I Do Believe Photography

Tiffany: Don’t Trash the Dress

Michelle Scotti — Wed, 10 Mar 2010 00:46:52 +0000

I recently started an organization called Don’t Trash the Dress. As luck would have it, my first official DTTD session involved the very beautiful Tiffany with her horse, Striker. We spent a couple of hours in the afternoon sunshine at Sycamore Trails Stables in California. Thanks Striker, for putting up with my camera and a big puffy wedding dress. This was quite a challenge, but a great new experience for me as a photographer. We had a lot of fun and we also took some breathtaking photographs. Thank you Tiffany, for the donation of your beautiful wedding dress to Brides Against Breast Cancer. For more information about Don’t Trash the Dress click here

Location: San Juan Capistrano, California
Hair & Makeup: Susan Hwang

Courtlin + Truc: Married!

Michelle Scotti — Wed, 27 Jan 2010 21:10:31 +0000

Courtlin and Truc will be having three weddings in total! The first took place in my backyard under the tangerine trees where my husband acted as “Rev” and paperwork was signed and sealed. Below is a selection from wedding number two, where the presence of family, close friends, music, minister and vows made their union truly official. It was a true East meets West, meets Hawaii event. Courtlin is from the mainland and Truc is from Vietnam. Parents from each respective part of the world were in attendance. The minister and his wife and partner brought both families together in a beautiful Hawaiian ceremony while standing in the Japanese gardens at Foster Botanical Garden. Truc wore a beautiful Vietnamese wedding outfit, the ao dai, and Courtlin, in a touching show of love and cultural acceptance, wore the traditional Vietnamese clothing as well. With just 10 people in attendance, this intimate wedding was so special and so beautiful. My favorite part was when Courtlin lovingly wiped the tears from Truc’s cheeks… The third and final wedding takes place in beautiful Vietnam! I’m ready for it Mr and Mrs Holt!

Laura + KC: Married!

Michelle Scotti — Tue, 19 Jan 2010 01:07:08 +0000

A couple like Laura and KC make me feel so incredibly blessed to do what I do. When people are so in love, so comfortable with themselves and each other, and are absolutely gorgeous both inside and out, I can hardly call my job “work”! What a fun day! We had plenty of time before the ceremony to take some beautiful shots of the lovely couple. The ceremony was on beautiful Sunset Beach, toes in the sand while the sounds of ukulele and waves crashing behind us set the scene for a wedding tinged with Hawaiian traditions. The day wrapped up with a gorgeous tropical sunset paired with colorful tropical drinks! Who could ask for anything better? Thanks for having me along for a beautiful day…

Location: Hale Kimo, Sunset Beach

Tiffany + Alan: Engaged!

Michelle Scotti — Sat, 09 Jan 2010 20:15:13 +0000

Tiffany and Alan were out in Hawaii for a week before Christmas planning like crazy for their wedding this summer. Between meetings with caterers, deciding on the final location, cake tastings and family visiting we managed to squeeze in an engagement session. What a great time! They both looked awesome and Alan kept Tiffany laughing pretty much the whole time. These two make an adorable couple and the love that they share is so obviously apparent. Certainly made my job easy! I had warned them beforehand to bring extra clothes as I have taken a recent liking to getting all of my subjects as wet as possible as often as I can get away with it! Luckily it was a nice warm day so the water felt lovely – right guys?! I can’t wait to shoot the wedding in August!

Janelle + Tommy: Married!

Michelle Scotti — Wed, 16 Dec 2009 22:59:14 +0000

I had such a wonderful time with these two! Janelle and Tommy brought their nearest and dearest out to Hawaii for an intimate garden wedding at the Hale Koa. It is awesome when I get to see people so in love sharing such a beautiful day with the people they care about. Janelle proved what I always tell bride’s about crying – happy tears look gorgeous and memorable in photos! Everything was perfectly planned by wedding coordinator Kehau of Eventful. She even managed to arrange hula lessons for Janelle who then performed for her new husband at the reception. It was so beautiful! I don’t think there was a dry eye in the room. Another favorite part of the evening was when Janelle changed into a sassy red cocktail dress and the happy couple performed a sexy salsa routine for their first dance! Awesome!

Wedding Coordinator: Eventful
Location: Hale Koa

Liz + Randy: Expecting!

