Iandell & Finley's Superbly Fun Wedding!

IANDELL & FINLEY were one couple you just absolutely love to work with. They had an amazing cast of characters and crew for their presentation, and although it was a daytime event, we helped them create a celebration that was full of energy and excitement!



I first met IANDELL and her coordinator PENNY at The Wedding Cafe by accident. I was there for another meeting, and they were meeting KRIS from On3 Photography. IANDELL had heard some very good things about me, so they called a few days later to set an appointment to meet at My Office.

From the first meeting, we knew that this would be a special party. IANDELL had very specific ideas about the look and direction she wanted her celebration to go, but she was also very open to the ideas I presented to help personalize her event and motivate her guests. Over the course of the next few months, Iandell introduced me to her "supporting cast," and I got to know Iandell's mother, her sisters, her brother, and a few of Finley's friends. Iandell, Penny, and I also worked together to create an original soundtrack for her celebration, which reflected her and Finley's unique tastes in music.

By the time November 22 rolled around, everything was set for the big premiere of Iandell & Finley's wedding at the Hale Koa Hotel. Not even dark skies and rain could have put a damper on their spirits. After a wedding ceremony in the backup location, we started the party, and guests took advantage of all of the FUN activities Iandell planned during lunchtime. Throughout the day, the mood remained festive, and the big highlight for everyone was the games to give away the bouquet & garter. The ladies played a round of Circle Dance to give away the bouquet.



The men competed in Last Man Sitting to win the garter. The two finalists were MACOY the Best Man and GRAN, a groomsman. Upon finding out what the last object was, they scrambled around the room to find it, with Macoy even grabbing the microphone and pleading with the audience to help him locate it! When Macoy finally found the object, he picked it up and tried carrying it back to the dancefloor for the win, but he had to get past Gran first, who was trying to steal the winning item away from Macoy! By this time, the audience was rolling with laughter at the hilarity of the entire moment!



Overall, it was truly a sensational event that gave a lot of happy & lasting memories to Iandell, Finley, and their guests. On a more personal note, their wedding was a reminder to me about why I enjoy doing this.

Here is a copy of their reception timeline.

Sequence	Time	Event
0	9:30am	Wedding Ceremony
1	10:00am	Cocktail Hour; Doors to the DeRussy Hall open to the guests; iVideo Guestbook and Candy Bar to entertain guests
2	10:45am	Welcoming of Guests; Grand Entrance
3		First Dance; Greetings & Welcome by the Newlyweds
4	11:00am	Announcements (e.g., parking validations, restrooms, candy bar, ivideo guestbook, etc.); Invocation/Prayer Before The Meal by Iandell’s aunt SUSAN
5	11:15am	Meal; IANDELL & FINLEY to take table photos and release the tables; Kissing Games to honor the sponsors & entertain the guests
6		Song serenade by Iandell’s brother AARON; hula performance by Iandell’s friend PENNY
7		Recognition of Family, Sponsors, Out-Of-Town Guests
8		Cake Cutting
9		Toast & speech by Maid of Honor CHARISSE; Speech & Mabuhay toast by Best Man MACOY
10		Bouquet & Garter activities (Bouquet Surprise; Circle Dance; special gift presentation; garter removal; Last Man Sitting; Reverse Garter)
11		Centerpiece Giveaway (Hot Centerpiece Time)
12		Video slideshow produced by TROY; Ceremony Highlights presented by ADVANCED VISUAL ARTS
13		Money Dance
14		Open Dancing
15	2:00pm	Music ends

And here is the soundtrack for their celebration.

