Aloha!! There is SO much to share, I'm going to start at the beginning. I'll bold important parts along the way so if you don't want to read it all, feel free to skip around to parts relevant to you!
Here goes nothing!
We arrived on Maui on Saturday, 10-8. We really wanted to rent a Jeep, so we booked it through Maui Jeep Rentals. They don't actually rent the cars themselves, but rather, they find one for you at a car rental place and hold it for you. We got our four door, soft top Jeep Wrangler from Thrifty. It was awesome getting the exact car we wanted while listening to people trying to beg for the last jeep available (not including ours).
Then we hit the road! First stop was on South Kihei Road to Vanessa Thompson of Silver Stitch (A+++). She pressed and steamed my dress, Steve's outfit, another pair of his pants, and a little white dress that I brought. If you remember, I put everything including my wedding dress in a vacuum seal bag. It was a wrinkled disaster when it got to her and it was 100% perfect and beautiful on the wedding day. This is an AWESOME way to travel with your dress without the hassle of bringing a garment bag with you on the flight and the risk of not being able to fit it in a closet. It was worry free and spectacular. DO THIS!!! I'm not kidding. It was PERFECT. I also could not speak more highly of Vanessa, she's awesome. She gave me a hug every time she saw me and was awesome to talk to on the phone. She's just so sweet and upbeat... an awesome person to be around! Thanks to fabutan for the recommendation!
Then we headed down S. Kihei Road to Makena and checked in at the
Makena Beach and Golf Resort (A+). This is such a beautiful resort and we were SO happy to start our trip off there. The grounds are really lovely and the service is really top notch. We ate breakfast and dinner there several times during our stay and the meals were always delicious. There's no need to travel outside of the hotel to eat when the food is that good! If you can book a room with free breakfast, do it! The buffet was fabulous. When we came back to Makena later in the week for snorkeling we went back to the Makena Beach and Golf Resort's breakfast buffet before heading out
Then it was off to Te Au Moana, the luau at the Wailea Marriott (A). This was wonderful too! What a great way to get everyone together and kick off the trip! We got beautiful purple orchid leis and hair flowers, had some group photos taken by the water, and got to eat yummy food while watching a beautiful luau. The fire dancer at the end was freaking intense. After burning my leg though, I was TERRIFIED for him. I might have whimpered out loud a few times. Burns suck!
The next day we just explored Kihei and checked out our wedding spot at Po'olenalena beach. We went to lunch with Steve's dad at Cafe O' Lei (A) in Kihei and it was delicious! That was definitely the start of a chain of many good meals. It was also the cheapest of the trip. 3 people for $26.00 before tip! Around 4:00 I met Reiko (A++) for my hair trial. I don't know any more info on her, since she was booked through my coordinator, but she was awesome! I told her I wanted a side bun type thing, with a braid incorporated somehow. 20 minutes later I had an awesome hair style!
She then reworked it into something entirely different for dinner
That evening we went to dinner with my parents, Steve's mom and step dad at our hotel. Again, delicious!
Then it was the wedding day! We went to get our marriage license that morning and then picked up the dress from Vanessa. Again, I can't stress how awesome this lady is. Steve and I parted ways and I met the mom for pre-wedding pedis. We went to Maui Nail Bar (A) in Kihei for our pedis. They were really good! They also did cute hibiscus flowers on each of our big toes, which is infinitely more awesome than the generic flowers that every nail place does. (sorry no pics, but the pro photographer did take one of all of us and our toes) Then we got some ice cream next door. I can't remember what the place was called but I got caramel coconut macadamia nut ice cream and OMG it was delicious. Yes, that was my lunch that day.
Then we went back to the hotel and met Reiko again for my hair and makeup and she brought a girl with her (didn't catch her name) to do my mom's hair. My momma looked adorable! I don't have any pictures of her yet, but once I get the pro pics I can show how cute her hair was! My makeup was awesome too! The eyeliner was a little thicker than I would have applied on my own, but it photographed well and I felt really pretty! I also got really pretty fresh flowers in my hair. I ended up deciding against the veil last minute, as I figured I would.
We then met downstairs in the atrium of the Makena Beach and Golf Resort for our first look. I'm SO glad we did this. It was so sweet having that moment and the photos I'm sure will be great. He was so freaking cute when he saw me
We then did family pics at the atrium which is freaking beautiful. I paid $250 for us to get use of it which may seem ridiculous to you but was totally worth it to me. It was really nice getting another varied bg for shots other than just the beach and it gave us the opportunity to use the beautiful shaded area for pictures with the family and some nice portraits before heading out to Po'olenalena.
