Vendor Reviews: Lanikuhonua June 23rd 2011
For Vendor Websites see our Vendor Page!
Rating Scale:
A+ = Above & beyond expectations! HIGHLY recommended
A = Did a great job & would recommend
(might seem too good to be true, but we really loved our vendors!!)
Lanikuhonua Phase II (Wedding site): A+
We booked this site without seeing it at all until 2 days before the wedding. We had no idea what to expect aside from some pictures that some knotties had emailed me & what I could find Facebook. The walk through was pretty, but it was pouring rain, not misting pouring! But when we arrived the day of our wedding the clouds opened & we got to see it in its full glory. AMAZING! Took my breath away, the grounds are well kept, the layout is great & even with 2 other events going on, we felt like we were the only people there. We got married along the rock wall, then had our reception under a tent in the open area.
Hawaii Weddings & Events (Planner): A+
I had a great experience with Dianna. I like that her emails auto-reply with a time frame to expect a response by. I’m a fairly organized/anal person myself so arranging for most of the vendors wasn’t a problem…with Dianna’s guidance of course. She took care of all our rentals, linens, & floor plan arrangements, which was a huge relief to me. She’s so well versed, that my advice to all you ladies is to relax & trust your planner if you hire one. She calmly met us for the walk through, took all our little detail items from us & set it up beautifully. I especially love the colored linens she picked for the tables…made the whole look! Overall, she goes above & beyond while helping you maintain your budget & esthetic.
Kahu Bruce (minister): A+!
He was amazing! He was good about emailing with us, we spoke approx 4 times on the phone to arrange our ceremony elements (which his are secret & he shares once you start planning with him). He doesn't like talking about money, but if you contact me I can give you an estimate on what we paid. He met us at the Health department to get our marriage license, & to discuss in detail the elements of the ceremony. That was a very meaningful meeting & completely solidified the fact Bruce was the one for us! He is good at customizing the ceremony to you & your families traditions. We wanted more Hawaiian elements, which he's really good at! He ran our rehearsal with certainty & everyone loved him. The day of the wedding we both had a hard time holding it together at points, but it was such a deeply moving time for us, & Bruce really was a big part of that. I can't recommend him enough! Such a sweet person & minister. (email me for his contact info, he's better w/ phone calls than emails too FYI)
Royal Party Rentals: A
I didn’t work with them directly, but I can say everything looked great from the chairs, to the plates (Square) to the bamboo archway. It was all there set up when we arrived at 3pm for pictures & they were there promptly at 10pm to take it all away by 11pm.
Aloha On The Rocks (bartender): A
I’m not sure why you wouldn’t hire them…besides Dianna, this was the best money spent! We were able to go to Costco, buy our beer, wine & liquor (we did 2 specialty drinks: Mai Tai’s & Hawaiian Sunsets) & dropped it off to him the day of (had a family member handle that if you can’t then pay for his service to meet you!) The set up was perfect; they make a sign in a frame & bring in all their own tents, coolers, ice, napkins, garnishes, mixers (soda, water, etc…) SO WORTH the money. Not to mention our server went above & beyond & brought the wedding party a tray of drinks to us while we were shooting pictures (pretty sure a friend tipped him to do that, but it was great!). Overall, a great time & they did a great job! (Only reason no + sign is b/c email communication was lacking close to the wedding)
Highway Inn Catering (food): A
After getting off to a rocky start (PM me later if you want to know) we worked out a menu that made our guests rave! We wanted a more traditional Hawaiian meal, so we choose a buffet style of: Kalua pig, kalbi beef ribs, & Mahi over seared okinawan sweet potato, side of Portuguese sausage fried rice, & a side salad with papaya vinaigrette, fruit salad, & appetizers of chicken satay & a peanut sauce & Sesame or Spicy Ahi Poke. Went over really well & I LOVED it all especially the Mahi. Looked good, tasted good, & the servers were so nice! Despite our beginning Monica in the catering department made it all right & worked with our budget & wants. In the end we had a great meal!
