A Review of my Maui Vendors!!!

Larisa629 · February 7, 2012

*Coordinators (Kara Bryne & Regina from Your Aloha Wedding)

Kara was very helpful during our planning process and we liked how efficient and organized she is. She always responded quickly to our emails and was very accommodating in our wants and needs. We felt satisfied with our choice in choosing a coordinator and it was definitely helpful to have someone there on the day of so that we didn't have to worry and could enjoy ourselves. The process was made very easy through their help.

*Ceremony Venue (The Wailea Marriott Kahoolawe Lawn)
Beautiful location and beautiful sunset, however, I was not pleased with their wedding consultants for many reasons. When I first called to inquire about renting out the lawn, I got scolded for not staying there and told that there are "frequent fires" that occur which may result in my wedding guests being delayed. Who actually says that to someone? I also felt like I was being lectured for not using their coordinators, not having our reception there, etc.

For the price that we paid to rent that lawn for a few hours, we should have had a room included in to get ready. However, they did not count our reception restaurant, which is located on their grounds as being part of the Marriott and did not have a place for us to get ready in. I finally had my coordinator talk them into renting me a room for $100 for a few hours, but they later charged my card for $200.

*Reception Venue (Mala Restaurant)
We bought out the Mala restaurant that is located at the Marriott Wailea. It was a beautiful restaurant and we would highly recommend it to others. It was very spacious and the lanai, and the sunset were gorgeous! All of our guests really enjoyed themselves there.

A few negatives: They were supposed to serve 3 specialty drinks of our choice to our guests (Mojitos, pina coladas, mai tai's) as we had talked about this in our contract and when putting together the menu. When I addressed this at the restaurant, they told me that they would get back to me but no one ever did.

I also was initially told that we had the restaurant until midnight. This was a major reason why we chose Mala in the first place since my family and friends are used to partying late. Unfortunately, I regret not having this time written out in my contract because about 2 weeks before the wedding we were notified that music had to be turned off at 11 p.m. due to noise complaints they were receiving from hotel guests. I had no choice but to comply but then the DJ stopped playing music at 10:40 p.m. and me and the guests started feeling rushed to get out of there. Maybe not a big deal to some, but definitely was to me.

*Officiate (Rabbi David Glickman)
Rabbi Glickman did a really nice job at performing the ceremony. He was very laid back in person and really worked with us to help create what we want. He doesn't communicate much by email, is kind of difficult to get a hold of but on the two occasions that we met, he spent a lot of time explaining to us the rituals and customs that go into a Jewish ceremony, and that was really helpful.

*Catering & Bar Service (Mala)
The food was delicious and the wait staff were very accommodating. I did not spend much time at the bar, but some of our guests did and said that they really liked the service and the bartenders. I liked how our guests were able to order shots and having top shelf was definitely a plus!

*Cake (Maui Wedding Cakes)
The cake was okay but not how we imagined it at all. We designed a picture on the computer (my husband is a graphic designer) and instead of cutting out our skyline for example, they put messy panels up. Not worth the $495 price tag at all!

*Photography (Steven Ludwig)

I would highly recommend Steven to any couple out there, just by his portfolio alone. It is so out of the ordinary and Steven himself was a pleasure to work with! He was probably one of our favorite vendors, and we haven't even seen our wedding pictures! He was very friendly and easy to work with. He was not pushy and a lot of the time we saw him but did not feel like we had to "pose" throughout the night for pictures. I think that he captured the moments and it really meant a lot to us that he asked if he should stay a little longer and we told him "No" yet we saw him an hour later taking pictures because he didn't want to miss anything.

*Video (Your Webcast - Brian Rothstein)

We received our video within a week of the wedding which I thought was really fast for Maui time. The video was nice and captured all the big moments of the ceremony. Definitely glad I got it because I didn't remember anything about the ceremony. The video quality is poor and they ask you to pay about $100 more for a higher quality which sucks.
Brian (not sure if that was his name) was very pushy and I personally did not like him. I was an emotional wreck, he was yelling directions at me about changing the processional and where we would stand. I didn't understand him and I felt like he was insensitive and pushy.

*Ceremony Musicians (Cambria Moss Duo)
I wish I had gotten a chance to meet them. I didn't even notice them until me wedding video but I'm sure they were great!

*Reception Music (Maui Mobile Music - DJ Chuck)
I did not really get a chance to interact with DJ Chuck, but I know that he did play the songs that we requested. However, he was off on timing and schedule and my guests complained how they felt like they had no dancing time. There was a period of about 20 minutes that there was no music being played at all while we waited for the slide show to be set up. He ended the music at 10:40 p.m. (when it was supposed to end at 11 p.m.) and when our guests asked him to play 1 more song he nodded "No" and turned around. My guests told me that I should get a refund for how poorly he DJ'd...Ouch.

*Hula Show (Manutea Nui E)
Probably the highlight of our night! LOVED LOVED LOVED them! They were a phenomenal trio and I am so happy that we had them! We loved how interactive and talented they were! The guests also seemed to enjoy them. My only negative is that I wish that we had asked them to come earlier on before the main course because the 1 hour that we did have them seemed a little bit long and people were getting antsy to start dancing.

*Nahiku Tropicals (Flowers)

We LOVED our flowers and received non-stop compliments about how beautiful they were! Steve Wilson, the florist, was a pleasure to work with and was extremely thorough and responsive in our emails. He asked for swatches, sent me many ideas and the flowers that I had imagined I would get were even more gorgeous than I could ever imagine. He created our canopy out of fresh cut bamboo that he got in Hana and he created 40 lei's for all of my guests out of white and yellow orchid's. We were really impressed and we would highly recommend him to anyone out there!

Old Lahaina Luau (Rehearsal Dinner)

We've been to many luau's and this was our second time at Old Lahaina and we can still say that it is our favorite!!! Our guests loved everything about it, especially when they asked the couples to come dance near the stage. It was interactive, fun and beautiful! Pus, the staff were super accommodating.

Meew Meew Studios (Trash the Dress)

Jill and Gordon were so nice and did a really great job capturing the moment. Our pictures are beautiful and we really love them. They were exactly what I wanted, and even the hubby is glad we did it, even though he was very resistant at first. They were reasonably priced and definitely a must!

Elly's Formal Wear Kihei (Alterations, Tuxedos, Steaming)

The staff at Elly's were so friendly and accommodating. My husband and his groomsmen looked great in their suits but their prices to rent with shoes are kind of steep (around $130-$150). They steamed my dress and did a wonderful job, and they even fixed a rhinestone that was coming off for a small price. I had my dresses delivered the day of the wedding to the Marriott and they were delivered promptly and without any issue.

Dan Sanchez (Hair)- Dan was initially difficult to get a hold of. He's a very popular guy around Maui and does tons of wedding! I chose him based on all the positive reviews I've heard about him and initially my trial went really well. However, on the day of my wedding my hair was not at all what I had expected. My hair became greasy from the products he used and my curls fell even before the ceremony. I later had to throw my hair up because I it just didn't look good anymore. I was disappointed, especially for someone who is voted "the best" and has a pretty steep price.

Jessica Waite (Makeup)- I was very impressed with Jessica and the way she made me and my bridesmaids look. I love how she used the airbrush makeup, which really lasted all night and I truly felt happy with the way it turned out (even without a trial.)

There may be a couple more vendors that I may be forgetting...Let me know if anyone has any questions, I am willing to help out. It is so hard to come back to reality after an amazing 20 days in paradise!!!