We booked our wedding with Hawaii Nei Weddings after reading tons of favorable 5 star reviews... apparently not on Yelp. We wanted a simple yet perfect destination wedding on Oahu at sunset and our research made us believe this company would give us just that!
We booked over a year in advance, and were called a day before our wedding date, yet a year early, to confirm our wedding for the next day. While it was a little concerning, I thought "we all make mistakes, this is silly enough...no big deal"
I did not ask for a lot, however I did want confirmation of items I was asking for. I had specific questions about the process of the ceremony (fair enough right?) the pictures the photographer would take (I thought this was a typical bride inquiry) and a few preparation request such as, we would like to be separated up until the ceremony and we want to have a sunset wedding. While I felt these questions and concerns were simple enough to ask and to answer, I quickly learned that was not the case. Jackie, the "wedding planner" was not as responsive as a wedding planner should be nor was she very professional. Each time I tried to make contact with her, I waited days if not weeks for responses. I also asked to talk to the officiant and the photographer as we got closer to our date, so that I could have peace of mind that my name would be pronounced correctly and that we would have pictures with us and our guests. While I was promised immediate call backs, they did not happen. I had to inquire a second time before the photographer called me and I inquired a third time regarding the officiant yet still without a call back. The fourth time I inquired about the officiant I was advised that (Jackie) actually handled those inquiries and the officiants do not typically talk to the couples... This was all frustrating but I decided to not stress and to be positive that the wedding would make up for it.
The day of the wedding, Jackie called me to confirm the time and place of our arrival. We agreed to meet at 5pm because the wedding would begin at 5:30pm to make for a beautiful sunset wedding. When I arrived on site, I waited for a call from Jackie asking to meet me somewhere onsite... it never came. Instead, I received a called from the photographer who advised Jackie (MY WEDDING PLANNER) would not be there. He said it would just be him and the minister. I continued to stay calm and be happy because after all, I was about to marry my best friend and I was not about to let a disorganized, unprofessional company ruin this moment for me. The minister was late, so late that we were 20 minutes late starting the ceremony... this meant that the ceremony was mostly "sunset" however the pictures (while they would have been) were not... instead, the sun was already set leaving minimal lighting for photos. On the subject of photos, we took several pictures of the two of us (some are beautiful!) however our friends and family were never asked to be a part of them and none of my requests were provided in terms of our conversation a month prior.
There is a positive here. Even though he was late, the minister (Billy) was amazing. He was kind, funny and sweet and he seemed to be very genuine in his presence and wishes for us. He played the Ukulele and ended our ceremony with Adam Sandler's "I Want to Grow Old With You"... this was wonderful!
The icing on the cake that made me wish I had never found this company was the following:
1) While we had already prepared gratuities for the photographer and the minister prior to the wedding, we were presented with pre-labeled envelopes by the photographer on site. Helping us with an envelope is one thing... BUT soliciting a gratuity, not just a gratuity but a specific amount, is tacky and unprofessional. I was appalled that they did this as I have never seen such a distasteful move.
2) Before we left the wedding site, the photographer took a moment to show us our photos he had just taken. He then provided a sales pitch as we were trying to head off and celebrate at dinner. He had taken 172 photos and because our package came with 75 photos, he offered for an additional $200, the rest of them. He then went as far to say because it was our wedding day, he would give us all of the pictures for half off, only $100 more. I chose not to pay the extra money but left with an even less pleasant feeling about HNW. To our surprise, we received all the photos in the mail (on a disc). read more