Hawaii wedding...desperate for initial advice

[mischa]

Hello all!

We just recently became engaged (2 months ago) and are starting to plan our wedding...

We only know the date (next August)and location (Honolulu)

HELP!!! Where do we start?

1) Any good books, websites, resources about destination weddings/Hawaii?
2) How to find local vendors?
3) Should we hire a planner?

Any help/advice would be GREATLY appreciate!!!

Thanks a bunch!

Mischa

 

[fire&ice]

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On 8/10/2004 12:15:43 AM mischa wrote:

Hello all!

HELP!!! Where do we start?

1) Any good books, websites, resources about destination weddings/Hawaii?

Mischa
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You should start right here on this forum w/ a Poster named Mara. She was recently wed in Hawaii - destination wedding. She has a few threads about it right here.

 

[aneelcon]

Hi,

I'm getting married in Oahu also. My cousin (a local) got married at Ko'olau last may in Oahu. Since I'm in SF I will definitely need some help with everything. But I am also on a budget. I learned a lot from my cousin and she gave me all her "hawaiian Bride" magazines. Also, her wedding planner, who did her wedding for free, will probably do mine. It was her first wedding and she did an incredible job. I think she will charge very reasonable prices.

Where are you located? If you're in SF, maybe we can get together. My friend is getting married in June at Paradise cove and we're actually having dinner tomorrow to 'talk story'.

good luck.

oh yeah...I know someone for flowers...watanabe floral. It's actually a warehouse selling things for wholesale. Almost everyone, even vendors themselves, get their flowers from there. My cousin's floral person purchased the flowers from there. It's on nimitz I think but you should call for a bridal consultation.

 

[mischa]

Aneelcon,

Thank you for your reply! No, I am not in SF...wish I lived in such a beautiful city!

I am completely new at this...I don't even know where Ko'olau?!?!?!

I would love the name of your wedding planner! Also, what are the names of the Hawaiian Bridal magazines. My friends are there now...but they are all boys, so I'll need to tell which mags to buy!

Thanks again.

Melissa

 

[Mara]

We got married in Kauai in May.




I didn't bother with magazines or books on Hawaii, we visited the venue and found out everything we needed to know about what was local. I also did everything for vendors on theknot.com where they have a destination board AND a local board, so you can just go onto the Hawaii board and find all the vendors that others are using. I found all my vendors on there, and everyone had testimonials as well. When we visited the venue 8 months before the wedding, I met with all the vendors as well. After that it was pretty easy! Much easier than getting married locally.




Know that if you are getting married in a destination that you will have automatically less control over what goes on and you cannot be a bridezilla about things like how perfect the cake should be. It's hard to coordinate when you are far away, even if you have a planner...they still have their own things going on as well and you are still one more wedding for them. You may not even see some of the items in person til a few days before the wedding (aka flowers or cake) so you must be able to somewhat let the reigns go and know that whatever you have will be beautiful in the end because of the amazing scenery!




We did everything without a planner since I have marketing event background experience and I loved how everything turned out. We did gift bags, and an all-inclusive rehearsal dinner, etc. Everyone stayed on the same property.




Oh and last but not least, know that with a destination you automatically play host to your guests, welcoming and greeting them, ensuring that everyone is having a good time and taken care of. It was great to have family and friends with us, but exhausting near the end and we LOVED the honeymoon when everyone was out of our hair!

Good luck!