A Cake Life: A+
Kristin at a cake life is the sweetest thing. We loved working with her & our cake was just what we wanted. We got a mini cake with 72 cupcakes on a 3 tiered tray. We chose a bright blue base color with white seashells on top, and then the topper had coral around it. We topped it off w/ an “H” monogram. She worked with us on price & the amount was perfect amount for our 45 guests. She even let us do a tasting when we arrived in Oahu to finalize our flavors (we had some filled cupcakes). We did: Red Velvet, White cake w/ Strawberries & Cream filling, & White cake with Lilikoi filling. All delicious!! Great to work with, professional & timely!
White Dot Photography: A+!
I love Mark & Emily; they are a husband & wife team who did our wedding photography. I work with Mark in LA, but they recently bought a house on the big island & are looking to permanently move there. They communicate so well with one another & just make you feel relaxed while shooting for what can be forever. They captured every moment from start to finish & offer a variety of packages to suit people’s needs. We are getting an album with our package. Highly recommend their journalistic in the moment style of work. They do the traditional posed photos as well, but I find some of their best stuff is in the moment J
Photo Booth Hawaii: A
We booked them second I believe in the process. We booked for 4 hours & they gave us a deal b/c we were booking over 6 months in advance, we got our 4th hour free! I have to say I was worried, b/c towards the end I hadn’t heard anything from them. But Dianna had worked with them b/f & assured me they would show up. They did, right on time, we brought our own props along with us…EVERYONE used the booth. It was great. They created a palm tree graphic for the bottom of our pictures w/ our names & wedding date/location on it too. Very fun souvenir from our wedding for the guests! Definitely book a photo booth!
Always Flowers (Hawaii): A
Our original florist had to step down due to health concerns, so Dianna recommended Todd at Always Flowers to us. From the moment he emailed me I knew we’d get along well. He was easy to work with, sent a few ideas/inspirations over & he knew what to do. I mailed our ribbon sample to him for comparison & he matched it perfectly. I was blown away when I walked in to our site. From the archway to the leis’ & bouquets, it was all beautiful! I loved the single protea in the bottom of each clear vase with the arrangement on top of that. It looked really cool & exactly what I wanted. Overall, I completely trusted Todd & he delivered in a big way for me. Also stayed BELOW my budget! Loved that!
Dang Limo: A
Another Dianna referral, Scott at dang limo was easy to email with. The white stretch SUV limo was clean, on time & the driver was courteous. We had a good trip to the venue & I would recommend them. Their prices were reasonable too.
A.M. Tours (mini bus): A-
This was booked through a contact I had with Hawaii Five-0 (did the pilot episode w/ them). We used them to transport us & our friends back to Waikiki after the wedding. I give it an A minus only b/c we had an incident w/ the driver (PM me) b/f we left. It was all good by the time we were dropped off. The bus was clean, on time & what we needed to get us home safe after a night of drinking.
Henry Makua (ukulele player): A+
He was so great!! Loved his singing & playing of the ukulele. He did a great job & was SO NICE, we met him briefly b/f he left & thanked him for playing our wedding. He did Canon in D for me, Somewhere over the rainbow for the wedding party, & The Way You Look Tonight for the parents seating. Then did I’m Yours for our recessional as well as Soul Sister & various other songs to fill in the time as the guests milled out.
N-D Mixx Productions (DJ/Emcee): A
Gil & Fran are a husband & wife team, he DJ/Emcee’s & she handles the office work side. They were both very sweet & prompt with replies to all our many questions. They did 2 set ups: 1-ceremony (Kahu & Henry plugged into his equipment), then 2- Reception under our tent for the program & dancing portion. He did a great job, played our whole list & our friends had a great time. He was able to accommodate us when we needed to change the order of the program as well. All in all we had a great experience.
