da.shmoopies

Quote: Originally Posted by jamsmom Where are you getting the Fleur De Lis cufflinks? I got the cufflinks from Etsy seller Dedalo: dedalo on Etsy

Yay! A Hawaii Wedding Review. All your flowers were amazing! Everything looked beautiful. Even though planning a DW can be a hassle and there were a few issues, it looks like everything turned out wonderful. Bummer about US Airways. Airline service now adays blows. Don't get me started with the surly airline stewards on Delta. We are flying Hawaiian... besides Southwest, they've had decent service. Congratulations!

Quote: Originally Posted by *Nadine* Everything looks fantastic! I love that your FI tied the ribbons, made me laugh Ha! Yeah, he tied that one for the picture. I'll be retying it, and I'll be tying the rest. LOL

Quote: Originally Posted by 1sunshine omg everything is super cute, i cant believe its almost time for your wedding!!!! how are you doing ready Hi Sunshine! I'm almost ready. I think the biggest thing we have to deal with is packing. I really hope we can get everything that I didn't send to the WC into four suitcases... including our snorkel gear. I'm ready for the VACATION that's for sure! Deb

Quote: Originally Posted by Jenn79 Wow, all your stuff looks really great! I'm going to have to reveal my inner geek for a moment and ask, where did you get the Millenium Falcon your ring bearer is using? I LOVE it!! All the best for your wedding! Hi Jenn: I believe he found it at a Swap Meet in San Luis Obispo.... and it probably cost him a buck! lol They go so often that vendors save stuff for him that is Star Wars related. I remember when one of the vendors saved him an At-At Walker. It was half as tall as him and every man that walked by mentioned something! Deb

There was no minimum order on the koozies. That's one of the reasons we chose them. Our party is too small (30 people) for a large order. There are lots of post on this forum regarding Kustom Koozies if you search. John designed the graphic on his own. Unfortunately, I haven't seen the beach safes yet. I had them sent directly to my WC since they were charging me the same price to send it to my home. My WC said she like them though! If you live on the West Coast, you go to Hawaii. If you live on the East, you go to the Caribbean. I haven't been to the Caribbean yet.

Hi Flasong, Thanks! We got the koozies from Kustom Koozies. John says they aren't his usual standard of koozie... he's an the unofficial aficianado of koozies... but they'll do. Koozies Personalized Custom Wedding Favors Koozies The orange beach safes are from Oriental Trading Company. Party supplies, crafts, party decorations, toys: Oriental Trading You can come to mine, if I can go to yours! Deb

Wow! All the pictures are huge!! Sorry about that!

OOT Bags: For the Wedding Attendants: They’ll get Land’s End Tote Bags and everything that the other guests get, plus a few extras. Plus… Bridesmaid Gift: Coach Wristlets Groomsmen Gift: Reef Fanning Flipflops (They have a bottle opener on the sole) For the rest of the guests: They get Hype Canvas Tote Bags: All guests get the following: -OOT Newsletter -Water, POG, and snacks -Beach Monkey Playing Cards -Etsy seller Surfhound Soaps and Lipbalm (I love all her coconut scented stuff) -Orange Beach Safes -Kustom Koozies -Flip Flop Luggage Tags -Wedding Survival Kits You can find the template here: http://bestdestinationwedding.com/forum/t44213 I loved how our Koozies turned out: Whew! That’s it! Happy Planning! And wish me luck! Deb

Five Palms Restaurant Reception: We are having our reception at the Five Palms Restaurant in Kihei. We wanted the dinner to be on a patio near the beach. Patio at Five Palms As place cards, we are using chopsticks. I’m half Chinese and John is half Polish, so hence chopsticks and the polish eagle on the card! (John tied the ribbon. Can you tell a boy did it??) The restaurant provides menus, but I wasn’t crazy about them, so I made my own. You can find the template for them here: http://bestdestinationwedding.com/forum/t42522 The cake will be from Maui Wedding Cakes (but with Orange Orchids)

Wedding Ceremony: Our Wedding Coordinator is Lori Lawrence, and her husband, Jamie, will play guitar at our wedding. They are Tropical Maui Weddings (and they are way too pretty! ). Lori has been awesome. Tropical Maui Weddings provides Maui Wedding Planning Services We are getting married at the Kalaeokai’Estate in Kahana. When I was doing all my research, it was one of the most reasonably priced choices (1000 bucks for two hours). Having it here, rather than on a public beach, allows us to serve alcohol to our guests, and we do so love the bubbly. It’s a bit of a drive from Kihei, but most of us are from the Bay Area and are use to the commute! Unfortunately, we will be the last couple to get married at this lovely estate, as they are no longer renting it out for weddings. I hope this will change in the future. Kalaeokai’a Estate Reverend Kenneth K Hoopai Jr will perform the ceremony Refreshment Table will include POG (Google it), Cheez-it cups (It’s an inside family joke), bubbles, Tears of Joy packets, and sunscreen for the sun-challenged guests. You can find the instructions of how to make the Fans and Tears of Joy packets here: http://bestdestinationwedding.com/forum/t42217 After the ceremony, we will be having a champagne toast. Flowers: Lori recommended Maui Elegance Floral Designs for all our flower needs. I love the Mokara Orchids! She is creating our Reception Centerpieces also.

