Shipwreck Beach Wedding with Reverend Larry LaSota and the Singing Groom!

Fun and surprises Shipwrecks Beach for Tonya the bride and her groom started the ceremony by serenading her playing guitar and singing two beautiful original love songs. He cried his way through them. Lots of love going both ways. Great folks with a super group of friends who made it all the way from Virginia. We had a heartfelt Christian ceremony and after Tom showed me the cross that was on his ring.

 

 

I asked Kit Furderer to take a photo with my (extremely old!) iPhone so I could post the wedding that night. He took one look at my old iPhone 4 and said "What is this, an iPhone X?" Ha, Ha, Ha!

Next day he sent me the photo of me with Tonya and Tom. But, I took that group shot with my "iPhone X"

A special thanks to Dale Rosenfeld and Lynda Clifton of Joyful Ceremonies for having me perform this ceremony for these wonderful folks.

 

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Wedding Party of 24 Still Makes for a Great St. Regis Kauai Wedding!

Wedding Party of 24 People at the St. Regis?!?  One would think chaos was about to happen. Well, quite the opposite. What a great group of people at Jacquelyn and Payton's rehearsal and wedding. And what fun with everyone. Parents too, what a blast, and such wonderful hosts to all.

 

 

I will tell you a 30 person processional does take quite some time. Moms and escorts, obligatory 2 year old flower girl and of course our ring bearer, both who did a good job.

 

 

What can I say. This is a great way to spend my afternoon!!!

And a big thanks to Natacha and Lisa of the St Regis for once again putting on a spectacular event.

 

 

 

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Courtyard Marriott Wedding on Kauai's East Side with Larry LaSota

Eastside weddings are always fun. This one at The Courtyard Marriott on the Coconut Coast was true to form. 

When I arrived, our groom Alberto was setting up cameras all over the place.  Being an airline pilot, he didn't want to leave anything to chance. We had some time to talk and he told me about his flying for a 737s for a European airlines.  With today's political climate, he's got some interesting tales to tell.  Of course, Angie the bride is a flight attendant as were her two bridesmaids. 

Everyone was really outgoing and lots of laughs.  Carol Simon of the Courtyard and her crew set us up for a flawless ceremony.  Great weather and sunset over the mountains.

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Kauai Awards and Accolades

I find it amazing (and yet totally believable) that throughout the travel industry, Kauai has won so many awards. Last year Kauai received over 120 travel industry awards. Those of who live here know why.  And anyone who comes here for a vacation, or even for work, knows why too.   It only takes a day or two to see why Kauai is becoming the favorite of travelers world wide. And a great place to come to get married, too!

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Vow Renewal with Larry LaSota at Makua Beach (aka Tunnels)

Vow Renewal for Allen and Pam Prather, here at Tunnels for the making of a Brady Bunch family. They had all eight of their adult children present. What a blast!. Another truly heartfelt ceremony. When you see that look in some couples eyes it just makes me to be there with them. They are blessed.

Thanks to Shaun Pulawi for the fun music and to Michelle at Island Reflections for the photography and her good cheer. 

 

 

 

Another great day at Tunnels with Mt. Makana in the background. We are so lucky.

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Early Morning Japanese Wedding on the East Side at Oasis by the Beach with Larry LaSota

Another great morning wedding at the Oasis on the Beach!  As with many Japanese couples Asuka and Kosuke Yoshikawa were married in Japan, but came to Kauai to have that Wedding in Paradise ceremony. Sometimes communication can be a challenge, but these two and most of their guest were quite fluent in English. That adds to the great experience for all.

Asuka was such a bubbly bride. She was the first one to flash a shaka at the camera when we did photos. Leigh and the staff of the Oasis made it a great time for all with Mark Rossi playing great music for us and Ryan from Kilohana Photography keeping us laughing during the photos. Big mahalo to Sayuri and Satomi for coordinating this beautiful morning event.

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Larry LaSota at The Beach House on a Perfect Kauai Day

I married Mini and Ray Ta at the Beach House on a perfect Kauai day.  Not too hot, not too breezy.  Backdrop of surfers at PKs (Prince Kuhio's which is a south shore beach break for surfing). T he perfect atmosphere.  Ray and I were talking about how we just love this weather and our wives love the cold(!).

Just lucky to be on Kauai!

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Larry LaSota and Hanalei Bay Vow Renewal Couple with Kids - Great Fun!

Okay, you don't get to have more fun at a ceremony then I had the other night at Hanalei Bay. Meg and Tom renewing their vows after 31 years with their children. Part of the fun was that Tom and Meg told the kids they were going to go do a family portrait on the beach. So, everyone was dressed real sharp for the photo. When they arrived at Hanalei Pier, they told the kids that they were doing the Vow Renewal. And the crowd goes wild! The kids loved it.

