Do you remember how excited you were with the new wonders of technology?

Do you remember the last time your e-mail inbox was empty?

We truly appreciate e-mail for it allows us to plan destination weddings from all over the world and we even use e-mail for our busy local couples. The ability to communicate at any time of day and sharing pictures of inspirations and ideas simply by typing and clicking send is nothing short of amazing.

We do, however, want to give you some tips on how to reduce e-mail clutter in both your personal or business lives.

1. Create a separate “wedding” e-mail account so that all of your wedding planning is one location.

2. Create a separate “shopping” e-mail account so that your Groupon, Amazon, Snapfish, etc. orders are all separate from your personal account and most importantly, your business account.

3. Create labels so that you may file away your e-mails. Did you know we actually save each and every e-mail from our clients? We actually have two files for you, one that has your date/name and a second one that is date/name and DONE. When we receive an e-mail we review/answer and then place it in your date/name file. Then, when we have finished placing all notes into your timeline or set-up notes, or taken care of vendor requests, it is moved to the DONE file.

4. Create filters for your e-mails. Spam filters are obvious, but did you know you can also create rules to have your e-mails automatically labeled or forwarded to someone else?

5. Lastly, rather than writing several small e-mails, gather your thoughts throughout the day and save your e-mail as a “draft.” You may continue to update your “draft” e-mail and then at the end of the day send a comprehensive list. You can also make notes in the subject line (for example: Flowers-Minister-Musician) so that you can keep track of your e-mails.

As with everything, you want to find balance between work, your personal life, and now with the addition of what may same to be a “never-ending” wedding to do list, it becomes even more important than ever before.

Brides that get stressed or sometimes even burned out with wedding planning, are those that often stop everything and just focus solely on wedding planning.    It is natural to get excited about planning one of the most important days of your life, but also don’t work so hard planning the future, that you forget to enjoy today.

Our “Lokahi” package (Unity Expressed with Harmony) was created for those clients who find themselves getting “out of balance” and needed a little more help.  By having a partner in the planning process, you’re able to stay balanced in your relationship and enjoy your engagement.

Margaret was actually the bride that introduced me to the beautiful oceanfront property called Lanikuhonua.   Throughout the planning process she would always say “I think you’re going to end up doing a lot of weddings at this location” and she was right!

Although they have not had an opportunity to come back to Hawaii for an anniversary, we’ve maintained each other’s contact information throughout the years, and when I had mentioned Margaret and Patrick’s wedding to another prospective Lanikuhonua bride who also lives in China, she wanted to know if she could speak to her to gain more insight about planning from abroad.

It was great to reconnect with Margaret who graciously offered her immediate assistance to help our new bride.   She said that their families all have great memories of their wedding week in Hawaii and look forward to a return visit.  What was even better was to find out that they were blessed with a baby girl on January 7, 2011.

Happy 1st Anniversary to Liz and Donald who were married at Kawela Kai North Shore one year ago today! 

After their wedding, Reverend Elias repeating over and over the time 5:10pm.  It was the exact time when the couple signed their marriage license and he said it would have significant meaning in their lives.

He was right!  They were blessed with twin boys (Tucker and Dominic) on 5-10 (May 10th).

We’re delighted to have the entire family back in Paradise celebrating their first anniversary.

In life, there are many things that come full circle, and this is another example.   I recently reconnected with our very first Lanikuhonua bride who now lives in Beijing, China as I have another bride from China that had asked if it was possible to speak with her.     Back in 2008, when they booked our services, I had never heard of, or been to Lanikuhonua and I remember her telling me “this is just the beginning of many weddings here for you.”

Boy, was she ever right!    Since that time, we actually have created packages specifically for the venue and are out there 4-6 times a month during wedding season.   Her wedding was almost 4 years ago, so it was really nice to be able to share this Martha Stewart Weddings feature with her as the “real life” destination wedding featured is also at Lanikuhonua.

I also have to admit, it was really fun to pick up the magazine at the grocery store yesterday and show it to my son who just returned home from college who said “good work Mommy.”

We also know that trust is important ingredient for a good friendship and marriage, but we also feel it is critical element to be able trust your Hawaii wedding planner as we have your best interest at heart.

Although we do offer day-of wedding management, one of the reasons why we prefer to assist clients from “beginning to end” is the process allows us to get to know our couples, and we can also save them from costly mistakes which we are not able to fix later.

How does one build a foundation of trust?     For us, we believe it is by being straightforward and honest as to what may (or may not be done), given your budget, venue restrictions, time constraints, etc.     Our goal is to help you achieve the Hawaii wedding of your dreams, but it also needs to be achievable and within your means.

As your trusted advisor, our role  is to tell you what works, what may not work, and should you decide to splurge on something you really want that makes you go over your budget goal, at least it will be a conscientious decision to do so.

We understand that wedding planning, no matter how big or small your event may be, can seem to be an overwhelming experience.     Our role is to allow you to enjoy your engagement and to help break down the huge task lists into bite-size pieces on what you are able to handle.    We love to help take your ideas, bringing them to life and seeing you enjoy your wedding day.

What we really enjoy is when a friendship is formed, which goes back to how trust is important ingredient to a good friendship.

a)  The “behind the scenes” time they devote to your wedding?

b)  The value of their on-going working relationships with vendors and expertise?

c)  The costs that they may incur to make your wedding day seamless?

d)  The value of your time?

This is just but one example of all the “extra” things that our team handled for a recent destination wedding to Hawaii which saved our couple time, money and most importantly……stress!

