Hawaii

Recap/Reviews (far too long)

Clearly I spent too much time in the sun yesterday, 'cause I'm totally have some heat stroke or something. =( But, that gives me time to throw out some vendor reviews and stuff.The Good: First off, the day went really smoothly. We had our hair & make-up done on the lanai, and while everyone went first, I had time to go set up the cranes on the archway, and to check everything out. I was really bored once I'd finished that task, and didn't know what to do with myself while everyone else was in H&M. After SO much time planning, it felt totally surreal to actually be there on that day. But, once I sat in Dan's chair, everything just settled down and I started getting excited.But, the ceremony was totally joyous. No one openly sobbed, but there were a lot of misty eyes. Everyone danced to our ipod mix and the party was AWESOME.The UGLY: I was forced to invite my Dad's cousin & his wife, and they were SO badly behaved. (The man is like 60 too.) When they arrived at the airport, my Dad met them as he was picking up my brother who was on the same flight. Turns out they hadn't arranged for ANY form of transportation while on the island because neither of them drive. This led to my Dad and his best friend playing chauffeur for a week to an ungrateful couple who never once said thank you. The straw really broke my back when I learned that they'd rearranged their seats at the table they were sitting at (with my parents and Phil's parents) AND, they kicked Phil's mother out of her seat (the mother of the groom! Whaa?!?) and shoved her down to the end. Not. Impressed. The VendorsOlowalu - Ladies. AMAZING. It's like the best location ever. All of our guests said their jaws dropped when they arrived. You really don't need anything to decorate the place; it's just so breathtaking on its own. I took some pictures of the very VERY industrial bathrooms that you may want to spuce up (or, if you're like me and don't care, will choose to ignore). I'll post those later.Celebrations Catering (Hali'imale General Store) - okay, so they did tons of stuff for me. I booked Olowalu, rentals, lighting and food through them... and it was WELL worth it. I cannot rave about this company enough. I was pretty hands off with what I wanted in terms of lighting the place, and they did the coolest stuff - spots on the ocean, uplighting the trees. It totally transformed the place at night.The most important thing about Celebrations was the food. Seriously, what we got was not your typical wedding food, but totally amazing restaurant quality nomminess. EVERYONE (seriously, every single one) of our guests said it was the best food they'd ever had. They were greeted with pineapple lemonade before the ceremony. After, the passed pupus included grilled vegetable summer rolls, beef with onion marmalade on garlic toasts, coconut chicken skewers with apricot dipping sauce and crab cakes with papaya remoulade. The two things everyone raved about most from the dinner buffet were the hoisin braised short ribs (I really think it pays off to go with a more flavourful cut than a typical steak - the braising made the beef fork tender and it was so much more flavourful than the usual wedding beef) and the Grilled Kula Corn & Fingerling Potato salad.They also did the cake and it too was amazing! The woman I worked with, Joan, was easily my favourite vendor. Super sweet, super on top of things and just... sigh... I know I'll miss her emails.Dan & Jessica - both FABULOUS. They were on time, on the ball and did amazing work. Jessica was so lovely to chat with (she just got back from Uganda where she was doing work with AIDS orphans), and I'm nothing but pleased with what they did. Dan had a hard time with my MIL's hair because she's going quite bald, but he did an AMAZING job, and she really loved it. Oh! And Jess got my Mum in fake eyelashes, which was an impressive feat.Joanna Tano - 1) Sweetest. Person. EVER. 2) No pictures yet, but I have to comment on her professionalism. I've been to weddings where the photographer takes shots up the aisle, who moves around so much that it distracts from the ceremony. Both she and her second shoots (Kim Aihara) were amazingly unobstrusive. She was also great at keeping to our schedule and humouring us with all our wacky picture requests.Bella Grace Florals - So, the flowers looked nothing like what I thought they would... which is totally cool, because they were amazing. Last minute, she decided to put them in these vintage-y containers and I think it was a great decision. She really got the look I was hoping for and I'm just so pleased I found her. On top of that, she gave birth 2 days before the wedding! She wasn't someone I'd seen recommended on the boards before - I don't actually know anyone else who used her, but I'm so glad I decided to branch out and take the risk. Seriously great work.Music - our ipod! It was actually perfect. We spent ages getting our playlists down, and Phil took control of switching between playlists. My two favourite moments: dancing to the quiet part of Blister in the Sun and all the Canadians teaching the Brits about jigging in Home for a Rest. I was drenched with sweat by the end of the night. We saved a ton of money by going this route, and I totally think it was worth it.Transportation - we ordered a cab, which never showed up. (And if I knew the name of the company, I would not recommend them, but I don't actually know who Phil called) So we hitched a ride back to our condo with Phil's parents. A grand exit? I think not. But, we saved 50 bucks, so I don't really care!

