Lori-Tropical Maui Weddings
#1 Wedding Coordinator- Lori Lawrence: "Super Star Vendor."
I contacted Lori before we got engaged, she was there from day one and she is such a sweetheart. I am a big planner, but I'm so glad Lori was there to help me when things got really stressful. She thought of things that never crossed my mind, and kept me calm. She also handled most of the communication between my vendors, which meant I didn't have to deal a lot with the frustration of "island time." I got a chance to meet her during a quick scouting trip and she set up a cake and menu tasting for me at Cafe O'Lei. She also let me ship wedding items to her house ahead of time and was never impatient with me for changing my mind a million times or being indecisive. I only have one tiny complaint that you can find in the cake vendor review. (Miscommunication with baker re: number of tiers, for which Lori was responsible).
#2 I would definately do full planning with Lori again. There were times that I thought to myself that I could have easily booked my vendors however it was her relationship with them and knowledge/experience that contributed so much. She thought of a lot of things that I wouldn't have and made the process less stressfull for me than it otherwise would have been. I don't regret it one bit.
#3 "Super Star Vendor" – Lori was super sweet and was very accommodating when we had to change our entire schedule leading up to the wedding. She was even more organized than I was, which is very impressive, and a great relief since I had to hand things over kind of haphazardly due to my lack of ability to function leading up to our trip. She took such great care of us all day and night, and didn’t miss a detail. Everyone loved Lori!
#4 One bride mentioned the possibility of Lori taking "kick-backs" from your vendor bookings due to discrepancies between what the bride paid vendors and vendors reported receiving from Lori. This may be a industry-wide practice, but it made the bride slightly uncomfortable.
#2 I would definately do full planning with Lori again. There were times that I thought to myself that I could have easily booked my vendors however it was her relationship with them and knowledge/experience that contributed so much. She thought of a lot of things that I wouldn't have and made the process less stressfull for me than it otherwise would have been. I don't regret it one bit.
#3 "Super Star Vendor" – Lori was super sweet and was very accommodating when we had to change our entire schedule leading up to the wedding. She was even more organized than I was, which is very impressive, and a great relief since I had to hand things over kind of haphazardly due to my lack of ability to function leading up to our trip. She took such great care of us all day and night, and didn’t miss a detail. Everyone loved Lori!
#4 One bride mentioned the possibility of Lori taking "kick-backs" from your vendor bookings due to discrepancies between what the bride paid vendors and vendors reported receiving from Lori. This may be a industry-wide practice, but it made the bride slightly uncomfortable.
Events by Evonne
#1: A+, highly recommend
LOVE her!! I found Evonne on The Knot last year when I was doing some research on destination weddings and this was the best decision I made. I hired her for full-time coordination and it was so worth it. I was able to meet with her last year before delving into planning and I ended up doing most of the planning with her via email. I’m sure we exchanged close to 1000 emails and she would always have a response for me that same day, sometimes within minutes (I’m on the East Coast and there is a 5 or 6 hour time difference between us depending on daylight savings). She was also able to help arrange for me to have cake samples sent to me and to do a mock up of my whole tablescape with the floral designer and linen designer. It was just great to not have to get on the phone with several vendors to book stuff or have to spend countless hours doing research. After the wedding was over she stayed behind probably until close to midnight to make sure that everything was taken care of. I could go on and on but if you are looking for a full time coordinator, you will have an amazing wedding with her by your side.
LOVE her!! I found Evonne on The Knot last year when I was doing some research on destination weddings and this was the best decision I made. I hired her for full-time coordination and it was so worth it. I was able to meet with her last year before delving into planning and I ended up doing most of the planning with her via email. I’m sure we exchanged close to 1000 emails and she would always have a response for me that same day, sometimes within minutes (I’m on the East Coast and there is a 5 or 6 hour time difference between us depending on daylight savings). She was also able to help arrange for me to have cake samples sent to me and to do a mock up of my whole tablescape with the floral designer and linen designer. It was just great to not have to get on the phone with several vendors to book stuff or have to spend countless hours doing research. After the wedding was over she stayed behind probably until close to midnight to make sure that everything was taken care of. I could go on and on but if you are looking for a full time coordinator, you will have an amazing wedding with her by your side.
