French Polynesia Weddings

Most of the photographs that we feature on SMP are full color…they just seem to “pop” more than the black and whites. With that said, these black and whites, shot by Tammy and Jenny at Red Loft Studios, are STUNNING. Simply stunning.

One last tidbit from the lovely, lovely, lovely bride…

Micheal and I were barefoot (we each had seashell-like jewels decorating our feet) the whole time. We planned for a year and truly trusted Jeanne Kolander, our LA travel agent and the resort to make our day come true. And when all was said and done, we were left in awe.

Even as we celebrate our first year anniversary, we still find ourselves in awe.

It was the absolute best decision we could have ever made. What an extreme blessing!

Thank you so much to Chandra, Michael and Red Loft Studios for inspiring us to no end…and for reminding us in the midst of planning frenzies, what really is the most important part of a wedding. Each Other.

Here are more beautiful photos and details from today’s featured wedding…

all photos by Tammy Horton and Jenny Stafford of Red Loft Studios

From the bride…

Immediately following the ceremony, an outside reception was set up on the beach. It was such an intimate moment — all of our guests sat at a beautifully decorated square table with us. Micheal and I sat in these oversized “king” and “queen”-type woven chairs. A five-course meal was served and enjoyed. Along with wedding cake, their was also pastries arranged on tiers. The resort printed and wrapped a transparent menu in raffia – such a simple but dramatic touch. I also created fans for the wedding and reception.

More to come!

Here is what I have decided about today’s featured wedding…if I am ever annoyed with my husband, if we are ever fighting or not getting along, or worse yet, if we are ever simply bored with each other, I am going to come back to this wedding and drink in the beauty of this couple. The pure joy that is poring out of the photographs. The love that seems filled with excitement and fun. It’s the kind of wedding that reminds you of why people fall in love, why people take the huge leap of faith that marriage really is…

all photos by Tammy Horton and Jenny Stafford of Red Loft Studios

So much more to come! In the meantime, check out the feature on gorgeous veils that is playing on the Little Black Book Blog right now…you even get a little peek at my own wedding veil!

Today, we are featuring the absolutely beautiful Tahitian inspired real wedding of Chandra and Micheal. This incredibly lovely couple approached their wedding with a pureness and a simplicity that we should all envy, and yet they executed their ideas with unabashed elegance…

all photos by Tammy Horton and Jenny Stafford of Red Loft Studios

From the bride…

We were married on the white sand beach of Pearl Beach Resort in Moorea at sunset on Sunday, Oct. 7, 2007. About 30-45 minutes or so before the Tahitian ceremony began, the beating of drums, whistling of conch shells and the rhythms of guitars could be heard all across the island, into our rooms. The serenade signaled that a wedding was about to take place. So not only did our family and friends witness the testimony of our love but so did dozens of strangers, equipped with cameras.

I was escorted from my suite to a canoe. The canoe took me along the Pacific Ocean, through the overwater bungalows to the ceremony site, where Micheal stood dapper waiting for me. The ceremony area was completely covered with hundreds of exotic flowers and lush greenery. The ceremony was done in French (the spoken language of Tahiti) and English. All of the beautiful traditions of the Polynesian culture were incorporated into our wedding – we danced – Polynesian-style, we were wrapped in an ornate quilt, which signified oneness, and our wedding rings were blessed with coconut milk (yes, a coconut was cracked open over our hands…wait until you see that amazing picture coming up soon).

Beautiful! Stay tuned for so much more!

There are so many things to love about today’s featured wedding. Honestly, the bride and the groom are so ridiculously gorgeous, they kind of make me feel insecure. Then, you add in a wedding that is basically every girl’s dream come true, an incredibly romantic Tahitian beach and photography duo that captures the images with a sense of beauty and elegance that few can match…well, it’s the makings of a pretty incredible affair.

all photos by Tammy Horton and Jenny Stafford of Red Loft Studios

The lovely bride, Chandra, emailed me a while back and filled me in on all of the beautiful, incredibly personal details from her wedding…

Once Micheal and I became engaged we both knew we didn’t want to do the “traditional” wedding – as we aren’t a traditional couple by most standards :).  We didn’t want to look back on our wedding day and only remember a blur of frenzy and organized chaos. We didn’t want our wedding day to be about the opinions of others or how many hundreds we could invite to a reception. We wanted the focus of our wedding to be solely about God and His gift of marriage. We wanted the realness of the commitment to be heartfelt. We didn’t want to miss a single thing.

So we packed our bags, had a handful of dear family members and friends (and the photographers Tammy Horton and Jenny Stafford of Red Loft Studios in Los Angeles) hop a plane to the islands of Tahiti. It was absolutely a dream come true. When Micheal and I first met and were friends we chatted about the three places we wanted to travel to in the near future – one place was Seattle, Micheal surprised me with a trip for my birthday; another was Boston – I surprised Micheal with a trip for his birthday; and Tahiti was the last place on our wish list. We ooh-ed, aah-ed at pictures of Tahiti and thought, “Wouldn’t it be amazing if we got married there?”

So many more, completely beautiful pictures are on their way!