Hale' O' Kaa' O' Manu' Estate ( the Bird Of Paradise ) - Long

sandyhorne

Has anyone used this location?  It looks beautiful but I forsee a lot of issues.You all know I had my little meltdown the other day but ......wait, let me review lol.So I had the meltdown and FI and I talked and we agreed we just needed to stick with the original plan at the Hilton Hawaiian Village and still see if we can get a few things on trade (ie photographer, entertainment).  Decision made!  Thursday night FI starts calling about the photographer, Tony Grillo (has anyone used him because the name sounds familiar).  His work looks incredible and totally our speed.  Then FI calls about entertainment and gets offered the Estate.  We both thought it was odd that he was simply calling about entertainment and next thing you know he's getting offered this estate.  The universe works in mysterious ways.  It's just starting to feel like something is trying to get us in a different direction.  We're not even close to convinced on this estate.  We stayed up pretty late last night discussing all of this.  I said we're resort people and I think we need to stick with the original plan.  If we do a private estate or something I'll be a stressed out mess the whole time - even if we got a DOC - worrying about everything because I'm also a control freak.  FI says - he could be an estate person if it was the right estate.  Any advice?  I don't know what I would do without you ladies, right now!!!

carrieoz_76

A few questions: - Who's offering you the estate - the owner? - What does it mean that it's being done "in trade"? Are there contracts involved? If there aren't contracts, I'd worry that other things you can find someone else at the last minute to fill in, but if your venue goes at the last minute you could have major problems. Otherwise, you should really figure out the cost associated with renting tables, linens, chairs, and bringing in caterers. Unless the estate offers those already, which is unlikely, those are your attendant costs and you can't make this decision without knowing them. We found them to be prohibitively high for our budget to allow an estate wedding - but it's your call. Next, do you have pictures of the estate? Can you compare the pictures to those at the Hilton? I'd want to know what the ceremony and reception locations would look like, and decide which is more for me and FI. Lastly, all things being equal, it may come down to convenience. Is there room for parking for your guests? Does the estate have enough bathrooms? Or, is it the estate more cozy feeling to you than the Hilton - more able to be personalized? Those are personal calls that you'll have to make. Good luck!