I can't recommend Kamuela enough for everything he did to make our wedding day so special.
To set context, I've been playing the jazz bass as an amateur for close to 20 years now.... I already knew what kinds of songs I wanted played walking down the aisle and what kind of vibes I wanted. I wanted to have less-known jazz standards played, and I was worried that the musician I hire won't know the songs or wouldn't perform it with the appropriate style. (We also had a Bruno Mars song which he played flawlessly; he's very well versed in his repertoire).
I was introduced to Kamuela through my planner and two things struck me. One, his voice was so beautiful, soft and calm, not over-the-top like Elvis perhaps, which was the opposite of what I wanted, but rather soft and refreshing, maybe like Ed Sheeran and Coldplay combined. Two, Kamuela can really really rip the guitar if he wanted to. His technical skills on the strings is simply astonishing (check out his YT videos, but he never tries to be technical just to show off).
I had a short call with Kamuela and I was reassured that he's a proper musician that can make our wedding awesome. But more so, the one thing I learned was that Kamuela loves what he does and bringing joy and happiness through music. I could just see it in the way he talks about music and shared stories of how he performed for other couples.
On the wedding day, we delayed our ceremony for an hour due to a LOT of rain, and the first thing Kamuela did for us is to reassure us that rain is a blessing and that he'll stay for however long we needed him. When the rain finally stopped, he played the most beautiful version of our songs. I couldn't have hired anyone better.
Above everything, Kamuela genuinely congratulated us for the special day and I really felt like he was a friend rather than just a vendor. Thank you so much for performing for us Kamuela and we'll be remembering you for a really long time. Hope to see you again soon performing back in Hawaii!