Hawaii Sunset Wedding

The ultimate wedding in paradise should be a Hawaii sunset wedding. There is nothing like seeing that golden globe reaching the horizon as you walk hand-in-hand on the beach or in a garden setting. But recording those beautiful memories in your photography or wedding video is important. You will want to remember that moment for a lifetime.

It is so important that you make certain you have a photographer who knows how to shoot the Maui sunset. Although we usually prefer a wedding beach this is secluded and private, I have sometimes found myself on beaches that were crowded with other newly married couples and their photographers.

I find it interesting to occasionally glace over at other photographers and see what they're doing, if for no other reason than to get some new ideas. Usually, however, I am surprised by how often I'll see a photographer stop shooting just as the sun is reaching its most dramatic moments. Or worse, they are shooting parallel to the sun so that the colorful sky will not appear in their photographs.

As amazing as it might seem, not all Hawaii wedding photographers know how to shoot the sunset. If you don't flash it just right, it is easy to lose the color in the sky by making it go to light or too dark. I also like to shoot my couples with a large telephoto lens right as the sun reaches the horizon (usually right over their shoulders), so that I can have the largest size orange in the picture as possible. If you want good sunset photography at your Hawaii wedding, by all means look at the photographer's website to be certain that he knows how to shoot it.

Several years ago one of our couples hired their own photographer and brought her to our wedding sight. The wedding took below the resort hotel, but the photographer took at least half of her pictures in the lobby! Why, I wondered would you do that when you can get a lobby anywhere in the world, and when Hawaii provides such a beautiful background for our couples. When the photographer did shoot the couple overlooking the ocean, the sun and clouds created one of the most beautiful skies I've ever seen. I remarked to the groom how gorgeous the sunset was and he asked the photographer, "could we get some shots of the sunset too?"

Her response was: "The light is not right." Woe. She apparently had no idea how to shoot that sunset, and not wanting to embarrass herself when the pictures came back, she just talked her way out of avoiding the task altogether. So, be certain that you have a photographer who knows how to shoot a Hawaii sunset wedding so that you won't end up disappointed.