Aloha ladies! I’m back…and married!
For those of you that didn’t know, I was very sick before our wedding. Our wedding was on Saturday, 6/19…I came down with shingles on Sunday, 6/6, which kept me bedridden for the entire week (so much for organizing, doing last minute projects and a final dress fitting!), then had to be admitted to the hospital on Saturday, 6/12, for three days due to a MRSA staph infection in the shingles. Pretty lucky bride, eh? Ha. We were supposed to leave for Maui on Sunday, the day after I was admitted, but that obviously wasn’t going to happen, but I was discharged on Monday and we were able to fly out the next day. Phew! Words can’t describe the experience, so I’m not even going to bother dwelling on it. In the end, everything and everyone was amazing, and we couldn’t have had a more perfect, beautiful wedding day, in spite of everything!!
I’ll have some items for sale in a separate posting, and I’ll post more pics when I get them.
Thank you, all of you, for your support and creative energy in the months and weeks leading up to our wedding! I SERIOUSLY COULDN’T HAVE HAD THE WEDDING OF MY DREAMS WITHOUT YOUR LADIES’ HELP! I just can’t emphasize that enough! I even got to meet our fellow knottie MauidAndy in person at Olowalu, how fun is that???
Here are some photos and vendor reviews. I’m borrowing a variation of HappyGoLuckyGal’s vendor rating system to keep it in perspective:
Not Recommended (NR): You’ll see why…
Recommended (REC): Vendor went above and beyond; exceeded expectations.
Super Star Vendor (SSV): If I were planning my wedding again, I wouldn't do it without this vendor.
Photos:
Ok, so I'm going to post photos in a separate post--I realized I need to do more organizing!
Reviews:
Olowalu Plantation House – SSV SSV SSV SSV – get the idea?? J It was truly a picture perfect venue. Great space, great vibe, beautiful vintage house, awesome spots for pictures everywhere, incredibly romantic!
DOC – Lori Lawrence/Tropical Maui Weddings – SSV – Lori was super sweet and was very accommodating when we had to change our entire schedule leading up to the wedding. She was even more organized than I was, which is very impressive, and a great relief since I had to hand things over kind of haphazardly due to my lack of ability to function leading up to our trip. She took such great care of us all day and night, and didn’t miss a detail. Everyone loved Lori!
Officiant – Pia Aluli – SSV – who doesn’t heart Pia? He met with us at Starbucks a few days before the wedding and we all instantly clicked. He was just what we were looking for—laid back and all about the love—love of each other, love of Hawaii, love of the ocean, love love love. We love Pia, he did great.
Catering – Café O’Lei – SSV – O.M.G., the food was to die for. We’re totally foodies, and I was worried that it wouldn’t live up to my standards, but FI…I mean DH!...and I couldn’t have been more pleased. Service and food were outstanding, and the guests were full of compliments. Several guests said that it was the best wedding food they’d ever had. I can give more details to those who are interested. We had amazing pupus and a plated dinner with a few entrée options. COL ROCKED.
Florist – Mandy Grace/Bella Grace Florals – SSV – Wow, a double OMG for Mandy. I was nervous leading up to the wedding b/c I didn’t give her exact direction on what I wanted, and there a few random communication issues that I wasn’t so pleased with, but boy did she ever pull through. Talk about above and beyond! We couldn’t have been more pleased, I just wish I could have taken all of the flowers home with me! The quality of the flowers, and how she arranged everything, was just A.M.A.Z.I.N.G. She even got me my hard-to-find rope style pikake lei. Mandy ROCKS.
Rentals – Pacific Isle Rentals – SSV – Mike, Heather, and the gang were lovely to work with, and the setup was super smooth. I even had them rearrange the tables a little, and they were happy to accommodate. I have not a single complaint!
Ottoman Rentals – Pacific Event Group – NR – so…this one is a toughie to write…Debbie was great to work with leading up to the event. We really wanted these lovely white lounge ottomans to look out over the beach, and she was going to throw in some free pillows for us. We were really excited about the ottomans as part of our relaxed concept. Turns out her trailer got a flat tire and the ottomans never arrived. There was a chance they still could have made it by the end of the night, but at that point, I didn’t want things being rolled in, in the middle of our reception, we had Lori just tell her to cancel. Debbie has emailed since apologizing profusely, assuring us our money back, but I have yet to receive it. I know shi* happens and all that, but it was a total bummer. Luckily, it didn’t ruin anything, just a bummer, and I can't really blame her I suppose, bad luck, bad timing.
