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Mauna Kea Wedding Video on Big Island Hawaii

Ashley + Elie Mauna Kea Resort Wedding

Why do you want your wedding captured on video?

First, I know the day is going to go by so quickly and I want to be able to relive the moment through film. Second, I want to be able to share the memories with people that were not able to attend, future children, etc.

Why did you pick me?

I think you have a beautiful eye and that you are able to capture emotion well. I found your films to be more artistic and design focused than some of the other work I looked at. I find many of these wedding videos really cheesy, and I prefer a film that is just beautiful, authentic, and understated.

What do you do? How do you spend your days?..What’s important in life?

 I work in marketing in the fashion industry. Design, fashion, art, music are a big part of my life. I especially relate to fashion, art and design from decades past. I feel I was born in the wrong decade and I gravitate to vintage fashion, oldies music, and objects from the past. I am a very spiritual and emotional person, and always working on self-exploration and growth. When not working, I spend my days doing yoga, working out, exploring my passion of health/wellness, and traveling. Hawaii is my special place. Elie – Elie is a lawyer by trade, currently working in house at a tech company. Although not an artist, he has a creative spirit. He has a passion for food, food culture and cooking, and is always experimenting with new recipes. He loves to travel and experience new places and cultures, especially local food cultures. He loves sports (mostly hockey/basketball) and played hockey growing up which is very rare for a Los Angeles kid. He’s a huge music fan, and has an extremely eclectic taste music. Friends and relationship building is extremely important to Elie. He has even spent some time training to be a life coach, and while not a career he’s actively pursuing at the moment, says a lot about his character and what he’s interested in.

Ashley and Elie’s Wedding at the Mauna Kea Resort

Elie and I had been together for over 4 years when we got engaged. And honestly I didn’t know it was coming. It was August 2020, we were deep into the pandemic and we had a trip planned – first to go visit some friends in Napa, then to Big Sur (which I thought was my birthday present). We were having a great time in Napa until a major fire broke out! For a few days, we weren’t sure if we needed to evacuate, we were teetering for a while. Then it happened. We had to evacuate the house, but unfortunately there was no where else to really go — there were fires breaking out all up and down the California Coast. And sadly, the hotel where we were supposed to go for what I thought was my birthday trip (but was actually an engagement destination) had to shut because there was a separate massive fire in Big Sur. I was upset, but I didn’t even know the half of it! On top of the stress of having to figure out a plan b engagement, Elie’s entire job situation was falling apart at the seams at this time. He found out about (at basically the same time as the evacuation) that both his boss, and his boss’ boss were both quitting – basically the entire legal team at his company – leaving his position in complete disarray and needing to deal with speaking with executive team immediately to sort it out. All the while, we were trying to find a hotel to go to, but with fires breaking out everywhere, going home was a real possibility. Miraculously, it was fire/smoke free in Santa Barbara, so we checked into the Hotel California in downtown Santa Barbara. Next AM, while Elie was dealing with work issues, I picked out a hike for us to go on. It was a beautiful hike with a gorgeous view at the top. When we get up to the top, I am sweating like crazy, and sit down on a nearby rock to catch my breath. Elie meets me seated, and asks me to marry him. All I can say is ‘Shut the Fuck Up’, on repeat. I was so shocked. It was an out of body experience. There was a heavy mixture of sweat and tears streaming down my face. The weekend ended up being AMAZING. Since Santa Barbara is not too far from LA where we live, some of our friends came down to celebrate for the weekend. The weekend was a rollercoaster of chasing fires down the coast, dealing with the pandemic, job insecurity…. but we had each other in that moment as we do today.

This venue? Why this place above anywhere else?

We fell in love with the Mauna Kea when we were there on vacation with my family in 2017. It wasn’t hard – the hotel’s originality as the first resort on the Big Island, impeccable architecture, east-meets-west influences, and stunning natural beach all contribute to its magic. We are so honored to be getting married at such a special place.