Re: Recap/Reviews (far too long)

  • edited December 2011
    Sucks about your Dad's cousin and his wife... my cousin's GF practically did the same thing to my aunt and she brought a friend whom I'd never met before!!!  Ugh!  Some people!But... so glad everything else went well!  I seriously can't wait to see more pics!  I hope Joanna blogs some of your pics!  Heeheehee!  And I really LOVED your centerpiece containers!  They were sooo freakin' cute!Yay Alyson!!!!!
  • AngelshannAngelshann member
    100 Comments
    edited December 2011
    Glad to hear that overall everything turned out great!! Thanks for your vendor review about Joanna Tano! I contacted her recently for a price quote for our wedding. We have been considering using an Ipod for our wedding ceremony and reception too. Reading your review about how your music turned out made me feel so much better!! Some of our friends aren't really digging the fact that we may go the Ipod route. But I think the Ipod will work out fine. I can't wait to see your pics! Thanks for the reviews Alyson!!
  • pbkmompbkmom member
    Ninth Anniversary 100 Comments
    edited December 2011
    Hi Alyson, Thanks so much for sharing all the info so soon! We are debating between using Celebrations for the bar or Bars R Us. Also when you have a chance, can you give a timeline for your wedding day? Just trying to figure out when we should arrive and when to do the ceremony. Since it will be in January, it will be dark around 6:00 pm so, we are thinking of ceremony at 3:30 . Did you decorate the tables or did you leave it to Bella Grace? They look fabulous. Can't wait to see the pictures!
  • inamrainamra member
    100 Comments
    edited December 2011
    Wow, I'm really sorry about your Dad's cousin & wife. That really sucks =( Glad everything else worked out well though and sounds like you still had a GREAT time =) CONGRATS again! Can't wait to see pics =)
    Sept 2008 Wedding | May 2010 & Mar 2012 Babies
  • edited December 2011
    That timeline sounds about right - our ceremony was at 4:30 for a 7pm sunset! I spent all day there; there were 5 of us getting hair and make-up done, so hair took about 5 hours and make-up took about 6 (we started almost at 10 bang on), 'cause we were chilling chatting with Jessica. We started photos with my 'maids and family at 2:30 and Phil & his guys arrived at 3:30 for ½ an hour of photos. Our guests started arriving at 4:00. Dinner took a little longer than I anticipated (6:00-7:45), but by that point, we didn't really need to keep to a schedule, with only the dancing left to go. It was more about enjoying at that point.The monstera leaves were provided by Celebrations (they're the medium sized ones and were cheaper than the ones Bella wanted to sell me) and the florals by Bella Grace. She sent some of her girls down to set up as she'd just given birth and was a bit preoccupied herself. They were great!
  • pbkmompbkmom member
    Ninth Anniversary 100 Comments
    edited December 2011
    Thanks!!! This really helps!!
  • edited December 2011
    Wow, Allyson!  Congrats!!  I haven't been on TK for a loooong time but glad I did when I did otherwise I don't know if would have seen this!  Congrats, congrats CONGRATS!!!
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