sherry + tim // sweethearts (SDE)
the opening chinatown sequence might seem a little random… …until you get to the first look. photos and cinema mean a lot to sherry and tim. so much so that they wanted to get out of waikiki and into an interesting environment for their first look and photo shoot… even if that meant getting up [...]
SENIOR PORTRAITS // behind the scenes with chahz
my FIRST blog post about our FIRST senior portrait photo shoot! how exciting!! well, for those who don’t know me, my name is jess and i am ARIA’s studio manager. when i’m not answering phone calls and responding to emails i also work as a third shooter and editor. what i love about shooting and [...]
Kriska + Kevin // a family affair (same-day edit)
putting together a same-day edit is one thing. putting together a same-day edit with a sense of story, meaning and depth is another. grab a tissue. this one left a the whole room in tears. kevin and kriska has been through a lot over the last few years. so, they wanted their wedding to be [...]
erin + jordan // a perfect 10.10.10 (SDE)
10.10.10 — probably the most popular wedding date since the chinese good luck: 08.08.08. the whole wedding industry has been in a frenzy preparing for it. like everyone else, we’ve been flooded with calls and inquires about this special day. we are so honored, and so happy that we got to spend it on the [...]
ARIA Studios // what’s your story?
Happy (almost) 10.10.10!! Here’s fun little something that we put together for our very first ARIA T.V. commercial. Shout out to all our FAAAAAABULOUS couples who made this happen!! …and to The Wedding Cafe for being awesome, as always. –KA
elaine + brian // super fun
right before ceremony-time. …that’s usually the most hectic time of our day. we’re frantically transporting gear between prep site to ceremony site… setting up cameras… shooting reception prep.. getting our mics in order… and sifting through thousands of clips from multiple cameras and wondering how in the world we’ll weave together a story that is [...]
.RAWR.
Working with Geoff and Mar was a blast! We got to know them as we shot their love story and SDE. They are such fun people with an amazing story to tell about their relationship. Before we move on to their love story + SDE, I wanted to show off a little teaser that I [...]
kaibin + jackie // a napa fairy tale (SDE)
my favorite part of a wedding is the toasts. it could be the father-of-the-bride reminiscing about the day his baby girl was born, or the groom’s best friend talking about why they were the biggest dorks in high school, or the maid of honor explaining why the bride and groom are perfect for each other. [...]
theCREW // who we are. what we love.
WHO we are.. and WHY we LOOOOOVE our job.. in a short clip that we put together for last night’s Wedding Cafe video showcase! –theCREW
senior portraits // CHAHZ = ROCKSTAR!
I headed downtown to do my first ever senior pictures shoot with Chahz and his enthusiastic family in tow. We had quite the entourage going up and down Merchant Street! Chahz loves music and we had almost convinced him to bring his guitar for the shoot, but he left it at home last minute. Fortunately, [...]
doris + keaookalani // “kulolo”, lions, fun! (SDE)
doris? a bridezilla? no way, jose! keao says, in the weeks leading up to his big day.. his sweet, thoughtful wife-to-be turned into a BRIDEZILLA!! we find that.. a little hard to believe. doris is the sweetest thing, and on her wedding day.. she was cool as a cucumber, probably the most content and mellow [...]
merlyn + joseph // party time! (SDE)
what an honor for our cinema and photo team to capture merlyn and joe’s fabulous wedding. we met up with them a few weeks before the wedding. joe said he was looking forward to.. DRINKING with his boys the morning of his wedding. turned out.. he didn’t. the GIRLS did! instead, the guys were busily [...]
WEDDING PHOTOS // kelli + nick
I loved it when Kelli and Nick asked if their little son Keanu could be a part of their engagement shoot. They make an adorable family, and it was such a pleasure to be a part this little family’s big day. The skies lightly sprinkled on and off before the ceremony, but there were always [...]
minh-han + reff // wine country wonderland (SDE)
if you pinned us down and asked us “what was your all-time most favorite wedding to film?” — we’d say… …well, we’d say… “we CAN’T say, of course! that just wouldn’t be fair!” but, minh-han and reff’s wedding was definitely among the top! we met minh-han and reff through another ARIA couple, aggie and jon. [...]
CHILDREN // baby shi =)
Children’s photography has always been my first love. There’s something about those big, genuine eyes shining out of earnest little faces that is endlessly captivating and compelling. Here are some shots of my littlest niece through the last year. Baby Shi! –CC
WEDDING PICS // nina + chris
Nina and Chris are seriously two of the SWEETEST people I have ever met. Generous, laughing, kind; these two have it all, and it was such an honor to be a part of their big day:) And it was definitely a BIG day! These two know how to throw a wedding with style! -CC
LAUREN + MATT // so stinkin’ cute!
when lauren was little — she and her best friend made a list of all the guys they wanted to date. on the very top of lauren’s list was matt… her childhood crush that she would eventually marry. lauren and matt are adorable… and soooooo stinkin’ cute together. when you look at them, you just [...]
MEET: john
if you know theCREW — chances are, you already know john. john first joined us as an intern at the beginning of the year, and quickly became a key member of the ARIA family. we love john because he is goofy, witty, and full of awesome energy (not to mention, he introduces us to all [...]
SAME-DAY EDIT // noele + mark
what can i say about noele and mark?! there is just TOO MUCH. noele and mark came to us over a year ago with their (or should i say mark’s) over-the-top ideas for their photo and cinema and super duper contagious excitement and energy. we were rolling on the floor laughing about nonsense for about [...]
Project: ARIA 2.0
Project: ARIA is our annual photo + cinema workshop — when we take a break from all the studio craziness to TEACH, INSPIRE, EXPERIMENT, AND CREATE. it’s designed to help attendees get comfortable and confident behind the lens, become better storytellers, and help them reflect on the kind of artist they are/want to be. This [...]
SDE // melissa + angelo = DOPE
it was pretty obvious. we were meant to be. yes, ‘we’ — as in melissa and angelo and ARIA =) they rock converses, ray bans, and sweater vests (or so we saw in their slideshow) — and they LOVE purple. SO DO WE! so weird!! we couldn’t ask for a more dope wedding and cooler [...]
starr + eli // part II // heroes
as you might have seen in kash’s FUN, VIBRANT, and COLORFUL SDE… starr and eli are very…. FUN, VIBRANT, and COLORFUL. they are the kind of people you want around all the time… and the kind of people that will bring a party to life. we loved them from the very start. but, there is [...]
WEDDING SHOTS // kylie + mark
Kylie and Mark managed to spread their wedding festivities over not one, but two days, with tasty treats on both. I like their style. I’m all about drawing out a party with pretty food and pretty clothes as long as possible. Excellently played. Check out their SDE by the cinema team: http://www.ariastudios.com/main/2010/06/a-weekend-to-remember-kylie-mark/ -CC
SDE // lynn + wes
as Christine mentioned in her blog (http://www.ariastudios.com/main/2010/06/engagement-lynn-wes) — wes and lynn LOVE the ocean. they fish, they dive, they catch crab — wes even does gyotaku (which served as their centerpieces). so naturally, we wanted to include the ocean into their same-day edit. as soon as the sun came up, i headed down to the [...]
