25 June, 2014

The Couple

Lauren and Kemo from Long Beach, California married at The Old Lahaina Luau on the island of Maui, Hawaii on the 28th of September, 2013.

The Planning

Why did you choose this destination? We already knew we wanted an intimate destination wedding. We chose Hawaii because we have both been there and absolutely love it.

How long did it take you to plan the wedding and how far in advance did you have to book the venue/accommodation/travel? We started planning and contacting venues about a year in advance. We booked our venue about 10 months in advance, our flights about 9 months in advance, and hotel about 6 months in advance.

Was it easy or difficult to plan? It was fairly easy. The worst part was not being able to see everything in person for ourselves, but everyone we worked with was really good about corresponding with us and making us feel comfortable with our decisions.

Did you use a Wedding Coordinator? Yes, our venue the Old Lahaina Luau has an amazing wedding coordinator. He helped with everything.

Legal/Medical Requirements

Was the wedding legally recognized in your home country? Yes, same country so that was not an issue.

Did you need to arrange or provide paperwork before you left or once you arrived? No, we did not need to do anything before we left California. When we got to Hawaii all we needed to do was go to the courthouse a few days before the ceremony and file our paperwork just like any other marriage in the United States.

Did you need to arrange a translator? No

Were there any residency requirements? No

Did you need to arrange any vaccinations? No

Travel Arrangements

Was it easy to reach or off the beaten track? Easy to reach

Did you need to arrange local transport from a major town or port to reach it? We had a rental car that we booked about 2 months ahead of time. The airport had a free shuttle bus that took you straight to the car rental place. The car rental place was about 5 minutes from the airport.

Did you have any difficulties using local transport/understanding timetables/booking fares etc? No, everything is in english which is our first language.

How long did the journey take? Our flight from CA to HI was about 5-6 hours. After we picked up our rental car it took us about 30-45 minutes to get from the car rental place to our hotel.

The Destination - Maui

What were your first impressions? Gorgeous, peaceful, cultural, fun...

Did it live up to your expectations?It went above and beyond our expectations.

How many days/weeks prior to your wedding day did you arrive? We arrived 6 days before our wedding.

Was this long enough? Yes, it was more than enough time. We could have arrived only 1-2 days before the wedding and still been just fine, but we wanted a vacation.

Did you need to make changes to your arrangements or additional arrangements once you saw your wedding venue? No, everything was planned perfectly.

Was your accommodation at the same location as your wedding venue? No, our hotel was about a 10 minute drive from our venue.

What did you do with your free time (did you visit any on site or nearby attractions, restaurants, spas, or take any tours)? We did all the main tourist attractions that Maui has to offer and then spent the rest of our time hanging out on the beach or by the pool.

Guests

How many guests did you have, and were they family, friends or both? 70 guests total. Family and close friends.

Did everyone stay at the same accommodation? Yes, almost everyone did stay at our hotel. I would say out of 70 guests maybe 10 were at a different hotel.

How long before and after the wedding ceremony did your guests stay at the destination? Our wedding was on Saturday 9/28/13. Our guests started arriving anywhere between 9/23/13 through 9/27/13. Most of of our guests went home on 9/29/13 and 9/30/13.

Did you plan any group activities or meals with your guests prior to or after the wedding day? We did a couple bbq's at our hotel pool that all our guests were welcome to come to but nothing formal was planned. We did not do a rehearsal dinner or anything like that. We just tried to include our guests in all our tourist attractions. It was pretty much a situation where we would tell everyone our itinerary for the day and whoever wanted to join was welcome.

The Wedding

Our wedding package with Traditional Hawaiian Weddings At The Old Lahaina Luau was kind of an all inclusive deal, which is one of the many reasons we decided to go with this venue. The ceremony was one part of the package. This included the wedding officiant, chairs, musicians, flowers, champagne toast, and wedding cake. We brought our own photographer from home. The other part of the package was our reception. This included our tickets for the luau show and the traditional hawaiian feast.

Advice for other couples considering this as a wedding destination

Do you have any advice for other couples considering this destination for their Wedding? Go for it. We have no regrets.

What were the highlights of your destination wedding experience? Basically being on vacation in a tropical paradise with 70 of our closest family members and friends. You simply can not beat that. Everyone has such a good time.

Were you happy with your choice of destination? Absolutely

Is there anything that you would have done differently? Nothing

Is there anything additional that you would have done, or anything you did do that didn't really work on the day? Not at all. Everything went according to plan and there were no glitches. It was perfect!

Photographer: Sposto Photography

Ceremony & Reception Venue: The Old Lahaina Luau - Maui, Hawaii

Celebrant: Reverend Kimo Kirkman

Wedding Coordinator: Kawika Freitas with Traditional Hawaiian Weddings At The Old Lahaina Luau

Bride's Hair: Regina Campisi with Bride's Hair and Makeup Maui

Flowers: Darren Keala with Ku O Lani Floral

Music/Entertainment: The Old Lahaina Luau