Wedding coordinators sign before meeting them??

bubsie77

Hi All, 

It's the first time I'm posting but I've been reading and have gained a lot of useful insights from all of you!

I hope you can all help me as I'm in a little bit of a pickle....

I'm planning a wedding next year in Oahu or Maui and currently looking for a wedding coordinator. I'm planning a trip to Oahu/Maui next month in May for 2 weeks to meet the coordinators and see some venues. I hoped (maybe to my naivite) that I could meet the coordinators the first week, and see the venues the 2nd week. Apparently they won't be able to send me a sample wedding venue list (with names omitted) or show me anything until I sign a contract with them. 

That I understand, however am I being silly to sign a contract before I meet them? 

I live in Europe so I was hoping to have the two things done in one go....

littlechilds

You will be a head of many of us.  For us, we will see our WC for the first time 3 days before the big day!

motoLyn

Same goes for me, I signed with the WC that I felt most comfortable with when I talked to them over the phone.  I clicked with two coordinators, and I just went with the one that I liked best.  Both came with great reviews.  I won't see my WC till the Monday before my wedding on Thursday.  But we email and talk on the phone often.

dianalynm

I say meet with them first before signing. I wish I had this luxury because then I wouldn't have hired the planner recently fired on Maui (I have many posts about her, just search this board for my username). I would want to know what their personality is like in advance and how well we would be able to work with each other. Just like motolyn said about being able to click with your coordinator. Make sure they understand your vision and that they will do what they can to make you have the wedding of your dreams, not theirs! My previous coordinator tried to push onto us a cookie-cutter wedding with decor that was typical of weddings, but I wanted things my way and it  was difficult for her to see that. With our new coordinator, she made it happen and didn't give me a hard time about it.

If you want to see venues as well, I suggest trying to meet with them at a venue you are interested in. That way, you hit 2 birds with one stone! For instance, we are getting married at Olowalu on Maui and we met with our coordinator there. We met early at 8:30am since clients have the venue starting at 10am. She was able to give us the lay of the land, how our setup would be, how the day would go, etc...

Good luck and happy planning!

SunshinyLees

We debated between Oahu and Maui and in the end decided on Olowalu Plantation house in Maui.  I dont think its absolutely necessary to meet the coordinator before you sign the contract but I would recommend taking alot of time to think about your decision before you sign anything, as other girls have had issues with their coordinators. I must have called 10 wedding planners, and out of the 10 I seriously interviewed three on Oahu and 2 on Maui.  In the end and alot of debating back and forth , I went with my gut and chose Cherise with the Perfect Wedding on Maui and she turned out to be fabulous. I probably talked to her 5 times and emailed with her another 5 before we signed the contract though. 
Good luck with the planning!
Lees

flash8785

Try working with Kara with:

http://youralohawedding.com/


I went back and fourth with her MANY times before she asked for a payment or signature.  She listed full budgets and sent photos before that point.  I really started to trust her honesty.

dianalynm

I have to agree with SunshinyLees...

I had issues with my ex-planner, Gabrielle of Blue Sky Weddings (please avoid for your own sanity) and ended up hiring Cherise as well. She is great! Organized, calm, knows her stuff...love her! She is really on top of it and is very responsive...

I second the recommendation for Cherise!

bubsie77

Thank you so much for all your help! This gives me a lot of relief. I will definately check out your suggestions!

bubsie77

one thing I forgot to ask - is it possible to see some venues that I like in Oahu/Maui by making a private appointment directly with the venue without the wedding coordinator there?
I don't really want to feel pressurised to sign the contract with a coordinator just to see the venues when I get there in May. But it will make me feel a bit wiser if I start to see some of the venues I have been researching on the internet in real life.
Is that an okay thing to do?

dianalynm

I believe you can, just go ahead and contact the venues you are interested in and see if you can check it out by yourself...

Doesn't hurt to ask.

denisefleming

Congratulations on your upcoming wedding!  I'm getting married on Oahu in 29 days (yikes) and absolutely met with my coordinator before signing anything.  (I do have the advantage of being a local resident.)  It is imperitive that you have someone with whom you "click" - this is one of the biggest days of your life and you are trusting her to make it happen as it is in YOUR dreams.  I am using Charmaine at Genesis Events & Weddings.  Hers is a new company, but her hubby is a wedding photog and she spent many years also working at one of the large Catholic churches, so this is not really anything new for her.  She has been great to work with, understanding of our family quirks, and super organized.  (I'm the assistant to a VP, so when someone impresses me, they are really on top of things!)

You can also absolutely arrange to look at venues on your own.  Most of them are used to dealing with local brides and their families directly.  Just be sure to call and make the appointment in advance.  I'm getting married at Kualoa Ranch on the windward side of Oahu.  Check them out -- super to work with, relatively inexpensive (they allowed me to use an outside caterer that I wanted) and several gorgeous locations - most of which also have a pavillion for your reception.

Good luck!

destiny1108

We signed before meeting our WC during a pre-planning visit.    Our WC was able to schedule site visits within a few days (when we had been trying for weeks iwth some venues) and also scheduled appointments with vendors while we were there.     I'm so glad that we had her schedule our appointments, we did not realize how much time could have been lost traveling from one locaiton to another, so she really maximized our time.  If you're on Oahu, you can try Hawaii Weddings and Events, she has countless positive reviews.

hawaiiwife02

Look at Maui WC websites, then contact the coordinators you are most comfortable with via phone or e-mail. That way you have an idea of who to meet when you make the trip to Maui. We could not make it work with Cherise dates-wise, but Kara at Your Aloha Wedding has been great to work with. Her whole team has been professional.

reneeohau

I agree with most of the previous post.  Just make sure you click with the coordinator. This is your special day and do not let any coordinator push their vision on to you.  I have an amazing coordinator. She just opened her business three months ago but was previously doing this in California before Hawaii. She is more reasonably priced since she is a new business. I love her and it was a risk going with her being new, but I feel when you are a newbie you are more passionate about your work and proving yourself. She mostly deals with high end estates btu she has a good relationship with these vendors and definitely gets a wholesale price for her clients.  I am getting married at Oasis Ocean Front which is Liz Tarylo's old home and now owned by Kathy Ireland (the model).  It is so lovely!  I am a local girl so my planner organized a venue tour package for me where I picked three venues and visited all of them to see what I liked the most. I love Oasis....

But when I found Yanicke (my planner) it seemed pretty easyt because she has all her vendors listed on her site with complete bios and pics, so I had a sense of what I already liked. She spoke with me the first time for an half hour, then we did a 2 hr consultation which is normally a 500.00 fee but if you decide to go with her she deducts that 500 from her full coordination fee, but if you decide to not go with her then you pay the 500.00 and that's it.  After we met and had our cunsultation then i signed the contract, after I decided to go with her.  If you are a destination pride you can do he consultation via skype:)

After I decided on going with her she did everthing and sent me unlimited emails daily and took me on tours... Tours are an extra charge but wirth every penny. Check out her site and you can see all the venues and other vendors work... You can even hear the music from all the musicians she partners with. She is amazing! Love her.... www.zenjuweddings.com
I live here so if you have any more questions pls let me know...

Mahalo!