Hawaii

Beware Lauren King Love & Light Ceremonies

Imagine spending 10 months and tens of thousands of dollars to plan your dream wedding in Hawaii, only to have the officiant forget to show up. For anyone planning on using Lauren King as their officiant, please don’t.

 

We began planning a February wedding last April and chose Lauren from three officiants recommended to us by the Hanalei Colony Resort – the beautiful north shore resort we selected as our wedding venue. My fiancé and I spoke with Lauren on the phone early on in the planning process and confirmed her for a February 9 wedding. After trading several e-mails with Lauren over the course of the winter we finally decided on the style of the ceremony, the script and the vows. Then, several weeks before the wedding, we spoke with Lauren on the phone one more time to reconfirm all the details. We invited her to our rehearsal, which was scheduled for the day before our wedding, but she declined. We thought nothing of it at the time and assumed that we would touch base with her when she arrived before the ceremony to go over any last minute details.

 

We flew to Kauai five days before our wedding and 40 of our closest friends and family made the trip from all over the mainland to attend our special day. We had a 4:30pm wedding and every detail was planned out meticulously by my fiancé and me. Ninety minutes before our ceremony was to start, I began getting a little nervous that Lauren had not yet arrived. It was unusual to me that she wasn’t there to touch base with the bride, groom and the Hanalei Colony Resort’s wedding coordinator in person so soon before the ceremony. If fact, we were assured by our on-site wedding coordinator that she had spoken to Lauren on the phone a couple of days prior to again reconfirm everything.

 

Assuming it was a part of the laid back Hawaii lifestyle, we thought nothing of it and proceeded as planned, starting the prelude music 30 minutes before the ceremony. At 4:20, with 40 guests seated, prelude music playing, our photographer in position, our families and wedding party lined up for the processional and the bride and groom ten minutes away from the most memorable and special moment of our lives, the wedding coordinator found me and said “I am so sorry, I have the most terrible news. Lauren FORGOT about your wedding”. And there was no way she could be at the resort on the north shore anytime soon.

 

Imagine the embarrassment at having to tell your guests who had traveled so far and spent so much to be a part of this experience, that there might not be a wedding after all.

 

Our wedding coordinator scrambled to find a back up officiant to step in, but they wouldn’t have any idea of the script, the vows, the flow of the ceremony, or any of the details we had been communicating with Lauren for nearly a year.  While we waited and waited for a new officiant to arrive, we decided we couldn’t trust for that to happen, so when one of our guests offered to perform the ceremony, we proceeded. (There is also a curfew on the island, so the more the ceremony got pushed back, the shorter and shorter our reception got since it had to be over by 9:30pm).

 

We ended up having the most beautiful ceremony and it was special and memorable because one of our closest friends acted as the officiant, and that is what we will always remember. But of course it wasn’t legal, so now, after our wedding we have to go and get married.

 

And what’s even worse, is that we never heard from Lauren King. Not a single phone call or e-mail with an apology. After displaying incompetence of epic proportions, Lauren never had the common courtesy to call us to explain the situation, offer to perform the ceremony later, or simply say I’m sorry.  There is no other way to explain it. Seriously, how does a wedding officiant, who helped you plan the ceremony, just forget to show up?

 

Please don’t make the same mistake we did. If you’re researching and looking for an officiant to perform your wedding in Kauai, there are a ton of others to choose from. Just don’t choose Lauren King. In fact, our wedding coordinator at the Hanalei Colony Resort already told us that they would never use her again, so that should tell you something.

Re: Beware Lauren King Love & Light Ceremonies

  • i am so sorry to hear that. terrible.
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  • That's horrible! I'm so sorry you had to deal with that :-/ Thank you for sharing this, though, because my FI and I are getting married on the North Shore Kauai in May as well. Now I'll know not to consider her... I hope the rest of your day and time there went off without a hitch!
    Wedding Countdown Ticker
  • That's so sad : buuuuut don't let her incompetence reflect on the rest of us locals...regusrdleds where you're from showing up on time to professional events is exppevted. Im also a little curious about the curfew.
  • edited February 2013
    Wow.  That's absolutely unacceptable -- including the lack of an apology or follow-up.  Be sure to share this across various review sites so brides can be warned.  I'm glad it turned out beautifully despite it all.
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  • I am SO SORRY to hear that.  To be completely honest, I would consider a lawsuit.  If you had a contract in place, that is ABSOLUTELY something worthy of pain and suffering.  What a nightmare.  I know we live in a "let's just sue them" world, which I hate, but I think that this would be a very appropriate time so that other brides don't deal with the same issue in the future.  I used Kelvin Ho for my Kauai wedding and he was wonderful.  If any other brides on Kauai need to switch away from Lauren, he may be a good choice.
  • In Response to <a href="http://forums.theknot.com/Sites/theknot/Pages/Main.aspx/local-wedding-boards_hawaii_beware-lauren-king-love-light-ceremonies?plckFindPostKey=Cat:Local%20Wedding%20BoardsForum:73Discussion:dab02eb1-57f7-44fa-acea-c6d99e415c5ePost:49486f32-9fbd-48e5-a1c0-1d673e46d750">Re: Beware Lauren King Love & Light Ceremonies</a>:
    [QUOTE]I am SO SORRY to hear that.  To be completely honest, I would consider a lawsuit.  If you had a contract in place, that is ABSOLUTELY something worthy of pain and suffering.  What a nightmare.  I know we live in a "let's just sue them" world, which I hate, but I think that this would be a very appropriate time so that other brides don't deal with the same issue in the future.  I used Kelvin Ho for my Kauai wedding and he was wonderful.  If any other brides on Kauai need to switch away from Lauren, he may be a good choice.
    Posted by flash8785[/QUOTE]

