The beach in front of the Grand Hyatt Kauai is not the best beach on the island. The waves are almost always rough, the shore break is serious, and in three or four trips back I could count on one hand the number of times I actually got in the water there. They have an exceptional pool for a reason.
But at sunrise, with the lava outcrops catching the early light and the cliffs framing the whole scene, it’s something else entirely. That’s the shot. Not the postcard version of a Hawaiian beach. The real one. Raw, dramatic, and completely indifferent to whether you’re comfortable in it or not.
It’s also where I got married.
Halfway Across the World
My wife is Australian. I’m from San Diego. There’s no logical halfway point between those two places unless you count the middle of the Pacific Ocean, which lacks chairs. Kauai made sense geographically, and it made sense in every other way too. We planned something small. Intimate. Just the people who mattered most.
And then people found out it was Hawaii.
We ended up with just over 100 guests. Turns out nobody turns down Kaua’i. I can’t say I blame them. It’s my favourite place in the world. Partly, because of my wife.
The Mission
We were on a mission from God. Or at least that’s how it felt coming down those stairs at the Grand Hyatt, sunglasses on, the opening bars of Everybody Needs Somebody to Love filling the room.
The Blues Brothers was my idea. It’s a great film, a great energy, and exactly the feeling I wanted to walk into a wedding reception with. Not nervous. Not formal. Just two people, sunglasses on, ready to celebrate with everyone who’d made the trip.
We came down together. That part mattered. Side by side, the way it was going to be from here on out.
What I hadn’t planned for was my uncle. Somewhere in the middle of it all he pulled out a harmonica. I didn’t see it coming. But the moment he started playing, something shifted in the room. People who had been watching from their seats were suddenly on their feet. Not politely, not because it was expected, but because the joy in that room was genuinely infectious and there was nowhere else for it to go.
By the time we hit the bottom of those stairs the whole room was moving. Almost a hundred people who’d flown in from San Diego, from Northern California, from Sydney. All of them up and dancing before we’d even sat down for dinner. I don’t even think I had a proper meal that night. We were too busy having fun.
That was the moment I knew we’d got it exactly right. Not the venue, not the flowers, not the logistics of getting a hundred people to a small island in the middle of the Pacific. Just that moment. Everybody needing somebody to love, and everybody having exactly that, right there in the room. We had a great wedding planner, but even she couldn’t have planned for this.
The Blues Brothers was an idea my wife and I had in passing. It’s a great film, a great feeling, and exactly the energy I wanted to walk into a wedding reception with. What I didn’t plan for was the whole room coming alive before we’d even sat down.
That was the moment I knew we’d got it right.
The Beach at Sunrise
The image at the top of this post wasn’t taken on the wedding day. It was taken early one morning during the trip, just me and the camera and the light doing what Kauai light does at sunrise. The lava outcrops on the right, the cliffs behind, the waves doing what they always do at Shipwreck Beach regardless of what anyone has planned. It was a moment that I had to myself, before everyone else that followed us to Kauai had even woken up. It was my moment. A moment that existed before a milestone. It could have been insignificant, but to me, it was important.
The beach doesn’t care about weddings or honeymoons or the hundred people who came from around the world. It just does its thing. Rough, beautiful, completely itself.
Which is probably why it made such a good backdrop for ours.
Swimming in Po’ipu
Shipwreck Beach itself is not a swimming beach. The shore break is powerful, there are no lifeguards, and even experienced swimmers should treat it with respect. It’s a beach for walking, photographing, and watching other people make optimistic decisions about the waves.
But you’re not short of options nearby. Poipu Beach Park, just a short walk west, is one of the best family swimming beaches on the island. Protected, calm, and regularly voted one of America’s best beaches. If you’re after snorkeling, the rock formations at the eastern end of Poipu Beach are excellent. Monk seals occasionally haul out on the sand too, which never gets old.
For something more adventurous, the north shore opens up in summer with calmer conditions, and spots like Tunnels Beach offer exceptional snorkeling when the swell allows. In winter, leave the north shore to the surfers.
If You’re Visiting Shipwreck Beach
The beach is right in front of the Grand Hyatt in Po’ipu on the south shore. Don’t come expecting a calm swim. Do come for the sunrise, the cliffs, and the drama of the shore break. Bring a wide angle lens and arrive early before the light gets harsh.
The Maha’ulepu Heritage Trail starts here too, winding along the limestone cliffs with sweeping views of the southern coastline. Worth every step.
And if you’re planning a wedding, people will come. Especially if it’s Hawaii.
