Well we have been home from the wedding and honeymoon for about 3 weeks now, and I am finally getting around to write reviews. The wedding was absolutely amazing! To all those out there that read this post and a questioning a destination wedding, DO IT! I was so skeptical at first, and the planning was tricky, but it was more amazing than I ever could have imagined, and our guests agreed 110%.
And for those waivering between what island to have the event on, I am someone that is very familiar with Oahu, Maui and now the Kona side of the Big Island, so if you are looking for something not as touristy as Oahu and Maui, then go to Kona. All of our families and friends questioned us when we picked Kona, mostly cause they had never been there, but boy were they thanking us afterwards. Kona has some of the most amazing beaches, restaurants, and that low-key Hawaii feel. It quickly became mine, and many of our guests, new favorite island!
So now on to the vendors... For the most part I would recommend everyone we used, as they mostly were fantastic.
Tiger Jones Productions - A+
- Seriously the absolute best dj you could ever ask for! Planning the wedding from quite a bit away could at times become a little overwhelming, but Betsy, the wife and manager of DJ Tiger was there for us throughout the whole process, suggesting other vendors and local places where we could pick up things we needed. They were so thorough with going through and being sure the day was exactly how we wanted it. We were able to give them songs we wanted played and songs we didn't want played. We were constantly asking their suggestion for many things, and they were always there to give their feedback. They are extremely professional in every aspect of what they do. When things were thrown at them at the last minute, they seamlessly made everything work. By choosing them as your wedding dj, you are getting so much more than what you pay for! I am in the event planning business and they were hands down the best dj company I have ever worked for. I can't wait to go back and visit because they truly have become amazing friends!
Julian Allen Photography - A+
- Fantastic photographer! Tricky part about Julian is that he lives in Ohio for part of the year, and on the islands for part of the year, so he is only available for weddings in Hawaii sometimes. He is an absolutely amazing photographer though. Unlike everyone else we talked to, he shows up as early as you want him, stays as late as you want him, and even does an extra shoot the next day with you, all for a set price, not by the hour. And that set price is way less than the other photographers with comparable pictures that I found. He is very attentive and thorough. He actually arrived to our location 5 days before we got their to scope out the best places for pictures at the best times of day. The pictures came out absolutely amazing! Any suggestions we had, he was very willing to try. He was with us all day, but in no way took away from the day by being in the way, which some photographers do. Highly recommend, as you get so much more for your money!
Kokua Culinary - A+
- You won't find this catering company very easily if you search the internet because their bread and butter is actually serving high quality food on private airlines to such people as Oprah, the late Steve Jobs, and the CEO of Intel. With that said, they do catering for weddings and events completely on the side, but they absolutely love doing it! Betsy, from Tiger Jones Productions, recommended them to us, and are we glad she did. Their food was absolutely amazing and way cheaper than any other quote we had gotten from caters on the island. The quality of the food was superb, but instead of paying the $60-$90 a head that the other catering companies wanted us to spend for the same food, spent less than $30 a head. The food tasted amazing, even the day after, and the day after that (and yes, unlike all the other companies that quoted us, they let us keep our leftovers)! Absolutely fantastic food, met and surpassed our every expectation. Owners and staff are so friendly, professional and easy to work with.
Island RV - C-
- We rented shuttles to take the wedding party and family to and from the ceremony, and they are getting a C grade because they got us there and back just like they were supposed to. They aren't getting an A, because after the fact they are very shady with the way they bill you. When we originally corresponded with the owner we were told that time started when the shuttles arrived at your location and ended when they left your location. When we received our credit card statement, the charge for the shuttles was way more than we anticipated, when we asked for clarification they sent us a bill sharging us from the time the shuttles left their base location and the time they retutned to their base location. They said it took 30 minutes to get to and from our location from the base location, which was 3 MILES AWAY! So, between the both shuttles that was 2 extra hours of time. Furthermore we were told that we could tip the drivers at the end via cash, or they could add it on to our bill. We opted to pay via cash, as we figured the drivers would appreciate that more, but then we were charged a tip on the credit card because we apparently didn't leave them a big enough tip. When we brought that up, the owner said we left the shuttles a mess and they needed to clean them extra. Both shuttles were walked through at the end and all garbage was picked up. There was sand in one shuttle from some pictures at the beach, but that was approved with the owner before it was done. Furthermore, he said we were drinking on the bus and couldn't do that. However when the bridesmaid popped the champagne and the driver turned and watched us drink it, nothing was said. At the end of the day we made it there and back fine, however the shady billing practices after the fact are just not worth it, and I wouldn't recommend them.
That is pretty much it for our vendors. Flowers we did ourselves, and had them flown in from Grower's Box, which I highly recommend. Cupcakes were from Safeway. Bartender was a local guy we found at Humpy's the local bar, who was absolutely fantastic. Our church was the Painted Church in Captain Cook, and our reception was at the home we were staying at, the Kona Plantation. Fantastic place, I highly recommend it for weddings, family reunions, etc.Sorry it was so long, but hope it helped!