PACIFIC ISLANDS RESERVATIONSWe rented an estate on Kaneohe Bay (east Oahu) via Ingrid Carvalho with Pacific Islands Reservations. She has tons of rentals and b&b's that she manages.
The homes were amazing, the grounds were perfect for families with children to roam, and we woke up to gorgeous sunrises every morning. I would rent from Ingrid again - she was straightforward, answered my tons of questions, was willing to communicate via phone AND email.
KAHU BRUCEKahu Bruce is great! He's such a nice guy, great sense of humor. Definitely NOT a stuffy minister! He talked with both of us on the phone months before the wedding, was willing to communicate via email, met with us at Dept. of Health in Honolulu when we went to apply for our marriage license. There, he went over the ceremony in detail and answered all our questions, and asked many to get to know us and our beliefs a little better.
He also stopped by the house, where we had the ceremony, the day before so that he could see the layout and get a feel for the place. He said he wanted to see where the water and the mountains were in relation to where he'd be standing....
The ceremony was amazing - our family loved how unique a traditional Hawaiian ceremony is. Kahu Bruce is a great performer and very good at what he does. He followed up with a call days later, too, just to see how we were doing!
L'AMOUR PHOTOGRAPHYWendy and Eric are wonderful to work with!! I communicated with Wendy via email for months before the wedding, and she came up with a package that fit us a little better than listed on their website.
On the day of, they were so professional, but friendly at the same time. Very patient with our family - eight kids running around on the beach while they're trying to get group shots, etc.They helped keep us on schedule, and within a "good light" timeframe.
I'm happy with the shots I've gotten from them so far. Also, they are really busy and said they'll be adding a couple new photographers to their company soon.
CHEF JILL, OAHU PERSONAL CHEFSOh man, was the food she made GOOD! I honestly don't know how she did what she did - she had a large kitchen, granted, but there were 20+ hungry people wandering in and out, and she still managed to concentrate and get some amazing food on the table.
We had two appetizers, a main entree, and then cheesecake with sauces for dessert. She said she'd never made cheesecake before, but it was the BEST I've ever had. I think everyone said the same.
Before all that, though, Jill was so completely professional and thorough, responded immediately to my emails, and asked great questions. She was also very reasonably priced, which was what we were looking for for our small group.
SIDE NOTE: for anyone considering a personal chef for a small wedding party (we had 22), the only thing I'd change/recommend is hiring one waitperson. I wish we'd had a person to go around pouring water and champagne, and clearing plates and doing something with them, rather than having them stack up on the kitchen counter the way ours did.
Otherwise, I LOVED the ambience a personal chef creates, and loved the informality of it vs. a head chef, sous chef, waitstaff, bartender, etc.
ACCEL RENTALSAnother great vendor - great communication via email, delivered on time, everything was in good condition and dishes/glasses/cutlery were clean and ready for setup. What I really appreciated, too, was that they sent a few extra of everything (except tables) just in case of chips, etc. Very nice touch, and an easygoing company.
EVENT ESSENTIALSLike a broken record....A+ vendor! Communication via email was a cinch, all the items were as described, in good condition, and perfect for our event. I liked that they had more specialized items, such as glass beverage dispensers, monkeypod serving trays, etc.
FYI - if you rent items from them, you will need to pick them up and drop them off yourself. Located in Aiea.