What I would and wouldn't do again...

[*Nadine*]

Thanks Ana

I hear you on the TA part.. mine is just awful too She was great at the beginning and now she blows. Did you actually call the resort yourself to make sure you were upgraded to the right suite etc? I feel like im going to have to call the resort and go over all my guests rooms etc, to make sure they get what they asked/paid for!!! So annoying.

[cougs]

i love this thread and will post to it later tonite ... just wanted to say something so it would end up in my subscribed threads ... i couldn't find it!

[Gr8ful]

I love this thread so I'm bumping it up for everyone else who hasn't seen it yet. I am going to come back again to soak in your wisdom -- thank you all so much for your thoughtful lists and details!

[Sherry]

What I would do again…

1. Have the DW in Maui (particularly Wailea). It was so beautiful - an amazing setting for the wedding, and all of our guests loved it.

2. Hire Mike Sidney for photography. We both love the pictures so much. I am so, so glad that we chose him.

3. Hire videographers and in particular, hire Hawaii Video Memories for videography. We got the video in January, and I still love watching it. They did such an amazing job.

4. Have the wedding just before sunset.

5. Go to Lanai, Molokai and Maui on our honeymoon.

6. Take 2 and a half weeks for our honeymoon.

7. Have Jessica Waite for make-up and Dan Sanchez for hair.

8. Have the reception at the Seawatch. We loved it, and the food was amazing. The chocolate mousse dessert was unbelievable. Some of our guests still talk about it!

9. Have the ceremony on the grounds of the Wailea Marriot. I can't imagine a more perfect place for a wedding ceremony.

10. Have our wedding pictures on Wailea Beach. So pretty, and we really lucked out with the most incredible sunset.

11. Wear my veil. I loved it so much, and the photographer made great use of it in the pictures.

12. Go to Longhi's for breakfast with my BM's on the morning of the wedding and order lobster benedict.

13. Bring an extra suitcase that I could send home with my BM after the wedding, so I wasn't lugging everything with me for the whole honeymoon.

14. Wait until we got to Hawaii before we did the wedding favours. It was a little stressful, but I was so glad to be able to use local favours and it saved us having to pack them when we flew.

15. Arrive a week before the wedding.

 

What I wouldn't do again…

1. I wouldn't sleep away from FI the night before the wedding. We had lived together for almost 2 years when we got married, but for tradition's sake, we thought we should sleep apart the night before the wedding. I hadn't really thought about the fact that I can't sleep very well without him anymore. I had so much trouble falling asleep the night before the wedding, and I was so tired in the morning. He's so good a getting me to come down when I'm a stress case, and I so missed having him that night. Thank goodness the adrenaline and excitement on the day of the wedding more than made up for the lack of sleep. On another note, we had our wedding at 5:00pm, and all day long, I kept missing him so much. I was really wishing that we'd stayed at the hotel together the night before, because I so wanted to have seen him that morning.

2. I wouldn't have hair + make-up + manis/pedis on the day of the wedding. I'd still have the hair and make-up on the day of, but I'd have the manis/pedis the day before. We did a giant hair/makeup/mani/pedi appointment the afternoon of the wedding, and it ended up being really rushed because the esthetician took FOREVER on everyone's nails. We ended up not having any time for 'getting ready' pictures with the photographer back at the hotel because of it. I had all of about 10 minutes (if that!) to get into my dress once we got back to the hotel before the wedding. If I had it to do over again, I'd definitely do nails the day before the wedding.

3. I wouldn't care that SIL sister didn't come. We spent way too much time and energy worrying about that. If I could do it over, I'd just say whatever!

4. Spend so much time on Molokai on the honeymoon. It was such a lovely place, but it's SO quiet. We booked a week there, and after about 4 days, we were pretty much done. We ended up heading back to Maui on the 4th day, and spent the rest of our time there. We were happier having a little more to do.

5. Spend so little time on Lanai on the honeymoon. Lanai is really quiet too, but there's a lot more to do there than Molokai. We also really loved Hotel Lanai where we stayed.

6. Forget to plan our transportation from photos to the reception! We actually forgot this. To this day, I don't know how on earth we missed it, but there we were after pictures, with no ride. The wedding party had headed over to the reception already since their part of the pictures was done, and we forgot to have the car sent back for us! We ended up driving our little rental car over to the reception. It was actually pretty funny, and will always be something that makes us laugh.

7. I wouldn't have the WC arrange the photographer and videographer. I'd do this myself instead, so that we'd have the direct relationship with them. Thank goodness they worked out well, but I think it would have been even better if we had talked to them personally ahead of time. We definitely would have booked them for a little more time – at least for the beginning of the reception.

8. Move into a new house a month before we left for the wedding. What were we thinking?!

[lizconemac]

Sherry, such great information! I am planning my wedding for June 2010 in Maui and think I'm having it at the Wailea Marriott. Your posts have been invaluable! I actually toured the Wailea Marriot after reading your review of your wedding - I'd been to Maui several times and had never seen it. I fell in love with it! Thanks you so much!

[~*Lisa*~]

This is a great thread! I can't wait to read through it all at home! Thanks ladies!

[npaterson]

Thanks for sharing.

[BeautifulBridetoBe]

I have waited so long to post to this thread

 

What I would do again

 

Have a destination wedding: I am home now, married and debt-free! It was all the tropical elegance that I wanted.

