Hawaii’s Wedding Professionals Show #32 (Encore) Harpist Tatyana Shapiro and Live Maui Webcasts

Stephen Boeker, Live Maui Webscasts

Harpist Tatyana Shapiro

 

First guest, Stephan Boeker of Live Maui Webcasts came over to Maui from New York City about 11 years ago.  Seeking a change, he moved to Paradise, and can’t imagine living anywhere else.  Stephan started by doing wedding photography and then began dabbling in video because he kept hearing the bride or groom saying, “how I wish mom and dad could be here”.  He looked for a way to fill this need and as the tools to do this started becoming available, he got into the business of live streaming weddings. 

Stephan meets with the couples and explains his various packages to them, so they have a selection.  In Stephan’s best package, he provides the live webcast, it streams worldwide live or on demand, it can be viewed at a later date from the archives, the couple gets a fully edited DVD which includes interview of the couple abd guests.  The differentiating factor between Live Maui Webcasts and others is that Stephan likes asking deep probing questions of the bride and groom so when they watch the DVD years from now, they can see and hear what they were thinking. 

The lilting sounds of White Sandy Beach being played on the harp fills the air as we open the next segment with guest Tatyana Shapiro.  Tatyana is originally from St Petersburg, Russia.  Her father was a professional opera singer and her grandmother a good pianist, so musical ability runs in the family.  When she was 6 or 7, she was already playing the piano and at 10, she got interested in the harp.  Tatyana also lived for many years in Los Angeles, where she performed as a concert harpist, while also doing weddings and other events; she has also played in an orchestra and pop and rock bands.

Tatyana was married herself on Maui and she thinks it is the most beautiful place to get married in the Hawaiian Islands.  It can be taken to the beach or any place; she also has a smaller harp for when she can’t transport the big harp.  She always meets with the bride and their most popular choices of songs are the Bridal March by Wagner, Mendelssohn’s Wedding March, Canon in D and the Hawaiian Wedding Song.

Hawaii’s Wedding Professionals Show #17 Hale Koa Hotel and Windward Jewelers

Dora Young and Lucy Lau of the Hale Koa Hotel

Hella Allerstorfer-Meek of Windward Jewelers

Host Kahu Kalehua Featheran dispels the myth that the Hale Koa Hotel facilities are only for members of the military.  Marketing Coordinator Lucy Lau explains that the use of the hotel facilities are for the military and their families, but she also adds that 1 out of 2 households in Hawaii could use the services of the Hale Koa Hotel because they can be sponsored by an eligible active or retired military personnel or Department of Defense member.  How great is that?

The Hale Koa Hotel is at the gateway of Waikiki and offers lots of parking.  Catering Manager Dora Young talks about the 3 venues for wedding ceremonies while viewers can see photos of the locations.  Information can be found by going to the Hale Koa Hotel website and clicking on the Catering tab.  The one great benefit of holding your wedding and reception at the Hale Koa Hotel is that they are a federal facility with tax exempt status so couples need not pay the Hawaii general excise tax…which can be a great savings for couples just starting out in married life.

For his second guest, Kahu Kalehua chats with Hella Allerstorfer-Meek, award winning designer and goldsmith for Windward Jewelers.  Windward Jewelers began their business in 1954.  Hella’s Dad, Herman Meek bought the company in 1966 (44 years ago) and Hella came into the business in 1980.  This family’s business spans 3 generations as Hella’s daughter, Amber is also studying jewelry design and entomology.  Viewers see some of the beautiful and unique designs created by Windward Jewelers as the interview progresses.

As designers, Windward Jewelers are able to create unique wedding rings for brides and grooms.  For those who aren’t sure where to start, Hella will ask the bride to think about what really excited her about a particular ring she saw and what it looked like and they can start from there…or the couple can view designs and styles at the store and suggest changes that they would like to see for their own rings.  The Lanikai Collection is an original design of Windward Jewelers and is particularly meaningful to couples who decide to get married on the beach at Lanikai.  To help the newlyweds, Windward Jewelers offer layaway plans and this information is available on their website.