1. Pitbull - Lets Get Krazy (Grand Entrance background riff)
2. Pitbull - Lets Get Krazy (Grand Entrance main riff)
3. Visa commercial clip (for Grand Entrance)
4. American Idol sound clip (for Grand Entrance)
5. Estelle - American Boy (Grand Entrance main riff)
6. Estelle - American Boy (Grand Entrance background riff)
7. Hail to the Chief (Macoy Grand Entrance intro)
8. Lil Wayne - Fireman (Grand Entrance Instrumental edit)
9. Motley Crue - Without You (First Dance)
10. Jessica Simpson - Angels (karaoke version) (song performance by AARON)
11. Keali'i Reichel - Kawaipunahele (hula by PENNY)
12. Aerosmith - Sweet Emotion (cakecutting edit)
13. Guns N' Roses - Sweet Child Of Mine (CHARISSE’S toast intro edit)
14. Akon - Locked Up (MACOY’S toast intro edit)
15. INXS - Need You Tonight (bouquet ladies to floor instrumental edit)
16. INXS - Need You Tonight (Circle Dance edit)
17. Natalie Merchant - Kind & Generous (bouquet presentation edit)
18. Herb Alpert - Love Potion #9 (Garter Removal)
19. Guns N Roses - Welcome to the Jungle (Last Man Sitting)
20. Marvin Gaye - Let's Get It On (Reverse Garter)
21. Shrek soundtrack - I'm A Believer (Reprise) (Reverse Garter Reveal)
22. Vengaboys - We Like To Party (Centerpiece Game)
23. Various - Love Remix (Money Dance)
24. Petula Clark - You & I (dedication to Iandell’s mom JOSEPHINE)
25. B52s - Love Shack (Grand Finale/Last Song)

Special thanks to the following "production crew" who helped make this presentation very FUN, STRESS-FREE, UNIQUE, and MEMORABLE for Iandell & Finley.

PENNY SNELL, Iandell's good friend & coordinator, and Penny's awesome husband TROY
KRIS LABANG with On3 Photography (many of the pictures on this post were taken by him! Thank you, Kris!)
GREG VENTURA, ANDY, BRUCE, & KYLE with Advanced Visual Arts
TONY BARNHILL with iVideo Guestbook
TANNA & BRYSON DANG with The Wedding Cafe, for ideas & support

Paradigm Shift

There's a saying that goes "When the student is ready, the Master/Teacher will appear." Lately, that statement has been resonating loudly with me, considering how many of my mentors have come into my life recently. Tom Hopkins in September. Mark Ferrell this month. Tom & Mark had always been in my life, but never to the degree in which they influenced me until recently. Perhaps back then I simply was not ready to fully grasp their messages. But God/Source/Universe, in Its infinite wisdom, deigned that they come into my life at full force, and this time, I was fully prepared.

What is weird is how there have been many other synchronocities relating to this quote: In the last two weeks, I heard it from several colleagues and even clients I met with! Usually it was said in passing or paraphrased to make a point about an unrelated topic, but still...how much coincidence can it be? The latest was earlier today, when I saw it on TV in a commercial for Victoria's Secret (I kid you not!). Amazing, isn't it?

There is one particular person who recently came into my life, and that person's message resonates very very deeply into my core. I cannot quite explain it; it feels weird yet right at the same time. It's like the Universe is saying, "Marino wasn't ready to hear THIS message for 32 years, but now...it's time. He's ready. At this time, in this place, Marino is ready to learn, and ultimately, to serve."

If I learn my lessons correctly from this new teacher, expect a MAJOR shift in paradigm from me. Whereas the business model I currently have is pretty awesome...the future business model will be undescribably extraordinary.

Details will be released in due course...but it will be an exciting time.

With much love & aloha,

Marino
Your Certified Professional Master of Ceremonies
Ninja Entertainment

OWA Halloween Fun

Yesterday, I provided music and served as the Master of Ceremonies for the Oahu Wedding Association's annual Halloween Party.



This year, the event was held at WENDY ROBIN'S Studio W of Honolulu. The fun was evident from the get-go, with people arriving in costume:







The low-key costume contest was entertaining, and the delicious food by VANESSA HOLINGER with Beaches & Backyards Catering was 'ono (delicious). The food was sooo good that all of it (except for six pieces of sushi) were eaten!

All in all, it was a very lively and entertaining experience.



