Hawaii is pretty far from anywhere. It doesn’t matter how many hours and flights it takes to get there though, because there is nowhere else like it. This year it was all about the humpback whales. We saw one on our approach into Kahului, and on the hour drive from the airport to the hotel we could see them breaching against the sunset. We spotted them from the golf course during the tournament and the whale-watch tour was an unprecedented view in our experience.

The last time we went on one of these tours we got to see a few breeches by babies in the distance and were thrilled when a mama swam underneath the boat. This time, two males were competing for the attention of a female who decided to use our boat as a cover from them. The “maui mugging” as it is called, lasted almost 45 minutes to the joy of the spectators. The captain is unable to start the engines when the whales are that close and must wait it out. At right one of the males pounds his tail against the surface in a contest that the two males engaged in. It was good to be on a boat bigger than that of our neighbor’s shown in the background.

Mercedes-Benz and Sage Collective always put on an amazing event and we were honored to be part of the team.

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We put in at Blue Spring State Park, took a casual loop around and saw, at a great distance, two deer ford the river. After checking out and photographing about a mile of river we returned to where the spring connects. The temperature had risen enough for some of the 200 manatees inhabiting Blue Spring to start their morning exodus to graze in the river. It was there that we got to photograph several up close as they perused our boats on their way out.

Check out a gallery of these images ready for editorial use here.

Also, please keep Darcy Sang in mind for any invitations or announcements you need- She’s not just an excellent kayaking model, she’s a great stationer! And as she says on her site “There is nothing so wonderful as getting an exquisite invitation in the mail hand addressed to you in an age of electronic communication!”

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The bride wanted an elegant, vintage feel, so she opted for a color scheme of frothy creams and rich golds to complement the beautiful murals in St. Mary’s church, and the antique harp chandeliers in the Hibernian Hall, where the reception was held.  Heather also incorporated a gold harp icon on her invitations and programs to showcase the history of the wedding venues, as well as the groom’s Irish heritage.  Cream bouquets popped against the bridesmaids’ black Jenny Yoo dresses. Each side of the wedding party was transported to the church - and taken on a trip back through time - on old Charleston trolley cars.

To create a romantic, simple scene that wouldn’t compete with the architecture of the reception hall, mismatched black lanterns in varying sizes were placed on the steps of the Hibernian, and flickered in the calm, night air as guests began to enter the gold gates featuring the same iconic harp. Inside the candlelit hall tables were dressed in ivory table cloths and gold runners topped with simple bouquets of ivory garden rose, ivory lisianthus, anenomies, white ranunculas, white tulips, touches of freesia and snow on the mountain. Glowing antique silver candelabras lined the head table.

To keep with the vintage theme of the evening, Heather hired a great band fluent in Rat Pack tunes, (The Joe Clarke Quartet) who sang Frank Sinatra’s “Ain’t That a Kick in the Head” for the bride and groom’s first dance. It was two members of Heather’s family who stole the show at the reception; After an endearingly hilarious speech, the bride’s sister and Maid of Honor, Somer Bingham, played her guitar and sang a song entitled ‘Real Estate Love’ (the groom is a real estate agent; the bride, an accountant), which she had written for the couple on the plane ride from New York to Charleston, and which had the entire room roaring with laughter.  A tough act to follow, the only encore that would do was the bride’s 89-year old grandfather, better known as “Pop,” taking the stage to sing ‘I Left My Heart in San Francisco,’ just as he had 37 years prior at the bride’s parents’ wedding.

The party culminated with the colorful wedding party, including the bride in an exquisite Monique Lhuillier gown, double-dutch dancing on the dance floor. To send her guests off in style, Heather baked homemade toffee favors that she wrapped in clear cellophane with a gold embossed “K” (the bride embossed each one individually).  A final treat, was the bride’s arranging for a hot dog vendor to set up just outside the Hibernian Hall doors to serve guests late night chili dogs as they departed. To say that everyone loved it would be a gross understatement! Congrats to Mr. and Mrs. Koepenick and thank you bridesmaid Stephanie Ballard for doing most of the research and writing for this entry!

Click here to watch our slide show of the day.

Vendors:
Catering: Hamby Catering
Ceremony Invitations: Out of Hand
Coordinator: Melissa Murray/Viola Events
Floral Design & Decor: Out of Hand
Groomsmen’s Barber Shop: Old South Barber Spa
Hair and Make Up: Tasha Mattox
Reception Music: The Joe Clarke Quartet
Table Numbers: Etsy- ilLUMIEnate
Trolley service: Absolutely Charleston
Wedding Cake: The Cake Stand

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We made several portraits of the couple en route to the ceremony at visual locations starting in their neighborhood of Pacific Heights and ending at an overlook in Sutro Heights Park. Making portraits beforehand allowed Meagen and Brett to head straight from the wedding into partying with their guests.

The bride wore a strapless Nicole Miller gown adorned with a custom-made cloth and feather flower. The reception was a cocktail-style party serving up great wines, appetizers and featured an unstoppable DJ.

Jars of huge chocolate chip cookies and single serving cartons of milk were brought out later in the evening as a creative (and delicious) alternative to wedding cake.

Check out the slideshow of the day here.

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Both Eric and Jen attended the workshop as students in 1997 and 2001 respectively. In his day, Eric won the CBS Sports Award. Jen won the Washington Post Award while she was a student. That boost of confidence worked for both of them.

Eric had an opportunity to give back to the workshop in 2004 on Black Team, the group of volunteers who do the grunt work behind the scenes to help make it happen. This year Jen was accepted for Black Team and was doubly thrilled to give back by making pictures. Check out some of her selects from this year on her alumni page here.

At right a 39-second exposure taken during a short burst of sunlight shows the barn where the annual workshop is held.

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