I was just married May 2013 in Maui. I
want to thank all theknot brides who have really been such a valuable source of
information. I had never been to Maui and didn't have time before the wedding to make a trip, so I really planned this wedding based on reading all the different reviews available and through the help of my coordinator. We had a small wedding of 40 guests and were on a bit of a budget, so it was really important for me to find a WC willing to work with us and be flexible.
A+: Wedding Coordinator – Makena Weddings with Laurie Terry. Laurie was a joy to work with! I called and spoke with over
10 coordinators when I initially started searching. I noticed that Lori from
Tropical Maui Wedding and Cherise from Perfect Maui Wedding were the most popular
coordinators on this forum. However, I just got this amazing vibe from Laurie
on the phone, so I just went with her. She charges the usual 20% for booking
as her coordinator fee, but she totally understood that I was on a budget and
worked with me every step of the way. By the time I met her the day before the
wedding, she felt like an old friend. The wedding day itself went off perfectly
and she really helped put out last minute fires. I really felt that her and Al
were there for us every step of the way and truly there to celebrate with us.
A++: Wedding Venue – Kukahiko Estate. This is a private estate in Makena. I had looked into the
popular wedding venues (Olawalu and Sugarmans). Sugarmans was too big/expensive and Olawalu
was not available on the day we wanted which I was initially really bummed
about. However, in the end, I’m glad it worked out the way it did as Kukahiko
was a perfect venue for us! The estate
sits right next to the water and, while on the outside unassuming, is
absolutely stunning when you walk in. It’s an intimate setting to get married
in and was perfect for a group of 40. The professional photos and even the
Iphone photos came out amazing because of just the incredible natural beauty of
this place! Our guests could not stop gushing about how this was the most
beautiful wedding they had ever been too. There are turtles in the cove nearby
and our guests had a lot of fun as after the ceremony as the turtles came out
and we got a glimpse of them.
A+: Photographer – Caprice Nicole. Loved her! She really put us at ease and especially the
hubby who is not photogenic. She was
able to get pictures of him looking totally natural in the photos, which is an
impressive fete! I got a link to our photos 2 days after the wedding, which I
was very impressed by. She really captured the touching moments of the day and
the photos were absolutely beautiful. I would highly recommend working with
Caprice.
A+: Officiant – Reverend Al Terry. Laurie’s husband was our officiant and really embodies the
true Hawaiian spirit. He really made the ceremony special and put a very
nervous groom at complete ease. He had the audience laughing and really just
made the event so special for us. Highly recommend!
A+: Catering – Café O’lei. Delicious!!! My friend who is from Maui and got married there recommended them to us. So happy we did. Everyone raved about the food. From appetizers to our buffet dinner, everything was just delicious and reasonably priced! They were so sweet and packed up extras for us, which our family said tasted even better the next day. Lol. Just wish we had time to eat at their restaurant as well while we were there!
A: Wedding cupcakes – Maui Wedding cakes. Did 3 different cupcake flavors. Cupcakes were moist and
delicious. Not a huge cake person, so this was good enough for us….
B +: Flowers – MaryAnn Batemen with Haawina Farms. One of my friend’s as a gift wanted to do this for us and
picked MaryAnn based on theknot reviews.
It was also a way for us to try and save some money. MaryAnn is super sweet and easy to work with,
but not always the most responsive by email (the usual Hawaiian way of doing
things I learned). She was always
available by phone though and called to follow-up before the wedding to make
sure things were in place. Her strength is really in making leis. These were
absolutely gorgeous and incredibly affordable (cheaper and nicer than Costco
ones!). She also put together flower headpieces for our flower girls that were
beautiful and my bouquet which was also lovely. The flower petal path and loose
flowers she provided to decorate with were pretty but there weren’t as many as
I thought we had agreed on. She also
made our centerpieces and I was a little disappointed as some of the flowers
were wilted when you looked up close. Honestly,
no one noticed, but it’s one of those things that as the bride you see the
little issues. They did still come out
amazing in the photos though that was probably due to the talent of our
photographer. I am not a bride that is super picky on flowers, but I would
really only recommend her to do your lei’s/bouquet but not centerpieces…