For newlyweds Kirea Lovell and Jenny McCauley, a photo shoot on a Hawaii beach last month brought new meaning to the phrase "bridal shower."
The couple from Montgomery County, Pennsylvania, were posing for their wedding photos on a rocky cliff when they were suddenly drenched by an enormous wave.
The cliffs – known as China Walls, just east of Honolulu – are a popular spot for cliff jumpers and sunset watchers. Jayden Barrientos, one of the latter, said he’d been there long enough to anticipate what would happen.
"I thought, 'Okay, that's a bad place to stand; the waves are going to hit them,'" Barrientos said.
So he pulled out his phone and started filming.
"There were like three waves before the big one – you can see them in the video – and I was like, 'Oh, this giant wave is going to crash on the rocks right where they're standing."
But McCauley says neither she nor Lovell saw it coming. The rocks were already fairly wet, and they were more concerned with keeping their balance than with watching the water behind them.
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"I heard him [the photographer] say 'you should be afraid,' and I thought he was kidding, and I just kept laughing," McCauley said.
A second later, the monster wave crashed over their heads.
"Our hair was soaked, our makeup was ruined," Lovell said, with a laugh.
“We were completely soaking wet, and it was a 45-50 minute drive back to the hotel so we could change our dresses and go to dinner,” McCauley said.
But, she added, "I didn’t mind at all — it was a very cool moment to capture."
The photographer caught it all on camera.
So did Barrientos, who sent Lovell and McCauley the video shortly afterward.
"They were very excited," he said. "I mean, it’s like the best wedding gift ever."
