Hi All,
I was married in Maui this year and just wanted to share my experiences with vendors for anyone planning a wedding there. The day of my wedding was amazing. I really had a great day and didn't let anthing bug me. That being said, I have taken some time to digest everything and now have a clear mind to review vendors. I am also in the wedding industry myself and have seen from 'the other side' how things can be run.
Coordinator: White Orchid Weddings
I hired them for a full coordination package. WOW charges based on a percentage of what you spend with vendors. So if you have a $10,000 rather than a $200,000 wedding, their fee is going to be significantly lower. And from my experience, they aren't going to put as much effort into your wedding. I had to switch to a different coordinator within WOW about 2/3 through my engagement because emails would go unanswered for weeks and scheduled phone meetings (I was a destination bride) would be 'forgotten'. From the beginning, I told them I wanted to be very involved in the process. But I was told what vendors I would use - this person for flowers, this place for food, etc. (These places below are noted with WOW in parenthesis) They ignored any requests I had to use other vendors I found through doing research. I was never given a timeline for the day of. My ceremony started 30 to 45 mins late and it was not because I wasn't ready. I was there, just no one was keeping track of time. Looking back, I was just VERY underinformed of how things were going to work which resulted in a couple things I would have done differently.
Venue: Haiku Sugar Mill Ruins (my pick)
Gorgeous venue, I can't say enough how beautiful and special this place is and how thankful I am we got married there. The owner (or whomever it is that is onsite for events) was rediculous. She can be seen, in a tank top and khaki skirt, mingling amongst my guests in our wedding video. At the end of the night, my husband and I are tucked into our limo, ready to go, and she opens the car door, pokes her head in and says "wait, I just want to check the bridal area". So we had to sit for 15 mins, waiting for her to make sure nothing was broken... she was so unprofessional and tactless.
Flowers: Teresa Sena (WOW)
I gave Teresa so much info on what I wanted for flowers. It was a battle but I managed to get her to include certain blooms I was after. She did include a flower I stated over and over I didn't want, but in the end, she did a nice job.
Photography: Anthony Martinez (my pick, I was given a choice of 4)
Pleasure to work with. Did a custom package for us based on what we wanted (i.e. not album, CD of images, etc.) Took a while to get the pics but to be fair, he did tell us at the wedding it would be 90 days.
Catering: Cafe O'Lei (WOW)
SO good. Excellent food and service.
Cake: Cakes by Joanne (WOW)
Never returned my emails or phone calls so I had to find another vendor on my own so...
Maui Wedding Cakes (my pick)
Quick to respond to my emails and open to my design ideas. Absolutely delicious cake, the execution of the 'design' (evenly spaced dots) left something to be desired.
Officiant: Rev. Keli'i (WOW)
Loved him! We wrote our whole ceremony ourselves and he was fine to read it and just asked to get a copy a few days before to familiarize himself with it. Which was so nice that he cared enough to do that. He also asked us about the feel and colors for our wedding so he would be dressed appropriately. He was personable and professional and really made our ceremony feel perfectly us.
Alcohol: Stacy at Bars Are Us (WOW)
Stacy was fantastic. (and apparently a jack of all trades as I have a pic of her putting the boutounniere on my husband!) The bar looked lovely and our mixed drinks were SO good. Her staff was great too, they went the extra mile and learned my signature drinks and their silly names.
Hair and Makeup: Marci at Maui Beautiful Brides (WOW)
Marci did a great job on both hair and makeup. I did do a hair trial with her earlier in the week and am so glad I did. She did a style and while I didn't 100% love it, we talked about what to change and on the day of the wedding she got it perfect. Makeup was beautiful too, very light and natural but I got a lot of compliments on it.
Transportation: no idea (WOW)
WOW organized this and never told me the company but the limo drivers were lovely and my guests had a great time on the bus. (Read: the bus driver was nice enough to let them continue havig fun on the bus after the wedding)
Rentals: no idea (WOW)
Another thing that WOW just coordinated on it's own. I don't know who provided them but I was given a choice as to what type of chair (garden or chaivari), what color linen and what shape plate (square or round). But the tent, tables, glassware, flatware were all just done.
Ceremony Music: (WOW)
WOW just organized a classic guitarist and violinist for our preocessional and recessional. Wish I could tell you who they were because they were great. They were happy to play the few songs we asked for.
Cocktail and reception music we did an ipod which worked for us as my maid of honor put together a great playlist. WOW organized a sound system.
Other places I used in Maui that I recommend
Ali'i Dry Cleaners in Lahaina to press my dress
Soleil Luna Spa for manicures and pedicures
Westin Maui in Ka'anapali
Marriott in Wailea
Hotel Hana