As I sat on the plane back to Seattle, gazing out the window…I thought about this exact moment when I would be writing the intro to Amy and Jon’s wedding. I jotted down all the emotions and specials experiences I had, desperately trying not to forget a single detail. For those of your who know me personally…know that I have bad memory and can unfortunately forget experiences in life that are very special to me. Writing things down has definitely helped, and this wedding my friends…is one I will never forget.
I first have to give a little back story to how Amy, Jon, and I all crossed paths. A while back I shot their good friends engagement session here in Seattle…you may remember them HERE. Well last May Amy had reached out to me about her wedding that was planned to take place in June of 2011 in Tacoma, Washington…unfortunately at that time we were unable to make things work out. But Amy was one of those people who made a mark in my mind just through her kind emails. Well September rolls around and God really puts Amy on my mind…so I email her to see how she is, and to see if she had found someone to photograph her wedding. Amy then informed me that they had moved the wedding date to November 14th and that it would now take place in Hawaii!! Oh…and she mentioned she didn’t have a photographer yet…
Not even two months later, I’m on a plane headed to Kona to meet Amy and Jon for the first time on their wedding day. I truly feel like God wanted me to photograph this wedding, and He made that happen. I have never been more thankful for an experience. I won’t get into all the mushy details of all the special things I experienced, but I will say this…the blessings and grace of God had ever been more clear at this wedding. God showed me things that I never knew existed. God showed me what His love looks like…simply through every single one of the 22 people at this wedding. Everyone made me feel like complete family…in just three days I walked away with so much.
With all that being said…Amy and Jon I can’t thank you two enough for choosing me as your photographer. For trusting me to capture such a special day in your lives. You two have been nothing but wonderful and I just love your hearts. And to all the Barta’s and Rosenthal’s, thank you so much for making me feel like family. You all have a special place in my heart. ❤
Enjoy.
The day started with a small rehearsal.
I love this photo of Amy and her father!
Everyone at this wedding was so talented in some way! It seemed like everyone could sing!
Off to the salon to get ready for her big day!
Dani working on her lovely speech : )
Referring to the Bible is always a good idea. I love this.
Amy had the best jewelry!
Amy and all her girls looked absolutely gorgeous!
A little prayer before the ceremony. ❤
Love. Love. Love.
Amy, you are stunning!
Jon and the boys practiced a little bit before the ceremony.
i ❤ toms.
Let the ceremony begin! I love this shot of Amy and her father. ❤
Before Amy took Jon’s hand at the front, Jon sang a song that he wrote for Amy. Amy and her Dad got to listen to it together, so special.
Love this shot of all the brothers helping Jon out with his song.
Beautiful ceremony.
Jon’s brother married them and did an incredible job. This wedding was so intimate and special, words can’t even describe how this experience was for me.
The presence of God during this ceremony was so overwhelming for me. It was truly a moment I will never forget. I get chills just thinking about it…
Yay! Married!!! Woo-hoo!! : )
Now my favorite part of the day begins…my one-on-one time with Amy and Jon. ❤
I just love them.
Oh Amy, you stop that with your good looks. ❤
Jon, that means you too! : ) I’m in ❤ with this shot by the way. I just picture them as an old couple years from now, glancing back at this photo and reminiscing on their youthful looks.
Love these two shots. ❤
Obviously one of my favorites!!!
The beautiful wedding party! Love you guys!
Amy has the sweetest relationship with her younger sisters. ❤ it.
I love this wedding party shot.
The girls ❤
After the beautiful ceremony, we headed over to Amy and Jon’s reception dinner which was held at Brown’s Beach House at the Fairmont Orchid hotel. GORGEOUS.
And this guy sang to us throughout the entire thing. Oh how I wish I could go back…
They had their own private area away from the rest of the tables which made it even more intimate. This was a dining experience I will never forget. Ever. And I will probably never have a dinner as fancy as this one way. I can’t believe they included me in on this dinner, so so thankful.
I love this girl. ❤
She probably gave one of the best speeches I’ve ever heard haha. After she was done she sat down, looked at me, and said…”I’m like the crazy aunt at this wedding!” Lets just say her speech was….hmm, memorable! : )
❤ this.
Almost everyone at this table of 22 spoke such kind words to Amy and Jon. It was so special.
I absolutely love this moment of Amy and her sister.
They got to have their first dance as husband and wife in front of the entire restaurant. So cool.
Tunnel time!
Sunsets in Kona were something else…I want to go back already!
THE END.
You are soooo good. And I am super jealous of both your talent and of you getting to go to Hawaii. Great job 🙂
Oh my gosh Toonie… So beautiful! It makes me tear up!! I cannot wait to have you with me for my special day .
Oh my goodness! These pictures seriouslly made me start to tear up. You did an excellent job Tonhya. I am so happy for this beautiful couple.
awesome awesome! how incredible to be a part of such a small, intimate wedding!!!!!!! GREAT JOB CHICKA!
You are one talented lady. Just beautiful my dear friend! 🙂
you did a stunning job of telling the story both in words and images. really really beautiful tonhya. this is exactly the experience that we look forward to in shooting and ppl like those 2 just take it to a whole nother level. I cant believe he wrote her a song. she will cherish that forever.
one of your shots….he’s sitting and she’s standing on the rock. took my breath away. ammmmazing.
Extra helpings of yum. Love the Tom’s for the lads. So many great portraits. X-eyed tongue photo is a winner.
Love! So pretty.
you’re good, girl. the portraits of them under the trees, on the beach, are fantastic. love that last shot of the tree, too.
Absolutely gorgeous photos Tonhya! What a beautiful wedding and a beautiful couple!
Wow. So beautiful. You photographed it so well! Truly moving, and just such a beautiful story!! I’m so happy for them, and so happy for you to have been there! If what you captured on film so powerfully was only part of the experience, I can only imagine what it must have felt like to have been there in person!
portraits are best part. but everything was best
So lovely!!! You are so talented- great job on capturing the feeling of the day!
Gorgeous work. Absolutely beautiful. The Barta’s are friends and they are a special breed. Love them. 🙂 So glad you could shoot for Amy and Jon. How wonderful.
Beautiful Photos
Wow, amazing job <3
I love, love, love that the guys all wore TOMS. Great shots Tonhya!
[…] Friday I was lucky enough to have Amy & Jon’s wedding in Hawaii featured on Pretty Little Weddings!!! This blog is amazing and I couldn’t be happier to have […]