Tomorrow will make two weeks since a dear friend of mine, Larry Fair, from Live Internet Weddings was tragically killed in a house fire in Makiki on April 23, 2009 and it still doesn’t seem real.
Larry was ahead of his time in terms of the internet and its capabilities and was extremely knowledgeable about the computer. He fulfilled his dream of streaming weddings live so that everyone would be able to take part in a couple’s special day no matter where they were.
One of my favorite weddings was a couple from Dallas that came to Hawaii to get married and we were working together on their event. The bride was from Poland and the groom was originally from Louisiana. They had a 9am wedding at the Turtle Bay Resort’s pavilion so that both of their families would be able to watch them as they exchanged vows.
Larry was especially proud of being able to share and build his business with his son Joshua and formed a great team of videographers to service their clients both on Oahu and the neighbor islands.
When I first started Hawaii Weddings and Events, we literally sat at Starbucks for almost three weeks building my website page-by-page as I continued to make finger marks on his computer screen pointing where I wanted things to go.
During these three weeks we had an opportunity to talk about many things, and being the very giving person he was, he would not accept payment for the time he spent working on my website so we agreed that we would always share ideas and inspirations to help each other grow our respective businesses, and we did.
Throughout the years, we continued to talk 3-4 times a week on the phone usually before or after our appointments, just to see what the other person was doing and to share new ideas, new locations or people that we had met. I couldn’t begin tell you how many of those talks would be about someone that he was helping with something.
I still find myself picking up my phone to call him and then realizing that I can’t, but I know that he is watching down upon all of us and I’m sure still wiping my fingerprints off his virtual screen.
Please give Joshua Fair and his family your love, prayers and continued support