Special thanks to last night's "Production Crew" for making the event such a success:

• Dave Miyamoto & Michelle Gouda, Dave Miyamoto & Co.
• Wendy Robin, Studio W of Honolulu
• Vanessa Hollinger, Beaches & Backyards Catering
• Kris Labang, On3 Photography, for taking all of these great images
• Dina (Wendy's friend), for letting us use her studio next door as well

Thanks also to Ryan Pierce from Lift Your Spiritz for the fun spontaneous flair bartending demonstration!



And to those who came, thank you!

Find more images of this event here on the Oahu Wedding Association blog.

I am CERTIFIED

My clients always tell me that I am a great Master of Ceremonies, but I am always looking to improve on my craft and to become a more valuable resource to you. Which is why I spent the past few days attending an intense advanced training course on learning the art of being a Professional Master of Ceremonies. I'm not talking about the guys who simply emcee weddings as a side hobby. I'm talking about learning how guys like David Letterman, Jay Leno, and Billy Crystal do it. After all, a wedding reception is very much like the Academy Awards--it is a $20,000-40,000 live theatre event that has been produced for over a year, and the Master of Ceremonies is in charge of making sure that everything looks like it is running smoothly. Quite a monumental task indeed.

My instructors were Mark & Rebecca Ferrell, dear friends and mentors of mine. Over the past few days, I spent a lot of time behind the microphone working on what I do, and they spent a lot of time offering constructive criticism and giving me encouragement to do what I do...but better.

Graduation from the class was one of the most important days in my professional career, perhaps even more so than finishing college. After all, the Marbecca Method (which is the system that I learned) is one of only a few systems of certification for the career field of Masters of Ceremonies. And out of the many emcees in the state, there are only EIGHT (yes, count 'em on two hands, EIGHT) certified Professional Masters of Ceremonies here in Hawaii. That means I belong to an elite bunch. But what makes the eight of us very special is that we do not just see your wedding as a side hobby to give you a cookie-cutter presentation...but as helping you create a unique, stress-free, and memorable experience on the most important day of your life.



Here we are, with the Master himself. Thank you, Mark & Rebecca, for bringing the workshop here to Hawaii.

To my clients, I am excited to meet with you again soon, as I have a lot of great ideas to share with you in order to make your own wedding day much more personal, unique, stress-free, and memorable!

To brides who have not booked me yet but read this blog regularly, when it is time to book your Master of Ceremonies, ask them if they are certified. If not, ask them why not. If they tell you that they don't need it, consider this: would you trust your health to a doctor who is not licensed and certified by the state Board of Health?

Things to consider...

Diamond Event at the Wedding Ring Shop

My friend SARAH from Wanna Hula does some consulting on the side with diamond shops, particularly the Wedding Ring Shop. She recently alerted me to a very special Diamond Event that will happen at the Wedding Ring Shop on October 24-26. Diamonds from the S. Muller & Sons Collection will be available at a superb value. This opportunity is not to be missed.

To my male readers/grooms-to-be: If you are planning to buy a very special ring for your special someone at a good value, you should attend this event.

To my female readers/brides-to-be: If you do not own your wedding ring yet, drop by to take a look at the selection. At the very least, it can give you some ideas on what your own ring may be like.

To receive your own invitation, call 808.945.7766 and ask for SARAH CHANG. Tell her Marino sent you!

Images & more from Chris & Tia's wedding

In my last blog post, I wrote about how honored I was to be performing at Chris & Tia's wedding last Saturday. I wrote about how I wasn't just making announcements for five hours...I helped them and their families create a lifetime of memories.



Documenting the memories were Kim & Nate from Aihara Visuals, and they have teaser pics up on their blog. Check it out!

This is one of my favorites:



Tia, Chris, and their guests are surely having a lot of fun, aren't they?

Here's another one:



You may be wondering why there is a picture of a Heineken bottle instead of a table number. It was one of the fun ways we personalized Chris & Tia's wedding and how we got the guests involved during dinner.

Those who know Chris & Tia know that they are very social drinkers and connoisseurs of beers and spirits, and they and their friends are very knowledgeable about drinks. So instead of the banquet captain traditionally releasing their tables to the buffet, we played a game! Each table was named after one of Chris & Tia's favorite beers or spirits, and throughout the evening, I would read trivia about these drinks. Guests would guess which spirit or drink I was speaking of, and when they guessed correctly, the table named after the spirit would go next to the buffet. Instead of guests simply sitting bored at their tables, guests got into the fun by yelling out the answers and encouraging the correct tables to go to the buffet! And for those guests who were not drinkers, it helped them to understand one of Chris & Tia's major passions.

