PLEASE recommend your Oahu vendors!

MrsBlevs2010

Hello ladies, I am getting married at Lani, Phase II on June 4, 2010. We just booked the venue last week after visiting Lani on our trip to Oahu in early October. Essentially, I have 7 short months to plan a complete destination wedding for about 75-85 people. Yikes! The only vendors I have booked so far are a DOC (Dianna Shitanishi) and photographer (Shawn Starr) based on many of your reviews. I really need your help with other vendors since I have such a short time frame to plan my wedding. Can you please recommend your caterer, florist, DJ, officiant, cake baker, hair/makeup artist, videographer, rental company (for linens, tents, chairs, etc.), and restaurant for rehearsal/welcome lunch or dinner? And if you're comfortable, can you please also provide what your budget is for each of these vendors? I know I am asking for a lot but I REALLY need your help. Also, my DOC has recommended Elite Catering but it does not appear that many on the Board have used them. Does anyone have experience with Elite? Thanks in advance for your help!

destiny1108

ttnmono and sandiego21 used Elite plus a few others that I've seen but don't remember.  Our DJ was Music Express $775, Mary Catherine's for cake @ $300 (can't remember their new name), A'a party supplies for our rentals (our WC took care of this), Reverend Mak ($250/we were on Northshore), florist was Su-V Expressions

irishmilla02

Hey there...  here are some vendors I can recommend:-Hair and make up by Glenda.  She's not known on this board but she's a family friend that has done all of my sisters hair and make up for prom and did ALL of my BMs and my hair and make up for the wedding.  Her contact information is:  makeupbyglenda@yahoo.com and her website is makeupbyglenda.com  (but her website is kind of new so it doesn't reflect how great she is).  She's SUPER nice and listens to what you want. -CJ Sounds Hawaii (DJ):  super nice guy, worked very well with us planning from afar (my DH booked him and worked with him while he was deployed in Iraq).  I think he charged about $800 for 5 or 6 hours.  His email (Joe) is:  cjshonoluludj@gmail.com  He has a website but I can't find it right now for some reason.  I'd recommend my cake person but she's shutting down to take care of her elderly parents.  Too bad cause she's fabulous!!!! As for videographer... it depends on how high it is on your priorities.  For me it was really low on my priorities so I went with someone cheap that I found on craigslist.  He was nice but didn't talk much... definitely couldn't even tell he was there on the wedding day - which was perfect.  I haven't received my DVDs yet - should get them soon.  The quality is SUPER great but it works for what we wanted.  If you want his information, let me know.  :)Hope that helps!

camieacio

These are the vendors that I choose for my wedding. Rehearsal dinner- Buca My venue is taking care of the food and beverage. Cake- Cake works $500 Officiant- Mike Nelson $200 Video- Video 21 Range from $1500 and up Hair and Make up- Either Vicky Harrington or Flaunt $100 and up per person After I have a trial, I will decide. A couple of vendors, I have not booked yet and my wedding is in a month. I am very last minute.

ttnmomo

Caterer - Elite Catering. I booked them before booking Dianna, and she also highly recommended them.  They are on the pricier end - $48 per person including food, service and gratuity (no china and utensils), but service was great, food was awesome and so was the presentationFlorist - Watanabe. They weren't my first choice, but they delivered big time.  Good choice if you are on a budget for flowers.  My first choice was Su-V. My bill was around $1800 for (1) 8" bridal bouquet, (1) regular maile lei, (4) parents leis, (5) siblings leis, (10) 6" square center pieces, (6) asile sprays, (2) 3" cylinder arrangement, (1) 8" fishbowl arrangement + delivery and setup.Cake - Satura Cake. They don't get mentioned much on this board. My cake was AWESOME. Again on the pricier end - around $350 for 75 small slices including delivery.  I picked them because I used to go to their store at Ward Center all the time.Rental - Royal Party Rental (formerly A'A). I rented bamboo arch, tent, tables, chairs, all china, utensils and glassware from them.  Accel is equally good.  Both companies are extremely helpful and willing to work with you.  I went with Royal in the end because I wanted my tent to have linen top.  Toal was around $3K for 75 people.

iluvhawaii

I got married at Lani phase 2 also.  See my bio for the vendors I used and their reviews. We used Elite, and they were awesome!! We LOVED them.  Food was delicious, service was great, and and our guests are still taliking about how much they enjoyed the food.You can e-mail me if you have any specific questions at littleteaa@aol.com.

LilSwtAzyn

Florist- TGIS flowers... 1800 they work with you budget and created beautiful work.. look in my bio for pics!!! Caterer- when i was going to originally get married at lani we were going to hire kenekes... YUMMY YUMMY FOOD.. i know a couple of girls have used them and he's great and easy to work with and has experience at lani DJ-Lil DJ Ryan- only 550 for 5-11pm. Great to work with and got the job done. Hair and Make up- Use makeup by bev.. shes so nice and great to work with and everyone has only had great things to say.. i wanna say 100 per person but 120 for bride or so? DO NOT USE Make up by vicky (vicky nguyen).. she was terrible and regret using her Rentals-JMJ rentals.. sometimes hard to get a hold of but they come through wedding day and are cheap (10% discount if you mention the website).

caiandcullen

i'm using: yamas fish market for food ($13.45/head)florist we're going with watanbe floral (you can buy costco gift cards for watanabe -- $80 will buy you $100 worth of GC!)DJ we're using carlos felciano - i think it was $1k for set up at 3 break down at 10; plus he has a separate system for the ceremony and reception (so he won't be moving stuff after the ceremony, or there won't be an echo if it's only set up at the reception area)cake - cake works ($150 for a 2 tiered cake)h+m is christine gardner of flaunt (about $150 for me)and.... rental is JMJ (VERY reasonably priced - i think about $4k for 225 ppl?)email me if you'd like a more detailed rundown candc.oneill at yahoo dot com!

2OahuWeGo

Congratulations!I posted a review - just search my user name.Briefly:Flowers: SuVH&M: airbrush makeup with Dorys FoltinCaterer: Indigo - their wedding cake was yummyOfficiant:  Aunt Nettie - caretaker of Lani Video: Scott Williams - Big picture videoPhotog: Shawn (you'll love him - so sweet)DOC: Dianna (just ask her your questions) - should have asked more - I wasted a lot of time - she knows the industry, costs, and will keep your budget in mind.Rentals - Dianna will take care of it with Royal rentalsWelcome reception: Duke's Bar @ Waikiki - great drinks and food.Many work within certain budget and change the packages to fit your budget needs.  Just ask!Good luck!

MrsIH

I have reviews in my married bio I would highly recommend all of our vendors.

tmccabe13

Hi We are doing a vow renewal on the north shore next summer. Basically a second wedding for our friends and family. We looked into Elite catering and contacted them. They were very friendly and informative. I think we'll probably book them. They seem to be a bit costly on certain things but we are only expecting 30 or so guests. As far as DJ, NORTH SHORE RECORDS is the way to go. They are just starting up, but we loved their honesty and they seem to have a great sound. KMD CREATIONS is the way to go for photography! They took the most amazing shots (candid, photojournalistic, in the moment style) of our first wedding. I think its just kmdcreations.com but check them out as well. Have a blast! -T