freaking out!

cocoriggs · September 2009

seriously..I dont know if it's just me... but I told my planner that we wanted to put a deposit down on our venue like 2 weeks ago.I was told by my planner, 'don't worry you will have your venue'. BUT we haven't seen a contract in the mail yet.She told us last week that she would send it to us via mail and that it was safe to send out a 'send-the-date'. But again, its been over a week since she told us this and actually 2 weekssince I asked her to book it for us. I called her today and she didn't pick up. so I left a message. I have my photographer, and guests all waiting for me to tell them that we HAVE THE DATE for SURE!I dont know what to do.. I'm seriously freaking out. I remeber people saying "things are slower- have patience" but is this normal for Maui??

enteringparadise · September 2009

dont send out save the date until your venue is nailed down! if its unavailable you may find you have your heart set on a new place that has only a different date available.

kaesha · September 2009

Yes, yes it is for some vendors.

REM2008 · September 2009

Sorry to hear. I hope you don't mind me asking, but who is your WC? If she's not getting back to you. I'd try contacting the venue directly; just for your own piece of mind.Good luck!

tifani27 · September 2009

I honestly don't think it is "normal" for Maui, I have never had a delay like that in all of my planning, I would consider a new Wc you don't want months of dealing with this!

cocoriggs · September 2009

yes my Fiance just tried contacting the venue directly but got the answering machine. I think we will try again tomorrow. It's so frustrating. We both said we would give her another week and if we still don't hear back, we might have to move on to another WC. She was so good in the beginning. Will let you know what happens! THanks for all your comments ! It's so nice to read what you guys say

REM2008 · September 2009

Hang in there girl! It will all work out.

kaesha · September 2009

I should clarify - I don't think it's normal for her to be ignoring you, but I do think the booking process can take a while sometimes. Getting all of my paperwork/deposit and stuff for Olowalu took ages because the caretakers there were on holiday when I wanted to book.

kjane12 · September 2009

My wedding coordinator is the same way. She even said to me, 'don't worry, things don't normally get booked till 6 months before the wedding'. And on my end at the east coast, some plan to have already booked flights and hotels at that time. I don't want to wait. I told her I'd like to send my save-the-dates soon and would feel better if it was guaranteed. She says she understands, and now I'm mailing out a check for a deposit on the venue this week. Whew! Now my faith goes to her depositing it in a timely manner ...

penga · September 2009

Definitely leave a message whenever you call. No one has ever picked up for me on the first call, whether I called in the morning or afternoon of business hours. And I've called loads of places while trying to book our venues. Just leave a message (or several!), and they'll call you back/make things happen. But it can be slightly irritating that it sometimes takes them so long. It took us two months (after they cashed our check) to get a receipt from one place. :P

jujubee96 · September 2009

I would ask your wedding planner if she has contacted them yet, at what stage of the contract/paperwork/process they are at. Tell her you would like to send out your STDs asap, and that not having the date postively confirmed makes it impossible for you to do so. Tell her that even though she assured you that it would okay to send out the STDs, you don't feel comfortable doing that based on just her assurance.Tell her what date you plan on sending out the STDs by, and ask her if she will have the venue booked by then. If she can't, ask her if it is because the venue is unable to book yet. If not and it's her own laziness, tell her you would need to move on to another WC.Hope I'm not being to forward... I just think you need to make clear to your WC what you specifically need from her and in what time frames in order for you to feel comfortable having her as your WC.

jujubee96 · September 2009

eek, I meant too forward.

pbkmom · September 2009

I know that they will hold your reservation for a month without a deposit at Olowalu, Did you email them? The email is info@OlowaluPlantationHouse.comIf you don't hear, I have another email for Donna Poseley the manager. To be honest, you can book them yourself instead of paying a cut to the coordinator. But if you already have a deposit with the coordinator then you need to stick with them.

