Why 5 stars? Because we had the perfect wedding…read more --- --- --- Diana did a phenomenal job with everything - I cannot recommend enough for you to use her, if you're planning on getting married in Oahu. My now-wife handled the majority of the communication with Diana, but she was very on top of all the communication. Everything was executed flawlessly, and with thorough explanation. We ended up choosing Kualoa Ranch, which was one of the places Diana recommended. This is another story for another review, but I highly recommend that venue! Despite all of the moving parts, and the destination wedding of 24 people who traveled into town for it, there was no stone left un-turned. Every detail was taken care of, and because of this, Diana allowed us to enjoy our once-in-a-lifetime experience without a stress or care in the world.

I used Martina Cacciaroni and Oahu Wedding Company for my wedding in May of 2009, to cut straight…read moreto the point...DO NOT USE HER! My story is long but I'm going to cover the relevant topics. I meet her and some other colleagues a year and a half before my wedding date. She's very personable and her website is great but this reflects nothing to her knowledge of wedding planning abilities. She's a great person and is very sweet but bottom line is she has not clue about what it takes to plan a wedding. I'd give her organizational skills a D-. I was so furious after my wedding that when I came home I did some research on her to find out that she was in college while she was helping me plan my wedding. Which means she's a part time coordinator and explains why she wasn't fully tracking with me. I found her myspace, facebook and some references on her college website that helped me to determine that she was a full time student during my year and a half of planning and that she graduated the same month that I had my wedding. There were so many details that we had discussed that she did not do at my wedding. I'm not sure if she thought I wouldn't of noticed or if she just solely forgot. Every vendor she recommended me to was horrible to work with. The day of the wedding she showed up with basically a bunch of friends (all about 25 yrs old or so) and they were her setup and break down crew. They didn't do a mic check before the wedding and the pastor couldn't even say my name right (which she was suppose to go over with him). It seemed like a bunch of college kids who go to college in Hawaii and decided that they're going to do a wedding planning company for people who do destination weddings. After all, how hard can it be right? I imagine that your able to get away with it so long as the party doesn't exceed 30 people but after that the flaws truly start to come out. Supposedly when I met her a year and a half before my wedding day there was another older lady who was suppose to be mentoring her but for unknown reasons the lady left. Martina is the only wedding planner I believe and there's another guy his name is Nathan Bingham or something similar, but he's just the boyfriend now turned fiance. I did some research on him and it looks like he runs some type of moped rental company on the island as well so they might just be in the business to make money but I assure you that she/they have no idea what they are doing. Even more fishy...when I paid my balance I got an emailed receipt that said it was from Oahu Wedding but the email address wasnathan@hawaiianstylerentals.com I checked that website Hawaiian Style Rentals - Honolulu's Moped, Motorcycle and Bicycle Rentals Specialists on Oahu, Hawaii. and sure enough it looks like the payment system is tied to his business. It doesn't pay to try and scam people especially with the world wide web. I read she got into a college in some state on the east coast so I'm sure she'll just move her business over there or still continue to give the illusion that she can operate out of Hawaii since she still has friend there. Whatever it is...I believe it will all come back to you eventually. I wasn't going to post my review of her initially after my wedding because I thought it would be spitefully of me to do that but if I can save just one person from telling my story than that's one person that can go on and have the wedding of her dreams since it's too late for me. Your wedding day is only one day in a lifetime...don't gamble with someone your unsure about. I say to find someone who you can get good raves on from people who are neutral and have nothing to gain or lose from telling you their personal experience.

Look for a certified wedding coordinator planner. To help me with my wedding events, budget and…read morecheap place to do it..

We rented lawn games through Shereen just a week before our wedding and she was so prompt in…read moreresponding. On the day of the wedding she even had to step in to trouble shoot for a few minutes and was so sweet about it. We really appreciated her help and flexibility that day.

If you don't feel like reading this entire review, I'll get to the point: YES. You should…read moredefinitely book Vida Chic Events for any and all events you have. If you love a good detail like I do, this next part is for you. Whether you're planning a simple elopement or an elaborate wedding; whether you just need someone to handle the day-of timeline or want a full serviced planning with florals, decor, theme, and vendor ideas, Vida Chic Events is the way to go. You'll work with an amazing team who can help make your wedding dreams come true while also making the process of planning more enjoyable. For me personally, I need efficiency, strong communication, but I also enjoy and extremely appreciate when I'm working with kind and patient people as well, and that's exactly what I got. If you're debating on whether to invest in Vida Chic for your special day, from one bride to another, I would highly recommend it.

