mich3l3

Neither my fiancé nor I had ever been to Oahu (or Hawaii period) so we thought a trip prior to the wedding was a must – boy am I happy we chose to do so. We just returned on Thursday from a very productive trip as we have decided on our date, location, WC, photographer, hairstylist, and dinner reception. As this was my first trip there, I must admit that I personally would have been disappointed had I planned my wedding (blindly) and chosen the Waikiki area. The North Shore is much more “the Hawaii†I had mentally envisioned whereas I found Waikiki to be too congested and touristy for my liking. That said, the area does have its own charm and there is some great shopping to be found there! =) I am pleased to say that everything (accept for the weather) was smooth and went our way. We chose Dianna Shitanishi with Hawaii Weddings and Events as our WC. She is very nice, accommodating to our wishes/desires, and has a calm demeanor about her. Hawaii Weddings and Events For our photographer, we decided on Adam Palmer. Again, very chill and accommodating to the fact that it is our special day …and his pictures – they say it all with a great price and picture rights attached. Adam A. Palmer - Hawaii Wedding Photographer, Scenic Hawaii Photography I decided on May Nguyen with Beauty by May as my stylist and make-up artist. Like the WC and photographer, she has a soothing & accommodating vibe about her – great work w/ a nice price tag too. Her website is beautybymay.com - Makeup Artist, Eyelash Extension, Nail, Airbrush, Massage, Flower, Honolulu, Hawaii – has a good size portfolio of her work to view. As for our reception, we are going to have a dinner at 21 Degrees North located at Turtle Bay and afterwards just see where the evening takes us - our wedding will be quite small with only around 15 people. Oh! Last but not least, we have chosen September 17th as our wedding date. We thought a weekday would be better because the beach will be less crowded and decided on Thursday so our guests could extend the trip through the weekend making it a vacation for them too. =) As for the location, the ceremony will be held at a more secluded beach (recommended by photographer) – you wouldn’t really know it’s there unless well, you know it’s there. =) Sooo, now I just have to decide on my dress which I have an appointment scheduled this Saturday at Nicole Miller. I absolutely love her designs – very clean, simple with a beach ceremony feel. Nicole Miller Official Store. Sorry for the long post but I’ve stalked all of yours for some time now and am appreciative for all I have learned and thought it was my turn to add to the masses. =)

Check out Pleasant Holidays website - they offer good package deals and their customer service deserves bragging rights. =)

will do! =)

Yeah, that was probably the most shocking experience I've had sinced I started planning my wedding. I can understand that WC's are in the business to make money but the tone of the conversation was just ....bad. Anywho, after that call I spoke with Dianna Shitanishi w/ Hawaii Weddings and Events and have a positive impression of her. My fiance and I are scheduled to meet with her on the 27th of this month during our trip to Hawaii - I'm pretty excited! =)

Just thought I would share that I had a bad experience with Barry at Aloha Beautiful Weddings today. My wedding is to be quite small - only around 10 ppl and we're looking to have a very simple, intimate ceremony on the beach. I saw on their website that they offer a Simple Ceremony package so I called to obtain more information. As soon as Barry heard that I did not want photography and only the package referenced above, his tone changed and I felt totally dismissed by him. I'm going to Oahu for 3 nights on Jan. 26th to scout sites, meet with vendors and get things organized, Barry told me that for what I was interested in, it does not cover meeting me in person (wow) and that he doesn't make any money off of the package. My feelings were hurt! I was completely stunned by the tone the conversation took and let him know that my fiance and I weren't willing to contract a WC that we couldn't meet and that he shouldn't post a service on his website that he doesn't want to honor. Perhaps I caught him on a bad day and he's great - I don't really know but my impression of him and the company is tainted.