Belle Destination Events
Jane was absolutely fabulous! Her "day-of" coordination services began with a “dreams and visions” questionnaire, so that she could get a feel for what we wanted and guide us in the right direction. From there she sent me a list of recommended vendors along with her personal impressions of them, etc. The day-of package included three 1.5-2 hour meetings, which we did in person and via Skype. If I had any questions/surprises, she was quick to respond to my emails. The week of the wedding, she was amazing. We were experiencing stormy weather—I called on Friday to ask her to book tents. When she answered, she already had availabilities and prices on hand. The rehearsal was fantastic. Also, the day of the wedding she was astounding. Following us with umbrellas when needed, toweling down outdoor furniture, moving furniture between cocktail hour and reception, guiding vendors, taking my tissues off me for photos…everywhere I looked she was running around doing something to make the day perfect.
White Orchid Wedding
I hired them for a full coordination package. WOW charges based on a percentage of what you spend with vendors. So if you have a $10,000 rather than a $200,000 wedding, their fee is going to be significantly lower. And from my experience, they aren't going to put as much effort into your wedding. I had to switch to a different coordinator within WOW about 2/3 through my engagement because emails would go unanswered for weeks and scheduled phone meetings (I was a destination bride) would be 'forgotten'. From the beginning, I told them I wanted to be very involved in the process. But I was told what vendors I would use - this person for flowers, this place for food, etc. (These places below are noted with WOW in parenthesis) They ignored any requests I had to use other vendors I found through doing research. I was never given a timeline for the day of. My ceremony started 30 to 45 mins late and it was not because I wasn't ready. I was there, just no one was keeping track of time. Looking back, I was just VERY underinformed of how things were going to work which resulted in a couple things I would have done differently.
Maui'd Forever-WC Bill
#1 I give them a B because they really had little contact with me and didn't really make me feel all that secure. But what they did do was good I guess.....
Merri Maui Weddings
Non-Review:
I haven't seen any reviews of them on here. I actually contacted these folks, and asked about "nonreligious weddings" (which, by the way, are SUPER common in Hawaii). The person I talked to there told me they do them, "But you still have to have vows." Well, duh. The tone he used was really off-putting, and we decided that we didn't want someone to coordinate our wedding who had that attitude about it. ETA: I also didn't want a coordinator where it was a "one-stop shop" - officiant, coordinator, photographer. I mean, yea, maybe the money is less overall, but I wanted the freedom to choose my own vendors and not be stuck with the ones included in the package - who may or may not fit with my overall aesthetic.
I haven't seen any reviews of them on here. I actually contacted these folks, and asked about "nonreligious weddings" (which, by the way, are SUPER common in Hawaii). The person I talked to there told me they do them, "But you still have to have vows." Well, duh. The tone he used was really off-putting, and we decided that we didn't want someone to coordinate our wedding who had that attitude about it. ETA: I also didn't want a coordinator where it was a "one-stop shop" - officiant, coordinator, photographer. I mean, yea, maybe the money is less overall, but I wanted the freedom to choose my own vendors and not be stuck with the ones included in the package - who may or may not fit with my overall aesthetic.
Precious Maui Weddings
A++++
Where do I begin? Planning a wedding at a location so far away from home can be nerve wracking. Deanne put all my worries to rest. She was so easy to work with by always responding to emails and/or returning my phone calls in a timely manner. Deanne made our dreams of a beach weddings come trued. She hired the best vendors!! We had so much fun with each and every one of them. They made our wedding day stress free!! Imagine actually enjoying your wedding day and not having a care in the world...it can be done. I highly recommend hiring Deanne!!!