Ceremony Music – Cambria Moss & her guitarist Vance – REC – Cambria and Vance were great, they learned a song just for us (we had to pay a fee), and it was great. I really wanted a violin for ceremony to play the traditional songs (Pachelbel’s Canon, etc.), plus some non-traditional (Coldplay, Sinatra) for before and after the ceremony. They were lovely.
Cocktail Hour and Dinner Music – Jamie Lawrence – SSV – Jamie is stellar. Beautiful voice, talented guitar skills. Everyone could have listened to him play all day and night! My mom even bought his CD and took pics with him like a celebrity, lol.
DJ for dancing – Randy Bermudez/Ace Beats – REC – Randy was great! His speaking skills were perfect – not cheesy, and always on cue. Music was great, it’s just a bummer that we had to close down at 10pm!
Cake & Dessert Bar – Cakes by JoAnn – SSV – Yummo. Cake was JUST what I wanted, she even made sure it was on the cake stand I wanted and set up the toppers and flowers just how I asked. The dessert bar was sooo tasty, and she had prepared a separate box of chocolate covered strawberries to take home at the end of the night, which DH and I enjoyed at the end of the night with a bottle of champagne, on our lanai overlooking the moonlit ocean. My favorite was the mini lilikoi cheesecakes. Yummmm.
Photographer – JennaBeth Photography & Events – SSV – she’s also my best friend! I don’t have any pro pics back from her yet, but she printed out some for me the day after the wedding and they are freakin rad. I’ll be sure to post when she emails me some digital teasers! FYI, she is not based in Maui (home for Jenna is in San Francisco), but vacations there every summer with her family, so the timing was perfect.
Videographer – Ryssa at Hawaii Video Memories – not yet rated…we won’t know until we get our video in August, but she is the sweetest and was a total joy to have around us! We hired HVM for 4 hours, and that was a nice amount of time. Can’t wait to see the final product!
Hair – Dan Sanchez – SSV – Dan and his assistant did my hair for the wedding day and also for our happy hour event the night before. He is a doll, and I couldn’t have been more pleased with my hair for both nights!!!!! Seriously, perfection, and I’m awfully darn picky.
Makeup – Leah, Jessica Waite’s substitute – SSV – Jessica was out of town for my wedding, so she subbed in Leah, which I knew of well ahead of time…I was nervous to be without Jessica, but Leah was fantastic! So sweet, and she did a perfect job! LOVE that airbrush makeup, and I’m all about the eyes, which she did so lovely.
Limo Transportation – Nader/Star Limo – REC – prompt, timely, clean, courteous, everything you could want in a limo!
Motorcoach Transportation – Stan/Travel Plaza Transportation – REC – I never actually saw inside the bus, but Stan was great to work with and they were totally on top of it!
Friday Evening Welcome Happy Hour – Kimo’s – SSV – the night before the wedding we hosted a welcome happy hour with drinks and pupu’s on the lanai at Kimos. Amber was great to work with, service was awesome, drinks and food were perfect, and you just can’t beat Kimo’s vibe and view! After the happy hour, a bunch of us lingered around Lahaina and had an impromptu group dinner—the night was such a great start to the festivities! Downtown Lahaina is super cute, vintage and chill. I love it.
Accommodations – Sheraton Maui Resort & Spa – SSV – we’re already trying to plan a trip back! Service, room, grounds, and pina coladas were just lovely! I didn’t want to leave, it was a little slice of heaven! Since we arranged for the room block, as bride and groom we stayed the whole week in a junior suite for the price of a regular room. The view and spaciousness were incredible. The huge lanai was the setting of my hair and makeup – how’s that for luxury, sitting outside in the shade, overlooking the ocean, while getting all dolled up? It was awesome, everything there was awesome, and I loved the location. All the staff knew who we were by the day after we got there. No complaints here!
Thank you again for helping to make my day so incredible! I will continue to pop in and see what's going on--I hope to be as helpful to others to return the favor!
Alooooha and Mahalo!