litl_april

We held our reception at Mulligan's on the Blue. The prices were insanely better than anywhere else we found. Even better, the food was still fantastic!! On TripAdvisor.com they are rated quite highly and we quickly discovered why. Although you can see that the facility is pretty worn from age, they do a great job of still keeping it looking nice. Tables were covered with linen tablecloths, napkins were linen as well. They have a very nice lanai that can hold a good number of people and wraps around if more room is needed. They are very accommodating and friendly here. We felt very taken care of and our guests were thanking us all night for inviting them!! If you want to hold a dance they have a stage for a live band or DJ to set up and have a decent sized dance floor. Stacy, you mentioned that you want casual and fun, I think you would see that you'll find that at Mulligan's! The place was definitely perfect, at least for us! I see you're from Des Moines!! Very cool! Congrats on your Hawaiian wedding! You'll love it!

Double posted

We had our wedding ceremony at Seawatch, on the Molokini Lookout. The views were incredible. My husband and I both concluded that the pictures we had seen online of the location had not done it justice! It was truly breathtaking. I really can't help in comparing it with Royal Lahaina though lol. We also did not have our reception at Seawatch. We jumped over to Mulligan's on the Blue for that (which I don't believe is even a mile away) as their prices were better for our budget. One thing's for sure for anyone who considers Mulligan's, do not consider their lower prices in terms of what quality you may get compared to the other restaurants in the area who charge much more. The food was incredible. High quality and delicious! Good luck in your decision! Anything you decide is sure to be beautiful. Maui was amazing!!

Double post somehow!

Hey there. I do have to say, what they tried doing does not seem right to me at all. My husband and I were married June of this year in Maui. We used Deanne Nakamura of Precious Maui Weddings and were beyond pleased with her services. We were able to put together our own package (so to speak) and only needed to use what we wanted. We did bring in our own photographer and that worked just fine...their were no weird charges associated with that. We also set up the reception primarily on our own. She gave us some suggestions and that was all, and she did not charge a fee for that assistance. Deanne arranged to have the cake delivered for the reception and that was all for that. Our coordinator fees were 18% and again, this was figured into our final amount on the services we did have her arrange. The only extra fee other than that 18% we had to pay was to have her come do a rehearsal with us. I think it was $100 or so for that. Deanne was there for the wedding, set up in advance and all, and there was no extra charge for this. It is just part of what she provides for you in her services. In case you want to look into her company, the website is Maui Weddings Hawaii Wedding Packages Hawaiian Weddings Planner To give you an idea of how comfortable I was with Deanne, I am a worrier at heart. I am prone to anxiety attacks. The day of our wedding, was probably the calmest I've felt in a very long time. I don't remember feeling that carefree except maybe in childhood! However, I knew from talking on the phone with Deanne, and from finally meeting her on the day of the rehearsal, that she was going to take care of everything and make sure it was a beautiful day. Even my sister and other 2 bridesmaids (my 2 very best friends) were convinced I was just putting on a very good facade and was truly churning inside from nerves. But there was nothing but happiness!! And the day did run beautifully and smoothly!!

Quote: Originally Posted by dolfinluck I was planning on not having a cake topper at all but once i saw one of Lynn's with the couple and their dog on it i fell in love with it and decided it would be the perfect way of having our little girl with us! Yes, it was a lot of fun having that! Everyone that it was so cute! Here's a picture of ours.

Hi fellow April!! My husband and I were married in Maui in June! It was like a dream. Planning a wedding or eloping there, you won't be disappointed!

Congrats!! You will absolutely love it! Just got married on Maui in June and it was a dream!

This one's a lot different than any of the others posted so I thought I'd throw it out there. It's strongly gray (okay, all gray lol), but you could definitely put the pop of orange with pillowcases or sheets and make a real statement out of it. Madeira Bedding Collection by Calvin Klein Home - Younkers I was actually admiring this today when I saw it in a magazine (haha, I know, it's from a resort). It would look fantastic to recreate with orange in place of the darker blue and perhaps a touch of gray in place of the small light blue pillow! I understand your desire to decorate in a sophisticated way. I was the same way when working on our bedroom!!

