Lanikuhonua, Phase 2 | Highly recommended
http://www.lanikuhonua.org
We booked this venue a year out without ever seeing it, only on-line and in pictures. It was not a disappointment!!GORGEOUS venue! We were looking for a place for both ceremony & reception that was outdoors, beachfront and away from the hussle and bussle of the city. This place meet all of our expectations. Perfect outdoor event area with the best sunsets on the island. The grounds are very well kept and clean in both phases.
The only downfall I experienced was during the planning. Getting a hold of someone there to book your date or to make an appointment was close to impossible. They took forever to get back to me by phone or e-mail. Luckily, after I hired our DOC, she was in contact with them the rest of the time.
We booked this venue a year out without ever seeing it, only on-line and in pictures. It was not a disappointment!!GORGEOUS venue! We were looking for a place for both ceremony & reception that was outdoors, beachfront and away from the hussle and bussle of the city. This place meet all of our expectations. Perfect outdoor event area with the best sunsets on the island. The grounds are very well kept and clean in both phases.
The only downfall I experienced was during the planning. Getting a hold of someone there to book your date or to make an appointment was close to impossible. They took forever to get back to me by phone or e-mail. Luckily, after I hired our DOC, she was in contact with them the rest of the time.
KathE Garcia of Gayle Weddings & Lifetime Events | Recommend
http://gayleweddings.com/
We hired KathE as our day of coordinator (DOC) about a 10 months before the wedding. She really didn't do much that far ahead of time besides recommend some vendors. Mostly all of the vendors she had recommended I had already heard of from the HI message boards, so it wasn't much help to me. Three months prior to the wedding, I felt that I could of used more help from her with making sure all of my vendor contracts were correct. I would have liked for her to make sure I had covered all my bases for what I would be needing at Lani. I was worried that there might have been something I was forgeting or even unaware of. I was feeling really overwhelmed at that 3 month mark, and I felt she really didn't help me much until later.
A week before the wedding when we first met, she went over EVERYTHING with us! I was finally so relieved! She looked over all of our contracts and contacted all of the vendors. She helped with the timeline and set-up charts.
As for the day of the wedding, she was great. Checked in with me early in the morning and gave me a quick run down of the day. She then went to Lani and would be there all day making sure things were going as planned. Besides a few minor details with the set-up, the day went smoothly with no problems. We were on time and stuck to the schedule as planned. Her assistant Linsay was there, and they both worked together to set everything up,
Overall, my experience was good. She is very sweet. She even let me mail some items to her home weeks before the wedding. I just wish she could have been a little bit more helpful to me at the one month mark as our contract stated. Instead, most of it was put together one week before, and therefore causing me ALOT of stress! But then again, she was only my DOC :)
We hired KathE as our day of coordinator (DOC) about a 10 months before the wedding. She really didn't do much that far ahead of time besides recommend some vendors. Mostly all of the vendors she had recommended I had already heard of from the HI message boards, so it wasn't much help to me. Three months prior to the wedding, I felt that I could of used more help from her with making sure all of my vendor contracts were correct. I would have liked for her to make sure I had covered all my bases for what I would be needing at Lani. I was worried that there might have been something I was forgeting or even unaware of. I was feeling really overwhelmed at that 3 month mark, and I felt she really didn't help me much until later.
A week before the wedding when we first met, she went over EVERYTHING with us! I was finally so relieved! She looked over all of our contracts and contacted all of the vendors. She helped with the timeline and set-up charts.
As for the day of the wedding, she was great. Checked in with me early in the morning and gave me a quick run down of the day. She then went to Lani and would be there all day making sure things were going as planned. Besides a few minor details with the set-up, the day went smoothly with no problems. We were on time and stuck to the schedule as planned. Her assistant Linsay was there, and they both worked together to set everything up,
Overall, my experience was good. She is very sweet. She even let me mail some items to her home weeks before the wedding. I just wish she could have been a little bit more helpful to me at the one month mark as our contract stated. Instead, most of it was put together one week before, and therefore causing me ALOT of stress! But then again, she was only my DOC :)
Kahu Silva of Hawaii Wedding Associates, LLC
Highly Recommended
http://www.hawaiialohaspirit.com
Kahu Silva and his wife Sharon are the sweetest people ever! They were both so helpful during the planning. We also had a rehearsal with Kahu Silva and I highly recommend having one, it was helpful. We went with the Lei Alohalani Wedding Ceremony with a lei exchange with our parents. It was a beautiful ceremony, and he makes each ceremony specific to each couple. A lot of our guests commented on how it was one of the most beautiful ceremonies they have ever heard.
Troy Michael DJ | Highly Recommended
http://www.troymichaeldj.com/home.htm
Troy was a great pleasure to work with. Very easy to get along with, and very responsie to our calls and e-mails. He listened to our needs, likes/dislikes, and also took into consideration all the different age groups at our wedding. In the end, everyone was very pleased with the music selection, even our older guests, and the dance floor was full at all times! He was great at helping us create our floorplan along with the time line. He was also a fun MC and kept the reception going with no long and akward pauses.
Although Troy is very pricey, we felt that we trusted him the most out of all the others we spoke to. His references speak for themselves, and we felt he was well worth the money. We wanted to be sure the reception was well organized and fun! Troy was excellent!
Although Troy is very pricey, we felt that we trusted him the most out of all the others we spoke to. His references speak for themselves, and we felt he was well worth the money. We wanted to be sure the reception was well organized and fun! Troy was excellent!
Travel Plaza Transportation | Highly Recommended
http://www.tpthawaii.com
We provided transportation for our guests to and from the wedding from the downtown Waikiki area. We had 68 guests total to attend the wedding, and 55 of them utilized the charter bus.
