Hi everyone!I have been more of a lurker than a poster but wanted to put my reviews up to help out some future and fellow brides to be.
We got married last Friday at the Aston Waikiki Coconut Club located in the Aston Waikiki Beach hotel, at the end of the "strip" close to the zoo. Many guests stayed here including us and all of our families. It was a fantastic hotel with everything we needed right at our fingertips. It was great that the venue also happened to be our hotel and it reduced alot of stress since we did many DIY projects for the reception.
Here are the vendors we used:
CEREMONY:
Suzanne Ventura with Aloha from Hawaii weddings
We used Suzanne as our photgrapher and coordinator as our wedding ceremony was at Wailae Beach Park located 15 minutes outside of Waikiki. Suzanne answered our questions from a year before the event. She was helpful, patient, and knowledgable about the area and many vendors. Her prices were extremely reasonable and she worked efficiently meeting us 2 days after the wedding with the photos on a CD ready to go. Everyone commented on how efficient she was and how seemless the ceremony was. She arranged transportation for all of our 40 guests to and from the beach park from the reception venue in mini buses as well as a limo for the bridal party. She arranged the celebrant (who was AMAZING) as well as leis, a champagne toast, as well as took the photos herself and did a fantastic job. We couldn't be more happy with her service! We highly recommend her to anyone wanted to do a beach wedding!
VENUE:
Coconut Club at the Aston Waikiki Beach hotel
This venue is known for its view of all of Waikiki. It is on the 21st floor of the hotel and can be rented out for any night of the week but we chose Friday to have the fireworks coincide with the reception.
The bartender Eddie and the Server/Banquet manager Derrick were absolutely amazing. Derrick met with us in advance after much email and phone correspondence and paid close attention to our hopes for what the venue would look like when we returned from the ceremony at 5pm. When we arrived it was INCREDIBLE how good the room looked. Everything was exactly how we wanted it to be and it surpassed my expectaitons! They were extremely professional and the timing of the food, dessert, speeches, etc was seemless. I was so impressed with the food and all of the guests remarked how tasty the drinks and food were. The prices here were also totally reasonable compared to other venues in Waikiki. The view off the balcony made for incredible photos. We were so happy we had our wedding here!
CHAIR COVERS:
We used Alderich at Alderich from American Marketing and Chair Covers. He was EXTREMELY reasonable and professional. He got back to us quickly and set up and take down was seemless. We never even met him or saw him! I would HIGHLY recommend this company.
http://amchaircovers.com/
http://amchaircovers.com/gallery.html
FLOWERS:
We used Watanbe flowers for our corsages, boutineers, as well as bridal bouquets. They were beautiful but I felt like they were a bit overpriced. In comparison to other flower companies, they were similar in price though!
FLOWERS Part 2:
We decided to bring our own vases from Vancouver, BC, Canada (square with gold decoupage painted on them) and do our own centrepieces. We called many flower places including costco but nothing was in our price range or seemed suitable. We decided to call Whole Foods in Kapula Mall which is a short drive from Waikiki. We talked to Frenchie and Bill and they were amazing in discussing do it yourself flower options for us. We decided on hydrangeas and orchids for the centrepieces and we had them create 2 big bouquets in big vases for the welcome and sign in tables at the reception. They were BEAUTIFUL! We loved working with Frenchie and Bill, they were so patient and helpful to us! Their prices were totally reasonable as well and they helped us figue out how much to order and put our minds at rest about doing the bouquets ourselves!
RECEPTION PHOTOGRAPHERS:
Izumoto Photography
Kit and Kristi Izumoto
This couple we found online were so accommodating and reasonably priced. They blended in so well with our crowd and were discreet when taking photos but also posed us and took advantage of the venue and the view. They answered all of our many questions before the wedding and were super professional. I would HIGHLY recommend their services for a reception or a ceremony or both!
HAIR AND MAKEUP:
Maleana Cosmetics with Doris and Lauren
This was the one service that I wasn't 100% happy with. They showed up early and left early, and seemed to rush through the services a bit. One of the girls was texting while working on hair and seemed distracted. Doris was very professional but I felt the prices were a bit outrageous for the service we received. They were ok and we all looked nice, but the value just didn't seem to be there.
Everything else involved in the wedding was DIY. We brought ALOT of things with us such as chalkboards with wooden frames, polarioud guestbook, custom napkins, and custom beer coozies with honolulu cookie company cookies inside as favours, vases and candle votives with gold decoupage on them, wooden name card holders, etc.
The wedding was amazing but was a TON of work! We are happy to be home now, and just relaxing!
Questions? Please ask!