The above photo is courtesy of the Makena Beach and Golf Resort. We were featured on their FB page that day along with a shout out and some congratulations
Then we got to the ceremony site where we met Bill from Maui'd Forever, our coordinator. He totally gets an A. When we first booked him he was the most responsive of all the coordinators we contacted. He also provided a lot of help above and beyond the ceremony, like discounted activity booking and restaurant recommendations. There were times during the process that he took a little longer to respond than I would have liked but I always got a response and the ceremony was 100% perfect. The flowers were also beautiful! He stopped by to drop them off and then he headed out... in his awesome Lexus... and he had just gotten back from Italy. Haha... seriously though, this guy does an awesome job!
Sean Hower was our videographer. I haven't looked at the tape yet, but I was really pleased with him for taking charge and basically running the thing. He did an awesome job. I'll provide a grade after we look at the tape. Since we're both video pros we didn't hire him for anything other than shooting the ceremony. He was also the only person who would work with us that way. Everyone else wanted a full package. He was an awesome guy, totally professional, and again, he took charge of the situation, got us set up in a great spot with great light (which our photographer was appreciative of) and he did some really cool stuff I'm looking forward to seeing. I'll capture the tape tonight
ETA: We captured the tape and it looks great! He did a wonderful job. We did a little color correcting, but mostly just to bring out the beautiful Hawaii colors. We are VERY happy with our choice to have him shoot it.
Jennifer Smutek (A+++++++) was our photographer. We brought her from Baltimore, but I'm sure she'd be willing to go back to Maui again
. She did a fabulous job and from the photos I've seen so far in her camera, I am SO excited! She's amazing.
Dennis DeRego (A+) was our officiant. He came all decked out in the Hawaiian garb and he looked awesome. The ceremony was beautiful and Hawaiian and (important to us) entirely non-religious. I love that it had the Hawaiian feel so it didn't feel generic. It was really really lovely. Him and Sean had worked together many times before and it was really great having the two of them working together to make sure we did everything so that the camera could get the best shot, but without interrupting the flow of the ceremony. I know there was a review on here before that said he didn't show up on time and brought his daughter who was running around and in the pictures, but we did not have a similar experience. Dennis showed about 10 minutes before the ceremony time and he was a pure professional. We were all laughing at how he kept moving down the beach and doing other ceremonies after ours was done. No wonder he had such a nice truck!
I don't have pro pics yet, obviously, but here are a few my mom snapped:
After the ceremony we sent the parents ahead to Gannon's (A+) for dinner and we finished up photos with Jen. The meal was SO delicious. Definitely the 2nd best meal on the island. So, so good.
The next morning we had our
Trash the dress session with Jen on the beach outside of the Makena Beach and Golf Resort at sunrise. If you are on the fence about this-- DO IT!!!! My dress was actually in surprisingly great shape afterwards and I have no doubt that these will be some of the best, if not the best pictures of the trip. We did some where we layed on the lava rock, some in the water, laying in the sand, etc. All good stuff!
Then we met everyone for breakfast at the hotel before heading out on the Road to Hana to start our honeymoon. That was such an awesome part of the trip! It was a beautiful drive and I got some awesome photos!!
Keane Peninsula
Wai'anapanapa Beach
Right outside of Traavasa Hana Hotel
Seven Sacred Pools (a.k.a Oheo Pools)
We checked in at our 2nd hotel which was the Travaasa Hana (A+++++++ to infinity) (You've probably heard of it as Hotel Hana Maui... it changed owners) We were too cheap to do the Sea Ranch Cottages, we just got a normal one for $345, something that isn't even an option on the website, and we stayed for one night, another thing that isn't an option on the website. But this was the best hotel of the stay and the only one I felt compelled to take pictures of.
Door into the bathroom
They gave us a beautiful gift basket with Maui Style potato chips, DELICIOUS banana bread, star fruit, an avocado, an orange, and a bottle of champagne. So so nice
We were SO sad to leave Travaasa Hana the next day. It was such a beautiful place, so very Hawaiian, and not in the least touristy. The food was incredible for both dinner and breakfast... and the breakfast was the best we'd had on the island. Though, beware, it's easy to rack up quite the bill. After tip our dinner was about $190. BUT we felt it was way worth it as it was our first dinner alone as a married couple on our honeymoon. That and it was awesome. If you're doing the road to Hana, stay at the Travaasa Hana, at least one night, but if you're like us you'll wish it was longer. It's a beautiful hotel in a beautiful town and the people who work there truly love Hana. You will too. The town of Hana really needs the love and support so please stay there!
