‘Saipan is a prime location for wedding shoots’

That the island can be discovered with new eyes—with each snap of a camera—is no secret to local photographers Mylyn Wood and Laura Benson.

Wood and Benson told Saipan Tribune of their love of this little capital of the Northern Marianas: its beaches, weather, natural beauty, and warm and friendly people—but also how, unfortunately, these same things do not get noticed anymore by people here.

Their goals are photographers, they say, is to “promote Saipan as it is.”

Last Valentine’s Day, they staged a wedding shoot on Tank Beach with friends and acquaintances, using—they emphasized—all local items to showcase this, e.g., jewelry from Star Jewelry and a cake from Java Bakery.

Even the wedding dress was tailored locally.

This versus the $1,000 couples can spend on an indoor wedding, when the raw materials of a lasting memory are right outside.

“We really just wanted to promote Saipan the way it is,” Wood said. A wedding can still be “fashionable, affordable, and current” with just local supplies, she said.

From what they hear, photographers feel that people “do want to have more traditional wedding Saipan-style”—“but they don’t know how to do it,” they said.

The stylized wedding shoot was done in a month, under less than $500. That included cake, flowers, dress, and jewelry for the shoot.

They wanted the culture in it, they said, the entire island. And they believe Saipan can be that spot for locals and tourists alike for gorgeous and natural wedding shoots.

‘That moment

Wood and Benson shoot weddings, portraits, bridal or maternity shoots, among others.

“We do little projects on the sides,” said Benson. “To get the creative juices out, we showcase ideas.”

Wood calls her style “very emotional” while Benson’s style is more “modern, bold.”

Originally from the mainland, they prefer the local scenes of beaches, cliff sides and ocean, and natural light as ingredients in their shoots.

Not new to the weather here, the two know who to work with the moment, so to speak.

Benson recalled one shoot of a couple, where it had been raining.

“You just go with it,” she said. “Every moment is beautiful. You’re getting married—that’s the most import thing,” Benson said.

The photographers look at every detail to get the narrative of the moment to spill into the photographs. They ask their clients to find locations that suit them.

“We like to tell a story—where they are in life, how did they get there,” Wood said.

The search for “that moment”—where things are as they are, and color themselves—has brought them to many beaches and spots on island that some would never think to hold a wedding or even shoot.

They want that shot where “the emotion just hits you in the face.”

Local shoots versus ones indoors are simple, easy and affordable, they said.

They come “without a lot of the worry and the price tag,” said Wood.

Benson lists Tank, Ladder, Obyan, Wing, and Paupau beaches as some of her favorites.

She described a pink sunrise at one beach, where “everything lights up.”

Wood said Banzai Cliff is memorable for the view of the waves crashing below, and the continuous view of the mountain and fields at sunset.

Even shoots at the Veteran’s Cemetery field, and in the island’s wetlands—“turned out to be beautiful,” they said.

The wetland’s “super tall grass,” Wood said, can give a “soft, romantic feel” to the shoot.

Someone even thanked them for it, they said. The person had been raised around the wetlands, and appreciated how that part of her life and island got highlighted.

Wood believes that “Saipan’s eyes can be opened,” by turning to its local scenes for lasting memories, versus commercial shoots.

Wood pointed out that in some places, you have to pay to go to crowded and noisy beaches.

But here, you just look out your window, or go for a short drive.

***

CREDITS
Photographers: Mylyn Wood of Mylyn Wood Photography, Lauren Benson of Lauren Benson Photography
Videographer: Salvi Villa Nueva Productions
Cake: Java Bakery
Flowers: Kagman High Floral Design
Jewelry & Accessories: Star Jewelry