We worked with CoCo Davis from TPT and he was very helpful, and so friendly. He responded promptly to all my e-mails. The charter bus we rented can hold up to 62 people, very clean and my guests said comfortable and well air conditioned. The guests also said that the driver was very entertaining and super nice. At the end of the night, the driver took everyone back to their individual hotels, which was not suppose to happen. It was suppose to be that he drop everyone off at the one specified drop off location. My guests really appreciated this. I thought this was really nice of the driver and we appreciated their extra effort to take care of our guests!
We worked with CoCo Davis from TPT and he was very helpful, and so friendly. He responded promptly to all my e-mails. The charter bus we rented can hold up to 62 people, very clean and my guests said comfortable and well air conditioned. The guests also said that the driver was very entertaining and super nice. At the end of the night, the driver took everyone back to their individual hotels, which was not suppose to happen. It was suppose to be that he drop everyone off at the one specified drop off location. My guests really appreciated this. I thought this was really nice of the driver and we appreciated their extra effort to take care of our guests!
The Ebb Tides | Highly Recommended
http://www.ebbtidesmusic.com
We hired Ebb TIdes for our guests entry and the ceremony music only. We had two male musicians. Total play time was one hour and fifeteen minutes. Honestly, DH and I do not remember hearing any music while they were there. But guests said they sounded really good and that they really enjoyed the traditional Hawaiian tunes.
They were easy to work with and were quick to respond to e-mails.
They were easy to work with and were quick to respond to e-mails.
Elite Catering | Highly Recommended
http://elitecatering-hawaii.com
Elite Catering is not a traditional wedding caterer. I did not see them at all on the HI boards, or did I see any ads for them. I heard of them from knottie Sandiego 321. She was reffered to them by her DOC Diana Shintashi. I contacted Diana and asked her if she recommended them, and she had nothing but GREAT things to say about them. She said she works a lot with them for cooporate events and said they are excellent. So, we took a chance with them, didn't have a tasting since we didn't have a scouting trip. Also, compared to the other caterers, their service fees were considerably less for the same amount of man power.
Overall, they were GREAT. They blew us away with the food and the service. Our guests are still raving about the food! We worked directly with Benson Lau. He and the chefs helped us come up with a menu that was perfect. They listened to our needs and made lots of suggestions. They provided all the dishware, service, clean-up and set-up. Benson paid a lot of attention to details, and made sure we had everything we needed. Everything was perfect! I can't say enough about how very pleased and impressed we all were with Elite.
Overall, they were GREAT. They blew us away with the food and the service. Our guests are still raving about the food! We worked directly with Benson Lau. He and the chefs helped us come up with a menu that was perfect. They listened to our needs and made lots of suggestions. They provided all the dishware, service, clean-up and set-up. Benson paid a lot of attention to details, and made sure we had everything we needed. Everything was perfect! I can't say enough about how very pleased and impressed we all were with Elite.
SU-V Expressions | Recommended
http://www.suvexpressionshawaii.com
Sue was extremely hard to get a hold of from the very beginning. I left multiple phone and e-mail messages just to try and see if my date was availible! But after seeing all of her work, and knowing she was reasonably priced, I was patient. She really did stress me out closer to the wedding date. We never talked by phone while planning, only e-mail. Our first conversation about what it was thet we exactly wanted was not until ONE WEEK before the wedding!!!! I was so worried before that call that we may not even have a florist since she was not returning any of my messages. I think if we had another option at that point, we would have gone with someone else. We thought that was a really bad way of doing business and were extremly stressed about the situation.
However, the day of turned out great. She really came through for us and we were so happy with the outcome. She really listened and made what I had envisioned a reality. Our flowers really were gorgeous.
However, the day of turned out great. She really came through for us and we were so happy with the outcome. She really listened and made what I had envisioned a reality. Our flowers really were gorgeous.
Keepsakes Hawaii | Highly Recommended
http://www.keepsakeswedding.com
Gabrielle from keepsakes picked up my dress from our condo in Ko' Olina 4 days before the wedding. She returned it in 2 days looking great. They did a good job pressing my dress, train and veil.
Shawn Starr Photography | Highly Recommended
http://www.shawnstarr.com
Everything you have read on the knot about him is true! He is the most laid back, coolest, sweetest guy you will ever meet! So easy to work with yet so professional and knowledgable. It really shows that he loves what he does. We recently got all of our pictures and can't stop looking at them, they are amazing! My only wish is that I would have liked it if he gave us a little more direction on what to do. DH and I have never been professionally photographed before, and we were kind of lost...lol. It seemed as if all we did was kiss and laugh for the camera :)
Cake works | Highly Recommended
http://www.cakeworks.org
Cake works made us a very delicious cake. We had a 3 tiered cake with passion mandarin & haupia coconut cream. Their cake is very moist and perfectly sweet. They were easy to work with via e-mail and phone, and responed quickly. I placed a $50 deposit with them 4 months in advance and later sent them a picture of our desired cake style. We then went into for our tasting the week before the wedding and paid our balance.
Dorys Foltin Make-up/Hairstyling | Highly Recommended
http://www.dorysfoltin.com
Dorys did my hair & make-up, and her senior stylist did two bridesmaids H&M, and my mothers' make-up. They did a great job on all of us! The airbrush was so worth the extra money. It's so light weight and it didn't even feel like I had make-up on, and it lasted all night! I had a trial with her and I felt that she needed to make a few corrections. On the day of she did exactly what I asked and I was pleased. I do recommend a trial if it's within your budget. She really takes her time to listen to what you want.