Michelle Scotti — Mon, 07 Dec 2009 17:40:53 +0000

It’s been awhile since I have had the pleasure of photographing a mom to be so I was super excited when I got a call from Liz asking about pregnancy photos. I first met this couple when I photographed Randy’s happy homecoming after a long deployment in Iraq. That was about eight months or so ago…

Liz and Randy are an adorable couple and super excited about being parents. Liz, also a photographer, knew just what I was looking for and Randy was a great sport, putting up with me and my photo antics. They were ready for anything and we all finished the session pretty much soaked and covered in sand!

Featured Vendor: Sugarcane

Michelle Scotti — Mon, 23 Nov 2009 08:04:50 +0000

This adorable shop is a must visit for brides and wedding planners. Sugarcane is filled to the brim with one of a kind collectibles, vintage furnishings, jewelry, designer clothing and local artistry. Everything in the store is previously owned, locally made or constructed from recycled and other eco-friendly materials, and hand picked by the very friendly owner, Faith, who opened the shop about three months ago. I searched out Sugarcane after reading about it in Honolulu Weekly. They hit the nail on the head with this statement: “Sugarcane has a touch of shabby chic, a dash of Hawaiiana and a pinch of kitsch blended with a hearty helping of environmental friendliness.” Budget FYI: Sugarcane is totally reasonable!

Faith was kind enough to let me spend a morning photographing her treasures…

These amazing vintage chandeliers would be an adorable addition to anything from a wedding reception, beautifully designed dining room or a little girls bedroom. You might have a hard time talking Faith into selling them to you – she loves them!

A mix of the eclectic treasures that adorn every nook and cranny of the shop.

These handmade sock animals aren’t really wedding related, but aren’t they cute?

I LOVE the handmade picture frames!

The locally made and vintage jewelry is reason enough to come by for a look. I especially love the sparkly stuff!

This is just a taste, swing by Sugarcane and see for yourself!

Sugarcane is located in Kaimuki behind Big City Diner
1137 11th Ave #101
Honolulu, HI 96816
(808) 739-2263
Hours: Tue-Sun. 10:00 a.m. – 6:00 p.m.

Jill + Troy: Married!

Michelle Scotti — Wed, 04 Nov 2009 20:43:30 +0000

I love this wedding! It was small, it was simple, it was beautiful, and Jill and Troy were relaxed and carefree and totally in love. The wedding, like the couple, was a perfect mix of mainland and Hawaii. Jill’s awesome fire engine red shoes and her funky photo location ideas were complemented by local traditions, like an ukulele player and lei exchanges. Even the flowers were a perfect choice with a mix of tropical orchids and bright pink gerbera daisies. There were a lot of favorite moments on this day, the fun we had taking pictures before, Jill’s father beaming proudly as he walked his daughter down the aisle, Troy as he tried to control his tears during post-ceremony hugs and kisses, the laughter the happy couple shared with close family and friends, and those stolen moments of love between Jill and Troy that I managed to capture, for them to look back on in their long and happy life together. I am so lucky to do what I do!

Pre-ceremony: Kualoa Beach Park, Waihole Poi Factory
Ceremony: Haiku Gardens

Kristine + Nick: Married!

Michelle Scotti — Thu, 29 Oct 2009 02:09:59 +0000

Kristine is a girl who knows what she wants and doesn’t mess around about it! No doubt, that makes her one of San Francisco’s finest young doctors, a fantastic mom to an adorable little boy and a wife to be reckoned with for the easy going Nick. I was happy to follow Kristine’s lead from the day we met where she hired me within the first 10 minutes through to the day of the wedding.

Nick’s first look at his radiant bride was across a beautiful white sand beach. The happy couple was all smiles and laughter for our pre-ceremony photo shoot. The smiles continued throughout the ceremony at Luana Hills Country Club and straight into the reception. Their love was obvious to all and their smiles were contagious. Kristine’s family was born and raised in Hawaii and Nick’s had travelled all the way from England. The two families had just met for the first time but they had already bonded like the best of friends. There were neverending toasts and tears, and an awesome live band led by local musician Tavana made for a rocking party!

Pre-ceremony: Waimanalo Beach Park
Ceremony & Reception: Luana Hills Country Club
Coordinator: Aloha Wedding Planners

Natasha + Tim: In Love!

Michelle Scotti — Thu, 22 Oct 2009 05:21:40 +0000

These two lovebirds were visiting Hawaii from Texas. They were staying up on the North Shore in the gorgeous Turtle Bay Hotel so we stayed right on this amazing property for the photos. If you want to get away from it all and get the real Hawaii vacation experience, Turtle Bay is the place to do it on Oahu! Tim was a goofball and kept Natasha (and me) smiling throughout the shoot. These guys both claimed that they don’t look good in pictures…I’m going to go ahead and say that I proved them wrong. What do you think?