From Fruit Snacks to Forever: An Intimate Elopement on Oahu (And Why Your Officiant Should Also Hold a Camera)

There's a moment in every elopement where the script ends and real life begins. Where the last words of the ceremony dissolve into the salt air, and suddenly everyone is laughing, crying, or both! For Tim and Jess, that moment happened on a Tuesday morning in May, barefoot on the shores of Waialae Beach with blue skies stretched out in every direction and their entire world - all six people of it  standing right beside them.

This is their story - from fruit snacks to forever during an intimate elopement with just their closest people. And honestly? It might just change the way you think about eloping (and why your officiant should also hold a camera).

How Two Chicago Suburbanites Ended Up Eloping on Oahu

Tim and Jess are not the kind of couple who do things the conventional way. They're from the suburbs of Chicago - Tim a University of Illinois alum, Jess the kind of person who says exactly what she means - and their love story started not over a dating app or a mutual friend, but over a bag of fruit snacks.

They worked in the same building. 

Same company. 

Same coworkers. 

For 3 entire years, their paths never crossed. Then one day, Tim walked into a training room to hand out snacks, Jess happened to be lingering in the back, there was a handshake, a quick introduction - and that was it. 

The universe filed it away for later.

A month after that, a work equipment request and a joke about a stolen office space brought them back together. A lunch date followed (Jess had to cover the bill because Tim was late — a detail she has not let go of). 

Then came the night of Grandma's famous seafood fritters, where Jess had to give Tim a "push and a shove" to make things official. 

Two years, one trip to Japan, countless snowboarding runs, and two cats named Mozzie and Caffrey later, they were standing on a Hawaiian beach exchanging custom rings and leis with the people who matter most.

Six guests. One officiant and her photographer fiance. A Fujifilm X100VI. 

What a Hawaii Beach Elopement Actually Looks Like

If you've been dreaming of a Hawaii elopement but imagining something stiff, over-choreographed, or crowded with strangers - let this be your reset.

This gorgeous spot sits on the southeast shore of Oahu, tucked between Diamond Head and the quiet neighborhood of Kahala. It's not a tourist trap. It's the kind of beach where the palm trees lean dramatically toward the water, the lava rocks jut into the sea in the most photogenic way imaginable, and the morning light arrives soft and golden and completely unhurried.

For Tim and Jess, the ceremony opened with an address rooted in their real story - the fruit snacks, the stolen office space, Japan, Bridgerton, the dad jokes. It wasn't generic. It was them. Their families sat close. The waves were the only soundtrack.

The lei exchange was one of the most quietly powerful moments of the day. In Hawaiian tradition, the Kukui nut symbolizes light, hope, and guidance - so Tim and Jess presented Kukui lei to both sets of parents as a gesture of gratitude for the foundations that made them who they are. Then came the white shell leis for their sisters - a nod to the sibling bond that, as the officiant pointed out, often means the new in-law ends up talking to your sibling more than you do.

The rings were presented by the sisters. The "I do's" were spoken into the ocean breeze. And then, the moment the ceremony ended, the officiant put down the script  - and picked up a Fujifilm X100VI to shoot along with her fiance. Making this the perfect elopement on Oahu.

The Add-On That Changes Everything: Your Officiant as Your Second Shooter

Here's something most couples don't know is possible: when you book a combined officiant + photography package, you don't have to choose between having someone who knows your story and someone who captures it.

I'm a licensed officiant and I work alongside your primary photographer throughout your entire ceremony. But what happens the moment the "I do's" are said? Most officiants step back. I step in.

The Fuji X100VI is a film camera with a soul. It shoots with a warmth, grain, and color rendering that digital cameras simply don't replicate. The images it produces feel like memories as they're happening — candid, editorial, alive. While your primary photographer is capturing the wide shots and formal portraits, I'm on the ground with you: the laughs between families, the groom sneaking a look at his bride, the sister wiping her eyes when she thinks no one is watching.

With every inquiry you get a 20+ page add on menu. This is what add-ons spoke to Tim + Jess. 

The In-House Add-On Menu:

• 🌿 Maile Groom Lei 

• 🌸 Classic White Flower Crown 

• 🐚 White Shell Lei 

• 💐 3-Strand Pikake and Crown Flower Lei 

• 📷 Fujifilm X100VI Second Shooter — new | your officiant trades the script for a camera after the I do's

Everything you need for your Hawaii elopement — sourced, planned, and executed by one person who is with you from the first email to the last frame.

For the Couples Who Want It Small, Intimate, and Unforgettable

If you're reading this and thinking that's exactly what I want - a small circle of your favorite humans or maybe no humans at all, a beach that feels like it exists outside of time, a ceremony that sounds like you, and a photographer-officiant who is all in from start to finish — I want to hear from you.

The package Tim and Jess booked is the 1-Hour Ceremony Package, which includes everything: the fully personalized ceremony script, coordination, and your primary photographer. The add-ons — leis, flower crown, and the Fujifilm second shooter — are layered on top, which means you can make it exactly as lush (or as simple) as you want.

Photography by Drake Wallace + Nicole Van Diver | Officiant & Add-On Coordination