• Six hours of “Personal Shopping” service time to run the errands to seven different stores to obtain remaining items client needed for her wedding day as she was only arriving 3 days prior to the wedding day.
• The florist that was most suitable for their vision and budget was not available for the wedding day due to other events, but we worked it out that she could do the order if we arranged pick up and did both the ceremony and reception set-up.  My assistant picked up flowers on way to North Shore and our Hawaii Weddings and Events team did all event décor.   This not only saved the client $350 in set-up fees by the florist, but it allowed the bride to get the most beautiful garden roses and sugar bush proteas you could imagine at a price that was less than if they went to a wholesaler.
• After planning to use an Ipod for the wedding ceremony and reception, we highlighted the challenges and the “energy level” of an Ipod versus the DJ who did remixes and was able to accommodate special requests.  One of our favorite DJs worked with our client on a special rate since we were the coordinator he knew everything would be organized and timely which makes his job easier.
• Due to an exorbitant amount of boxes we reserved a hotel room and added an assistant with six hours of prep time to go through all boxes the evening before the wedding.
• Eighty dollars of tip money for eight bellman carts was spent to transport 20+ boxes, baskets, etc. to our guest room to unpack and organize, transport of all boxes from room to the venue which was a opposite side of resort and at the end of the night, transport of remaining boxes to bellman’s storage and our vehicles.
• The client had some special side dishes which were ordered for the rehearsal day, but there was a miscommunication and the restaurant had it the pick-up time listed as one hour prior the ceremony time on wedding day.  This of course was not going to work, so after a lot of “negotiation” it was set for 11am the following morning, and we in turn had to have a 3^rd coordinator pick up food from town and make the 2 ½ hour roundtrip drive which cost travel time, gas, on-site time and a meal allowance.
• Client’s coordination package included 50 hours of time including wrap-up of loose ends, the wedding rehearsal and 10 hours of on-site time on-site coordination based on one coordinator.  Total hours devoted to its success was 80 hours as we used 2 team members for 18 hours day before/day of, and had one additional team member to resolve the food issue.
• Emergency Bag materials (zip ties, duct tape, wet ones to clean hands guests after using “stamp pad”, strapping tape for boxes, scissors to trim down items that did not fit in their respective frames, boutonniere pins, scotch tape and hammer)

Total value of the coordination and planning services provided and cost savings was more than double what the client paid.

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 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.  We feel 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.

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 2nd for weddings that are between August 2011 to December 2012.

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 coordination, partnership planning and also consulting services such as budget review and event design.

Photo courtesy of Frank Amodo

To date, we haven’t had any problems since boxes were always sent priority mail or via Fedex, but today we found out about the option of USPS Parcel Post which we had never considered.

In trying to track down some boxes which were mistakenly sent to the wrong street address, I went to our post office to alert our carrier of the error and gave the post office worker the tracking numbers as well as the correct street address.

She looked up one of the USPS tracking numbers and then mentioned the boxes were sent Parcel Post and although they say  that it can take 2-3 weeks, it actually may not be received for 4-6 weeks.  Apparently, due to high fuel costs, they wait until the Matson container is filled before it is placed on the boat to Hawaii, which is what can sometimes cause delays.

We felt this was important information to share with everyone and hope that you will pass on the word to your friends or family that may be planning a destination wedding.

• Your guest demographics (local, mainland, age groups, etc.)
• Type of food (Pacific Rim, Hawaiian, Regional, Continental, French, Japanese, etc.)
• Style of food (buffet, plated or active stations) • Must have dishes
• Budget per person (food only), staffing is charged separately in most cases.
• Plastic or china and glassware
• Beverage service needs (do you need a bartender, what type of beverages you are planning to serve, etc.)
• Event start time
• Event end time
• Be sure that the caterer provides everything that they need to prepare your meal and to service your meal (ie:  cooking equipment, staff, tray jacks, water pitchers, bar kit, chinaware, glassware, serving trays, platters for food, chafing dishes, garbage cans, ice, etc.).   Hawaii Weddings and Events will handle all front of the house needs (ie: guest tent, caterer service tent, tables, linens, chairs, lighting, arch, etc. as we will be preparing your floor plan that encompasses all aspects of your event.
• Set-up of tables, chairs, linens, flatware, glassware, etc.  (rental company may be paid to set-up tables and chairs if caterer doesn’t but they should still set-up china, flatware, etc.)
• Service staff to execute your event from beginning to end
• Offering water service to your guests throughout event.
• Serving food or helping to direct to buffet line or food stations
• Clearing dishes from tables
• Clearing empty beverages and offering to get another beverage for your guest.
• Cutting and serving your wedding cake (if needed)
• Ensuring that beverage station (i.e.: coffee/tea) is replenished as needed and has appropriate condiments (cream, sugar, stirrers, tea bags, cups, adequate amounts of hot water, etc.)
• On average, one server for every 15-20 guests (if plated meal) and one server per every 25-30 guests (buffet meal) is the appropriate ratio to best service your valued guests. These ratios may vary slightly depending on the experience level of the staff.   The number of chefs, food runners and/or stewards is dependent upon your final menu selection,
• One bartender for every 50-75 guests (depending on the drinks being served).   If it is an independent bartending company from caterer, they should have an extra person to help bus the glassware or plastic cups from table as the caterer would only be responsible for their items.
• Assist with packing up your extra beverages at the end of the evening (for those venues that you provide your own alcohol)
• Breakdown tables, chairs, bag linen, etc. (note: if they don’t do strike, then rental company is paid to come back at the end of the event to take care of tables and chairs, but caterer should still assist with clearing tables and bagging linen)
• Garbage removal (*Note: most venues will not return your security deposit if this is not done*)

Many of the above notes may seem obvious, but we have found that often times clients find restaurants that are trying to get into catering, or receive a very inexpensive quote only to find out that it is based on “drop off”" service, or they neglected to include any service, or may not own any of their own equipment which will be added to your bill later.

Food picture courtesy of Elite Catering Hawaii.