Hawaii’s Wedding Professionals Show #31 Matea Island Weddings and Trade Winds Photography

Debra Schonewill of Matea Island Weddings

Tracy Tegarden of Trade Winds Photography

In this show coming from Maui, host Kalehua Featheran greets two very warm and gracious wedding professionals – Debra Schonewill of Matea Island Weddings and Tracy Tegarden of Trade Winds Photography.

Just minutes away from Kahului Airport is Kanaha Beach, the backdrop for many of Maui’s beach weddings and the site for Kalehua’s first interview with Debra Schonewill of Matea Island Weddings, who helps couples design the wedding of their dreams.  Originally from Colorado, Debra has been a Maui visitor since the 1980’s and 15 years ago, she decided to make this island her home  In helping couples with their plans, Debra feels a wedding planner can really take the stress out of this special day and create an event for the bride and groom to relax and enjoy.  A wedding planner is also particularly valuable to a destination couple because the bride and groom need to only deal with one person, who in turn, works with the vendors and wedding professional.  As Debra says it’s great to be in this business because you can help people make their wedding dreams come true while also creating lifelong friendships with some great people.

Kahu Kalehua’s second interview takes place in Makena at Honua Kai Lani with guest Tracy Tegarden of Trade Winds Photography.  Upon graduating high school, Tracy began doing photography as a hobby.  In the mid-90’s, he had a chance to move to Maui and studied for 2 years before starting his own business.  Tracy does wedding and other photography on all islands and in many countries.  Tracy likes to have the wedding couples meet him so they can “talk stories” and he can learn what they’re looking for in terms of their photographs and what do they want to do on their wedding day.  He watches how they interact and looks for ways to capture these moments while just having fun and enjoying the day.

HAWAII’S WEDDING PROFESSIONALS EPISODE #39 – CHRISTINA LUTHY PHOTOGRAPHY AND CELEBRITY TUXEDOS

Christina Luthy of Christina Luthy Photography

Christopher Wright of Celebrity Tuxedos

This episode of Hawaii’s Wedding Professionals opens with host Kahu Kalehua Featheran and Christina Luthy of Christina Luthy Photography in the Koolau Gardens at Koolau Ballrooms and Conference Center.  It was Christina’s grandmother who bought this talented photographer her first camera and the rest is history.  With her photo journalistic style, Christina loves telling a story with each photo that she takes; sometimes romantic, sometimes traditional, all with her friendly and easy going style.  To help couples feel comfortable with her, she offers a free engagement session.  And, clients’ proofs are uploaded to her website so they and their family and friends can select the photos that they like.

Christina is often asked “what’s the difference between you taking our photos and my cousin doing the same thing?  Tune in to learn her answer.

Kahu Kalehua’s second guest is a familiar face to viewers who watched the Down The Aisle On An Isle reality mini-series.  He is Christopher Wright, Director of Store Operations for Celebrity Tuxedos, overseeing the outlets at Sears Pearlridge, Ala Moana and Windward Mall.   Christopher has 2 topics to share with the viewers on this show.

First of all, he commended Travis and Cherie, the couple on the Down The Aisle series for coming in 8 to 10 weeks prior to the wedding day to start the process of renting their formal wear.  Christopher said that 65% of their couples have come in with only 30 days remaining before their wedding.  While Celebrity Tuxedos accommodated them, the ideal time is 8 to 10 weeks before the big day.  This enables Celebrity Tuxedos to register their wedding, help the men pick their styles and begin the job of coordinating everything for a great polished look.

Second, Christopher shows Kalehua their new Portofino vest line and their Versatile tuxedo (in charcoal and steel gray).  Watch the show to see how great these new styles look and why Christopher is so excited about showing them to potential customers.