Jacqueline Unique Nails: A+
This was a diamond in the rough for me! It was SOOO HARD finding a place that would accommodate my wedding party & family for nails the day b/f in our price range & near the Ilikai where we stayed. As well as a website that wasn’t in Japanese or wanted to charge an arm & a leg. Once I found them, I emailed & Sean contacted me saying they’d be happy to have us, to bring food & drinks & make it into a party for ourselves. We had the salon to ourselves from 10am-12:30pm. 7 people got mani’s or pedi’s or both & had a great time. I got a Gelish French manicure that has lasted me over 2 weeks now! Still looks great! Some of the girls said it was the best pedicure foot massage ever. Overall, I’d highly recommend them. They’re less than 3 miles from Hilton Hawaiian Village. (PM me if you need their website, they’re hard to find)
Faith & Beauty (Hair/Make-up): A++
Gemina is a doll & I was SO GLAD I went with her. I picked a lot of vendors based on gut feelings, & she was such a good pick. Emails were promptly returned, she met with me at a starbucks when I got into Oahu to finalize my look for hair & make up. She & her hair gal had excellent time management; we were even able to add my 4th bridesmaid last minute (she hadn’t wanted to spend the money initially). I LOVED my hair & make-up, it was above & beyond what I had wanted!! LOVED the false lashes she used too, comfy once they settled in. Make up lasted the whole day…needed touch up powder & lipstick (which I knew/bought ahead of time). But many people commented that I looked the same at the end of the night as I did when the ceremony first started. Book her, she’s great!
Ilikai Hotel, Group Reservations: A
We booked Ilikai for ourselves & through Aqua Resorts (which includes the ilikai) for our group rates. They gave us great deals at Ilikai: $114/night=mountain view, $130/night=ocean view, even better rates at Aqua Palms. Every guest had a great view & enjoyed their room at the Ilikai. Aqua Palms (across the street) was more modern but had much less space than Ilikai. I barely noticed that it had condos there where people actually lived. The hotel bar was fun at night, & we were treated so nicely there. Our room overlooked the lagoon & to the east towards Diamond Head. It was a great stay; we were there for 9 days & enjoyed ourselves.
Hope this helps some of you. My best advice is to trust your vendors & use your gut & common sense when booking. I felt we made the best choices for us & had the BEST day imaginable. LOVED EVERY MINUTE!
A+ = Above & beyond expectations! HIGHLY recommended
A = Did a great job & would recommend
(might seem too good to be true, but we really loved our vendors!!)
Lanikuhonua Phase II (Wedding site): A+
We booked this site without seeing it at all until 2 days before the wedding. We had no idea what to expect aside from some pictures that some knotties had emailed me & what I could find Facebook. The walk through was pretty, but it was pouring rain, not misting pouring! But when we arrived the day of our wedding the clouds opened & we got to see it in its full glory. AMAZING! Took my breath away, the grounds are well kept, the layout is great & even with 2 other events going on, we felt like we were the only people there. We got married along the rock wall, then had our reception under a tent in the open area.
Hawaii Weddings & Events (Planner): A+
I had a great experience with Dianna. I like that her emails auto-reply with a time frame to expect a response by. I’m a fairly organized/anal person myself so arranging for most of the vendors wasn’t a problem…with Dianna’s guidance of course. She took care of all our rentals, linens, & floor plan arrangements, which was a huge relief to me. She’s so well versed, that my advice to all you ladies is to relax & trust your planner if you hire one. She calmly met us for the walk through, took all our little detail items from us & set it up beautifully. I especially love the colored linens she picked for the tables…made the whole look! Overall, she goes above & beyond while helping you maintain your budget & esthetic.
Kahu Bruce (minister): A+!
He was amazing! He was good about emailing with us, we spoke approx 4 times on the phone to arrange our ceremony elements (which his are secret & he shares once you start planning with him). He doesn't like talking about money, but if you contact me I can give you an estimate on what we paid. He met us at the Health department to get our marriage license, & to discuss in detail the elements of the ceremony. That was a very meaningful meeting & completely solidified the fact Bruce was the one for us! He is good at customizing the ceremony to you & your families traditions. We wanted more Hawaiian elements, which he's really good at! He ran our rehearsal with certainty & everyone loved him. The day of the wedding we both had a hard time holding it together at points, but it was such a deeply moving time for us, & Bruce really was a big part of that. I can't recommend him enough! Such a sweet person & minister. (email me for his contact info, he's better w/ phone calls than emails too FYI)
Royal Party Rentals: A
I didn’t work with them directly, but I can say everything looked great from the chairs, to the plates (Square) to the bamboo archway. It was all there set up when we arrived at 3pm for pictures & they were there promptly at 10pm to take it all away by 11pm.
