Kona Backyard Intimate Wedding

This was a very special intimate wedding of two friends of mine – Nicolle and Paiden. These two are a little more on the introverted side, so making sure that they felt comfortable with their photographer was important to them!

Getting along with the vendors for your wedding matters. This is because weddings are such an intimate and heartfelt event, you want to be 100% certain that you are on the same page as your photographer!

Nicolle and Paiden’s Kona wedding venue was really special to them because they were allowed to have their ceremony on the land that they used to tend to. Paiden had an amazing vision for their day! These two brought in the community they had built through all of their friends to help make their intimate Hawaii wedding vision a reality.

I arrived for getting ready photos at their venue in Kona, and definitely recommend allotting extra time for that. Taking time to have some “getting ready” photos can be an intimate part of the day before the festivities. Paiden and Nicolle got ready together, but were able to surprise each other with the finishing touches as an organic “first look”.

Imparting personal style is so much fun, and these two started by wearing vintage dresses. They both wore Doc Martens to really bring in their own flair! Paiden dabbles in macrame craft that they included during their day, along with a macrame necklace using feathers that Nicolle found. Nicolle and Paiden on the hairpiece and adornments, making these accessories even more special. 

After their first look, we roamed around the gardens for fun photos, then I helped them connect for more intimate poses. Then they went to ground themselves for a few before the ceremony. 

I am still blown away at the personal touches that all of their friends and loved ones were able to include to really come together for Paiden and Nicolle’s Kona elopement. From farm to table catering thanks to the land of the venue, one of their friends did a live painting of them, another friend did florals, and another friend played flute during the ceremony. So many of their friends stepped up to support them, because they are such lovely people. Even their moms did the charcuterie!

Once their romantic ceremony was finished, it was time for dinner and speeches. The speeches giving at their Hawaii wedding were some of the most incredible speeches I have ever heard, and builds on the theme that their whole community showed up for them on their wedding day!

Outfit changes came next, for fun photos in their new outfits! After Nicolle and Paiden cut their cake, they had a sound bath that included a fire lighting ceremony with sound healing – representative of their relationship because they have done a lot of growth and healing together. This was the perfect way to wind down after such a fun-filled day.