rappelling equipment to a metal scaffolding and wish I could go faster (without the emergency breaks on the line). I can look down the face of a 30 foot rock into the big blue ocean and not think anything of it. I don’t know when I became this weird adrenaline junkie but somewhere between a tween and now I became this person who wouldn’t mind jumping out of a plane or rappelling off one of the tallest hotels in Waikiki.  

The first jump came off without a hitch. As we surfaced we heard cheers. Lots of congratulatory screams. Hoot’n and Holler’n! We even had some kids yelling at us to kiss because we had made this monumentous jump. We jumped the second time in hopes that Nick would be able to catch us underwater but the water was too disturbed from the jumping and so he couldn’t get a clear shot but it was such a great time so I didn’t mind so much that we made the jump again.

A perfect way to spend a morning .. although I don’t recommend walking around in a wet wedding dress for shits & giggles. Dragging a bunch of wet tulle and organza sounds like a fun deal but in reality it’s sorta not. Also, Please note this activity is best done with some food in you. A cup of coffee shared between two adults really isn’t enough. Just a tip.  

How many takes did this take?

All in all, that day was pretty amazing and it ended with some Mexican food in Haleiwa followed by Shave Ice from Matsumotos!