Tables were named after the following spirits and were released in random order unless otherwise noted:

• Dirty Skyy Vodka Martini - Chappell/Waits Family Table, first to be released
• Jameson Whiskey - Sablan/Hayami Family Table, second to be released
• Newcastle English brown ale
• Bass English pale ale
• Guiness Irish dry stout (mmmm...Guinness...yum)
• Red Stripe Jamaican lager beer
• Boddingtons English bitter, "the Cream of Manchester"
• Heineken Dutch pale lager
• Pabst Blue Ribbon American beer
• Spicy Bloody Mary
• Bushmill Irish Whiskey

Here's how Chris & Tia's final timeline looked like:

Sequence	Time		Event
0	4:30pm		Wedding Ceremony in the Maile Gardens
1	5:30pm		Doors to the Waikiki Ballroom open to the Guests; Cocktail Hour; Receiving Line
2	6:30pm		Welcoming of Guests, Grand Entrance, Greetings & Welcome by the Newlyweds
3			Announcements (e.g., parking validations, restrooms, etc.); Invocation/Blessing of the Meal by Chris’ uncle TIM
4			Meal (Favorite Beers Table Release; Kissing Games)
5	7:30pm		Recognition of Family & Out-Of-Town Guests
6			Cake Cutting
7			Toasts & Speeches by Maid of Honor MYLA; Best Man DAMON; Chris’ father GEORGE; Chris’ stepfather WAYNE
8			Bouquet & Garter Activities (Bouquet Surprise; Traditional Bouquet Toss; Traditional Garter Removal & Toss; Reverse Garter)
9			Centerpiece Giveaway (Hot Centerpiece Time)
10			Video Slideshow, presented by NORTH SHORE VIDEO PRODUCTIONS
11			Mother/Son Dance (Chris dances with his mother TERRI) (No Father/Daughter Dance)
12			“Father/Daughter” Dance (Chris dances with Tia’s daughter ABIGAIL)
13			First Dance, into Money Dance
14			Open Dancing
15			Grand Finale

And here is Chris & Tia's final reception soundtrack:

1. Kool & The Gang - Celebration (Bridal Party Grand Entrance edit)
2. KC & The Sunshine Band - Get Down Tonight (Chris & Tia's Entrance edit)
3. Bryan Adams - Cuts Like a Knife (cake-cutting)
4. Natasha Beddingfield - Pocketful Of Sunshine (Maid of Honor toast intro edit)
5. Bob Marley - Jammin (Best Man toast intro edit)
6. AHA - Take On Me (instrumental - women to floor for bouquet)
7. The Police - Every Little Thing She Does Is Magic (bouquet catch edit)
8. Guns N Roses - Welcome to the Jungle (instrumental - men to floor for garter)
9. Herb Alpert - Love Potion #9 (Garter Removal & Toss)
10. Marvin Gaye - Let's Get It On (Reverse Garter)
11. Shrek soundtrack - I'm A Believer Reprise (RGarter Reveal)
12. Vengaboys - We Like To Party (Centerpiece Game)
13. Kenny Rogers - Through the Years (Mother/Son Dance edit)
14. Temptations - My Girl (Father/Daughter Dance edit)
15. Jimmy Cliff - Rebel In Me (First Dance)
16. Spandau Ballet - True (Money Dance)
17. Percy Sledge - I'll Be Your Everything (Special Dedication to Rachell & Shawn)
18. Semisonic - Closing Time (Last Dance)

Special thanks again to Kim & Nate from Aihara Visuals, as well as Les from North Shore Video Productions, for documenting Chris & Tia's story. They are all awesome people to work with! Mahalo to the catering and banquet staffs at the Hale Koa Hotel for being so super, too!

This is why I do this.