cocoriggs · September 2009

So she wrote back to me and said she would send the contract via e-mail 'this morning'. But it's evening now and I dont see it in my inbox. I'm trying really hard to stay calm. I think I will try your approaches and ask her those questions.. see where exactly she's at with everything. I really don't think I can hold on to 6 months out before sending out my Save the dates..... and yes I will try to call Olowalu again today. wish me luck guys ..

kaesha · October 2009

I think the caretakers of Olowalu are pretty slack. Like I said, it took me forever to get the documents too - but they'd told me my name was in the books so not to worry about it (of course, I did).FWIW - I went through my caterers to book the location and they didn't charge me a service charge for doing that. It was the one of the few things I didn't get hit with that 20% fee!

pbkmom · October 2009

We were able to book a date a year out so you won't have to wait for 6 months. You were lucky Alyson, I thought they tacked on 20% to everything they do for you. FYI Joan is not doing weddings anymore, they moved her full time to the restaurant!

cocoriggs · October 2009

So our WC sent us the documents last night after I finally called her again. My Fi and I read through them and realized she changed the price on us. especially her % fee charge. And she initially quoted us 2500 for Olowalu but it's now 3000 there are other numbers that mysteriously went up. My Fi says we should move on to another WC and I agree but if we do, can we still do Olowalu on the date that we want?? Anyone have an awesome WC that is attentive, that keeps her word and gets back to you in a timely manner? if so please let me know!! We are about 9 months out now and will be starting from the beginning .. please help!

REM2008 · October 2009

Sorry to hear about all this..... Did your WC send you a quote in writing? I'd ask her what the additional charges are for. What are their cancellation policies? You may not get your full deposit back if you switch WCs.I'm using Precious Maui Weddings http://www.preciousmauiweddings.com. Deanne has been great. She always gets back to me w/24hrs or same day (depending on time, I'm on East Coast). She had all our vendors set w/in a week. Good luck!

jujubee96 · October 2009

can you book Olawahu (sorry, sp.) on your own? I guess hearing they are pretty slack too doesn't help... but you might want to call them and have them write in that date for you like they did for kaesha.

BoBride28 · October 2009

I would also try to book Olowalu on your own if possible. If not, I highly recommend my WC, Events by Evonne. She always gets back to me on the same day or even within a few hours depending on what time it is (I'm on the east coast)! Good luck!

pbkmom · October 2009

Yes I am here to tell you, I booked the wedding directly with Donna, the property manager for Olowalu. We got all our paperwork in a timely manner. Perhaps I can clarify fees. It is $2500 for a weekday under 50 guest wedding, They also add tax and a security deposit. If you go over 50 or you have it on the weekend it is higher.I do wonder if Donna has to be careful with the wedding planners, so if your date is made through the coordinator, it may be a problem. Celebrations catering will also act as a coordinator for you. I have booked some on my own and am leaving the rentals, lighting and food and bar to them. They did recommend the vendors I booked, but I made the contacts myself as I am very hands on. Lori from Maui Tropical Weddings is praised highly on these boards, I would have used her if I needed someone else. I think other caterers may also act as coordinator for you

cocoriggs · October 2009

Thank you for all your comments!So after all that, I think we are going to give her another shot. After my inital freak out, my Fi got involved and talked to her and straightened out the prices . He said she was nice, professional and fair. She changed the prices back except the Olowalu fee wich as PBK said, it does get a bit higher depending on the amount of guests we have. And we all agreed that we would keep in contact at least once a week to touch base.I really did like everything about her minus the recent lack of replies. I just hope it's because of the busy wedding season and vendors.Anyway, if worse comes to worse, I will definitely switch WC's. But seeing as though we got our original prices back and all the paperwork in, I hope it will all be smooth sailing from here...Anyway, I'll keep you ladies updated and wish me luck!thanks for all the comments and support!!!

REM2008 · October 2009

That's good news - YAY! You must feel relieved! I'm glad you guys straightened things out. Now you can move forward with the save the dates, etc.

freaking out!

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