A wedding on Maui

It was July 22nd and I was taking wedding photos on a volcanic island.  Not my volcanic island, though, but one way further to the south and west of Iceland. I couldn't believe my luck.  In all honesty, I had dreamt about being in this situation, but never thought it would actually come true.  I guess it's all about dreaming hard enough, eh?

I was in Hawai'i, on the island of Maui, in the small town of Hana.  Friends of ours, Nataliya and Sergei, were the ones getting married.  They are both from Russia, but they live in Victoria, and they decided that getting married on Maui was a great idea.  Unfortunately their families were unable to attend the wedding, so it was foreseen that the wedding would be small and cozy.

Few people, but good people, as we would say in Iceland.  In this case, those attending were me and my family, and Nataliya and Sergei's friends who live on Maui.

The wedding took place on a volcanic cliff overlooking the ocean, with large waves crashing noisily, sometimes making it hard to hear what was said.  But we all got the meaning, even when they said their vows in Russian.

The ceremony was scheduled for 10:30, but heavy rain assisted in moving it back by half an hour.  At around eleven am the sun was out, and it shone bright all throughout the ceremony.  A few minutes later, just as we were all getting into our cars, the sun had hidden behind grey clouds.  The bride and groom, and really everyone else involved, could not have been luckier with the weather.

It was a beautiful day, a beautiful ceremony, and a beautiful couple.

 

Nataliya did her own make-up.

Kristen and Hófí assisted Nataliya getting into her wedding dress.

 

Few people, but good people.

Before saying their vows and formally being wed, the couple washed away anything they did not want to bring into the marriage, as per Hawai'ian tradition. They then threw that water to the sea.

 

 

 

According to Hawai'ian tradition, the newlyweds were presented with a song right after they exchanged rings.