Mulligan's on the Blue plays music until 1am. If I remember correctly guests can continue to mingle after that until about 2am. We had our reception here and it was fantastic!

Hey! We got married on Maui in June. About all I have in regards to Olowalu and the tent is that the companies who rent them out should be able to tell you what size for the number of people, whether or not you want dance floor under the tent, etc. If you have a wedding coordinator they can likely work this out with the rental companies as well. In Maui, we found it is very difficult to find a location that is open later than 10pm. We had our reception at Mulligan's on the Blue which is open until 1am. Only thing is, they're nearly 45 minutes from Olowalu. It's a great place though, we loved it! Congrats and happy planning!!

Thank you! We actually hired a photographer not from Hawaii who does regular traveling for weddings. Haha...we had Gina Sinberg intro however we actually worked through and originally hired Meghan Hof Gathering Light Photography, Wedding Photography They work together, Meghan with a home base in Montana and Gina in Florida. The reason Gina came in Meghan's place was that Meghan was 7 months pregnant at the time and her doctor didn't want her traveling for the remainder of her pregnancy. Gina did an amazing job though and from viewing Meghan's work, I know she would have too (hence the reason we hired her lol).

Hey there! I used PMW and the hair and makeup artists (Liz and Andrea). They did a great job!! Two of my bridesmaids who had one of the stylists versus the one who did my hair did have trouble with their style not staying great very long from the weather. Clearly just a lack of hairspray. So I would say just make sure you ask them to use lots of hairspray so it stays for all of the pictures. The stylist who did my hair and makeup used plenty of hairspray! My hair stayed all night!! Makeup for all of us was beautiful! And because I'm guessing trial hair and makeup won't be done, just bring pictures of what you envision and they recreate them beautifully!

Hey Huey! Sorry, somehow I missed this! We only ate at Spago once, but I can tell you that what we ate was delicious. We shared a risotto appetizer which was unbelievable (although, I will let you know, neither of us had ever had risotto before, so nothing to compare it to lol). I had a pork chop which was very very good as well (and here, have a lot to compare to haha...as in high school and college summers, husband raised pigs with family on his families farm). My husband had a Thai dish of some kind. He really enjoyed that one as well. From their website, here are the descriptions: KULA CORN RISOTTO Caramelized Maui Onions, Roasted Corn, Fresh Thyme and Parmigiano-Reggiano PINEAPPLE RED THAI CURRY WITH ONAGA AND SCALLOP Coconut, Galangal, Kaffir Lime, Thai Basil, Snow Peas and Green Papaya Salad CARAMELIZED PORK CHOP WITH MAUI PINEAPPLE & PAPAYA Baby Bok Choy, Big Island Vanilla, Anise, Cinnamon, Thai Basil and Molokai Yams Hope this helps a little bit. It was truly a delicious dining experience!!

Hi again Huey! Thank you so much! It was truly like a dream! It is hard to see what the place looks like with the photos available! We sat out on the lanai...we were towards the entrance to the restaurant, which put us further from the ocean, but we still had a great view. I didn't really get a great view of the dining room but I think they have large windows ocean side that will still get you a good view if you're planning to go that route. If you wanted to have the experience of the lanai, I would say the best thing to do is request the oceanfront portion of the lanai be reserved for your party...it's a fairly narrow lanai, so I think that would give it a more intimate feel that way (you really wouldn't see people coming in and out to dine) if your party size isn't large enough to fill the lanai. We never did any scouting so haven't seen Honua Kai beyond the pictures online. I wish we would have gotten pics while we were dining in Spago!! After the fact it felt like a "Doh!" moment. I think we were just way too busy taking in the view, the sunset, and most of all, enjoying the food! I tried doing a search for a floor plan of the place (got the idea because Mulligan's supplied us with one). I didn't come up with anything but I did find a company called Viking Design who appears to have done the design of the place...so maybe you can get a floor plan out of them if Four Seasons doesn't have it. Viking Construction || Resort, Spa, Restaurant, Retail & Residential Building || Maui, Hawaii Sorry I couldn't be of much more help!! Good luck! April

Our cake (Maui Wedding Cakes) with cake topper from lynnslittlecreations on etsy We loved it and it tasted delicious, too!