Meet RACHELL & SHAWN, happily married three years ago, on September 17, 2005.

It was truly an honor to be a part of their celebration and the wonderful memories that were created that night.  They have such a loving and supportive family and friends,and I was blessed to be a part of all of it three years ago.


So three years later, when Shawn's brother CHRIS finally decided to marry his longtime love TIA on October 4, they called me.  They had told me that, in between Shawn & Rachell's wedding and now, they had been to several other weddings, but none matched the passion, romance, and fun as they had experienced at Shawn & Rachell's celebration.  So it was again an honor to be asked to be a part of this family's memories.


So when October 4 arrived, it felt great to see everyone again.  Family who I had met three years ago greeted me like no time had passed, and it was amazing to see just how people have changed in three years...and how people have stayed the same.  Shawn & Rachell now have a darling baby boy.  Chris' mother TERRI is still looking lovely as ever, and Tia's daughter ABIGAIL, who was a wee little lass when I first met her, is now blooming into a precocious and active ten year old.


It dawned on me as I welcomed the guests at the start of the festivities just how special this day meant, not just to Chris & Tia, but to their families and friends.  This wasn't just about five hours of eating, laughing, and socializing...this was about coming together as a family and creating a lifetime of happy memories.


And once again, I felt truly blessed to be a part of it all.

Congratulations, Tia & Chris, on your wedding day.  It was indeed an honor to be a part of your memories...and that of your family.  I look forward to continuing to be your family's preferred party host for all of life's most significant milestones.

To my readers:


If you are already married, drop me a line and let me know how you have been doing since your wedding.  It's always nice to hear from you, and how things are different now...and how some things are still the same.


If you are getting married soon and have already reserved me for your wedding day, I look forward to helping you create a lot of positive and happy memories for you...and your family.  Memories that will indeed last a lifetime.

If you haven't booked me yet...what are you waiting for?  After all, I'm not just providing 4-5 hours of MC'ing...I will help you create a lifetime of happy memories for you and your cherished ones.

---

And on that note...the October edition of the VIP Wedding Newsletter will be arriving in your inboxes shortly! Please check it for more tips and advice to make your wedding more FUN, STRESS-FREE, UNIQUE, and MEMORABLE. This issue's main topic is on ethnic toasts: the information will help the people you ask to deliver the banzai, Mabuhay, or any other ethnic toast.



As for my married couples, read about how you and others have been faring since saying your "I Do's". For some of you who just started a family, your first Halloween with children may be right around the corner. The newsletter has some tips on how to have a safe, family-friendly Halloween.

And if you are not a member of the VIP club yet, shoot me an email so we can activate your VIP membership.

I look forward to serving you.

More from the seminar.

I'm on break again. Here are some pictures.

Here are Tom and I. He is awesome.



Tom shares his knowledge and expertise.

Blogging from a seminar

One of the things that makes me different from other wedding entertainers is that I take the time to invest in continued education, in order to stay on top of current wedding trends. By staying on the cutting edge, I am able to provide better service and a more unique wedding planning experience for my clients.

So I'm blogging in the middle of a seminar by Tom Hopkins, a noted motivational speaker, and he is speaking about current techniques to get clients more involved with me and my service. It's a lot of stuff to take in, but very very good information. I look forward to sharing this with all of you when I meet you to talk about your wedding and event! More later...we were on break, but the seminar is starting up again!

Birthday fun.

Not too long ago was my birthday...and to celebrate, some friends took me out to dinner at Sam Snead's Tavern at the Pearl Harbor Golf Course. Yummy food, good times, and great friends...it was nice to simply relax and not have to rehearse for a wedding the next day.

Here's the handsome birthday boy.



And my goofy nieces. They are awesome.





The food was good.



So was the Guiness.



No birthday cake, but a scoop of ice cream makes a worthy substitute.



I would like to take a moment and say "Happy Birthday" to my "birthday twin" NAOMI LEE with Les Saisons Fine Linens...born on the same date, just several years apart.

Photo teasers from Dayna & Garrett's wedding

Last week we helped DAYNA & GARRETT have a fun and entertaining wedding at the Willows Restaurant. (Special thanks to TRACY & KERI, the catering directors at the Willows, for being so fabulous to work with.)



