As promised, here is the Live Maui Webcasts video of our appearance on OC16′s Hawaii Wedding Professionals. Kalehua and I talk story from Makena…
A few months ago, OC16′s Hawaii Wedding Professionals show came to Maui and interviewed Live Maui Webcasts on their Maui Wedding service. Kalehua Featheran (based out of Oahu) and I chatted a bit about life on Maui, the service and for whom it’s best suited.
The show will air the following dates and times:
Premier – Friday 2/4/2011 at 6:30pm
Repeats - Saturday 2/5/2011 at 12:30am and 1:30pm
Monday 2/6/2011 at 5pm
Tuesday 2/7/2011 at 6am and 2pm
Friday 2/11/2011 at 9am
From the Hawaii Wedding Professional Press Release:
This is the final show of the series featuring Maui wedding professionals. Host Kahu Kalehua Featheran and the crew traveled to the southern end of Maui, to a beautiful place called Honua Kai Lani in Makena.
Kalehua Featheran and I talking story in Makena
First guest, Stephan Boeker of Live Maui Webcasts came over to Maui from New York City about 11 years ago. Seeking a change, he move to Paradise, and can’t imagine living anywhere else. Stephan started by doing wedding photography and then began dabbling in video because he kept hearing the bride or groom saying, “how I wish mom and dad could be here”. He looked for a way to fill this need and as the tools to do this started becoming available, he got into the business of live streaming weddings.
Kahu Kalehua commented that lots of local people relocate to places all around the world and so this business is not only for destination couples, but for local couples, too. Stephan recently did a wedding on the north shore of Maui for a bride from California and a groom from Samoa. He said people living anywhere where there is reasonable connection and reasonable band width can see the wedding ceremony live.
Stephan meets with the couples and asks them if they want it live streamed or on demand? There is a time difference so in some places, being a live broadcast is not as important; for others it is. Also, a chat room can be set up so those viewing the webcast can also be talking to one another. For couples who only wish to have certain people viewing the webcast, passwords can be provided to keep it private. In Stephan’s best package, he provides the live webcast, it streams worldwide live or on demand, it can be viewed at a later date from the archives, the couple gets a fully edited DVD which includes interview of the couple and guests. The differentiating factor between Live Maui Webcasts and others is that Stephan likes asking deep probing questions of the bride and groom so when they watch the DVD years from now, they can see and hear what they were thinking.
We will post the segment once we get it!
As part of the Four Seasons Resort and Club Dallas at Las Colinas and Good Morning Texas’ Ultimate Wedding Give-Away last summer, the Four Seasons Resort Maui contacted Live Maui Webcasts to produce, direct, shoot, and edit a piece that was to highlight the honeymoon prize component. A lucky Texas couple won the wedding of a lifetime valued at somewhere around $100,000 PLUS a honeymoon on Maui at the unparalleled Four Seasons Resort Maui at Wailea.
The Director of Marketing as well as the Regional VP of Four Seasons Hawaii worked with us on set and we then edited the piece on Final Cut Pro and our Mac Pro edit bay. The Maui honeymoon video aired on Good Morning Texas in August.
Are you planning your Maui wedding, but are unsure of what tools to use to help in the daunting process?
Yes, there’s pen and paper, excel or even something super involved like MS Project. While the one is low tech and not efficient, the other expreme is too expensive and feature rich to be user-friendly. There’s been a happy medium missing.
The Examiner recently ran an article on a new project planner that might fit the bill: Tom’s Planner. The best part is: IT’S FREE because it is currently in beta!
I haven’t used it yet, but I will very soon! I’ll let you know how it goes.
In the meantime, go ahead and sign up at Tom’s Planner . With the various great reviews, I don’t think you’ll regret it!
Aloha and see you on Maui soon with a masterfully planned Hawaiian wedding.
Stephan
Where do Mauians go for a little city life and shopping?
Yes, you guessed it: Honolulu.
My wife and I took a little one night sabatical to enjoy some Chinatown dim sum, a chinese foot massage in a speak easy clandestine store front, a classic Waikiki sunset cocktail complete with Elvis music and Diamond Head view, an Apple Store visit an authentic Japanese dinner experience and, ohh yeah… TESTING WEBCAST SIGNAL. It seems neighboring islands have caught on to what we’re doing and have inquired about our services.
That’s pretty cool when the main island looks to an “outer island” with far smaller population to service them with a technology service.
Now to the shopping. I scored some on sale board shorts for 20 and get this, 2 rock and roll style jeans for only 15 a piece. Designer jeans for 15? In Waikiki no less? Yep. Go hit the the Genius Boutique on Lewers Street followed up with a glass of sake and a Japanese meal at the Genius Bar upstairs with terrace lanai seating. Genious I’d say.
Live Maui Webcasts is also in the market for new Apple Macbook Pro computers to replace our aging (but totally solid) Dells. The Apple Store in waikiki is amazing. Open until 10pm and a staff that gives workshops and great consultations, hardware and software that’s rock solid (I’m blogging from my iPhone), Apple has really impressed me.
Just had a continental breakfast at the Aqua Boutique Coconut Hotel (rated nr 1 on tripadvisor.com), which I totally recommend and now off to sone spa treatments and more dim sum.
Then – shock of all shocks – we go back home to the real world.
Aloha from Waikiki
Stephan
Many people ask me whether there are seasons on Maui and my answer is always an emphatic YES!
The whales arrive.
The air gets nippy (ok, I’m exaggerating… HAha).
The sun sets way farther south.
In the picture below you can see the Maui sunset behind Kahoolave. That’s very far south. On December 21st, the sun will be at it’s farthest point south.
The other pictures were taken a bit earlier. Big Beach is a must-see when you come to Maui for your wedding.
Aloha from the beach on my iPhone
Stephan
What may at first seem like ominous clouds hovering over your Maui wedding, might just be that magic ingredient for an epic sunset.
Here’s an example. Again these pics were shot with my Blackberry. Not bad considering!
Aloha,
Stephan
Aloha from the North Shore Maui.
Today, my Saturday, I decided to have a relaxing day on the beach, reading a book (Eat, Pray, Love). I was just sitting here when the thought occured to me:
Do prospective wedding couples like you really know what’s out here on Maui, or are you set in your ways to stay at a Wailea or Kaanapali Resort and leave it at that? Of course there are nice resorts (my ex employer Four Seasons comes to mind), but for highly authentic, off-the-predictable trail, there are little B&B type places on the north shore or up country that might provide a more peaceful and rejuivinating experience. Far from the shops, the Hard Rock Cafe’s and turn key resort activities lay little nooks like the one in the pictures below.
I whipped out my Blackberry, took the pictures and am now uploading them to you. Modern technology is amazing!
Seriously though, if your style is more laid back than a tourist resort, look to smaller Inns and B&B’s. Craigslist, VBOR.com, and tripadvisor.com might be a good place to start looking.
Aloha (and now back to my book)
Stephan
I just got to Paia for the free Willie Nelson concert at Charley’s. The line is already long and packed.
If you’re not here already, you probably won’t get in.
Arrrgh… Bummer.
Are you thinking of coming to Maui for a much needed respite?
As if you needed another reason to come, try tonight’s sunset! Another magical one from the valley isle.
Much aloha!
Stephan
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