Nicole, I received the links but have not had time to fully look at everything - yesterday was pretty busy at work and then I had class afterwards. I plan on really looking through them this weekend. Thank you so much for sending them over! Happy Halloween! =)

dcnetworks, Let me start by saying congratulations on your wedding! It sounds like everything came together perfectly. =) You'll definitely have to share your pictures once you receive them. Thank you so much for the in-depth posting with all of the great links - I've already saved them as favorites on my computer. You're not the first to mention that I may not need a WC if my wedding is small ...definitely a great tidbit of info to know because I was thinking that it was a must being a destination wedding and all. I'm planning for a small ceremony & reception and would really like to be as cost conservative as possible (also trying to save for a house).

Hi Nicole, You're so nice! Thank you for the willingness to send me pics of Makena Cove & Seawatch!! I can't tell you enough how happy I am that I found this site ...and you!! My email is [email protected] Regarding accommodations, I've been thinking about rentals instead of a hotel - seems like it would save some $$. To feed my curiousity, why do you suggest the southern part of the island? Is it less touristy? Thanks again!!

Thanks Nicole - you've been a great help! I'm thinking it'll be either Makena Cove or Seawatch ...just need to get a guest count. Also, what WC did you use?

Hi Nicole, Thanks for the reply to my post. =) All of the pictures I've seen of Makena Cove look lovely! What are your thoughts on Kapalua Bay vs. Makena Cove? I guess where I'm at right now is really figuring out how many guests we're going to have. My fiance and I plan to talk with our closest friends soon to get a better idea of our count. I'm thinking if it is less than 10, we'll have a beach wedding at either Makena Cove or Kapalua Bay and if it is over 10, I'm thinking Seawatch. What company do you work for?

Thanks everyone for sharing your thoughts and advice. =) Ta Dina, I'll look into the resorts you mentioned. My only concern with a resort wedding is the costs associated with it. Like Sam, my fiance and I will be paying for everything on our own and I do not want to even think about using credit. The wedding means a lot to me, but our future is my higher priority. mplscold, you share my thoughts with how many pic opportunities the cove appears to have. I'll look forward to hearing from you after the big day in Feb! =) Sam, I'm going to look into Kapalua Bay a bit more.

Okay, I’m raising my hand for some advice / suggestions over here! =) I’m going to have my wedding in Maui – haven’t set a date yet but we’re thinking September 2009. It will be a small wedding with no more than 5–10 people attending. I’ve never been to Hawaii (nor has my fiancé) so I’ve been browsing post after post and website after website trying to get a feel for Maui and where I want to have my wedding. As far as beaches go, The Cove at Makena seems quite nice but I worry about rain and there being too many other people around. Some of the estates / resorts look quite nice but honestly, they seem a bit out of budget. One reason we are wedding in Hawaii is to save costs. The gardens at Iao Valley are also appealing but as I’ve never been there I worry what it is like up close and personal. Is it crowded with tourists, etc? I’ve also looked at Seawatch as many people on here have mentioned it, but question whether I’ll get the “intimate†feel that I desire. In regards to WC’s, it seems that a lot of people on here have used APDW and from the looks of their website, I’m thinking of contacting them. So, my questions are… 1. What beach locations in Maui would you recommend? 2. Has anyone been to the gardens and if so, what are your thoughts on a wedding being held there? 3. What are your thoughts on having a wedding & reception at Seawatch? How intimate is the setting for a wedding? I’ve looked at the pictures and I get the feeling that a wedding party of 10 would look a bit drowned out …? 4. For those of you that have used APDW, any tidbits of information you’d like to share? Thanks everyone!! =) =)

Thanks everyone! =) I must say that I didn't get much work done yesterday because I couldn't stop reading all of the postings on Hawaii! My original thought was having a simple ceremony on a beach somewhere but now ...I just don't know! LOL

Wow! What a great site - I'm so happy that I have found it! My name is Michele. I live in CA and my boyfriend of 4.5 years and I just recently got engaged. We want to have an intimate destination wedding and then a reception close to home for all of our friends. We are leaning heavily toward Hawaii - neither of us have ever been there so the near future will consist of much research. We haven't set a date yet but are thinking in a years time - I know ...I better get a move on in the planning department! I've already learned a lot from the posts I have read and look forward to learning more. Congratulations to all of you on your engagements and I also look forward to hearing your stories! ~Michele