 

Had an all-white wedding: we asked all guests to wear white and shades of white. It looked FABULOUS and elegant. Even the reluctant guests, said it looked great!The pictures are amazing.

 

Took a leisurely bubble bath on my wedding day, journalled and prayed. It grounded me and I remember it. It brought me peace and I have record of how I felt and what I was thinking on my wedding day.

 

Stayed with my mom in a room instead of FI: My FI and I do not live together as we were saving this for after we were married. We had 5 days before the wedding and two days after. I stayed with my mom and he with his uncle. It gave mom and me time to bond and prepare before I became a married woman. On our wedding night, we moved together into a honeymoon suite. It was traditional and I would have it no other way.

 

Distribute OOT Bags: Guests seemed really appreciative of them and used the contents throughout the week.

 

Brought along a photographer: Our resort photographer would not have done the job that our take-along photographer did. She caught moments during the week that would have been lost forever. And we have over 2000 pictures...we found out that the resort photographer would have taken approximately 20 of the ceremony.

 

Used Vista Print for STDs and Invites: Our STDS and invites were beautiful...so much so that people called to RSVP beacuse they did not want to send back their response cards and break up the package!

 

Made luggage tags: these were very nice and USEFUL. At the airport, FI and others were able to identify the luggage that belonged to our group and grab them off the conveyor belt quickly and easily beacuse of these 10 cent blue tags!

 

Bought my dress at David's Bridal: I was able to look beautiful for less and it did not kill me to trash it afterward.

 

TTD: These pictures are by far the most unique of the whole trip! FI and I have decided to have them blown up and developed in black and white or sepia...to use as a photo collection for our bedroom. It was worth the 5 am wake up call.

 

All little details: crystals on this, rhinestones on that, bows here, flowers there....I noticed these things and they made me feel great.

 

Fans and parasols: the day was extremely hot and sunny. Guests appreciated these extra comforts and the parasols look great in pictures.

 

Kept the cake in the package deal: upon advice from this forum, we stuck with the cake included in the package. They made us a 3-tier vanilla cake, adorned with white lillies and roses. It tasted great and was a great focal point.

 

What I would NEVER do again...can you feel the vehemence?

 

Invite anyone but immediate family and those who truly have my best interest at heart: I wish more than 1/2 my guests never came. I learned that it is one thing ocassionally see certain family members and friends and another to spend a week of vacation with them. I am re-evaluating some of my relationships as a result. I found that some members of my family were terribly selfish...and the attitudes of some of my "friends" was unbearable. Choose your guest list very carefully. Those of you having very small DWs and larger AHRs are on the right track. If I could do it all again, I would.

 

Choose the RIU Palace Macao: In Canada, this hotel is rated a 5.5 star property. This is simply not true. It is a 4 star at best. My guests were expecting great quality...and we were disappointed. Upon return to Canada, we spoke to Sunquest, the tour operator and sole provider of the RIU resorts and were told, yes, they are aware that the hotel is no longer up to "palace" standard, but they cannot and do not usually downgrade their properties. It is an older palace...a 14 year old palace!. So when they began "palace" class 14 years ago, it was a palace then. Since then, palaces have improved greatly! For example, the RIU Palace Punta Cana is also rated 5.5 stars...I invite you to compare these two properties....they are nowhere near the same star rating. Funny...in the States, the Macao is a 4 star....it impacted food, the reception...everything.

 

Have too many people around me as I got ready: sometimes when you are calm, other people have a way of transferring their stress and negativity on to you. As the bride, you really don't need this.

 

Choose a white bouquet: I had an all-white wedding, but I love bright exotic flowers. I wish I had chosen my bouquet as the only splash of colour. And the bouquet is never truly "white"....white flowers are actually more creamy coloured.

 

Focus so much on the wedding that I missed the fun: my advice is play in the ocean with your neice. Paint your toes on the beach with your girlfriends. Eat lunch with your grandmother. Throw your nephew into the pool....Enjoy this time. You may never have your friends and family all in one place again.

 

Hope this helps...

[cougs]

Quote:

Originally Posted by BeautifulBridetoBe Focus so much on the wedding that I missed the fun: my advice is play in the ocean with your neice. Paint your toes on the beach with your girlfriends. Eat lunch with your grandmother. Throw your nephew into the pool....Enjoy this time. You may never have your friends and family all in one place again.

this is probably the truest, most important thing i've ever read on this forum. the vacation time passes so quickly and you never know who will even be around to celebrate your first anniversary with you. life is short ... you absolutely have to try to enjoy all the little moments throughout the week, not just the big day! that said, even with only 31 guests, it was HARD to devote even a little of our time to *everyone* ... but it's important!

[aprilmay]

Quote:

Originally Posted by BeautifulBridetoBe I have waited so long to post to this thread What I would do again Had an all-white wedding: we asked all guests to wear white and shades of white. It looked FABULOUS and elegant. Even the reluctant guests, said it looked great!The pictures are amazing. [ What I would NEVER do again...can you feel the vehemence? Choose a white bouquet: I had an all-white wedding, but I love bright exotic flowers. I wish I had chosen my bouquet as the only splash of colour. And the bouquet is never truly "white"....white flowers are actually more creamy coloured. Hope this helps...

Wow, LOVE LOVE LOVE these two ideas!!! A white wedding with your flowers as a splash of color.......... hopefully FI feels the same!!!!