Oahu Wedding Review - Above Heaven's Gate

[Cabo - A]

Here it is. I hope my review can help others plan their dream wedding!

 

Wedding Services - Above Heaven’s Gate: A

While Capt. Howie is definitely a unique individual, his service and his employee’s attention to detail were awesome! I can’t say enough about the entire experience. My hubby was caught off guard by some of the cooky things Capt. Howie said, but overall he was pleased with the wedding and he couldn’t have been more excited to only pay $1,600 for the entire thing! Hair & makeup package – Wade was awesome! He did an amazing job with everything! I am so happy I decided to purchase the hair & makeup package and I couldn’t be happier with the end result.

 

The night before it poured and the rain carried over into the next day (our wedding day). We were set to have a 10:00 wedding so I was extremely nervous about the rain. We got there about 6:45am. The night before the wedding, we stayed at The New Otani Kaimana Beach Hotel so we could be closer to the wedding location since we had to wake up so early and it would take us about 45 minutes to get to Capt. Howie’s home. It’s located at the end of the strip in Waikiki, closer towards Diamond Head.

 

$190 Make-up Artist/Hair – Wade (A +)

$999 Photographer – Fernando (A +) Ginger 50 photo package

$224 Florist – Lenie (A+) Hand tied bridal bouquet & groom’s lei

$225 Minister – Rev./Capt. Howie ( Ceremony

Office Crew – Chrissy, Deva, & Jenny (A+)

 

Angels Bay (Waimanalo Beach) A+ – some have said that the beach is crowded and it can become un-wedding like with tons of people hanging out. We did not have a problem with people at all – actually, there was no one on the beach other than us! We did get married early in the morning & our pics got started about 9:00am. We were off the beach by 11:15 and people were just starting to show up. Waimanalo Beach is breathtaking! I wish we would’ve brought our swimsuits because it would have been great to take a dip after the wedding.The water is aqua blue and the trees that line the beach provide ample shade as the day gets warmer. I loved our choice!

 

Bridal Bouquet & Groom’s Lei: A +

Before the wedding Chrissy & Jenny were in contact with me regarding the flowers, lei, and every other detail. They told me if I wanted something particular to just let them know. So I browsed the website to check out what other brides were carrying when I came across the arrangement I had to have. I sent a picture of it and they made it happen! It was a pricier Hand-Tied Bouquet at $175 but to me it was worth it because I absolutely loved it! And since we were saving so much money on the wedding, I felt it was ok to splurge! My hubby’s Ti Leaf Maile Tuberose Lie was $49 and we thought it added the perfect “Aloha spirit†to his suit.

 

The Dress: A +

Bought it at Alfred Angelo for around $850.00. I paid an additional $50 to order it 5 inches shorter from the get go. Not only would it take some of the hem up, but it would also shorten the bodice in proportion. A friend of the family made the rest of the alterations and we had several fittings. The length had to be taken up (of course), the chest area had to be taken in because it stuck out, the section around my hips had to be taken in (lacking in the hips & butt dept). The dress got shorter but it also got puffy so we removed layers of tooling underneath so the dress would lay flat.

 

 

Shoes, Hair Accessories & Earrings

$50.00 from Aldo (online). Bought my starfish hair clip at a little store at the local mall – it was only $10.00 and I also got the earrings at the same store for $8.00! I couldn’t see myself spending over $100 for earrings that I would more than likely only wear once. And they accented my dress perfectly! I didn’t want anything too fancy, just something that added a little bling And when I got there, Capt. Howie’s wife surprised me with the loose flowers – they usually cost $15 but I got them for free.

 

 

 

Lunch Reservations: A +[/color]

We had reservations for 6 at Blue Water Grill for 12:00pm the day of the wedding. Located at Hawaii Kai Shopping Ctr: 808-396-4402 377 Keahole St # D1b Honolulu, HI 96825, US) BluWater Grill-Oahu,Hawaii

 

The food was amazing and the view was even better – here a few pics from lunch! My travel agent contacted the manager, Debbie, to set up the reservation & let her know we would be celebrating our wedding. It cost to have the tablecloth, special napkins & plate ware but it was still cheap…like $7.00 or something (don’t really remember because my parents snuck and paid the bill so I never got to see the final cost). They are more than willing to do anything to help make the day special, just give them a little notice. And on top of that, they brought us dessert ON THE HOUSE. How very sweet! I will eat here again when I go back to visit!!!!!!