They were a great couple to work with, and I really enjoyed working with them through the entire planning process, which led to a very elegant and entertaining wedding day.

KYLER & KAYOKO, their photographers with Kai Photo, recently added teaser images from Dianna & Garrett's wedding on Kai Photo's Blog. Go check it out! (And yes, the handcuffs and the song "At Last" were prominent elements throughout the wedding and reception. :)

September issue of the Wedding Newsletter is out!

The September edition of our VIP Wedding Newsletter is out! If you are not a member of our VIP club, shoot me an email and I will make sure you get registered. This issue has great ideas to help your Best Man & Maid of Honor come up with their speeches. For married couples, there is advice on handling one of the more traumatic experiences you could ever experience in a marriage. And for the guys, there are some ideas to score brownie points with your partner...for free! If you are not yet a member of my VIP club, send me an email and I will send you the current issue and get you signed up!

Ed & Monica Pingol = Awesome

Back in July, we helped Christy & Kris create a very unique, very memorable, very exciting presentation for their wedding celebration. They had games, surprise dances (including their version of the Evolution of Dance), and even a surprise birthday cake for the bride. Many guests approached the newlyweds at the end of the night telling them just how original and inspiring their celebration was.



To document all of this, Christy & Kris asked Ed & Monica Pingol to photograph their wedding day.



Ed & Monica recently posted some teaser shots on Ed's blog.

I have worked with many photographers...but very few artists. Ed & Monica Pingol are artists.

You can find images of their work at Kris & Christy's wedding.

Here is my favorite, a series of photos of the Reverse Garter:



Notice how much FUN everyone is having!

The pictures will show two things:

• How awesome your wedding can be if you have your wedding hosted by me!
• How awesome your wedding pictures will be if you have your wedding documented by Ed & Monica!

Where's Marino?

Yes, it has been a while since I last posted. Summertime is usually busy with weddings, and this summer was no exception. In between performing at weddings, preparing and rehearsing for weddings, and traveling, finding time to blog becomes a little challenging. But I appreciate all of the support and patience!

Recent weddings include Rayna & Tyrone on August 2:




Celeste & Craig on August 30:




Dayna & Garrett on August 31:




All were very successful, very original, and very entertaining parties. Each one had unique elements to them that made each very special. At Celeste & Craig's reception, for instance, the big highlight was the garter removal. After setting it up like a traditional garter removal, Craig went underneath Celeste's dress and pulled out..."Superman" boxers. As if that was not funny enough, Celeste then stood up, pushed Craig into the chair, and removed the garter from Craig's leg. The audience went crazy!

Superferry = impressive

This weekend (July 4) will be spent on Maui for a mix of business (meeting with some clients, colleagues, wedding planners, and catering managers) and pleasure (spending time with family, watching the fireworks show in Lahaina). While the rest of the ohana will be flying in tomorrow, I have the pleasure of taking the van (along with everybody else's "junk") on the Hawaii Superferry the day before. And so far, I AM IMPRESSED. Not only was the check-in smooth, but the ride so far has been pretty good. What sealed the deal was the available electrical outlets to power my laptop, and the free WiFi internet access. In fact, I am posting this onboard! Is this cool or what??

Shawn Starr pics of Jennifer & Kevin's wedding

Back in October, we helped Jennifer & Kevin make their Big Island wedding celebration very fun, unique, and memorable. Their photographer SHAWN STARR recently put up pictures of Jennifer & Kevin's wedding on his website. Shawn has a fabulous eye for taking fantastic wedding images, so if you want to see a sample of his work, check it out.

Work and My New Addiction

A week ago, I picked up this game at Costco. Two days ago, I got the hang of the online multiplayer mode. And with my bluetooth headset to talk to my teammates, this game has become my addiction, consistently keeping me up until the wee hours of the morning...

Once the novelty of online play wears out, it will be back to normal...

Speaking of work, ROY from Kahana writes in to ask:

Since you do this full-time, what do you do during the day while the rest of us work?

