Olowalu Help!

DazzlingDeb23 · September 2011

Hello Ladies!

So after falling in love with Olowalu I talked to a couple WC, all who told me that my dream of my wedding and reception at Olowalu was much more than my budget.. (I started off with $10,000 quickly realizing that was not much at all I decided to up it to $15,000) however, I am quickly seeing that Olowalu needs a budget closer to $20,000 to be realistic. In pricing out other venues (resorts, etc) I do not see anything I love and I cannot find anything in CA (where I live) that I would want to spend my money on as well.. So I am just wondering if there are any Olowalu brides out there, past or present, who can help me out! I know everything has to be brought in for this venue, so that is where it all adds up. Is $15,000 realistic for a 2013 wedding? Are there any other private venues in Maui (west side preferably) that I can look into?

Thanks in advance ladies!

motoLyn · September 2011

How many guests do you have? My budget is the same and I am getting married there next June. On that budget it can be done, you just have scale back on certain things. But like I said it depends on your guest count.

By the way welcome to the board, Hello from South Orange County.

DazzlingDeb23 · September 2011

I am planning on no more than 50 guests, looks like I will be right at 50 though.

SunshinyLees · September 2011

Our budget was 15K for Olowalu but that was for 30 people originally. We are realizing that we're going to have to spend around 20K now that were expecting close to 50 guests. I dont even think that were doing anything fancy and boy do the costs add up!!
I think if you want to do the wedding for 15 K it is totally possible but you will have to cut back here and there and have to decide what is really important to you. Some suggestions would be Instead of a dj do an ipod, skip the ceremony mucisian , cut back on flowers for your bridesmaids and table decor, limit the photography and cut back on the alcohol. But if you want those extras then plan on at least 18-20K.
Hope that helps.
Lees

tiggy5555 · September 2011

Maybe you can tell us what you want to have for your day and we can give u ideas on how to save or what we are paying for vendors. What are your must haves? Have u booked anything yet? Can you do a weekday wedding? Did you already hire a coordinator?? I'm trying to spend the least bit possible for my sept 2012 wedding but there are some expenses you can't avoid. Catering, rentals, lighting are budget eaters. Add photography and video and holy cow lol

I have about 30-40 and want the full day option, dinner, dancing, the whole package and I'm estimating a grand total of around $13000. This does not include dress, rings, mens attire, gifts, invites, travel expenses,honeymoon, or rehearsal dinner. I'm doing a lot of DIY projects/decor

DazzlingDeb23 · September 2011

Thanks for the feedback so far ladies!

I have not booked anything yet. I would like a coordinator, but have recently also been thinking of maybe just doing a day of coordinator. I am not very picky about the date either, I may switch to a weekday to save $500. I would like to do both reception and ceremony at Olowalu, IMHO it seems a waste to only do the ceremony there. I really do love the arch to get married under and the flowers for the aisle. I have heard many brides just buy the flowers themselves for the aisle, which may be an option.

For my boquet, I really have fell in love with the cymbidium orchids, and that is one of my must haves. However, since I will have around 4-5 BM I am thinking that I can choose a different, less expensive type of flower for their boquets, and maybe have them just put their boquets in vases on the tables for the reception?

I am not very big on food, and I am willing to cut back when possible in that area as well. I have heard that Aloha Mixed Plate does catering, and I have been there with my family a few times and we have all LOVED their food, so I am looking into that as an option.

Obviously I am willing to spend more on a photographer, and as much as I want a videographer I may or may not end up with one.

I also really would like to have a DJ, but I have not completely thrown out the idea of an ipod either.

Also, in this budget I am NOT including my dress, the rings, accomodations before the wedding, or honeymoon.

[Deleted User] · September 2011

Hi! Things add up so quickly I couldn't really believe it. I think a wedding coordinator is a good idea. It helped me to not look and fall in love with vendors that were totally not in the budget. But there are lots of knotties that did it on their own and did beautiful jobs!

It's great that you already know somewhat what you're willing to give up. A weekday would be a great option since people will likely take a few days off anyway for Hawaii.

Hope these prices help for flowers - My cymbidium and roses bouquet is $200 but many ladies found great deals for $150. The BM bouquets were $75. GM boutonierres $15 and FI bout is $18.50. Using bouquets for flowers is a little bit hard because they could wilt when the girls take pictures and the tables will be empty while you all are taking pictures. BUT a few knotties have done this and nobody really noticed or cared. Centerpieces can be very expensive so try and think creatively - lanterns and seashells.

iallrd8itWed196457 · September 2011

Not sure if this will help you but we had an amazing wedding for about 28 people at Olowalu for under $20,000, that said we did splurge on some things we could have easily cut back on but here is the main price breakdown.....

Wedding package (WC, pastor etc) $950

Olowalu weekday under 50 ppl $ 2872

Rental for tables and chairs etc $ 851 (this is for upgraded stuff)

Lighting $1000 (this was for the super lighting though you could probably scale it back)

Mic for ceremony $500 (it can get pretty windy so you'd probably want this)

Flowers $519 (this included 3 bouquets, flowers for the aisle, leis etc)

Bamboo wedding arch $300

bartender set up and glassware $660 (you bring your own booze)

catering service $900

Food $1800

Catering service fee $ 360

2 tier wedding cake $373 (if you get a flat cake it will taste the same and be way cheaper which is what we almost did)

Other stuff to factor in......

24 passenger mini bus to bring guests to and from hotel area $ 757.50 (kinda pricey but super handy)

Hair and Makeup

Photographer

we used an ipod on the speaker system as our DJ

Sorry that was super long

tiggy5555 · September 2011

I think you are on the right track. I love arches too but I know it's a perk if I can squeeze it in. For photography think about a 3-4 hr package and create a day-of timeline to include all the important events during that time. Also maybe skip the prints and request a cd with rights so you can make your own album. You can get freeze dried petals online ahead of time. This allows you to control the color combos better. Im doing my own centerpieces to save money. Keep it simple. Have your DJ provide all your ceremony music instead of hiring a musician. I hired my coordinator just for the ceremony and it included a minister. My caterer will clean up at the end of the night. If you end your day at 7:30pm you can save 25% off the $2500 weekday special. You can save even more by ending your night before it gets completely dark so no lighting is needed. These are some of the ways you can cut costs but you have to find what works for you and your FI. Keep in mind that memories will fade but the things that lasts are photos, video, guestbook entries/advice. Hope this helps!!

dianalynm · September 2011

Going with Aloha Mixed Plate for catering will save you a TON! My FI and I love AMP so we decided to go with them. We also love the food, so it was a no-brainer for us. Only thing is they are not responsive, so my WC is taking care of that. You can contact Donna at Olowalu to find out which coordinators will do day-of only. Not all do... In lieu of BM bouquets, you could have them do parasols instead? I think someone on the boards has done that. We are having close to 125 guests for under $25,000 so it is doable! I also agree with what has been mentioned in this discussion. Good luck!

DazzlingDeb23 · September 2011

Thanks for all the feedback!

dianalynm- just sent you a PM!

melmac26 · September 2011

I don't know if anyone mentioned, but the girls could do leis instead of bouquets & then do centerpieces that don't involve flowers to save money.

AKWinterBride · September 2011

You can do a wedding for the people/money you have. We got married at Olowalu in July, we had 49 people and paid about $20K, but we had a tent and the fancy arch and all of that. If you cut back on florals and decor you cand definitely do it. Olowalu speaks for itself, you don't need much decoration to make it fabulous!

kaesha · September 2011

We had 31 people at Olowalu and the reception cost us about 14k.

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