Hello,
Congratulations to all of you who are gearing up for your
wedding. I did a lot of reading of
reviews on this website and found these community boards to be tremendously
helpful. I wanted to provide you with
our review of the vendors we used for our Maui destination wedding back in
November.
Venue: Olowalu
Plantation House - A+++++++++++
My husband and I had never been to this venue until the day
before we got married. We actually hadn’t
ever even been to Maui together! There
is a reason this venue has so many positive reviews. It is simply breathtaking. It was everything we wanted – on the ocean,
outside, dance floor, old Maui feel, private.
We had the ceremony and reception at Olowalu and we were beyond pleased
with how beautiful it was! Even being
back home in Canada, people still comment on how stunning it was. Initially, we were a bit concerned about the
10pm curfew, but that was not an issue AT ALL.
We have a bunch of friends who like to party, but most people were wiped
by 10pm anyway, and those who wanted to stay up later just partied together at
their condo. We highly recommend
considering this venue. Note that it is
pretty much a blank canvas, so you will have to bring in everything (chairs, tables, catering etc), but it is so so so worth it for the views and
sunset. A sweet perk is Leoda’s, which
is right across the road. After your
wedding rehearsal, you can head on over for one (or two or three) of their delicious
pies.
Wedding Coordinator:
Kelly Miller from A Perfect Paradise Wedding - A++++++++++++++++++++++++
AMAZING! We hired
Kelly as our wedding coordinator based on a recommendation from a friend, web reviews, services offered and how friendly she was on the phone. She was everything we hoped for and
more!!! She was so professional, yet
relaxed and down to earth. We also found
her to be highly organized and detail-oriented – traits you obviously want in a
coordinator. She was very prompt with
communications. If ever I had a
question, she would email me back usually within the day. Or if she couldn’t respond to a question
right away, she would email to acknowledge receipt of our email and that she
would get back to us. Through the
planning process, Kelly recommended various vendors that we could freely research
and choose. At no time did we feel
pressure to choose any one vendor over another and if we wanted to hire a
vendor ourselves, instead of through Kelly, that was no issue at all. She periodically updated our wedding
proposal to see the progress we had made with planning. My husband and I were not totally enthralled
with planning a wedding (I was more into the DIY aspect) so Kelly made sure we
were on track the entire time. We were
thrilled with how smoothly everything went and we of course have to hand it to
Kelly! Kelly and her team set up everything
so beautifully. She definitely provides
a quality service and she genuinely wants the best for her brides and
grooms. It was so nice to have Kelly on
our side. We would not have wanted
anyone else J
Minister: Laki Ka’ahumanu - A++++++
He was an excellent choice!
He wore, from what we could tell, traditional Hawaiian dress and blew a
conch! He was appropriately serious and funny at all the right places. He made us feel very comfortable up there,
which was what was most important to us.
Just know, when you get married in Maui, you have to kiss a lot!!!!
Ceremony Musician:
Jamie Lawrence - A++++++
Incredible voice!
Just go to his website and you can hear for yourself. We chose a couple of songs we wanted to be
played, and he chose the rest, which was great!
Unfortunately, being the bride and groom, and getting ready, and being
in the moment and nervous, we didn’t hear him as much as we’d like, but our
guests really enjoyed him!
Catering: Café O’lei - A+++++++++++
DELICIOUS! People are
still talking about how tasty the food was.
We had appetizers during cocktail time and for dinner we had a mahimahi,
chicken or steak option. Every course was
top-notch and the portions were perfect.
The service was excellent too! My
only regret was that I wore a tight lace-up dress and couldn’t possibly eat any
more of my meal. We would recommend them
over and over again without hesitation!
Photography:
Madelynne and Matthew from Maui Creative Photography - A++++++++++++++++++++++++
These two are absolutely incredible! We loved their fun presence, their exceptional
service and our beautiful photos!!!!!
From our initial communication, we were impressed. Instead of a generic “here is what we offer
and our price list” response, they sent us a personalized email, commenting on
where we were from, how much we will enjoy Maui and other pertinent details of
their service. Of course a personalized
email is by no means expected from businesses when inquiring about services,
but we thought that was just a really nice touch. They were always prompt and professional with
communications and were happy to answer any questions. We were offered an engagement photo session
with them in order to get to know them before the big day – what a great idea! It was so nice to meet them before the
wedding, start feeling comfortable in front of a camera, and discuss
preferences for photo ops, etc. The day
of the wedding they arrived early and went right to work. They were not afraid to politely round up
guests for group photo ops. We felt so
calm and relaxed having them there the day of our wedding. They were so
positive and truly made us feel comfortable in front of the camera. They were
professional and friendly, and of course are incredibly talented.
Our package of photos was sent to us in a
VERY timely fashion. We were surprised
with how quickly we received our photos. The package was beautifully presented and the photos were beyond spectacular! They blew us away!!!!!! They really captured the right moments and our
feelings that day, and of course, capturing the subjects' feelings means the difference between
good photographers, and exceptional ones. They truly are EXCEPTIONAL!!!! Even if our photos turned out less than
spectacular (which they didn’t – they were INCREDIBLE), it was just such a joy
to have them photograph our wedding because they have such a warm presence. We are ever grateful that they were a part of
our wedding day and that we have such beautiful photos to look back on. We wish them the very best in their careers
as photographers as they are both so talented and such kind people.
Makeup and Hair: Jean
Muldoon – A++++++
What a lovely woman!
My sister and I had our makeup and hair done by Jean and we both
absolutely loved what she did. We both
wanted very natural looks and we felt so beautiful when we saw ourselves in the
mirror. She came to our condo in the
morning and hair and makeup was done right on time. We had a wonderful time getting to know Jean. She can use makeup with SPF in it, which was
a plus for us as we are quite fair-skinned.
We did not get air-brushed, but the makeup she used stayed put all
night!
Cupcakes: Maui Wedding
Cakes - A++++++
We got the cupcakes in four or five different flavours. They were tasty! We got to take home our leftovers too.
Bar: Maui Bars Are Us,
Stacey and her team - A+++++++++++
Hire them. Excellent
service, excellent drinks, prompt communication. We opted to purchase our own
liquor from Costco, but she will do all of the shopping for you if you
choose. We chose some signature drinks
to have served. They also mixed up other
fun drinks too, which was nice! Very friendly staff!
Décor:
DIY. You can do
it! We didn’t have a lot of decoration
because the venue is pretty enough. The bouquets, boutonnières and floral center
pieces were DIY using Costco flowers and they turned out lovely if I do say so
myself. My husband made a playlist for
cocktail time, dinner and dance and it was hooked up to a rented sound
system. For lighting at Olowalu we had
two strings of lanterns and also tiki torches, which were awesome!
I hope these reviews will be helpful to all of the brides
and grooms reading them. I know wedding
planning can be extremely overwhelming, but just remember it is a day for you
two and that is all that matters. Good
luck and congratulations.
-M & K