Vendor Reviews
Rating marks: A-exceptional, B-great, C-average
Wedding Planner-Suzanne Ventura from Aloha from Hawaii Weddings-rating A
Suzanne was great to work with; she was always available over the phone or email and answered many of my questions. She was very patient with my specific flower and lei requests and even spent time going around to several florists to see if they could accommodate my specifics. She was responsible for the beach permit, booking the reverend, the musician, the limo driver, as well as all the leis and the orchid head aisle. The limo driver arrived in timely fashion and was very helpful with my gown. At the ceremony site, Suzanne was able to set up the requested ceremony spot (3rd area from the Kahala). The overall aisle was covered in white orchid heads; it looked very full and neat and I was very impressed. She called me on the day of the wedding to check in and inform me that everything was in place. She stayed for the length of the ceremony and even packed up the aisle flowers for us to enjoy back at the condo. Overall, I would highly recommend her to other brides.
Rev. Mike Nelson-rating A
Rev. Nelson was booked by Suzanne. We contacted him via email and phone and he sent us a sample romantic ceremony which was so perfect it made us cry. He met with FI prior to the wedding to walk him through everything and made him feel at ease. He also met with me just before I walked down the aisle and his presence was very calming. He blew the shell to signal the start of the ceremony and even helped guide us where to stand and how to hold hands. Overall, he was very professional and prepared. We feel blessed to have had him perform our ceremony.
Ukalele Performer- Keipo-rating A
He was also booked by Suzanne. He was dressed very professionally and he played several songs beautifully throughout the ceremony.
Florist-Wanda from Petals & Beans-rating A
Wanda is simply wonderful; she is so energetic, warm and welcoming. She expressed great excitement over my overall idea for the bouquet. FI and I met with her at her flower shop/coffee house three days prior to the wedding and she was able to show me the flowers she had ordered for my bouquet and FI’s boutonniere, FI even surprised me by ordering an arrangement of white peonies which were delivered to me on our wedding day. Overall, the flowers looked exactly like the picture I sent. I did change the ribbon wrap last minute from white to fuchsia, and it still looked amazing. People were surprised by how well the flowers held a few days after the wedding. And they also smelled amazing. You can’t go wrong with Wanda, she makes great coffee too.
Hair and Make up-May Nguyen-rating C
I am rating her average for a couple of reasons: 1) she was really responsive via email and quick 2) she came early on both the day of and the trial session, however, I had higher expectations, during the trial, I really did not like the first hairstyle she attempted, she quickly switched it to a different one which I liked better but was not in love with. As for the make-up, I never had airbrush and I expected it to be flawless…it wasn’t and the false lashes made me look like a doll. So, I looked nothing like myself. On the day of the wedding I only opted for her to do my hair and modeled for her how I wanted it to come together, I think that helped some. As for the make up, I made a trip to the Ala Moana Center Mac store and the ladies there gave me a few pointers so on the day of the wedding I did my own. My mom disliked her hair, the way it was styled; she could have very well done it on her own. May also touched up FI and stained the inside of his shirt collar. He couldn’t believe it.
Kricia Morris-Photography
I will post final ratings once we receive our photos.
Princeton Simeona-Video
I will post final rating once we receive our video.
Hoku’s at Kahala resort-rating A
They were so accommodating. Great response via email from Cynthia Kaneshiro. They reserved the table we requested overlooking the ceremony site. FI and I also met with them four days before the wedding and they showed us the table and the set up. We also dropped of name tags which they held for us until reception. The food is out of this world, the service is impeccable, and they executed the wedding cake to every last detail of the photo I sent. The cake was coconut with lilikoi filling and it was so delicious. We took the top tier with us back to the condo.
Wai’Alae Beach Park-site-rating B
We went and checked out the park four days before the wedding. I suggest you take a cab there and back. It is in an exclusive neighborhood of multimillion dollar homes and the best access to it is by passing through the Kahala resort. On the day of the wedding the limo took us to Kahala and then I walked down the path to the ceremony. As with any public beach there is a possibility of having multiple weddings there and on the day of, there was one other wedding going on, but honestly I didn’t even notice it. The reason I am rating it a B is because there is no back up site, so if it rains, which happened to us, you just have to go with it.
Nails-Solar Spa at Ala Moana-rating A
They did a great job on gel overlay (pink and white), I would suggest making an appointment.
Accomodations-Outrigger Regency on Beachwalk-rating A
We loved our condo. Everything was very clean, modern, and specious. Both our photographer and videographer commented on how large and beautiful the lanai was. Overall service was great; we received everything we needed from housekeeping including a daily newspaper.