    <div>Seems like everyone uses Kelvin! He was going to be our next choice if our friend was unable to make it.</div><div>
    </div><div>OP -- So sorry to hear about this, I saw your post on BDW as well and was so horrified for you. I can't believe there wasn't even an apology or acknowledgement of wrongdoing.</div>
  • In Response to <a href="http://forums.theknot.com/Sites/theknot/Pages/Main.aspx/local-wedding-boards_hawaii_beware-lauren-king-love-light-ceremonies?plckFindPostKey=Cat:Local%20Wedding%20BoardsForum:73Discussion:dab02eb1-57f7-44fa-acea-c6d99e415c5ePost:3265032b-b03a-4ba2-b21e-7b73976265ab">Re: Beware Lauren King Love & Light Ceremonies</a>:
    [QUOTE]That's horrible! I'm so sorry you had to deal with that :-/ Thank you for sharing this, though, because my FI and I are getting married on the North Shore Kauai in May as well. Now I'll know not to consider her... I hope the rest of your day and time there went off without a hitch!
    Posted by KateH2013[/QUOTE]

    <div>Kate,</div><div>If you're looking for a good officiant, check out Niles Kageyama. After our ordeal, we had to find another officiant to legally marry us, and found him. He was fantastic - funny, charming, honest, nice, and best of all, not forgetful! I would recommend him to anyone. There are some beautiful places on the North Shore to get married, so be sure to do a lot of research :)</div><div>
    </div><div>P.S. Beyond that one hiccup, the ceremony, honeymoon and overall experience was positive, memorable and beautiful! <font face="arial, sans-serif" size="2" color="#000000"><span style="line-height:16px;"><strong> </strong></span></font></div>
  • In Response to <a href="http://forums.theknot.com/Sites/theknot/Pages/Main.aspx/local-wedding-boards_hawaii_beware-lauren-king-love-light-ceremonies?plckFindPostKey=Cat:Local%20Wedding%20BoardsForum:73Discussion:dab02eb1-57f7-44fa-acea-c6d99e415c5ePost:6ced4296-8420-4b5b-872b-617ea49cbd7e">Re:Beware Lauren King Love amp; Light Ceremonies</a>:
    [QUOTE]That's so sad : buuuuut don't let her incompetence reflect on the rest of us locals...regusrdleds where you're from showing up on time to professional events is exppevted. Im also a little curious about the curfew.
    Posted by ridedatbike[/QUOTE]

    <div>Don't worry, we won't! Everyone else we dealt with in Kauai was incredible and helped make our wedding spectacular! Throughout the planning process, we were constantly reminded of a curfew, so we had to stop playing music and basically having a party by 9:00pm as described by our wedding coordinator at the resort we were married. Because Lauren didn't show and everything got pushed back, we were left with a reception that was about 30-45 minutes than originally planned. </div>
  • In Response to <a href="http://forums.theknot.com/Sites/theknot/Pages/Main.aspx/local-wedding-boards_hawaii_beware-lauren-king-love-light-ceremonies?plckFindPostKey=Cat:Local%20Wedding%20BoardsForum:73Discussion:dab02eb1-57f7-44fa-acea-c6d99e415c5ePost:692647c6-ec98-4197-8be1-3e8efba09416">Re: Beware Lauren King Love & Light Ceremonies</a>:
    [QUOTE]Wow.  That's absolutely unacceptable -- including the lack of an apology or follow-up.  Be sure to share this across various review sites so brides can be warned.  I'm glad it turned out beautifully despite it all.
    Posted by Tanq&Tonic[/QUOTE]

