TA Dina

It is a very pretty venue for a small wedding group. You can use the gazebo for the wedding if you like (as of last time I was there).If you look at the pic from the home page of their site (anelagarden.com) that is the entire property. It's not very large. What's nice is that even though it's small, you can get some pretty nice pics there (in the chapel, gazebo, up on the balcony, over by the fountain on the lawn). The only issue with outside parties there is that they are located in a residential area at the base of Diamondhead, so they are very strict with noise and how late you can be outside with music etc.

The chapel rental here will cost you $1500 to start if I'm not mistaken. Their beach weddings though are rather inexpensive. Over here you deal with either the hotel if you want something on the Great Lawn or Village Green. Or Best Bridal Hawaii if you want the beach or Ocean chapel or gazebo (I don't recommend the gazebo personally). Keep in mind this complex is HUGE. The towers around you could block the sun if you did a wedding on the lawn. And the beach in that area is always crowded. I'd definately opt for a mid-week wedding here and not weekends. Your least expensive option would be working with a planner and arranging a ceremony on a public beach, and then a reception at a local restaurant or hotel. Many hotels don't offer "in the sand" ceremonies due to all the changing laws.

TB is no more expensive than some of the other resorts. Actually, if anything they are slightly cheaper overall. They do provide a list of preferred vendors but you can bring in your own at not fee which is nice (unlike Kahala or Halekulani where you have no options). Their wedding "structure" (I wouldn't really call it a chapel) is nice for an outdoor ceremony with the protection from the sun/wind/rain if needed. I prefer the Kulima Point though (great views, pretty lawn area). Watch some of the rooms there though. Some of the lower categories are dated, need some help. The beachfront cottages are awesome. Email the resort for their wedding packages. They are pretty quick to reply and will get you all the info you need so you can accurately compare to other places you may be considering.

St Augustine's in beautiful. And right in the middle of Waikiki so if that's where you're all staying, it's easy for everyone to get to. The Roy's at the Waikiki Beach Walk is again, central to Waikiki and easy to get to. The other one is out at KoOlina so 30-45 min west (& if you hit traffic even longer). Both have small private rooms for parties.

It will all depend on how elaborate or simple you want the entire event. Yes, you can choose a restaurant and the coordinator there can arrange all of the reception activities for you. But as far as the ceremony, are you looking to do it on a beach, at a resort, at a private home? You'll need permits for the beach, you'll pay site fees for a resort/home. Many times this is where a wedding planner, photographer, TA etc can help out and save you time, headaches and money when planning. Remember when choosing places like the North Shore or the west coast of the island, you don't have that many resorts to choose from, so you either have to stay at those particular places, or drive out to your ceremony/reception the day of (meaning transportation expenses). It's not hard to do, but there are alot of little details you'll need to figure out first to then decide the best way to go. If you're doing a hotel site and restaurant reception, you should be good to go on your own. Anything else, I'd recommend getting additional help (& I'm an Oahu bride myself who just hired her own wedding planner-and I've only got 6 guests). And as usual we always recommend using a TA for travel arrangements

Yes...finally...my very own destination wedding! All I know so far is it will be Oahu. So over the next few months I'll be sure to share lots of details with all future Hawaii brides to hopefully help with your planning process too. Anyone know if there is a Hawaii TA on this board I can hire?

Check with Amstar directly. You can hire them for transportation for however long you need them. Very professional and you can trust you will get what you pay for.

I'm so glad you had a fabulous wedding! The stuff about Tiara is actually making me see red as I type this though. Future DLR brides, please know that I am trying my best to get this addressed by DLR.

I just returned from staying at IBG 2 weeks ago. Beautiful! If I can answer questions or help with planning let me know. Pics aren't up on our FB page yet but soon...I promise.

Have you checked out any of the resorts directly? All of them have some sort of wedding packages that they offer and you avoid having to pay site fees or outside coordinator costs. A place like the Maui Prince has ceremony sites on the lawn, literally steps from the sand so you can still have the oceanviews in the background but not break the "rules". You can do their luau for your reception or rehearsal dinner, or go to another restaurant just for your reception dinner. As for pics on the sand, that's allowed if the photog has the permits. The chairs/arches etc on the sand are the problems, but as for getting photos taken, any reliable photographer out there can arrange for that.

I've got some pics up on our FB page of all 3 Dreams resorts now if you want to check them out. Decor/room-wise, DPB and DLR are very similar. The deluxe rooms at DPC are small compared to the entry rooms at the other two. But the jr suites at DPC have the jacuzzis on the balconies. DPC has a nice outside terrace areas for receptions. All have great beach wedding areas. The oceanfront gazebo at DLR is probably one of the most private areas (meaning not alot of onlookers lurking about). I found the beach at DLR the most crowded and not as nice as the other two. Preferred Club is worth it for the extra amenities. Room-wise nothing really different (at DLR it's literally one side of the hall is deluxe, the other side is pc deluxe). As for my opinion on WC, Melanie is my fave. What's her name at DPC (Deyanira is it?) is friendly and ok. None of my brides have issues with them over there so I rarely have to get involved (which is why I'm not sure who is there now...Miguelina used to be very sweet tho). Tiara has always been my least fave and in the last few days is at the top of my sh*t list. Not nice at all via email or in person (I can only pray she's nicer to the brides when they are there).

There is not a bar upstairs. The wait staff delivers/serves the drinks wherever the guests are. They can set up a bar upstairs if that is what you prefer though. Mayte is very accomodating and helpful.

Hard Rock did not take over the resort. Palace purchased the Hard Rock franchise. Palace still owns and operates the resort as a Palace property. Changes will not be complete until summer 2010.

Hi All! Just saw this and wanted to let you know that I'll be on the island in about a week and a half and this is one of the places I plan on visiting. I will give a full review on here when I get back. So check back over the next few weeks. If you have any specific questions I can try to answer for you before I leave or want me to check out while I'm there, email or PM me here.

Just a reminder that the Excellence webinar is tonight from 7-8pm. If you haven't signed up yet, hurry...you still have time!