All the Paper Stuff: Invitations: We used the Boarding Pass Invitation Template from Alyee Designs (I created my own boarding pass holders though): DIY: Boarding Pass Invitation / Save The Date - Aylee Bits I used Card Stock purchased from Cards & Pockets. I loved their paper. Cards & Pockets Boarding Pass Invites Pre-Wedding Newsletter that went with the Invites. I used the template from Raychel, whose post I can’t for the life of me find! OOT Bag Newsletter: These will go in the OOT Bags for all the guests. I used the template from Ayita as an outline and used Microsoft Publisher to create it: http://bestdestinationwedding.com/forum/t41189 My Hawaiian Version Wedding Programs: I made a little booklet and my own monogram sticker. I used A2 sized cardstock and cards from the Paper Source. It cut down on the amount of paper cutting I experienced with the invitations. It really helps to create an account with them. You’ll get emailed discount offers. Reserved Seat Signs:

What the Ring Bearer and Flower Boy is wearing: My nephew and John’s nephew will be wearing “Island wear.” I couldn’t subject them to wearing a suit! Classic Hibiscus White Hawaiian Aloha Shirt GAP Cargos My Nephew the Ring Bearer loves Star Wars. I told him he could choose what he’d like to carry the ring in. He chose the Millennium Falcon. The top lifts open. WE LOVE IT!! What the Flower Girl is wearing: The Flower Girl is wearing Vera Wang. She wore it to another wedding earlier this year. She looks darling in it. We’ll use a chocolate brown sash instead of cream.

Wedding Attire: What the Bride is wearing: I wanted something simple and easy to wear. It’s an evening gown I purchased from Nordstrom. I purchased it the day we got engaged; it was exactly what I was looking for. Kodos to Nordstrom who refunded half the price when it went on sale a few days later! I have two pairs of shoes… high heeled and flats (Just in case). The heels are Naturalizer Missy, and the flats are Seychelles Getting Out of Town. What the Groom is wearing: I gave John the choice between island wear and formal wear. He wanted to wear a tuxedo. He owns the Ted Baker Party Animal Tuxedo Tux (it’s waterproof). He’ll wear the tuxedo with a Thomas Pink tuxedo shirt. I just want to note that just John’s shirt costs more than my dress and BOTH pairs of shoes!! I got him a Bulova Watch and a pair of Fleur de Lys Cufflinks from Etsy seller Dedalo as a groom’s gift, because he’s my Boyscout. What the Grooms“men” are wearing: John’s best man is also wearing a tux. John’s best chick is wearing a Black Bandeau Jumpsuit… it should match the black tuxedos nicely. It’s from ShapeFX, and has some kind of shapewear built in. What the Bridesmaids are wearing: I have a MOH and Bridesmaid and they are wearing Wtoo Dress Style #532 in Cognac. It’s chiffon and should be lovely in the Hawaii weather. I’d like the girls to have some kind of updo They will also be wearing Jewelry made by my sister (Diana Gabriel Jewelry). (John took the picture... couldn't he have straightened it a bit? My sister won't be happy about that! )

Two weeks until the wedding! AAAHH!! First off, I want to thank all the BDW Brides for all their wonderful ideas. You all are very creative, and I loved stealing from you all. How it all started: Match.com, baby! We really did. Some people are ashamed of admitting this (Oh, the horror!), but we are proud that we did it. In the Bay Area, if you are single, you are most likely on Match.com. It gives you something to do while you are bored at work… and most of us work at a PC in our cubicle-hells (mine is Split Pea Green). He kept looking at my profile (he had too many gals on his plate at the time… whatever. ), and I finally just winked at him! We emailed for a couple weeks and then had our first Date. We went to the Stanford Theatre and watched “How to Marry a Millionaire†(John says he was setting me up for disappointment), then we had dinner and then went to Café Fino to have Lemon Drops and watch a fantastic three piece jazz band. Our first meeting lasted nine hours! He held my hand while walking around Palo Alto… and that was that. How he asked me to marry him: In bed. I’m not saying anything more. (This really does make it difficult to answer the How-Did-He-Ask-You questions!) Our Rings: Here’s the eRing, wedding band, and the ring that I’ll most likely have the diamond set in later (Sorry so blurry): Mark Scheider’s Mystic John wanted a plain gold band, and he got it!