Aloha On The Rocks (bartender): A
I’m not sure why you wouldn’t hire them…besides Dianna, this was the best money spent! We were able to go to Costco, buy our beer, wine & liquor (we did 2 specialty drinks: Mai Tai’s & Hawaiian Sunsets) & dropped it off to him the day of (had a family member handle that if you can’t then pay for his service to meet you!) The set up was perfect; they make a sign in a frame & bring in all their own tents, coolers, ice, napkins, garnishes, mixers (soda, water, etc…) SO WORTH the money. Not to mention our server went above & beyond & brought the wedding party a tray of drinks to us while we were shooting pictures (pretty sure a friend tipped him to do that, but it was great!). Overall, a great time & they did a great job! (Only reason no + sign is b/c email communication was lacking close to the wedding)
Highway Inn Catering (food): A
After getting off to a rocky start (PM me later if you want to know) we worked out a menu that made our guests rave! We wanted a more traditional Hawaiian meal, so we choose a buffet style of: Kalua pig, kalbi beef ribs, & Mahi over seared okinawan sweet potato, side of Portuguese sausage fried rice, & a side salad with papaya vinaigrette, fruit salad, & appetizers of chicken satay & a peanut sauce & Sesame or Spicy Ahi Poke. Went over really well & I LOVED it all especially the Mahi. Looked good, tasted good, & the servers were so nice! Despite our beginning Monica in the catering department made it all right & worked with our budget & wants. In the end we had a great meal!
A Cake Life: A+
Kristin at a cake life is the sweetest thing. We loved working with her & our cake was just what we wanted. We got a mini cake with 72 cupcakes on a 3 tiered tray. We chose a bright blue base color with white seashells on top, and then the topper had coral around it. We topped it off w/ an “H” monogram. She worked with us on price & the amount was perfect amount for our 45 guests. She even let us do a tasting when we arrived in Oahu to finalize our flavors (we had some filled cupcakes). We did: Red Velvet, White cake w/ Strawberries & Cream filling, & White cake with Lilikoi filling. All delicious!! Great to work with, professional & timely!
White Dot Photography: A+!
I love Mark & Emily; they are a husband & wife team who did our wedding photography. I work with Mark in LA, but they recently bought a house on the big island & are looking to permanently move there. They communicate so well with one another & just make you feel relaxed while shooting for what can be forever. They captured every moment from start to finish & offer a variety of packages to suit people’s needs. We are getting an album with our package. Highly recommend their journalistic in the moment style of work. They do the traditional posed photos as well, but I find some of their best stuff is in the moment J
Photo Booth Hawaii: A
We booked them second I believe in the process. We booked for 4 hours & they gave us a deal b/c we were booking over 6 months in advance, we got our 4th hour free! I have to say I was worried, b/c towards the end I hadn’t heard anything from them. But Dianna had worked with them b/f & assured me they would show up. They did, right on time, we brought our own props along with us…EVERYONE used the booth. It was great. They created a palm tree graphic for the bottom of our pictures w/ our names & wedding date/location on it too. Very fun souvenir from our wedding for the guests! Definitely book a photo booth!
Always Flowers (Hawaii): A
Our original florist had to step down due to health concerns, so Dianna recommended Todd at Always Flowers to us. From the moment he emailed me I knew we’d get along well. He was easy to work with, sent a few ideas/inspirations over & he knew what to do. I mailed our ribbon sample to him for comparison & he matched it perfectly. I was blown away when I walked in to our site. From the archway to the leis’ & bouquets, it was all beautiful! I loved the single protea in the bottom of each clear vase with the arrangement on top of that. It looked really cool & exactly what I wanted. Overall, I completely trusted Todd & he delivered in a big way for me. Also stayed BELOW my budget! Loved that!
