KathE or Dianna - advice please

NaluJS

Hi ladies,     I know KathE & Dianna are all over these boards.  I've spoken to both and they both seem great.  For those of you who have spoken with both and decided to go with one or the other, can you please give me your reasons.  How did you decide?  I don't think I can go wrong with either one, but would love to make a decision this weekend.  Thought this was the perfect place to help!Looking forward to hearing yoru thoughts.Thanks!!

destiny1108

We didn't talk to KathE, but we did have Dianna as our WC and she was awesome.Some of our deciding factors was she was very calm (we had a chance to meet her in person), her years of experience, that every vendor that we talked to had nothing but the highest praises, she was certified and would take care of the rentals and floor plan headache for our private estate wedding.    There were so many things that I wouldn't have thought about or even considered, she made planning our wedding enjoyable and not stressful.Good luck!

eacerna

I think I was the 2nd person on this board to hire Dianna. I booked her 2 yrs ago. I hired her because:a. her rates were very reasonable compared to the othersb. back then, she gave a special discount for brides getting married at Moana Surfriderc. she has vast experience in the industryd. she tailored a wedding package accdg to my needsI am not too familiar with KathE but i know a few of the ladies here have booked her too. I am sure she is also great. I can only speak for Dianna. She is very organized and responds to emails quickly which was very important for me since I planned my wedding from DC. She was also able to pass on some savings to us from her relationships with vendors. I only have good things to say about her. You'll definitely be in good hands with her. She's great. Our wedding was over a year ago and until now, I am still in touch with her. In fact, she took us out for lunch when DH and I visited Hawaii for our anniversary last July :-).

2OahuWeGo

Hi NaluJS,I second everything that has been said about Dianna.Having the entire industry know who you are and work with you was really important.  Dianna has relationship with vendors so she is able to negotiate certain things and given her vast experiene, she can provide alternative solutions that you might not have thought about.  The fact that she is certified is also important - she is a leader in her field and keeps up to date by going to conferences and networks with other vendors.  She was a little more expensive than KathE when I inquired, but well worth the peace of mind. My florist had an emergency during my wedding day - and because of the relationships the vendors have with each other, no one at the wedding would have guessed it.  Reinforcements were called in and everything was beautiful.  Everything was great that day.That just illustrates not just Dianna's expertise, but the importance of her relationships and experience.Hope that helps!

nbk2d9q

I couldn't decide between the two, but KathE wasn't available for my 4th of July wedding, so we hired Dianna. HOWEVER, i found out that she isn't available either and one of her associates, Wai, will be handling our wedding. Both Dianna and Wai have been amazing thusfar. If anyone has any experience with Wai, I'd love to hear about it!

LilSwtAzyn

I talked to both.. i hired kathe because she seemed to be more ready to get down and dirty.. when I talked to dianna she didn't seem very eager to run the errands i needed, set up my diy flowers herself (that i at first was going to do to save money), and just be me that day... instead she seemed more of just a coordinator who would direct vendors.... Kathe on the other hand was ready to do everything for me.... even lay out all the place settings and table clothes if needed! dianna has had great reviews though so i'm sure you can't go wrong with either. kathe was also cheaper i believe at the time.

destiny1108

not sure what "down and dirty" means, but for our wedding Dianna did place all linen on the tables before caterer arrived, set up ceremony chairs, relocated our flowers (we used same flowers from arch and aisle for our centerpieces, candles, placecards, favors, was moving chairs from ceremony to reception tent, etc.    At the end of the night, she had everything all packed up and even helped my bridal party in loading extra beverages into the car using her cart.

NaluJS

Thank you so much for all of your input.  I really appreciate it.  We were originally thinking of having our wedding at Loulu Palms.  KathE is the in-house coordinator there, but I think we're going with Lanikuhonua.  I know both have done quite a few weddings at Lanikuhonua, but I think Dianna's experience and relationships with the vendors is really important.  We didn't get to meet her in person, but she has been really helpful during our phone calls.  She definitely responds quickly which is another plus!  Looks like I've made my decision.  I knew the boards would help!!  Thanks again!

2OahuWeGo

Hi NaluJS,Wai was assisting Dianna at our wedding at Lani.She seems as capable as Dianna - and if advice is needed - has her at fingertips.  She also seemed to have good reviews (based on Dianna's FB page) from other brides.Dianna set up the linens, took down the linens, centerpieces, votives, etc and had it packed up for us.  She does get "down and dirty" - but if setting up DIY centerpieces, she alone would not have enough manpower.  She actually helped set up our centerpieces due to our florist emergency and it does take time.  When discussing DIY centerpieces, she would bring in an assistant to help her (which would cost more money) because of finishing everything on time.Good luck on your decision!  p.s. Dianna also rents out items (i.e. LED votives, glass votives, lanterns, etc ... just ask her what she has) so you don't have to ship them over like I did (oye - should have asked first).

zoesha

Wai is awesome.  Couldn't have had a wedding as great as it turned out without her.  I didn't speak with KathE.  BUT, we did have another wedding planner prior to having Hawaii Weddings and Events help us with our outdoor wedding.  And, it was the best decision we made for our wedding..even though we lost out on the money we used to pay for the other coordinator.  Believe us, we interviewed a good amount and a range of coordinators.  Why did we not hire them from the start?...Well, let's just say that everyone promised us everything under the sun...but it came down to what services would be provided and at what costs, and personality.  Unfortunately, at that time, we thought we were managing quite well and all we needed was help on the day of so between HW&E and the "other", we went with the cheaper of the two.  (In fact there was another that quoted us at a very good price, but there was something that just didn't feel right---like asking for the full amount within a couple of days rather than a deposit when we were ready to make a decision.)We honestly think that she was worth a whole, whole lot more than what we paid.  You want someone who will stay in touch with you and give you feedback as to what can and cannot happen.  Wai has the know how and the knowledge and a personality to back it all up.  She did what was humanly possible and what fit into the budget.  And, she let us know what is within reason...for that was important to us.  We didn't just want someone agreeing to everything under the sun without giving us solid information on costs, weather, and just from her own personal experience and expertise.  Along the lines of planning the wedding, we realized that we really, really, needed someone to help with the details and nook and crannies of it all.  We were burning out with tedious questions from all the different vendors from watage and equipment support.  We didn't have the know how or the patience (esp. on our wedding day) to be worrying about such things...our objective on our wedding day was to just show up on time and refreshed.  It was just that on our wedding day.  Hands down to Wai!  Thank you Wai!

NaluJS

Thanks for the input ladies.  Although KathE was very sweet, I have decided to go with Dianna.  I love her follow-up, she seems extremely organized, and she has a great background.  Wow, we have our location and our coordinator now!!  Woohoo!!!  Now it's really starting to feel real!