 

 

HOTELS –

Marriot Ko Olina Beach Club: A+

It is the best hotel I’ve ever stayed at! I loved the hotel & the grounds were beautiful. We are timeshare owners and we stayed in a 2 bedroom/2 bath unit. The hotel is very family oriented but as honeymooners, we didn’t mind when everyone was in bed by 9:00pm! That just meant we had the hot tubs, pools and beach to ourselves. We ate at Kolohe’s Beach Bar & Grill the first night we arrived in Oahu. The drinks were great and the food was yummy – they have awesome onion rings! We also ate at Chuck’s Steak House which was also very good. This restaurant is the nicest one on site and was pretty expensive. We only ate at each restaurant once because we went out to eat more than anything & also bought some grocery items at The Market Place (on site store with deli, frozen pizza & other grocery items) & Safeway located in town about 10-15 minutes away, depending on traffic & road construction. Overall I LOVED the hotel and cannot wait to go back. The man made lagoon beach area was perfect for hanging out and relaxing. We never had to wait for a beach chair – there were plenty for everyone! They also have a beach shack where you can rent items like snorkeling gear and kayaks. Only thing is – there is not a regular cleaning service. They only came every 3-4 days to clean the room, other than that you’re on your own. The unit is equipped with a dish washer and washer & dryer so you’re able to clean up after yourselves. This was totally fine with us!

 

 

The New Otani Kaimana Beach Hotel: B

After finding out that we were getting married, they upgraded us to an oceanfront view! The staff was extremely nice. The view from our wrap around lanai was amazing & the best part of our hotel stay here. The bed was ok but not the most comfortable. The bathroom in the room was strictly a bathroom, nothing fancy. The sink made noises when we used it and the flushing the toilet was pretty loud. But with location being our primary reason for staying here, we can’t complain. My parents stayed here for the entire 5 days they were in Oahu and they loved the location as well. It was far enough away from the madness of Waikiki but still within walking distance for them. They loved the beach and they had a nice room that was comfortable for their stay. 2863 Kalakaua Ave. Honolulu, HI 96815

 

 

Westin Ka’anapali Ocean Resort Villas: A-

My hubby was set on staying at this hotel so we booked it for our stay in Maui. We liked the location and the room was very comfortable. The bellmen & concierge were all great. The guy who brought our luggage up was super cool and told us great spots for dinner & water activities. The mini fridge in the room did throw a kink in our stay. For 2 days the thing wouldn’t stay closed. After waiting for someone to come up to fix it (the hubby insisted we stay & wait until the work was done) the fridge was finally fixed and we could go about our trip. But we did wait for about an hour & a half for someone to come to the room & I had to call the front desk twice to check in. The service wasn’t the best…for example, the restaurant Pailolo Bar & Grill sucked! I’m going to be honest – the food was not good & the service was extremely slow. We did try to give the place one more shot – for breakfast. Once we were finally seated (took about 5 minutes for someone to approach us) they sat us and then never came back. We winded just getting up and heading to Lahaina for breakfast instead. At the end of our stay we did mention it to one of the managers who was extremely apologetic. If something goes wrong in your stay, don’t hesitate to tell someone. The manager told us we should’ve said something when it happened & wished we weren’t leaving because he would’ve done something to make it right. But, our stay was nice overall. We enjoyed Maui & all that we had an opportunity to experience.

 

Let me know if there is anything else you would like to know. I would be more than happy to help answer any questions you might have!

 

Aloha,

Adrienne

 

 

Hawaii Review - Pics.pdf

[Dana_C]

Congratulations! Your pics look really beautiful!

[evtalbot]

Absolutely beautiful pictures! I am in love with your hairstyle, the flowers add such tropical touch vs. the veil. I might have to copy that idea....

[melokoton12]

Thanks for posting pictures! I'm thinking about having a beach wedding in Hawaii so it was really helpful to see pictures from a real wedding. I was wondering how the whole beach wedding works. I'm a little worried about people in the background. Would you recommend having it sometime early in the morning? What time of the year did you have your wedding?

[roo66]

Oh what a relaxed feel you had to your wedding.Hawaii was our first choice,purly on a cost basis were not going.We will go there maybe for our first anniversary.I loved your hair and flowers CONGRATULATONS XX

[sunstarsmoon]

Congratulations thanks for sharing