Were my review based solely on the ladies' attitudes and personalities, I'd give them more than 1…read morestar... HOWEVER, my wedding experience with them summed up in one word was: disappointing. My family is huge and all hands were on deck that day. My one request from Vida Chic and Chavah Grant that I re-iterated a dozen times was that it was MOST important that my family do as MINIMUM set up and MINIMUM break down as possible. This shouldn't have been difficult since absolutely everything was organized in detail to the 't' and they still would have had many helping hands regardless. When I say "organized", I mean ORGANIZED OCD LEVEL. Everything was delivered and ready in clear containers that were clearly labeled with everything in them, ready for set up. We had a detailed timeline that everyone had copies of. It was foolproof which should have allowed my family - namely, my OWN MOM and aunties- to just sit back and enjoy the wedding. This couldn't happen because nothing would have gotten done. I paid Vida Chic for day-of assistance which we still had meetings to prepare for and it seemed as though they understood my expectations. Come the day of, Chavah Grant who was SUPPOSED to be present as she had been my only point of contact, was NOT present for the wedding at all. She left everything to two (nice but unprepared) ladies who had no real idea of what we had discussed apparently. I can't even get upset with them since I never had an opportunity to meet with THEM to tell them what I wanted them to be responsible for. Specifically, all I asked for was: - the tables set up with the runner and centerpiece -the runners and centerpieces put back in boxes afterward -the aisle runner and the signs be layed down and then put away - the candy items for the candy table be set up and taken down - help my family accomplish this ...Seeing my family hustle they even TOLD ME "yeah wow! Your family's got everything covered!" No kidding, Sherlock!! They didn't have a choice!!! All in all, I would never use them again nor would I recommend them to anyone. When we called Chavah after the wedding to let her know that we weren't thrilled with the service, she was "surprised" since she heard "it all went so smoothly" and she made excuses for their not delivering what was honored in the contract. No attempt to even apologize was made. Of course it went smoothly!! My mom and aunties made sure of that but had they left it to Vida Chic, it would have been a mess!! Look elsewhere for your wedding needs. I can't speak for other events.

Gina from Divine Weddings was FANTASTIC. She was helpful from the first phone call that we had with…read moreher, when we were just trying to decide which day-of coordinator to hire, and that was a big sign for us that she would be amazing. Gina was so patient, organized, and communicative as the big day approached, and every time I spoke with her I just felt calm and reassured that everything would go smoothly. She ran the rehearsal so efficiently and clearly that on our wedding day, everything just went perfectly! I'm sure there were issues that came up throughout the day as there were many moving parts and with Covid everything is more complicated, but we just got to relax and enjoy our special day because Gina and her assistant took care of everything. She coordinated with all of our vendors, our wedding party, our venues, and our guests to make sure everyone had a great time and the day ran smoothly. When things were slowing down she moved the timeline around to make sure the party kept going and at the same time, made sure that we had time to breathe and really take in the moment. We had everything we needed at all times without ever feeling like she was intruding or taking time away from anything. I'm not the most laid back person in the world and can get anxious and nervous about things easily, but I can honestly say that I was relaxed and had so much fun on my wedding day because I didn't have to lift a finger thanks to Gina. I can't say enough good things about her, I am so grateful to her for everything!!!

Gina is amazing! I couldn't have done it without her. I planned my wedding and needed a day-of…read morecoordinator. I did my research and decided to contact her. She gave off such a friendly vibe and I knew that she's the one. She was very patient with me and corresponded with me every time. I put my 100% trust in her on the day itself, and she did not disappoint. My wedding went smoothly all because of her. Don't think twice, just get her, and you won't regret it! Thank you Gina for everything!

Wow, I can't believe that no one has written a review for Parasol Events! Perhaps yelp is not as…read morepopular in Hawaii? In any event, I am honored to be the first reviewer for this wonderful event planning company. I can really only give testament, however, to my wonderful wedding consultant, Alia Kennedy. To give some background, my husband (who is originally from Hawaii) and I live in San Francisco, but wanted to get married on Oahu because most of his family lives there, and my family lives in Korea. Hawaii was the logical location. In addition, though it might seem strange, it was actually cheaper for us to have a wedding in Hawaii than in San Francisco. Because we were planning our wedding from across the Pacific, we wanted to make sure to have a reliable and detail-oriented wedding consultant who had connections to various vendors on the island. We were also interested in someone who could share and expand upon our vision of the type of wedding we wanted. With Alia, we got just that. Alia had wonderful recommendations of what to splurge on, what not to spend too much money on, what guests find most memorable, etc. She was and is a wedding consultant extraordinaire. She also dealt with my husband and me very well. We are a neurotic and perfectionist couple (yes, my husband was very into the wedding planning as well), and she was always gracious whenever our nerves got the best of us. My wedding day couldn't have been more perfect. As the bride, I didn't have a single worry as to the coordination and flow of the wedding. I trusted in Alia to make the day progress seamlessly. Alia delivered. I could not recommend Parasol Events, or more importantly, Alia Kennedy, more highly.