Tom and Meg never had a big formal ceremony when they first got married. So, this was it. What a fantastic night. I had to leave a little before sunset, but as I drove up the hill from Hanalei, I saw the big orange sun just about to sink in the ocean and the sky lighting up. Great finish for a wonderful family.

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Larry LaSota and Another Happy Couple at St. Regis Princeville

Jonathan and Faria Garza were married on a perfect day at the St. Regis Princeville. I always enjoy the time I have with the grooms at we are waiting under the big Kamani tree for the bride to arrive. Jonathan, who was born in Guatemala, was telling me about when he was young and his father was talking about and looking to buy a restaurant. Guatemalan food of course. And then Jonathan says, " I come home from school one day and my dad says, "we just bought a pizzeria!" And they never looked back!

So Jonathan is a lucky man to have a pizzeria in the family AND an absolutely beautiful bride - Faria! I mean, just look at her smile! As always, many thanks to Natasha and the St Regis staff for another super job.

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Larry LaSota officiates at Tunnels Beach sunrise wedding on Kauai's north shore

Sunrise!  Yes, got up at 3:30 am to make sure all went smoothly for a June sunrise wedding at Tunnels Beach on Kauai's northshore.

 

 

 

Kenet Robertson and Kasey Johnson have been together for quite some time. But even still, they were both crying throughout the ceremony. 

 

 

 

Just wonderful heartfelt emotion. Makes me happy to be there!  Oh yea, and check out the fun they had with their Keepsake Marriage Certificate (it isn't legal... that comes from the State of Hawaii and it is not nearly as pretty!!!).

 

 

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Vow Renewal (54 Years!) with Larry LaSota at Fern Grotto

Ron and Dolly Sullivan celebrated their 54th (!) wedding anniversary with a Vow Renewal on June 22 at the famous Fern Grotto, just a lovely boat ride up the Wailua River from Smith Tropical Paradise.  The wonderful coordinator is Andrea Arruda, who provide a mini-tour of native plants on the way up to the Grotto.

Ron and Dolly, these two had so much spark you find it hard to believe they could be old enough to be married that long.  Lots of fun conversation on the boat ride back and forth to the Fern Grotto.   A really good time was had by all!

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Larry LaSota Vow Renewal at Waipouli Beach Resort beach

Kim & Michele Blaylock enjoyed their vow renewal and included their beautiful daughter in the lei exchange.  Even better, Pancho Graham provided his usual excellent music (always good to see my good friend).

This morning, I received this lovely email from them:  "Thank you for a beautiful vow renewal ceremony yesterday.  It was just beautiful and perfect.  I will send more pictures that I think you might like."

I made sure to let them know that they are welcome to send as many photos as they like!  

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Plantation Gardens in Koloa is a wonderful wedding location on Kauai!

I'm so lucky! I've had a lot of fun couples lately and Harako and Rintato just add right to it. Really cool thing. All of the wedding guests were given maracas. At the end of the ceremony the couple walked out to a flower pedal toss and shakin' maracas. Really neat.

While their photo is a bit dark, I think you can still see the GIANT smiles from Harako and Rintato, at their June 16 wedding at Plantation Gardens. Another wonderful coordination from Sayuri and Satumi of Frontier Dreams.

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Larry LaSota celebrates 10 Year Vow Renewal

Amanda and Phillip celebrated their 10th Anniversary Vow Renewal at Shipwreck's Beach with their two daughters. In the ceremony, they gave the girls their own rings to let them know they were part of the family (a wonderful idea, especially for small ones!). The ceremony was not just about Mom and Dad but everyone. If I get a photo from photographer Jonathan Moeller, I'll post a ring shot.

Kauai Wedding Minister loves being at Smith's Tropical Paradise

Smith's Tropical Paradise and Gardens is a lovely and quiet location for a wedding.  And they also put on an incredible luau!  I guess I also appreciate that I live right up the hill about 5 minutes away! 

Stephan and Michelle Megyese celebrated their 25th year vow renewal and picked a spot under a big Shower tree. Super nice folks!

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Hanalei Bay Resort, high above Hanalei Bay, has one of the most spectacular views around. Great for weddings and wedding photos (and kudos to Coordinator Deb LeBiet, Photographer Jonathan Moeller and musician Billy Swain).

Showing my age, I called Mark and Lindsay my Paul Revere and the Raiders couple. One of the guests said, What? and I said,"you know Mark Lindsay, Paul Revere and the Raiders." At that point Lindsay's dad let out a big laugh and started to name the Raiders hits.

P.S. I'm glad to he got my joke!
— with DebandChristophe Lebiet.