Hi Huey! We didn't do Spago for our wedding, but while on our honeymoon portion of the trip we did make it a priority to eat there and it was fabulous! Their food was absolutely incredible and the view is fantastic!! I don't think you have anything to worry about at all! We also looked into Hanua Kai Lani for the wedding but in the end it was just way out of our budget. I think it's a gorgeous place and I'm sure you'll love it there, too! Congratulations! April

When we were doing our research we had thought of doing the bbq stuff near the beach as well, but like others mention, a lot of Maui ordinances make it difficult. We actually chose Mulligan's on the Blue for our reception and I can assure you, it was fantastic! They have a very laid-back feel to them but still keep a niceness to them that I loved for our reception. The building is very old but they do a good job of maintaining it...the age of the building just really gives it a welcoming feel IMO. Our guests couldn't stop raving about how much fun they had...we had a DJ, which unlike other places that close down by 10pm, played until nearly 1am. If you decide to go with Mulligan's I think you'll be very satisfied with your choice! Good Luck and Congratulations!

I used my wedding dress in our TTD pics and it turned out fantastic! My dress is satin with lots of beading and embroidery. In fact, my dress was filthy on the bottom after our reception and after the ttd, there's hardly any mess left! I attached the slideshow from my photographer in case you want to have a look...the ttd pics are on the last 2 pages. :: APRIL & MIKE IN MAUI ::

I'd say that the most important, would be that if unforseen circumstances on their don't allow them to come with you, that they will have another photographer of similar experience and style on hand for backup or will provide you with a full refund. My original photographer was 7 months pregnant at the time of our wedding and a week before she got the no-go from her doctor, who up to that point had said she was okay to travel. However she has another photographer that she works with who was ready and on hand to fill in! Everything turned out fine. But that's what I would say is pretty important.

We strongly looked into getting married at Olowalu as well, and Mia is right...the charges they have for those private estates are insane. Our wedding coordinator (Deanne of Precious Maui Weddings) gave me the cost break down of a wedding she had recently done there for a group of 20 and by the time my DH and I added it all up, it was well over $20,000 because of all the set-up, clean-up, and staffing requirements. We did select Seawatch for our ceremony, on the Molokini Lookout, though, and it was incredible. Personally, I don't feel the pictures do that location justice. We went with Mulligan's on the Blue for our reception, and that was awesome as well. We didn't do a buyout but you'd hardly know it as we had their lanai facing the ocean to ourselves as well as the area surrounding the dance floor. They don't guarantee that other patrons won't come use the dance floor, but none did while we were there. The food, although much lower priced than other places in the area, was still delicious! In fact, I found it to be one of my favorite places that we ate while in Maui! It is a more laid-back atmosphere though, so it might not be for everyone, particularly if you're looking for something upscale, but it was still elegant (fabric table cloths and napkins, etc) and perfect for us. Good luck in your decision! Olowalu will be fabulous if you choose it, but I wanted you to know that you have no need to worry if you select Seawatch (I know from experience, as I worried myself like crazy thinking Seawatch wouldn't be up to par...but it was great)!

We just got married in June, and although we didn't use them for photography (we brought in our own photographer), we did use Marbelle for video. We purchased an unedited video and the quality turned out great. I did some editing to it myself, and for our AHR everyone raved about how great it was! Good Luck in your selection!

Oh Chantal! I sure do hope the resort is able to work with you! Sending good vibes and crossed fingers your way!!

The advice you've gotten so far is great. What I did for ours, because we are also paying for it ourselves (minus my dress which my mom paid for) is wrote out the invitation saying I and FI ask you to join us such and such date, time, etc. Under all that, I then wrote Parents of the Bride: [Their Names] Parents of the Groom: [Their Names] This gave them recognition without really saying whether or not anyone contributed. Also, Desiree is completely correct that you should not have to spend any money to have a shower that your mom wants to throw. If she can't afford to pay for it that's not your responsibility to foot the bill. She could find others to pitch in, friends of yours, aunts, even friends of hers, but not YOU! Good luck sweetie. Make sure this is your wedding. I know you want to make your mom happy but you can't do that by sacrificing your happiness. Go with what you won't regret!!

Thank you!