Kim and Hamish actually met twice, and it all started with a flower. At least, that’s Kim’s side of the story… In December 2015, both the Nogis (Kim’s family) and the Millers (Hamish’s family) chose to celebrate Christmas in Hawaii. On a beautiful and breezy night in Waikiki, the Nogis were enjoying dinner at the beautiful House Without a Key restaurant when Kim and Alli left the table to take a picture of the gorgeous sunset behind Diamond Head. Hamish and his family had the same idea, and he actually photobombed Kim’s picture while coordinating his own family’s photo op. Kim offered to take their picture, and then the two chatted for nearly 10 minutes before Kim’s sister, Alli, dragged Kim away, reminding her that their dinner was getting cold. The two went their separate ways.
The day after Christmas, both families boarded a 7-day Hawaiian cruise. Three days into the voyage, the Nogis went on a hike in Volcanoes National Park (The Big Island), and Kim’s mom was on a quest to find Naupaka, a native flower rooted in Hawaiian folklore. (Supposedly, if you prayed to the flower, you would be rewarded with good fortune in love.) Luckily, they found the flower, and Kim dropped to her knees and offered a prayer to the Hawaiian gods. That evening, Kim and Alli went for a pre-dinner drink at an outdoor bar on the ship. Hamish and his family were enjoying happy hour on the other side of the bar, and Hamish’s sister, Sarah, nudged him and said, “Hey! Isn’t that the girl who took our photo the other night?” Hamish sauntered up to the bar and tapped Kim on the shoulder. The two picked up where they’d left off days earlier and spent the rest of the trip together. They became email pen pals, started talking on FaceTime audio, then began a string of global visits… and now they’re ready to tie the knot!
Hamish proposed to Kim on Boxing Day in 2017, during a beautiful hike in Cradle Mountain (Tasmania, Australia). What was supposed to be a casual hour and a half hike turned into more than five hours, 28,000 steps, 304 floors climbed, and 12 miles in total (according to their FitBits). He was sweet and hiked the entire way with a special bottle of wine Kim gave to him during her first visit to Australia and told him to save it for a special occasion. Hamish knew just the occasion for this special bottle.
This beautiful couple lives in Atlanta together so their downtown engagement session was a perfect fit for them. They included bottles of wine from the Millers vineyard in Australia as well as fun items from Hawaii, where it all began for them!
Hamish is Australian and Kim’s family is American. Since Hawaii is so sentimental to them and (duh, absolutely beautiful) they have decided to tie the knot in paradise on March 3, 2019! It’s the perfect distance for both families to travel as well. How amazing!
This couple is fun, genuine, elegant, playful, romantic and so down to earth. It was an absolute JOY to tell this part of their story together. Kim and Hamish were in the bridal party of the wedding I shot the weekend before their engagement session so it was so fun to meet and hang out with them before it was their turn to be in front of the camera! I’m so lucky to have met these two!
Congratulations Kim and Hamish or “mau hoohiwahiwa” as they say in Hawaii!
Abby Byrd is a wedding and portrait photographer based out of Atlanta specializing in joyful film photography