 

 

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Kauai Minister Larry LaSota loves early morning weddings!

Kathlene McGraw and Charlie Marquez got married at Shipwreck Beach in the morning, a truly wonderful time of day for a wedding. The air seems to have a relaxed nature to it, the breeze is warm and gentle. The couple chose a spot under the trees at the end of the beach. Really nice.

People ask me all the time what time of day should we get married. I always say my favorite is the morning. If you get married in the morning, you have all day to celebrate and enjoy the day. When you get married in the late afternoon, you tend to worry about it all day. And mornings at the beach just have such a calming aura to them.

As coincidence would have it, they were from Rio Rancho, New Mexico. When I got home to tell Elaine that the couple was from Rio Rancho, she let out a hoot. Turns out that's where she bought her parade saddle a long time ago.

There's always a connection of some sort of another almost all the time. 

 

 

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Kauai Wedding Minister Larry LaSota marries Bob and Kristiin at Sheraton - and what a ring!

Bob and Kristin were really a fun couple that I married last month at the Sheraton Kauai.  Kristin is a nurse and I always feel honored to do a nurse's wedding because my sister is a nurse and I know first hand how dedicated they all are.

Bob had the most unique Groom's wedding ring I have seen. And believe me I've seen more different style and materials than you can imagine. But this one really took me aback.

I  had taken the rings before the ceremony and just put them in my pocket as I usually do. I don't look at them then, I want to be surprised when I take them out of my pocket and get a first look at them just like the wedding guests. 

So it's time for the ring exchange. I reach into my pocket to take the rings out and one ring feels a little squishy. Bob's ring was made of silicon. It flexed and would bend almost like a rubber band. To look at it you would think it was platinum, but to the touch a real bender. 

 

 

Turns out we really could use that ring two days later at a wedding where the Groom's knuckle was so large from sports injuries that his own ring wouldn't fit.  I tell you, there is always something to learn at a wedding!

 

Finally, here is a photo of a great friend and musician, Kenny Rapozo.

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St. Regis Wedding on Hanalei Bay with Larry LaSota and dramatic skies

This lovely couple, Susan Hayes and Mikael Vehaskari, were married at St Regis, with Ashlee Haraguchi coordinating.

When it came time for the ring exchange, Mikael's ring would not go over his knuckle on his left hand, which had seen too many sports injuries over the years. He and Susan tried and tried and finally said, "let's put it on the right". They thought they would figure out an alteration some time in the future. 

Funny part is, yesterday's couple, the Groom's ring was made of silicone. It was like super thick rubber band. You could bend it, flex it. So for Mikael I thought this would be the perfect ring for that big old knuckle.

That evenings sky was extremely dramatic during the ceremony. It was all shades of gray. All of us who see Hanalei Bay at sunset were mesmerized by this look. Really spectacular.

Then about a half hour after the ceremony, the sun started to peek through and another Hanalei sunset was on the way.

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Kauai Wedding Minister Larry LaSota eases Japanese groom's nervousness

This lovely wedding of Megumi and Yosuke at Plantation Gardens was coordinated by Sayuri Sato of Frontier Dream weddings, who specializes in weddings for Japanese couples, who often do not speak English.   The groom, Yosuke, understood no English but was still able to repeat his vows in English. 

The next day, Sayuri told me that Yosuke was so nervous during the ceremony, but that I was able to put him at ease and be comfortable.  I would give him a squeeze on the elbow from time to time, and it would make him smile.  You can see that he is still smiling!


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Kauai Minister Larry LaSota Hears from Happy St. Regis Couple

I love doing weddings at the St. Regis in Princeville.  We do sometimes have the Hawaiian "blessing" of a little rain, but this wonderful couple very much wanted to be married outside under the hanging orchids.  Ashley and Amberlea and their guests were real troopers!  It was wonderful receiving this email from them.

Aloha Larry,

It was been one month since our wedding and we would like to pass on a heartfelt mahalo from both of us.

Whilst it was very wet ceremony, we were grateful that you could officiate as you made our day truly special. Especially when you said "make sure you send your love every day" and made us pause to take a mental image of where we were in Hawaii with the waves rolling in. Thank you for accommodating our additional request of a parents blessing. You put us at ease on this important day and everything was perfect. Definitely memories that will stay with us our whole lives and especially in grey London.

We wanted to share this image which shows the joy you brought to our day. 

We wish you all the best for your future and thank you again for being part of our "happily ever after"!

Mahalo,

Ashley & Amberlea

 

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Ha'ena Beach Park Wedding for Dutch Couple

I am always impressed by couples from foreign countries who speak English beautifully, like this lovely couple from The Netherlands. A joyous morning wedding at Haena Beach, just around the rocks to the left of the beach. Private and beautiful! @ Haena Beach Park

They then enjoyed a gorgeous shot at the iconic taro fields adjacent to @Hanalei River.