One month before we are leaving, my MOH hadn't purchased a ticket. Tickets were 200 more than when we told her to purchase. I finally just had to ask if she was going. Answer was no. Unfortunately, my folks couldn't get the money back for the timeshare they reserved for her, we had purchased a dress already, and I purchased all her Bridesmaid gifts already. Such a hassle. I was fine with her not going if she couldn't go, but some advanced warning would have nice! Luckily, my sister is stepping in as a BM... it has been hard getting her a similar dress in such a short amount of time and we have to have one made! Ugh.

Also in California there are some fantastic winery locations in San Luis Obispo and Paso Robles (I grew up in the area, and now live in the Bay Area), which are much cheaper than the Bay Area and tend to be more intimate settings due to the amount of open land there. Here's a wedding coordinator from that area, with pics of weddings from some of those winery locations (may give you some decor ideas too): Adornments Flowers - Flowers, Inspiration, & Finery - Central Coast Weddings Good luck!

Quote: Originally Posted by damaris I love your first aid kit, but when I open the attachment it opens up with diff stick figures. looks more like a calender. How do I get the template you used for the actual kit? Wow! I posted the wrong thing! That's the template for the stick people I got off another BDWer. LOL Whoops! Here is the actual label I used on my first aid kit. Sorry about that. Good catch! No one else noticed. Bykowski-Nave First Aid Kit.ppt

Quote: Originally Posted by 1sunshine they are soo pretty! great job OMG, time is flying, are u done with everything? Thanks, Sunshine! Almost done. I have one more box to send to the WC and then I'm done with all my DIY projects. Then I just have to figure out how to pack the rest!

Yay! Another Maui Bride! Welcome to the forum and congratulations. If you haven't seen it yet, there is a Maui section in the forum that is helpful! Have fun planning!

Yay!! Another Maui bride. Congratulations and welcome to the forum! Whoohoo!

Worst wedding I went to was when one of my college chums (the groom) got married. The church wedding was beautiful, and was in spanish and english. Total Catholic wedding so it was up, down, up, down all afternoon. But the reception was at this conference hall that had a main area and then a long "hall" that jutted off to the side. The groom's side was all seated down this hall like we were the redheaded step children! We couldn't see a thing. We missed everything... garter/bouquet tosses, cake cutting, first dance... they even forgot to let us know when we could eat! Best we could do is have our own little "outcast" party in the back!! LOL

Yeah, we worked it so that we are arriving about three days before the majority of the rest of the guest show up. Figured it would give us enough time to do all our coordination and then be able to relax and have fun with everyone! I thought the Welcome Party was a good way to get everyone together besides just the wedding day. Plus, I'm giving them their OOT bags at the party. I'll totally review Maui Charters when I get back. LESS than a month until we leave. I can't wait for the vacation. LOL

My wedding coordinator is Lori Lawrence from Tropical Maui Weddings. I can't say enough good things about her. I got so frustrated not getting replies back from other coordinators... right away Lori was quick to respond! And she's very down to earth and easy to talk to. Plus, she helps with all the little extras... providing me baskets for the wedding ceremony, and even helping book our Reception Restaurant even though she's technically only responsible for the wedding. She's great at recommending other vendors that you may not have seen in your research. I originally wanted to go through White Orchid Weddings and it took them three WEEKS to contact me, by then I had already booked Lori. I'm glad I did. Plus, she's got a goodlookin' hubby who plays some lovely guitar. He's our guitarist for our wedding.

For the Snorkel tour, we decided to use Maui Classic Charters Four Winds II. We orginally wanted to use the Pacific Whale Foundation, but they don't have an afternoon snorkel. We are having our tour the day after the wedding, and I doubt many will want to get up early! LOL Plus, it has a glass bottom so the folks that don't snorkel, and the smaller kids, could go. We are having the BBQ on the day when most folks are flying in also. We are actually lucky because most of the flights coming in the from the West Coast into Maui arrive in the early afternoon, so anyone arriving that day will be able to attend. Were were going to do the BBQ ourselves, but we decided to use Da Kitchen Hawaiian Cafe. The prices are reasonable and it will keep us from doing too much work! We'll get the main stuff, like Kalua Pork and Terriyaki, from them and supplement it with other things like Mac salad, veggies, chips, and fruit. Here is their website: Parties/Functions