Hawaii

Maui Destination Wedding Review (XP)

I'm finally getting around to posting about our DW in Maui we had at the end of March.  Hopefully this will be helpful to some of you while you are planning.  I've posted here and the Hawaii board because I used both boards a lot while planning...

Olowalu Plantation House- A+

This was gorgeous, and I can’t imagine having a better venue!   It was the perfect location for our wedding and was like a dream come true.  I absolutely loved the house and loved being able to spend the day there getting ready.   Donna was great to work with and was really helpful.  I would recommend Olowalu Plantation House again in a heartbeat!  

Food For The Soul- A+

I cannot speak highly enough about Food For The Soul!  They catered our wedding and the food was AMAZING!  Everyone commented on how wonderful the food and service was.  My husband said his Filet was the best he has ever had (and the fish was also incredible)!  Everything was cooked perfectly and was so fresh.  The appetizers were fabulous; we especially loved the coconut shrimp and sliders.  The staff was so friendly and helpful and the bartender was great.  We also had Food For The Soul help with coordinating our wedding and this was one of the best decisions we ever made.  Tina made excellent recommendations but was open to us having as much input as we wanted.  It was a great balance.  She made sure everything was covered before the wedding and always responded quickly to any questions or concerns that we had.  We live overseas and I was a bit nervous about planning a destination wedding, but Tina made it so I could really enjoy the planning process.  Tina was so great to work with and on the day, her and Suzanne made sure everything ran smoothly.  They were so friendly and made us feel so comfortable.  We had an absolutely fantastic time and it couldn’t have been more perfect.  I don’t think we would feel the same if we had chosen to go with anyone else.  We thank Food For The Soul’s entire team for making our day so wonderful! 

Maui Creative Photography- A+

Madelynne and Matthew were amazing!  We could not have asked for better photographers.  They were so friendly, fun and professional.  We felt comfortable with them and they made our pre wedding session and our wedding day so enjoyable.   They asked us what type of photos we were looking for and they nailed it.  They were so patient with our daughter, who is 2.5 years old, which said so much for their characters.  We felt they were the perfect photographers for us.  Then, the pictures arrived and they are just exquisite and everything we were looking for.  Now I just have to figure out which photos to order, which will not be an easy task because there are so many beautiful ones to choose from.  I highly recommend them for a great experience and gorgeous pictures.  They absolutely will not disappoint you!  We are so happy they were able to be a part of our wedding.  

Barefoot Minded- A+

Barefoot Minded played at our wedding and they were fantastic.  They played during our ceremony and cocktail hour.  They were such friendly guys and amazing musicians.  Our only regret was not having them play the entire reception, but that was our fault.  We could not have been happier with our choice and would recommend them to anyone.  They played a great mix of music and all of our guests really enjoyed them! 

Pia Aluli- A+

Pia was great.  We are so happy that he is the one who officiated our wedding.  He met with us before the wedding and took a genuine interest in getting to know us.  He was extremely professional and so nice.  Our ceremony was perfect.  We both feel he was the perfect choice to marry us and we are so glad he was a part of our day.

 Cake Fanatics- A

Emma Lee did an amazing job.  The cake was exactly what we wanted and it was delicious!  We had two tiers, one with marble cake and chocolate ganache filling and the other was French vanilla with lilikoi filling.  Both were out of this world!  I would use them again and I would highly recommend Cake Fanatics.

 Valerie Spalding Flowers- B-

This was a tough one to do a review of.  Then end product was what I wanted, but it was really hard work to get there.  I told her in at least 10 different emails I didn’t want roses or carnations.  The day before the wedding, when she was making my lei, she texted my mother and asked if I would mind my lei having red roses in it.  She completely forgot to make my daughters lei and luckily I was there when she delivered them and asked about it.  She did make on up quickly, but I was not happy she fully forgot.  Especially when it was on the list she emailed me the day before.  I sent multiple pictures of what I wanted and felt like it was such hard work.  I was very flexible with what she used (excluding roses and carnations).  I was disappointed with the flowers for our cake.  They looked like leftovers from a 60th wedding anniversary.  The bouquets were gorgeous, but unfortunately I don’t think I’d recommend her or use her again, it was really difficult and stressful.

 Chris Gniffke from Clarity Entertainment – DJ- A-

We were happy with Chris.  We were a bit nervous, because we heard some very negative comments days before the wedding, but he was good.  He had our guests dancing up a storm and was really professional.

Honua Kai Resort and Spa- A

This is where we stayed for our wedding, along with most of our guests.  We had a great experience here.  The staff was really friendly and the resort was beautiful.  The restaurant was good (Dukes) and the pools were really nice.  We thought it was in a good location and loved that the rooms had fully equipped kitchens and washers/dryers.  Everyone loved Honua Kai and we would definitely stay here again.  We did a block of rooms for our guests and they gave us an excellent price.  I would highly recommend staying here.

Re: Maui Destination Wedding Review (XP)

  • Kimberly thank you for the review. Sounds like a beautiful wedding! Did you go anywhere for the rehearsal dinner or did you try any restaurants that you might recommend for a small rehearsal dinner?
  • We didn't have a rehearsal.  My husband, parents and I went to Olowalu Plantation the week before the wedding and looked around.  We decided where we wanted to have everything set up and that was it.  
    I'm not sure where a good place for a rehersal dinner would be.  It also depends on the area you are staying in.  There were a couple of nights a large group of us went to Dukes, but that was because it was at our resort.  Saying that, it was good food and service.
  • Hi Kimberly- thanks so much for this review! My fiance and I are looking at Olawalu Plantation for March 16, 2017.

    Would you mind sharing your approximate budget- specifically for food and beverages? We have 30-35 people coming and want to spoil them with food/drinks- other priorities are figuring out a Plan b if it rains. How was the weather while you were there?

    Again, thanks so much for your review- super helpful!
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