I was soooooo excited to book a wedding at the Dillingham Ranch up in Waialua. It’s located just before the Dillingham Airfield on the North Shore of Oahu. Now I had never been there before, just drove past it while on my way to a photoshoot a the end of the road… Now being the professional that I am, I wanted a lay of the land before I photographed my wedding. I made an appointment with the property manager and up I went scouting. First you’re greeted by the Dillingham Ranch sign at the gate and as you drive up the dirt road, you truly get the feeling of old Hawaii. You keep going straight through and then come upon a row of trees. This was insertion #1 for a portrait. The road will end at the lodge which, was recently renovated and the attention to detail is amazing from the light switches to the outdoor showers.

The rooms have beautiful natural light making them picture perfect for getting ready. Under the trees makes a great area for the ceremony which can hold a good amount of guests. For you destination brides, I would say 75-100 guests is a good number to keep in mind. From another angle the area is fabulous for some portraits. Moving onto the back area of the lodge, the lawn is flat and you can put up a tent to keep the heat of the mid-day sun off of you. They’ve put in a commercial kitchen suited for any sized occasion. I absolutely LOVE the king palms off to the right again making it another spot for portraits.

All in all the Dillingham Ranch is a perfect venue for a destination wedding since you can spend a few nights there and have your event without having to go far at all. I’m looking forward to photographing many events here. I’ll be posting the wedding I did last weekend soon. Keep a lookout for the post you won’t want to miss it, it was a gorgeous wedding!

Oahu Wedding photographer, Jeannemarie photographs wedding at Dillingham Ranch, Oahu