Thank you, Roy, for the wonderful question.

During the week, I actually work for this company I run. Officially, Ninja Entertainment is my employer, and like a good employee, I do have a set time that I go in to work on a daily basis. But because I know the owner, and the owner likes me, I have the flexibility to adjust my day accordingly. :) But in general, this is how my day goes.

I wake up around 6:30am almost every morning, have breakfast with my family, send them off to work, and then take care of my household chores, which include washing the dishes, restocking the water cooler, and making sure the dog has food and fresh water. Then after getting ready, I head out to the office.

At the office, I do paperwork. Like any good business, there is the administrative side of things, so during that time I return calls, set appointments, work on reception timelines, contact wedding vendors who I will be working with soon at upcoming weddings, rehearse the presentation and assemble the musical soundtrack for the next wedding, and write on my blog. Sometimes I will have a meeting with a catering director for a walkthrough of a reception site that I soon will be performing at. At other times, I will have lunch with another wedding vendor, to share ideas and to network. Most people see the five hours of the wedding reception and think that is all I do.

The reality is that I put in at least 40-60 hours before a wedding in order to ensure the success of those five hours of the event.

In the afternoon, if I have a meeting with a client, I stay later in the office for the consultation. If there is no meeting, I get off work around 5:30pm to go for a cardio workout on my road bike or do some weight-training at the gym. By 7pm, I am home, where I have dinner, spend time with family, shower, and get a hit of my new addiction. Somewhere around 2am, I go to bed.

And that is what a typical weekday is for me. Of course, things are different the week of a wedding, because the rehearsals for the wedding presentation intensify. You can read about the experience here.

And you can also read about what happens on the wedding day by clicking here.

Lucky part 3

For 6/7/08, I must have been the only wedding vendor not working on that date. The couple who originally had the date, VANGE & RODEL, moved their date to 6/14, and I was not able to rebook any other brides in that time. But that was okay because it gave me the day off to relax and do something I really enjoy doing in my spare time: ride my road bike. Cycling is my sport and passion (in addition to helping brides & grooms have awesome wedding receptions), and I manage to put in in an hour or two on the bike at least three times a week. It is rare, though, to get in a long ride, simply because there is not enough hours in the day, and on weekends, I am usually performing at a wedding. Since there was no wedding last Saturday, this was the perfect opportunity to get in a long ride. And because I had the whole day to myself (since my family had made other plans), I decided to ride around Oahu.

You did read right, I planned to ride around Oahu. For those of you interested in measuring that, it comes out to about 112 miles, and for you sports trivia buffs out there, the distance is the inspiration for the 112-mile bike leg of the Ironman triathlon. But I digress.

I started out at 7:30pm from my home in Liliha, a little later than I originally planned, but I was hoping to make good time. At my pace, it should have taken me six hours to complete the ride, 7-8 if you count in the stops here and there to refuel and rest. By 9am I was in Hawaii Kai, and by 11am I was in Kailua. My first real "pit stop" was at the Makapu'u Lookout. The weather was gorgeous, and the beach looked really inviting.



7-Eleven across from the Hygienic Store in Kahalu'u was the next stop:



I'd say I still look pretty good after riding 45+ miles.



By 1:30pm, I was in Kahuku, where I stopped for Lunch at one of the many shrimp trucks.



Icee never tasted soooo good.




By 2:45pm I was at Sunset Beach, where the weather was still just as gorgeous as it was on the east side of the island.



I reached Haleiwa at 3:15pm. The stretch of road between Haleiwa and Wahiawa (affectionately known locally here as "Pineapple Hill" because of the pineapple fields that the road intersects) is an incline, and when you couple it with a fierce headwind, made for a very, very painful experience. This killed the ride, and fortunately, I had friends who just got off work at Wheeler Army Airfield, and they graciously offered to pick me and my bike up and take me home.

Oh well, maybe next time I'll make it around the island, when I'm in better shape...

My point in sharing this with you? First, to give you a glimpse of what I do when I am not helping a bride create a fun and memorable party experience. Secondly, to show you just how lucky it is to live in Hawaii!