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NFL All-Pro offensive lineman Matt Kalil marries former Miss Minnesota, with Larry LaSota officiating

This gorgeous couple is Haley and Matt Kalil, getting married at Tunnels Beach. It was a secret ceremony just before the NFL Training Camp season was about to begin. Matt, you see is a NFL Pro Bowl (and former All American ) guard for at the time of his wedding, the Minnesota Vikings. But very recently he signed with the Carolina Panthers for what is purported to be the biggest contract for an offensive lineman ever. And that’s not even the best news.  He gets to play along side his All Pro brother, Ryan, who is the starting center for the Panthers.

Now, when I performed Matt and Haley’s wedding ceremony, not being a big football fan, I had no idea who Matt was. All I knew was this beautiful women, with an incredible smile and personality to match, is marrying this really huge guy. I felt like a munchkin. I remember talking with Joel Guy, the videographer @hanaleishack saying "this guy is big! He must be somebody."  But, with good manners in hand, neither of us asked. We just had a fun time with Matt and Haley.

After the wedding, I was telling my wife, Elaine about this beautiful bride with a very big husband. I showed her the marriage license and she, being a big football fan said, “My god, that’s Matt Kalil, he’s All Pro.” We later found out that Haley (O’Brien) was Miss Minnesota USA and a semifinalist in Miss USA 2014 contest.

At the time Joel, Coordinator Hailey Zietz (yes, Sebastian’s sister) and I knew we just had a really fun time with a really good looking couple and later found out who they were.  Lucky photographer Naomi Wong @naomiwongphotography got to spend the next day with them doing another photo session!

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Larry LaSota, Kauai Wedding Minister, marries Rachel and Ely at Oasis on the Beach

Rachel and Ely were married on the grass at Oasis on the Beach on the east side of Kauai at Waipouli Beach Resort.  I very much appreciated that Rachel sent along this photo of the lei exchange, and her thankfulness for the ceremony.  By the way, this is a great location for weddings, as the couple and their guests are on the protected grassy area, yet they are right next to the ocean and the sand.

Hi Larry,

I just wanted to extend our gratitude and appreciation for what a great job you did with our wedding ceremony. We were very pleased and grateful to have you. Many guests commented on what a great job you did.  Thank you so much!  Rachel Wahto

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Kauai Beach Wedding with Larry LaSota at Haena Beach

I married this lovely couple from the Netherlands several weeks ago.  It was another beautiful day at Ha'ena Beach.  I very much appreciate hearing from my couples after their wedding.

Hi Larry,

We just wanted to say thank you for the beautiful ceremony.
It was such a wonderful day and I don't think anybody could have done it better than you did.

We still speak about you often because everything you said and did was just perfect.
And here is a picture of the moment you pronounced is husband and wife and a picture afterward.

We are extremely in love with Kauai, more than all the places we ever been to and there is no doubt we will be coming back.

Thank you for everything!

Love, Jelle & Kim

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Kauai Wedding Minister - Testimonial from happy St. Regis Wedding Couple

If you have been reading this blog, you know what a wonderful job I have as a wedding minister.  What makes it even better is when I get thank you notes or emails from my couples.  These acknowledgements come after the honeymoon, after returning to "normal life" and work, after the flowers have faded and the cake is a distant memory... that is what makes the thoughtfulness from these newlyweds even more touching.

As I wrote back to them:  "I have a vivid memory of the way the two of you looked at each other during your vows. So perfect."

Hi Larry,

Just wanted to say thank you for the wonderful ceremony you conducted for our wedding at the St Regis on September 21, 2016!

You did such a great job and it meant a lot to us to be married by you... 

It was the best day of our lives and you were a big part of it.  We hung on every word you said and really appreciated the time and thoughtfulness in explaining the exchanging of the leis as well as the mixing of the sands.  It was beautiful.

God bless!

Phil and Bianca

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Kauai Wedding Minister Larry LaSota at Princeville Beach

When a couple chooses to get married on one the beautiful beaches of Kauai, I think it is important for them to take a moment before the ceremony starts, to look out and take in the view, breathe in the air and lock it away in their minds, so that they can always revisit what they felt like in the moment just before they become husband and wife.

This lovely couple got married at Princeville Beach on a lovely November afternoon.  They had been nervous as we gathered on the beach, but when they turned to look out at the view and took time to relax and enjoy the moment, all the nervousness went away and they were able to be present and to fully enjoy their ceremony.

https://www.kauaiweddingceremonies.com

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