Oh how I have missed my Knotties!!! Well I am back, and am now a Mrs.! Sorry it took me so long to post but I have been absolutely swamped with missing over two weeks of work and school. Yuck!
A Quick Recap:
We flew into Maui about a week before our wedding so we could have a chance to spend time with friends and family who had flown in. Originally we thought that dividing our time up would be a breeze but it turned out to be more challenging than we thought and I know we missed some good quality time with certain members of our family. I feel pretty bad about that. One word of advice: If you're planning on having a lot of friends and family to entertain on your DW don't bother to spend a lot of money on a fancy hotel because you'll never be there. We had an ocean view room at the Hyatt Regency and enjoyed it's ammenities for a half of a day. Yes,
half. We would have much rather gotten a cheapie hotel and been able to use that money elsewhere. Also, I would have done more tanning
prior to our departure because I missed out on the sun as well due to the running around.
As for the wedding...
It was amazing! All week the weather was pretty great but the forcast, for as far out as I can remember, was supposed to be super crappy on our wedding day. I woke up at 4:30am the morning of our wedding to rain and wind slamming into the roof and side of my mom's condo. Anxiety was running high and I was pretty much devistated that my wedding day forcast was going to down right suck. About 9:30am my mom told me to look out from the lanai and there was not just a plain old rainbow (like they can ever be plain) but a full double rainbow was beaming right out of the ocean. I knew it was a sign. From that moment forward the skies were sunny and bright and the winds were calm. As I have heard many brides say, our day was a whirlwind. Really! I don't remember a whole lot about it. It seemed to zip by us in a blur. What I do know is that it was beyond what we had ever dreamed of. We were floating on air the entire night.
Vendor Reviews:
Olowalu Plantation House - This place is magical. Truly. It definately has the charm of old Hawaii. The setting is quiet and has a beautiful view. If you're getting married there, go to the end of the pier and look back. The scene is like something you'd imagine in Heaven! The mountains, ocean, scenery... Ahh! I can't even begin to describe it. If you are even slightly considering getting married here; do it! You won't regret it.
Lori Lawrence, Tropical Maui Weddings - I started planning my wedding about a year and a half out. As a newly engaged woman I was go, go, go on wedding planning and wanted it done
now. It turns out that people on island time don't work that way and are more concerned with other things; such as the bride getting married three months from now. So needless to say I was somewhat disappointed in how fast things originally moved. I totally get it now though. About six months out from our wedding date I heard from Lori regularly and we practically planned everything in one phone call. I found it best to communicate with her this way in the beginning. She was truly amazing and I don't know what I would have done without her. Lori was always so calm and reassuring. She and her staff went above and beyond the call of duty. When our ringbear was so excited during rehersal (right before the wedding) and was leaping and jumping through the air with our rings, she pulled out a spare set just in case they went flying. So the rings he actually carried were dummy rings. We had also completely forgotten to arrange transportation to leave the wedding and we had a beautiful car waiting for us at the end of the night. I would totally recommend her to anyone. Love her!
Jamie Lawrence, Soloist - At first I was incredibly hesitant to book Jamie. I later told Lori that I didn't want to book him because I thought she was just pushing him because it's her husband. He is the sweetest man with such an amazing voice. When we heard his samples on the internet I felt that it wasn't a true projection of how he would really sound. That it had been "doctored." That wasn't the case at all. He sounds even better in person. We had so many compliments from the rest of our guests and they wished he had sang all night! No regrets here. I am actually getting the lyrics to the song he recommended I walk down the aisle to, "Maunaleo" tattooed on my foot. Simply beautiful.
Shawn Starr, Photographer - Do I even need to write a review here? He's AMAZING! He was so laid back and chill when talking to him on the phone and was even more so in person. I was surprised by how young he appeared to be. I was like; those amazing prints come from a cool, laid back guy like you? Our guests couldn't get enough of him. They called him a secret agent because he would be in one place and in a completely different place the next moment. He was literally running around like mad to get the perfect shots. He made us feel so relaxed and comfortable that we couldn't even tell we were getting our pictures taken. He'd say "Go over there and make out..." So cute! We saw a couple shots he did and now I am dying to see the rest. This is another guy you MUST book.
Della Peacock, Florist - Della is spectacular! She was completely sweet and amazing the entire time I worked with her. I couldn't wait to actually meet her in person. Her creativity is something I desire for myself. She was able to create exactly what I had envisioned times one hundred. When working with her I had gone a little crazy and realized I had gone way over budget. She was more than willing to work with me and offer suggestions to get exactly what I wanted within my means. In the beginning I was a bride who thought it was stupid to spend money on flowers that will just die, but in the end her creations were worth far more than I could ever have paid. Her creations made my wedding vision come true. I beam just thinking about her.
Stacey, Bars R Us - Stacey was super fun to work with from the very beginning. We had been told that she was a little more expensive than the cost of going through caterers for bartending but that she was worth it, and she was. We chose to purchase our own alcohol and decided to almost double the list she provided based on personal knowledge of their drinking habits.
She got along great with all of our guests, made fabulous cocktails, and the presentation was gorgeous. Guests were raving about the drinks and how pretty they were. They were picture worthy that's for sure.
Cakes by Joann, Cake and Dessert Bar - I had difficulty communicating with Joann at the beginning of my planning so I left this one up to my coordinator. We opted for a 6" cake (chocolate and lilikoi filling) and dessert bar (chocolate covered fruit, napoleons, and coffee & mango cheescakes). I sent her a picture of what I had envisioned for our cake and she was able to create it. The cake and desserts were great! I love cake and it was very moist (hate that word) and flavorful. Perfect in every way. The guests loved the idea of the dessert bar as well.
Aloha Events Catering - The staff here are wonderful! They were there to serve us at every turn. The presentation (again, picture worthy) and quality was fantastic and they were more than willing to work with us on our menu since we have some special diets (vegans to name one). Our guests raved about the food and nobody went hungry.
Shelly from Mariah's Mane, Hair & Makeup - Shelly is the sweetest thing ever! It was just my mom and me getting our hair and makeup done and she made the time so special. She brought fresh flowers from her garden and was so easy to talk to. I was sad to see her leave when just prior to the ceremony because I felt like I had made a friend! She did an amazing job with my hair and makeup. Exactly what I had envisioned for myself and I felt the prettiest I have ever felt in my life. My mom and I felt she went a little too heavy on some of my mom's makeup but that was only because my mom
never wears makeup. She was more than willing to change it and wanted to make sure we were very excited about the final product, which we were!
Pastor Laki - This man is amazing! We received so many comments from our guests about how great he was and that our wedding was the most personalized wedding they had ever been to. We had only met Pastor Laki for the first time about an hour prior to the ceremony. He made us feel so comfortable and we felt like we've known him for years. The wisdom and sincerity just seaps out of him. If you haven't read about him, Google him. He has an amazing story and we were honored to have him marry us. He is an example of what we would like to represent someday.
Have you had enough? I feel like I forgot someone...! I hope not!
I hope to post pictures when my
husband gets back from being on the road for work. He took our computer with all of our wedding pictures on it. For those of you who are friends with me on Facebook, I have all of the pictures I've received from friends and family posted there.
I seriously can't thank you all enough. It's because of each and every one of you that I had the wedding of my dreams. How many brides can honestly say that? I feel so honored to have been able to develop the friendships that I have with you all. The support, encouragement, and love I have received here is indescribable. Sorry Nestie board but you're going to have to wait a long while for me! I am stuck here!
Much Love!