Crane Media | Hawaii Video Blog

Photo by Shawn Starr

Congratulations to Orlena and Patrick, who’s wedding is featured on Elite Hawaii Weddings.

Credits:

Family Portrait courtesy of David Murphey Photography

We came up to Cali with the intention of a snow adventure at Lake Tahoe.  Our snow experience was definitely an adventure (to say the least).  We were snowed in before we even got up to North Tahoe.  We were 55 miles away from Squaw Valley when they decided to close down the road.  And because we had no chains going up the mountain our tires kept slipping and I was frantic because I couldn’t steer the rental van in the snow, and I’ve never driven in these conditions before.  So we called a tow truck who towed us to the nearest gas station.  We then had chains installed there.

While all that was happening, we had to secure a place to stay for the night (didn’t want to sleep in the car).  So we found a bed & breakfast place 1 mile away.

The next morning, it continued to snow hard (our car was covered in 8 inches of snow).  So we let the girls play in the snow right after breakfast.  We all had a blast throwing snowballs to each other, making snow angels, and building a snowman.  It was a good thing we did this because when we attempted to leave, officials closed down the road again!  So we decided to scrap the entire Tahoe trip and just stay with our friends in Oakland.  This allowed us to visit friends in the bay area.  So that was a blessing in disguise cause otherwise, we would never have seen them.

Here are a few happy photos from the trip and a vid of the morning after our stay at the bed n breakfast.

A recent trend in weddings is the “After Party.” Most wedding receptions last about four hours and are full of events leaving couples with little time to spend with their friends and family members. To address the “not enough time at the reception” issue, many couples are having “After Parties” as a way to extend the wedding celebration. This idea is a great way to have a more personal gathering while extending your wedding day. 

And, how cool would it be to see brides in their gowns outside the traditional “wedding day” events. Imagine being at a club with your friends and seeing a bride and groom walk in with a few friends in tow…I would love it.

There are a few different kinds of After Parties:

1) Meeting at a bar where everyone pays his/her own bill
2) Meeting at a bar hosted by the bride and the groom
3) Private room at a bar, restaurant, or hotel with an open bar
4) Private room at a bar, restaurant, or hotel with a cash bar
5) Added events (band, DJ, dessert bar, martini bar, darts, pool tables, karaoke)
Obviously, the main differences between these options are cost and time spent planning. Once you determine your budget and you decide how much time you want to invest in planning, the rest of your decisions should be fairly easy.

Who to Invite
This is the easiest part - whoever is invited to the reception should be welcome to attend. I’m sure a lot of couples want this event to be more intimate, but unless you are only limiting the After Party to only the bridal party, you should not exclude anyone. Chances are those who you wouldn’t normally hang out with won’t show up for long, if at all. Being with only “your people” is not worth the risk hurting people’s feelings by not inviting them. 

Communicate the Cost
Regardless of who’s paying, make sure it’s clearly communicated to all who are invited. It’s that simple!

Where to Go
Unless you’re feeling extremely adventurous, I would recommend going to a location that you have been to before so you know what to expect. Once you have an idea of where to go, make sure that it’s close to the reception location. You don’t want your guests traveling 20 miles to your favorite out of the way bar. Keep in mind that a few of your guests may have already had a few cocktails at the reception, so you may want to find a venue that is in walking distance or reasonably accessible by cabs. 

Take Pictures
If you cannot have your photographer or videographer document the After Party, be sure to bring you cameras with you. These candid moments will bring a fresh outlook to your entire wedding experience.

This is just a repost for those couples who didn’t know that Crane Media is a preffered vendor at The Kahala Resort.

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Just wanted share this picture of my girls taken in June ‘08
by Bianca Photography.

Photography by: Kyler Kwock

We all lead busy lives, right?  Life seems to move at a thousand mph.  Sometimes I feel like I don’t have any time for myself.  Yet in the midst of my own self pity, I am given a gift.  The gift of helping someone else.  Tonight, a group of individuals banded together to throw a Christmas party for the children at Kapiolani Hospital.  As I spoke with the staff there, they mentioned how difficult it is for these families to have a party for their children due to all the treatments that occupy their time.  I watched a sweet young girl, still wearing her hospital gown, smiling ear to ear as she got her hair and makeup done by some of Hawaii’s top makeup artists.  Her picture was then taken by professional fashion photographers.  I can imagine how joyful she must have felt.  As a father, I cam imagine how happy her parents must have been to see their daughter smiling and enjoying herself.  Thanks to Kapiolani Hospital for hosting the event, the Wedding Cafe for organizing it, all the volunteers who poured out their hearts.  Most of all, “Thank you!” to all the children who came out and blessed our hearts.  You gave us much more than we gave you.