HAWAII WEDDINGS AND EVENTS

About

National award winner of "Best Catered Wedding Event of the Year 2009" and "Best Themed Food and Beverage Presentation 2005",  Hawaii Weddings and Events is known for service excellence and Amazing, Fun and Stress-Free Celebrations.   We're pleased to offer a variety of services including "Elua" wedding day management,, "For My Peace of Mind" 90-day countdown,,  our very popular off-premise "Lanikuhonua Where Heaven Meets the Earth", Lokahi (Unity Expressed with Harmony), Evolution "Event Design" and our full service "For Sanity's Sake" package.

Frequently Asked Questions about Planner

What types of weddings do you accommodate?

Civil, Destination, Double Weddings, Eco-Friendly / Green, Military

What wedding planning services do you offer?

Day-of Coordinator, Full Planning, Partial Planning

How many planners do you work with?

We have a team of three. Dianna does full service planning and event design, Wai does our partnership in planning packages and full service packages. Ramona manages our beach weddings and day-of wedding management. We avoid "back to back' weddings, so we may cross-over on responsibilities in order to meet the needs of our clients.

What style of wedding do you specialize in planning?

Destination weddings is our biggest market as Hawaii is such a beautiful and serene location. Our most popular package is our "For Sanity's Sake" package which includes creating your realistic ceremony and reception budget, helps to keep you on track with your wedding planning as we have a monthly teleconference, in person meeting or Skype call to go over your "homework" (ie: save the dates, dress, bridal attire, etc.) and give you progress updates on vendors or design elements that we are working on for you.

Do you support or cater to any specific religions?

Most of our weddings use a non-denominational minister which allows clients to have a non-religious ceremony, or may include Christian or Hawaiian influences. We've also been of service to Civil Unions, Jewish and Catholic ceremonies.

What sizes of weddings have you coordinated in the past?

The smallest has been just the couple and the largest wedding so far has been 490 guests. As we do many destination weddings, the average ranges between 50-120. We have done corporate and non-profit events for up to 3000 guests.

Which venues have you worked at or are familiar with?

Lanikuhonua, Oasis World Estates, Aulani Resort and Spa, Ihilani Resort and Spa, Moana Surfrider, Royal Hawaiian Hotel, Sheraton Waikiki, The Kahala Resort, Halekulani, Hyatt Regency Waikiki, Koolau Golf Club, Turtle Bay Resort, Hale Koa Hotel, Kualoa Ranch, Willows Restaurant, Ihilani, Waikiki Beach Marriott, The Bayer Estate, Loulu Palms Estate, Waikiki Aquarium, private estates. As a certified planner I understand all aspects of wedding and event planning, so I just need to do one walk through to understand the logistics of a location and can do an event anywhere.

In today’s world of modern technology and social media forums such as Twitter and Facebook, it is very easy to sit behind your computer instead of getting up and talking to your co-worker in the next cubicle or not attend networking events.

One must remember, there is nothing better than being “face to face” and carrying on a conversation that is more than 140 characters at a time.

At this evening’s NACE (National Association of Catering Executives) Hawaii chapter meeting, we not only learned more about social media and the constant changes to be aware of,  but more importantly, we had the opportunity to talk with new potential members and learn more about them on a personal level and re-connect with other event industry peers.

As a planner, we’re always helping our clients find vendors that are most suitable for them, and sitting down and “talking story’ it gives us invaluable insight into their passion for their business, but we also get to learn more about them on a personal level which actually helps you.

Did you have a clear sense of what you wanted for your wedding only to have a complete change in direction?

It is not uncommon to have some changes in wedding colors  and/or type of flowers used after bridal dresses are decided upon or needing to scale back due to budget restrictions.

It is unusual, however, to have a complete “re-design” of a wedding after 7-9 months of design concepts, purchasing decor elements around the original concept and changing only 2-4 months before the wedding date.

So what happens now?     First of all it depends on when it happens on whether it may be done.

It usually may be done, but additional expenses will be incurred to start from scratch.   Keep in mind that anywhere from 12-20 hours were already spent on floral design concepts based on your initial theme between your florist and wedding planner.

The florist only provides a total of four revisions and all additional time charged (reference the cost of revisions)  http://hawaiiweddingsandevents.com/weddingplannerblog/2012/04/the-cost-of-revisions/

Several years ago, we had one client that changed from a very vintage antique type theme to elegant with Swarovski crystals.   This was unfortunately done only 2 months prior to the wedding date which created alot of stress for everyone as we were now in the peak of wedding season with very limited time to schedule the florist, venue, linen vendor, ourselves and the couple who also had a busy schedule.  In the end, we were able to make the changes, but they ended up paying for additional design, additional consulting/meeting time with vendors as well as a second mock centerpiece.

What can you do to help avoid these additional fees?

