Frequently asked Questions

Photography FAQ’s

What is the greatest pitfall couples face in terms of Wedding photography? Because time is in such short supply, and people tend to not move quickly, not hiring a good coordinator to keep you on schedule is the number one pitfall. Second is delays caused by untimely hair and makeup people. Third is trying to cram too much into the day, and having too busy of a reception program. Allow us to set a time limit on group shots so we don’t shortchange yours. Ask family and guests to not pull people away so they can take photos. They should follow our lead. Keep things simple, and of high quality. Do not ever micro-manage your own Wedding. Give your cell phone to someone else, and don’t get involved with every single thing. Ask your Bridal party to be cooperative and responsive. Give us & your coordinator a list of important shots that you want. Don’t let anything ruin your Wedding day.

Do you offer digital photo pkgs that include prints?
Yes, we certainly do offer many film & digital pkgs with prints.

Do all your digital photo pkgs offer ownership of all the original images taken? Some do and others do not. Go to the digital pkgs page, and read carefully for that option, it is listed with most pkgs. offered. Call or email us for pkgs that do not list that option.

Do you adjust every image perfectly if I buy all of the original images? We adjust every single image perfectly so you can print with great success and no trouble. This takes a lot of time and eye strain, but it is crucial that you experience success with self-printing, so we do it for no extra fees. You should do some test prints at the lab you work with as every lab is a bit different, and everyone’s idea of perfect is a little varied. Our adjustments are consistent, so it should be easy to make any minor adustments to your images before printing. When you purchase all of your original images, we do offer a wonderfully simple "how to" Photoshop manual that we wrote. You can make those minor adjustments using our photoshop manual. If your pkg is 2.5 hrs or longer, you also receive one hour of personal one on one instruction on how to crop your images and create black and white, sepia and whatever else you can absorb in that one hour time.

Can you advise us on how to get the best photos, and the best locations that are near to our Wedding sites? That is our specialty. Nobody knows more about making your Wedding work smoothly and successfully. We see it all, know all the hotels, locations, staff, quality vendors etc. And we also know a bit about beach and other locations and optimizing your wedding photography and video. Our advice will guaranteed offer you something very important that nobody mentioned to you. Check out our tips page for expert advice.

Do you offer pkgs that include Engagement photos, albums, prints, proof album, slideshows, Ceremony Highlights & video coverage? Yes, just go to our specials page to view some of them, or call us and we can put together a custom pkg with as many or as few services as you desire. We have so many options, and are sometimes hesitant to keep adding on more. Our prices are very reasonable, and as such, we do not play pricing games to confuse people, nor do we like forcing anyone to take a pkg that has things in it that they do not want, and do not wish to pay for. You can get a quote from us and compare it anywhere. We are confident that you will see that we offer the best value and gracious, personal service.

Which format is best for me, film or digital? You can either call and allow us to go over that with you, or read our article "the pros and cons of digital photography", or take our quiz and either email it to us or read the answers at the bottom of that page.

I see so many beach and ocean photos on your site galleries, do you do a good job indoors and inside of a Church? Yes, of course. Although we are noted for our special locations, and for the willingness to actually take the time to go there with our customers, we also are highly experienced Wedding Photographers, and do outstanding work anywhere, and shooting both candid and natural looking posed shots. We have the experience and tools needed to get the best results anywhere. Photography is an art and science, and, for example, shooting inside a dark Church requires a lot of skill and the right tools to get the best results. We could do enough to just get by, but that is not our nature.

My girlfriend told me that I should order and commit to an album before my Wedding because after the Wedding, I will not want to spend a penny on anything Wedding related. What do you think? That is absolutely true. Although we never pressure our customers to order anything, if you do not commit to the album ahead of time, chances are very slim that you will order one after your Wedding. It is human nature.

Any other important advice you can offer? Yes, ask your Minister ahead of time if he can give you ten minutes after the Recessional to allow family and friends to embrace you two. Those shots are priceless. Then sign the license after that. Also ask the hotel staff to not bother anyone in that time. We are amazed at how selfish people can be that they will spoil such a wonderful and intimate moment like that just because they want to take the flowers down quickly or sign the license quickly so they can leave. Also, don’t get too frantic to get to the reception. Set it up so guests are comfortable in the reception area while you are shooting with us. When the day is done, its done. Get the quality photos and video that will be with you forever.

Financial FAQ’s

What do you require to hold my Wedding date? If your Wedding is more than one month away, we only require 1/3 of the total to hold that date. Then we ask for another 1/3 when we are one month away, and the balance at the Wedding, but given to us by someone other than yourselves. We refuse to "do business" with you on your Wedding day.

What form of payment do you accept? You can make all your payments with a personal check if you live in Hawaii, and for our mainland couples, the first two can be via personal check, and the final payment in cash or travelers checks. If you wish to use your credit card, you can do that by asking your CC company for "convenience checks". These paper checks allow you to pay us from your credit card easily.

Do you offer refunds on any payments if we cancel our Wedding? We do not. The reason is, we turn away paying customers that request your date, and if you cancel, we are in a difficult situation of trying to book that date again. We once refunded due to the very unfortunate death of the Bride. Any reasons other than that leaves all decisions to refund strictly up to A Special Moment owners, and we rarely refund retainer payments. Since our business is based mostly on 4 days a month, it is a necessity to be strict with this. People need to be sure of their wedding plans, and very committed to seeing things through before booking us.

Video related FAQ’s

Why do I need to give you my music before my Wedding? Music delays are the absolute #1 headache for our video professionals. We get all your footage on our computers, taking up a massive amt of hard drive space, and when we are hung up for weeks waiting for your music to come in, it can cripple production. It takes so much time to edit, and we cannot afford any delays or loose ends. You can either give us your music on CD, or choose from our extensive songlist and email your choices to us.

How long will it take for you to edit my video? Anywhere from 3-6 weeks, depending on the time of year. It takes us about 35-50 hours to edit one all-day Wedding video, and we do not farm that work out to anyone because we care about our work quality and reputation. We wish it could happen instantly, but it takes a massive amt of time to do things properly. Rushes are possible, but cost a significant amt more, and we generally do not like to make others wait longer as a result of a rush order. Smaller intimate pkgs can be edited sooner for those couples planning a reception on the mainland.

Can I duplicate my Wedding video DVD, Slideshow DVD and Ceremony Highlights DVD? Yes on all three! We like to make it easy and pleasant for you. If you want us to do that, we can offer you copies of any DVD that we produce.

If we are outdoors and you photograph us in the shade, will that effect my video adversely? Yes it will. The background on the video will be "blown out" and white. You have the choice to photograph in the direct sun, which will make your backgrounds nice on the video, but cause your photos to be harshly lit. We are happy to go over everything related to lighting with video and photography and give you our best advice on all options. If time permits, we can allow the videographer to get his shots with you guys in the sun. There is no practical way for any videographer to light up his subjects in the shade on a sunny day, so you would need to shoot in the sun and also in the shade for the best video and photos outdoors in the bright sun. We wish it was easier!