Dang Limo: A
Another Dianna referral, Scott at dang limo was easy to email with. The white stretch SUV limo was clean, on time & the driver was courteous. We had a good trip to the venue & I would recommend them. Their prices were reasonable too.
A.M. Tours (mini bus): A-
This was booked through a contact I had with Hawaii Five-0 (did the pilot episode w/ them). We used them to transport us & our friends back to Waikiki after the wedding. I give it an A minus only b/c we had an incident w/ the driver (PM me) b/f we left. It was all good by the time we were dropped off. The bus was clean, on time & what we needed to get us home safe after a night of drinking.
Henry Makua (ukulele player): A+
He was so great!! Loved his singing & playing of the ukulele. He did a great job & was SO NICE, we met him briefly b/f he left & thanked him for playing our wedding. He did Canon in D for me, Somewhere over the rainbow for the wedding party, & The Way You Look Tonight for the parents seating. Then did I’m Yours for our recessional as well as Soul Sister & various other songs to fill in the time as the guests milled out.
N-D Mixx Productions (DJ/Emcee): A
Gil & Fran are a husband & wife team, he DJ/Emcee’s & she handles the office work side. They were both very sweet & prompt with replies to all our many questions. They did 2 set ups: 1-ceremony (Kahu & Henry plugged into his equipment), then 2- Reception under our tent for the program & dancing portion. He did a great job, played our whole list & our friends had a great time. He was able to accommodate us when we needed to change the order of the program as well. All in all we had a great experience.
Jacqueline Unique Nails: A+
This was a diamond in the rough for me! It was SOOO HARD finding a place that would accommodate my wedding party & family for nails the day b/f in our price range & near the Ilikai where we stayed. As well as a website that wasn’t in Japanese or wanted to charge an arm & a leg. Once I found them, I emailed & Sean contacted me saying they’d be happy to have us, to bring food & drinks & make it into a party for ourselves. We had the salon to ourselves from 10am-12:30pm. 7 people got mani’s or pedi’s or both & had a great time. I got a Gelish French manicure that has lasted me over 2 weeks now! Still looks great! Some of the girls said it was the best pedicure foot massage ever. Overall, I’d highly recommend them. They’re less than 3 miles from Hilton Hawaiian Village. (PM me if you need their website, they’re hard to find)
Faith & Beauty (Hair/Make-up): A++
Gemina is a doll & I was SO GLAD I went with her. I picked a lot of vendors based on gut feelings, & she was such a good pick. Emails were promptly returned, she met with me at a starbucks when I got into Oahu to finalize my look for hair & make up. She & her hair gal had excellent time management; we were even able to add my 4th bridesmaid last minute (she hadn’t wanted to spend the money initially). I LOVED my hair & make-up, it was above & beyond what I had wanted!! LOVED the false lashes she used too, comfy once they settled in. Make up lasted the whole day…needed touch up powder & lipstick (which I knew/bought ahead of time). But many people commented that I looked the same at the end of the night as I did when the ceremony first started. Book her, she’s great!
Ilikai Hotel, Group Reservations: A
We booked Ilikai for ourselves & through Aqua Resorts (which includes the ilikai) for our group rates. They gave us great deals at Ilikai: $114/night=mountain view, $130/night=ocean view, even better rates at Aqua Palms. Every guest had a great view & enjoyed their room at the Ilikai. Aqua Palms (across the street) was more modern but had much less space than Ilikai. I barely noticed that it had condos there where people actually lived. The hotel bar was fun at night, & we were treated so nicely there. Our room overlooked the lagoon & to the east towards Diamond Head. It was a great stay; we were there for 9 days & enjoyed ourselves.
Hope this helps some of you. My best advice is to trust your vendors & use your gut & common sense when booking. I felt we made the best choices for us & had the BEST day imaginable. LOVED EVERY MINUTE!
