The Paipaikou Hongwanji is a venue that has been transformed over the last year. The wood grain walls and pillars did a lot to improve the venue's appearance. This has got to be one of the nicest and best kept event spaces for a Hongwanji on the island. It was a perfect setting for this country themed wedding. This was the wedding of Jon and Shailyn.

Country themed weddings are a great idea for a themed wedding. It can be described as rustic with a casual elegance. A very organic ambiance with a natural feel. Country music also has some of the greatest love songs that are perfect for weddings. Songs from Edwin McCain, Blake Shelton, and Heartland are artist and groups that provide just a few country wedding classics.

I was surprised at how much work the groom put into making the decorations for this party. There were wooden fences, tables, chairs, signs, along with hay on the floor. It was obvious a lot of work went into creating this atmosphere and it showed. The ambiance was fantastic! For the lighting for this night we used amber lighting with light shadowing and touches of white. Lighting like this helps preserve the natural look.



In the picture of the head table above there was amber lighting with white lighting on the remembrance pictures on each side of the head table. It's always a great idea to bring loved ones that could not be present into a wedding. It really adds something special. String lighting also works very well for a country themed wedding. We did not use that technique at this wedding, but I wanted to throw that out because of how well it goes with a country themed event. I look forward to many more country themed weddings in the future. Congratulations to the new Mr. & Mrs. Menino!

To contact the Papaikou Hongwanji Hall call (808) 964-1640. For more info on Eclipse Effect Entertainment services, please call (808) 936-3552 or email bookings@eclipseeffect.com. Don’t forget to sign up for our bridal newsletter filled with useful wedding tips and downloads. Click on the link on the left of this page to sign up and for your bonus download.

- Blog written by Jase Takeya. jase@eclipseeffect.com

Tags: papaikouhongwanji, papaikou, Hawaiiwedding, Hilowedding, reception, Bigislandwedding, Country, Countrytheme, Countrywedding, Bigisland

The Sheraton Kona Resort & Spa at Keauhou Bay has some great amenities. Not only does the hotel have a great pool, definitely one of the better ones in Kailua-Kona, but they also have a great restaurant called Rays On The Bays where the sunset views are fantastic. A great atmospheres for couples and families to stay. Where the hotel especially does shine are it’s areas for weddings. This was the perfect atmosphere for Jonathan & Naomi’s dream wedding.

This wedding took place in the Convention Center. It’s a great indoor ballroom that has movable walls that allows the room to expand for a bigger wedding or downsize for a smaller more intimate wedding. This room also holds so much possibility for creativity when it comes to lighting. Not only does this ball room have tall ceilings, but there are many possibilities to do some nice designs on the projector screen in the venue. Instead of leaving it blank and drawing attention away from the screen it can be used behind the head table as part of the decor. That is what makes this ball room unique.

Here is the design we put together for this wedding.



We used turquoise and white for lighting to match the wedding colors. This lighting design was a full room uplighting design with turquoise hearts on the sides of the head table and custom gobo with water effect on the screen. This room has to be one of the most versatile ballrooms on the island to light up. The Sig Zane designed carpet also adds to this rooms elegance. Congratulations to Jonathan & Naomi Corrales and thank you for having us along for your special day.

For more information on weddings at the Sheraton Kona Resort & Spa at Keauhou Bay visit http://www.sheratonkona.com/weddings/overview. For more info on Eclipse Effect Entertainment services, please call (808) 936-3552 or email bookings@eclipseeffect.com. Don’t forget to sign up for our brand new bridal newsletter filled with useful wedding tips and downloads. Click on the link on the left of this page to sign up and for your bonus download.

- Blog written by Jase Takeya. jase@eclipseeffect.com

Tags: Sheraton Kona Resort & Spa at Keauhou Bay, Sheraton Keauhou, Kailua-Kona, Kona, Keauhou, Sheraton, Hawaii, Hawaii Wedding, Bigisland, Hawaiiisland, Wedding, reception, Weddingreception

Red is the color that first comes to mind when you think of Valentine’s Day. Red is a color of energy and passion. When comes to Valentine’s Day the color red signifies love. So for this pre-Valentine’s Day event at Imiloa it was only natural to light up the room with the color of love.



A couple of weeks ago Imiloa put on a acoustic concert with Kris Fuchigami, Ace Loughmiller, and Brittany Paiva. Acoustic concerts are great events for all ages to enjoy. Everyone can enjoy the smooth mellow music to end a crazy work week. The concert took place in the planetarium and during the concert the atmosphere they can create overhead is simply amazing. I hope it’s something they will be doing more of. For the lighting for the night I just had to use red to match the Valentine’s Day theme.



We also used a custom gobo to customize this concert using the Imiloa’s logo and the artist’s name.