    <div>I am doing just that. I typically won't go out of my way to give anyone or anything a bad review, but considering how much time and money my fiancee and I spent planning this, I feel an obligation to prevent this from happening to anyone else. It's been nearly three weeks and not a peep from Lauren, so that should tell you even more about her. </div>
  • In Response to <a href="http://forums.theknot.com/Sites/theknot/Pages/Main.aspx/local-wedding-boards_hawaii_beware-lauren-king-love-light-ceremonies?plckFindPostKey=Cat:Local%20Wedding%20BoardsForum:73Discussion:dab02eb1-57f7-44fa-acea-c6d99e415c5ePost:49486f32-9fbd-48e5-a1c0-1d673e46d750">Re: Beware Lauren King Love & Light Ceremonies</a>:
    [QUOTE]I am SO SORRY to hear that.  To be completely honest, I would consider a lawsuit.  If you had a contract in place, that is ABSOLUTELY something worthy of pain and suffering.  What a nightmare.  I know we live in a "let's just sue them" world, which I hate, but I think that this would be a very appropriate time so that other brides don't deal with the same issue in the future.  I used Kelvin Ho for my Kauai wedding and he was wonderful.  If any other brides on Kauai need to switch away from Lauren, he may be a good choice.
    Posted by flash8785[/QUOTE]

    <div>I definitely thought about that. Our contract was with the resort where we held the wedding, which was responsible for supplying the officiant. The resort eventually found a substitute to step in (although by that time we had decided to let one of our guests do the ceremony), so they claimed they weren't ultimately responsible. They did nothing to compensate us for the trouble and were pretty defiant about accepting any responsibility. We even had to fork out an additionally $200 to legally get married by another officiant later in the week. I was really surprised by the resort's refusal to compensate us in any way - not necessarily because of a legal obligation, but just from a customer service and business standpoint. </div>
  • I see ya I was thinking like everyone had bro be indoors or something. Noise curphew on oahus usually 10 idk im used to it lol its all I've ever known.
  • I must speak up on behalf of Lauren King.  She was my officiant back in October and I find it extremely hard to believe that she just FORGOT to show up.  My experience with her was AMAZING and I would recommend her to anyone going to Kauai to get married.  She has the most beautiful spirit about her.  She helped me find someone to do my hair and makeup and anything else I needed.  I flew in from Michigan the night before my wedding and everything was perfect the day of the wedding.  I am sorry you went through this for your wedding day, but I truly believe there must be a little more to this story.  I could never imagine anything like this happening and it being Lauren's fault.  
    Lauren was quick to respond to all my emails and phone calls during my wedding planning process.  She helped me plan it all with ease and all I had to do was show up.  Lauren is a beautiful woman inside and out and has a true passion for what she does as a wedding officiant!  If you are getting married on Kauai, I recommend speaking to Lauren before you make a decision based on this one experience.  
  • In Response to <a href="http://forums.theknot.com/Sites/theknot/Pages/Main.aspx/local-wedding-boards_hawaii_beware-lauren-king-love-light-ceremonies?plckFindPostKey=Cat:Local%20Wedding%20BoardsForum:73Discussion:dab02eb1-57f7-44fa-acea-c6d99e415c5ePost:1e23546f-337e-4cd2-8c82-3e311499cf6e">Re: Beware Lauren King Love & Light Ceremonies</a>:
    [QUOTE]I must speak up on behalf of Lauren King.  She was my officiant back in October and I find it extremely hard to believe that she just FORGOT to show up.  My experience with her was AMAZING and I would recommend her to anyone going to Kauai to get married.  She has the most beautiful spirit about her.  She helped me find someone to do my hair and makeup and anything else I needed.  I flew in from Michigan the night before my wedding and everything was perfect the day of the wedding.  I am sorry you went through this for your wedding day, but I truly believe there must be a little more to this story.  I could never imagine anything like this happening and it being Lauren's fault.   Lauren was quick to respond to all my emails and phone calls during my wedding planning process.  She helped me plan it all with ease and all I had to do was show up.  Lauren is a beautiful woman inside and out and has a true passion for what she does as a wedding officiant!  If you are getting married on Kauai, I recommend speaking to Lauren before you make a decision based on this one experience.  
    Posted by 406361875009174[/QUOTE]<div>
    </div><div>I am really glad you had a positive experience. That said, I will also say that Lauren was very responsive to all of our calls and e-mails throughout the planning process and also was helpful at planning the script and vows, etc... I don't know her enough by any stretch of the imagination to comment on her character, spirit, personality or any of those kinds of things. What I can say is that she forgot to show up. Ten minutes before our ceremony was to begin, our wedding planner literally ran up to me and told me she just got off the phone with Lauren and that she said she completely forgot. Her words, not mine. That isn't up for debate here. </div><div>
    </div><div>I apprecaite you sticking up for her, and I would probably do the same if someone I had a good experience with received a similarly bad review. I don't doubt that others had a great experience, however all I can speak to is the experience we had with Lauren, which was terrible. </div><div>
    </div><div>

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