1.   Create a visions board or use Pinterest to gather your ideas.

2.  Before working on floral design, decor elements and special linens relook at your visions and ensure that this is still what you are looking for your special day.

3.  If you’re still not quite certain, consult with your wedding planner about getting a florist locked in for your wedding date so you have someone, but don’t start working on the design until closer to the wedding date.     We often tell our clients that there is “toggle time” and then there is “decision time.”   Toggle time is when you gather your inspirations and keep going back and forth with your ideas.  Decision time is when we need a definitive answer so we my proceed full speed in getting everything accomplished for your wedding day.

4.  Understand that if you do end up completely changing your theme, you are going to incur additional costs.   Pretty much anything may be done, but there will be fees associated in making the changes.

In today’s world, everyone is so focused on responding as fast as possible via their iPad, iPhone, Blackberry or other technological device, that they don’t take the time to read everything thoroughly.

Airlines implemented “change fees” many years ago to force travelers to really think about their travel plans and to ensure their dates, times, location, etc. were all correct before booking.     Similarly, more and more vendors are starting to implement a change fee after the 2nd, 3rd or 4th revision of a video edit, flower order, menu change, timeline modification, etc.

Why are they suddently charging for revisions?   The reason why these fees are starting to be implemented is due to an overwhelming increase in clients who constantly send changes” little by little” versus carefully reviewing all details and giving vendors one consolidated list of changes.

“Time is money” so the intention of this new practice is so that clients slow down and take the time to really think about what they want and thoroughly review all details.    The alternative to charging revision fees would be for vendors to increase their pricing to compensate for all of the extra hours they are putting in which in turn would penalize those that are considerate of their time.

Starting May 1, 2012, we are launching our 2013 “First Two Promotion” whereby the first two couples that book our ‘For Sanity’s Sake” within a given month will save $500 off this super value added package.

Why only the first two?

Due to the amount of time that we devote to serving the client in this package, we limit the number of full service packages to only two per month/per Hawaii Weddings and Events coordinator.

Why would you offer another $500 savings off a package that already is super-value added?

1. We would like to reward couples that reserve their wedding date early.

2. From experience, we know we can be of better service to you if we are assisting from “beginning to end” as we can help avoid costly mistakes, ensure what you envision may be done within the set-up time allotted time and keep your stress level down during the planning process so you may enjoy your engagement.

Through the planning process we are able to get to know more about you and incorporate “special touches” into your wedding day that bring out your unique personalities.

3. We love to assist clients with their event design!

What are the applicable dates of this promotion?

We will starting reserving “First Two” packages on May 1, 2012 for weddings that are between January 2013 to August 2013.  We may also book September-December 2013 weddings, but we do not start working on files until 15 months in advance of wedding date.

What are the restrictions of this package?

The “For Sanity’s Sake” package is limited to two bookings within a given month, so please contact us directly to check current availability.

How many weddings do you do in a month?

It depends on the scope of services that we are providing, Hawaii Weddings and Events believes in quality, not quantity, as we want every bride to experience a beautiful Hawaii wedding.

We offer beach weddings, day-of wedding management, partnership planning and also consulting services such as budget review and event design.

Photo courtesy of Jose Roces (please note that some picture were taken before reception was completely set-up which is why one table does not have flowers yet as they were transferred from ceremony)

This post is actually geared more towards vendors or for those that may be starting their own business.

What is your target pricing?   The answer to this is going to be different for each and every on of you.  These are the things to consider:

1.   What is the value of your experience?    Are you relatively new to the field with limited experience or do you have years of experience under your belt?

2.  What is your market?     In weddings, there are those that focus on very simple beach weddings, those that only serve the luxury market, others that have the capacity to do weddings and other social and/or corporate events.

3.   How do you measure up to your competition?      So you’ve heard that your competitor charges $500 more for their services than you do.   Does this mean that you should automatically increase your pricing?    The answer is NO.     Why?

Let’s use the example of a DJ/Emcee.     There are various levels of DJ and emcee services.   One may be a higher priced, but keep in mind that they also use a Bose system, they have a special covering for their DJ booth to cover the cords, are a much more polished emcee who rehearses pronunciations in advance of the wedding day,, annually attend DJ conferences to keep abreast of current trends, offer extra services such as remixes, voiceovers, games and other activities, etc.       If you are not providing any more in terms of services, time or upgraded equipment, how can you justify increasing your pricing to match theirs?

Our rates and planning packages have evolved over the years.   We are not the lowest priced, and we’re definitely not the highest, but have developed our pricing based on what is fair and reasonable for the experience that we bring to the table and the amount of time we devote to the success of each and every event which is reflected in our reviews http://www.weddingwire.com/reviews/hawaii-weddings-and-events-honolulu/20e45160b6edc0ab.html