It turned out to be a great event. It’s all part of Imiloa’s revamp to hold more community events. Last month they did a Frozen movie Sing-A-Long screening for the kids. We also had the pleasure of designing the room lighting for that event.



I like the effort Imiloa is putting on to get the community more involved with their venue. They are coming up with creative and fun events and they have more to come. To find out the latest events coming up at Imiloa Astronomy Center visit http://www.imiloahawaii.org. For more info on Eclipse Effect Entertainment services, please call (808) 936-3552 or email jase@eclipseeffect.com.

- Blog written by Jase Takeya. jase@eclipseeffect.com

Tags: Imiloa, Imiloaastronomycenter, UHH, Hilo, Hawaii, Bigisland, Concert, Kris Fuchigami, Ace Loughmiller, Brittany Paiva

With Red & White night in Downtown Hilo happening tonight, I thought it would be a great time to look back at the Black & White night event we got to be a part of last month. Black & White Night is a night where Downtown Hilo transforms. Many of the shops are open till late, there is live entertainment everywhere, and families and friends can walk safety and enjoy what Downtown Hilo has to offer. It’s a bustling night filled with fun. So when we were contacted to be a part of this night we definitely said, “Yes!”

The event was a Masquerade After Party at the Palace Theater. A place built in 1925 that created a venue that was ahead of its time, which allowed people watch various plays and concerts. So it was exciting to be able to be able to work in this historic building. We were to provide the DJ and lighting for this event. We also knew that it would be a huge undertaking because of how huge the Palace Theater is.



For the lighting set up we did blue lighting on ceiling with a stars design to give the palace a night time feel. We also did red uplighting around the room. Dark colors like red are great colors to use to have the lighting stand out on Palace’s darker colored walls . Here’s a picture of the set up we did.



Here’s another picture during the event. This is when the Samba dancers performed an exhibition routine. Thanks to the Downtown Improvement Association for the picture.



Here’s a look at the back of the palace during the dancing part of the night.



The night started off with an orchestra playing classical music on stage. Then at 9:00 pm drinks and pupus were served in the lobby as the Palace turned into a classy after party with dancing. It was great working with the Downtown Improvement Association, The Palace Theater, The Wave 92.FM, and Pepe Romero of CJ Sounds on this event. Looking forward to teaming up with these companies to hold more great events in the future. You can keep up to date on the latest events happening in Downtown Hilo by visiting www.downtownhilo.com. Check out the history of the Palace Theater as well as upcoming events they will be having at www.hilopalace.com. Listen to The Wave 92 FM on Hawaii Island and check them out online at www.hawaiiswave.com.

- Blog written by Jase Takeya. jase@eclipseeffect.com

Tags: Blackandwhite, BWnight2014, Hilo, palacetheater, Thewave92fm, thewavehilo, thewave, downtownhilo, DIA, Blackandwhitenight, Bigisland, Hawaii

Nani Mau Gardens is turning out to be a very busy venue on the East side of the island. It’s no wonder with it’s friendly staff, wonderful gardens, and excellent prime rib. You have everything you need for a great wedding all in one venue. Weddings have a great feeling there and the wedding Kaho’okele and Jaymee was one of those. It was a wedding of over 300 people. It was a huge wedding, but it’s nice have a choice to hold a bigger wedding there. Some of the party had to sit outside, but that is a good thing especially if you place the drinkers outside when putting together the seating because that’s where the bar is. Nani Mau does have one of the best prime rib on the island. Here’s a sample plate of what you may be ordering for dinner that night if you go with the prime rib.



It’s as good as it looks. There were also great fellow vendors we worked with this night. John Kunishige of 808 Cakes always does tasty and elegant cakes. We’ve worked with him for four events in a row. That’s one busy man for good reason. For the photographers we worked with Joe Febo of Hana Hou Photography and he did some very creative shots with the spot lights and the bride and groom. Lighting works very well and changes the mood in the reception room due to its low ceilings and white walls. Here is a lighting design we have been doing recently that works well for this venue.



In the top picture we have the head table set up with a classic uplighting design behind the table. We also did some star gobos on the wall to give the design an extra elegance. Purple was the wedding color and the bride really wanted stars in her wedding so it was a perfect design. The bottom picture is during the dancing part of the night. There was a wash of color that changed on the dance floor as well as the gobos on the back wall changing to the beat of the music. Another beautiful wedding in the books, but it’s really the bride and groom that stands out in our minds. Congrats to Kaho’okele and Jaymee and many happy years to this fun couple. For more info on our services here at Eclipse Effect Entertainment please call (808) 936-3552 or email jase@eclipseeffect.com.

- Blog written by Jase Takeya. jase@eclipseeffect.com

Tags: Nanimaugardens, nanimau, Hilowedding, Hilo, Bigisland, Bigislandwedding, primerib