The next morning, after breakfast, we went down to Hamoa beach and relaxed a bit! It's a public beach, and it's about a mile or two down the road from Hotel Hana, but they have beach chair and towel service down there for hotel guests. It was fun to play in the waves and that was our only beach time the whole trip!
Then when we checked out, we drove the back side of the mountain, which supposedly violates the rental car agreement. Whatever. It was fun. LOL! It was dry and a very different side of Maui. It was lovely though. Again, I got some awesome pictures, and Steve got to do some off-road driving, which he loved.
We then had lunch at Mama's fish house (Another A+++++ to infinity) which was by far, hands down, the best meal on the island. I mean, damn. Seriously. This was also one of the few meals I felt compelled to take pictures of.
My meal: crab & lobster stuffed mahi
Steve's meal: some sort of vanilla shrimp. It was devine.
We had pineapple cheesecake for dessert with their homemade pineapple sorbet. YUM.
Then we headed off to our final hotel for the trip, the Ka'anapali Beach Hotel (A-). The only reason this is rated as an A- is because it was not as nice as our other two hotels. It was a little touristy which was a contrast from Travaasa Hana which really took some getting used to. I was even a little miffed at the touristy-ness of it at first, but then I realized I was being ridiculous and appreciated it for what it was. The rooms were nice, we had a beautiful view, and the grounds were pretty. The dinner was mediocre at best and not worth the money. Breakfast was okay as long as you ordered off the menu. It was cheaper than the buffet and way better. I got Hawaiian Sweet Bread French Toast the last morning of the trip and it was awesome!
The next morning we headed off to The Kahului Heliport for our Helicopter tour with Air Maui (A+++++). This was Steve's favorite part of the trip, and probably my second favorite (the night/morning of our Hana stay, going to the sacred pools, hanging out at Hanoa beach and enjoying Hana was my favorite) I got some AMAZING aerial shots and it was really cool to get that perspective of the island.
Haleakala Crater
Another perspective of the crater
The Oheo Pools from above
Hana
There were more, but that's all I feel like sharing
Then we went ziplining that afternoon in Ka'anapali with Skyline Eco Tours (A+). I don't have any photos of this, but it was AWESOME! There were 8 ziplines, the longest was a quarter mile long. It was fun, the view was beautiful, it was down the west Maui mountains with a gorgeous view of the ocean and Lana'i. They provided lunch as well. Our guides, Cliff and Mason were SO funny and a lot of fun to hang out with. This was a FOUR HOUR TOUR. It was long but awesome and totally worth it. Don't wear anything you want to wear again on the trip!!! You will be COVERED with dirt. My shoes will never be clean again.
The following morning we went snorkeling on the
Kai Kanani (A+) which left from out front of the MB&G resort. I don't have pictures from this yet, I need to get them developed. We just got a disposable underwater camera. This was a four hour tour that included breakfast, snacks, lunch and cocktails. We snorkeled Turtle Bay and swam with the sea turtles and then at the Molokini crater. This was truly incredible. I'm a huge huge fish nerd and I was telling Steve all about which ones were which
I'm glad he at least pretended to care.
That evening we drove up to the top of
Haleakala where we had hoped to watch the sunset. Up at the summit it was far too cloudy to see anything, so we were disappointed, and drove back down. Just as we got around the Leilani Lookout (sp?) the clouds opened up a bit (but not above us) and I got some beautiful shots of the sunset. We also shared a sweet moment on the hiking trail. It was really romantic
Here's the crater that I photographed the day prior from the helicopter, an interesting perspective!
That night, we both got pretty sick, which we associated with altitude sickness. Steve got it way worse though. We called the paramedics and spent the night in the ER at the Maui Memorial Medical Center. They got some fluids in him, gave him some morphine and nausea medication and sent us on our way.
Anyway, so that was my SUPER SUPER long recap.
Thanks for reading! Maui is a dream. There is no other place in the world like it and I can't wait for the day that we can move there. It's definitely going to be a life goal. At the very least, we'll visit as often as possible.