Although I wasn't active on the boards during the planning months, the ladies of the Hawaii board were SO helpful to me when I was researching vendors and planning my destination wedding (as a dreaded lurker no less). So I hope my reviews help some of you out - please use the contact form if you have any questions. Thanks! :)
Before you read on I would first like to say that I have pretty high expectations, so I may sound too picky about little details. If someone just meets my expectations that is already a good thing, so when they exceed it, it means they did something far and above what I thought they would do :)
Before you read on I would first like to say that I have pretty high expectations, so I may sound too picky about little details. If someone just meets my expectations that is already a good thing, so when they exceed it, it means they did something far and above what I thought they would do :)
JW Ihilani Resort - Exceeded Expectations
I love Ihilani! We had some rough months before the wedding b/c I know our planner Renee was really busy, and she didn't get back to me as fast as I would like (so for pre-planning they were below expectations), but once we were there everything was smooth sailing. We changed our minds a few times over the week we were in Oahu about banquet set up and food/drinks, and they were happy to change it. Renee even gave us her private cell phone # to use during that week. They even gave us a huge suite with perfect views - of the water and of the ceremony site too! (Lagoon Lawn - 3rd picture on the right is our view from the suite). They also gave us a grooms room for the guys to get ready in - complete with a personal hot tub! I just wanted an aisle of orchid heads and the 2 trees being our backdrop and it was perfect.
The Malolo Room (where we had our reception) was nicely laid out so that guests can all see us, with the 2 big columns in the middle. I was worried it would look strange but it was great :) The food was yummy, a lot of guests said it was the best food they had ever had at a wedding. And the service was great, there was always a server asking to get us another drink, and they circulated amongst the guests as well. Unfortunately, I don't think anyone took a complete room pic, so I can't post that. Sad!
The Malolo Room (where we had our reception) was nicely laid out so that guests can all see us, with the 2 big columns in the middle. I was worried it would look strange but it was great :) The food was yummy, a lot of guests said it was the best food they had ever had at a wedding. And the service was great, there was always a server asking to get us another drink, and they circulated amongst the guests as well. Unfortunately, I don't think anyone took a complete room pic, so I can't post that. Sad!
Kahu Silva - Exceeded Expectations
He was amazing! He was spiritual and personable, and helped make our ceremony memorable. I felt we really connected with him, and he loved the readings I chose for our ceremony. He also made spontaneous funny comments a few times based on our actions which was great. It did not seem rehearsed at all. I think he genuinely tailors ceremonies to the couple even after only meeting them for a few minutes. We LOVED him and so did our guests. We did the Lei ceremony. It almost felt like we had known him all our lives.
Aria Studios - Exceeded Expectations (my favorite vendor amongst all of our incredible, talented vendors)
And I haven't even seen the final product yet! But everyone was obsessed with our Same Day Edit. I get e-mails daily about it. Actually their SDE's was why I booked them, I think they are very underpriced for the quality of their work. I spent MONTHS searching for a videographer that would come close to Still Motion from Canada (without the price tag), and I almost booked 3 different ones (I had contracts signed but not mailed b/c I wasn't completely thrilled with the portfolios), but I'm SOOOOOO glad I held out until I found Kolby and her team. Shawn even said just by looking at their gear he knew they would be good, since they are 1 of only 2 videography companies in Oahu with that type of equipment. Plus they were supposed to come at 2 and they came at 11:30!! Seriously, what! Who does that? They are soo dedicated. I can tell they truly love what they do are are highly motivated to put forth amazing work. We weren't going to get videographers b/c we didn't want to pay for something we would hardly ever watch, but I kept hearing from previous brides that the video ended up being their favorite part of their wedding. I'm so happy we did it, and I know we'll be watching Aria's work many times in the future.
Shawn Starr - TBD
Who am I kidding - do I even need to say anything? I can't wait for the pics!! He definitely worked with us and was the perfect photographer. He listened to us and took the pics we had planned (we wanted to do some creative pics), but also gave direction for the shots he wanted. We barely noticed he was there during the ceremony and reception which was exactly what we wanted - we like photojournalistic, editorial, and candid styles with a little of the traditional portraits. I can't wait to see the pics, ahh!
Here is a pic my BM took during our photoshoot with him, with the knot parasol!
Here is a pic my BM took during our photoshoot with him, with the knot parasol!
Beauty by May - Unsure
I love May as a person, she is so sweet and laid back, I enjoyed just talking to her during my trial. And I liked how the look turned out, but I told her of a few things I wanted changed after my trial and she didn't really change them. She seems to really love the sideswept bang thing, I asked her to pull my hair off my face but she didn't do that. My bridesmaids commented on this as well - they all got the sideswept treatment too :) I do agree that it makes for a softer look, but I wanted my hair off my face more. I also wanted mascara and curled lashes but she convinced me that individual false lashes would be better. Everyone really loved the whole look though, and I know I'm very critical of myself so...
Dynamic Sounds - Met Expectations
Dave and Lupe were so great in the planning process, they were practically wedding coordinators. They had a lot of ideas and worked with mine. They were very on top of things and super organized. Dave was engaging and entertaining as an MC, and definitely much more than just a typical DJ, so I would have given him a higher rating but he messed up our intro. He likes to do a "love story" intro where he says how/where you met, etc before announcing you at the reception, so he had us fill out questionnaires we weren't supposed to let the other person see.. but he totally mixed up what we wrote so the intro was strange. Overall I'm glad we hired him though and don't know many other DJ's who would put it so much time and effort before the day of the wedding.
Flower Girls Hawaii - Met Expectations
(more to come)
REA Events (Lighting) - Met Expectations
We were originally going to get lighting from our DJ but they didn't have the colors we wanted, so we got in contact with China and worked it out, only a few days before the wedding. It was exactly what I wanted - we got 2 different color uplights and they put them in optimal locations. They are Ihilani's in-house vendor so they're very familiar with the ballrooms there. Also, they have the cutest doggies!
Justine Miller (DOC) - Met Expectations
(more to come)
Accel Rentals (chairs) - Met Expectations
They delivered the chiavari chairs on time. Not really much else to say. Oh we also had to get an umbrella last minute for the musicians during the ceremony and they were able to provide that as well.