I cannot say enough wonderful things about Laura! Me and my now hubby were extremely not knowing…read morewhen it came to all things wedding. Add to that we tend to be a pretty laid back pair and while the idea of a wedding planner had clear appeal since we knew diddly squat about how to create the event we wanted, we were also concerned about having some type A tyrant calling the shots & running the show. Laura took the time to get to know us, both in terms of our personality and in what we wanted for our wedding. She gave us lots of advanced warning about decisions that were coming down the pike, keeping us on track and gently nudging us when a decision needed to be made, but we were dragging our feet. For all the details she gave us wonderful options and we ended up with the best vendors ever! Not only that, she made us aware of details we would otherwise not have thought of, reassuring us that we did not have to do these things, but also wanting to make sure that we had the celebration we wanted with no regrets. Laura was awesome at communication, available and responsive, exceptionally organized, and warm and friendly the whole way through. When the big day came, neither one of us were worried about any detail of our special day. Our wedding was exactly the celebration we wanted it to be and so much of that is thanks to Laura.

Working with Katie and her dream team for our wedding was truly amazing!! From the very…read morebeginning/discovery of finding where we wanted to go with our flowers to them crushing it the day of. Katie is truly creative and listens to the wedding couple well of what they'd like on their special day. Cannot recommend her and her team enough. They went the extra mile for us on our special day.

Working with Katie and her team was one of the best decisions we made for our wedding. From the…read morevery beginning, she brought such a calming, confident presence--she truly listened to our ideas and then sprinkled her creative magic to bring them to life in a way that far exceeded anything we imagined. The florals were breathtaking! Every bloom felt thoughtfully placed, and the way she transformed our venue into an enchanted, romantic garden still gives me goosebumps. Guests were blown away by the unique, whimsical touches--like the floral arch that looked like it had grown right out of a fairytale and the delicate arrangements that danced down the aisles like poetry. Beyond her artistry, she was just so easy to work with. Responsive, flexible, kind, and completely in tune with the vibe we were going for. She handled everything with grace and genuine enthusiasm. If you're looking for someone who can make your floral dreams feel effortless and truly magical--this is your person. I can't recommend her highly enough!

Stopped by to get shaved ice from Tony. What a sweet experience. Thank you so much for your…read morekindness and hospitality. You went above and beyond and let my children help make their shaved ice and then gave us a tour of the nursery and pets. We loved this interaction. God bless you and your family.

There was zero communication about the limited flowers. Also my wedding coordinator is responsible…read morefor the majority of emails. Karen is who I communicated with not Kathy. And $500 refund came with begrudgingly and with much gaslighting. Your flowers and the way your business handled this situation were beyond disappointing. Brides pay attention and be explicit in your expectations if you use this company!

We absolutely loved working with Mina, Jayvee, Chiara, and everyone else on the CIHW team! Everyone…read moreis so nice, sweet, and easy to work with, and you can tell that everyone really loves what they do. They really put in the extra mile to make your wedding day perfect, and we received so many compliments from our guests on how smoothly our wedding went, and how on top of it the entire CIHW team was. There were more team members than we expected on the day of, which was a pleasant surprise! Because of all the planning and meetings we had with CIHW leading to the wedding day, we truly felt at ease at our wedding and didn't have to worry about anything. We highly recommend working with Cherished in Hawaii Weddings if you're planning a wedding in Hawaii, they'll take good care of you! Thank you CIHW team for everything :)!

We booked CIHW for day-of coordination, and it was quite literally the best decision we could have…read moremade. While Jayvee was very helpful during the initial planning stages, a scheduling conflict arose two weeks before our wedding, and we were handed off to Leah. Despite the short notice, Leah took over and was incredibly thorough. We scheduled multiple meetings in those final weeks to ensure she knew our vision inside and out. She immediately began checking in with our vendors to ensure everything was on track. Since we were planning from Canada (not sure why our profile says SF) and had never seen our venue, we did a walkthrough with Leah and Monique once we arrived. By the time we hit the rehearsal the day before, they knew our plans well and were identifying small details we hadn't even thought of. The real "kicker" happened the morning of the wedding: the island and our venue flash flooded, and we were forced to call off the day after hair and makeup were just wrapping up at 8AM. In what would have been a breaking point for most couples, Leah, Monique, and Jayvee were our rocks. They helped calm us down and worked tirelessly with our vendors to reschedule everything. We let them know our venue preferences (no ballrooms or conference rooms, we're in Hawaii!) and they assured us that we would be able to plan something for the next day. In less than 24 hours, they helped us plan an entirely new wedding despite unknowns about the weather. Within hours, they secured a brand-new venue, negotiated the rental of a tent left over from a previous event, coordinated with all vendors to rearrange arrival times and logistics, adjusted floor plans, and rental counts due to a shift in guest attendance, and so much more that we probably don't even know. While the total change in venue and timeline led to some unavoidable delays, we saw Leah and Monique working incredibly hard to pivot and make the day beautiful. They "married" our original vision with these new, emergency arrangements as perfectly as possible. It was also the nicest day we had experienced on the island since landing several days before, a huge blessing. Once we finally made it down the aisle, they kept us on schedule and completely stress-free. Because of them, we were able to actually soak in and enjoy our wedding day, even though everything felt brand new. Having Leah and Monique by our side was a true blessing, we cannot recommend them enough for their expertise, heart, and ability to perform under pressure. Leah, Monique, and Jayvee - we love you!