I am a wedding planner and colleague of Yanicke at Zenju. Working with her is an absolute joy in…read moreevery way. I have had the privilege of attending her budget meetings and observing her meticulous attention to detail in client interactions. Yanicke's deep commitment to meeting her clients' needs and respecting their budgets is truly remarkable. She expertly selects and supports her top vendors, ensuring that every event is perfectly executed. I have immense respect for Yanicke's dedication and the care she extends to everyone she works with. Her ability to manage the finest details with finesse is impressive. If you are considering her for your wedding day, I wholeheartedly encourage you to say "yes." Yanicke is dedicated to excellence and deeply passionate about her work, striving to provide the best for everyone, especially you. With warmest aloha, June I Do Hawaiian Wedding ALWAYS choosing ZENJU Weddings and Events of Hawaii LLC

Our experience planning our destination wedding in Oahu, Hawaii with Yanicke, where we first met…read moreand fell in love, was nothing short of a fairytale. As a newly engaged couple living in New Jersey, we had been ideating on whether we should pull the trigger on organizing our wedding in Hawaii - the ultimate destination wedding location - not to mention, one of the most beautiful places on Earth. Just knowing this, we assumed it would be out of our budget, especially given that we were planning a big fat Polish-Indian wedding spanning multiple days, faiths, cultures and more! We began emailing quite a few planners via The Knot and Wedding Wire just to get a feel for what we could except from planning a wedding in Hawaii in general. Beyond worrying about our budget, we were torn on whether we could logistically execute something so elaborate being so far away....until that fateful Monday morning back in 2024, when Yanicke called me out of the blue. She quickly introduced herself, mentioning how she had received our inquiry, and immediately dove into her ideas for our special day. I just loved that she took the initiative to do that, especially given the crazy, 6-hour time difference! She explained how she had worked with a venue that could double as accommodations for us and our immediate family, something we knew would be one of the best ways to actually host and easily organize the wedding weekend of both Indian and Polish wedding festivities. For us, Yanicke REALLY shined when it came to tapping her vast network of vendors and and managing our budget. She advised us on what we should prioritize and invest in, and what we could do without, while still maintaining the overall vision and vibe we wanted to create for ourselves and our guests on the the big day. She was EQUALLY impressive on both our rehearsal and wedding days. She suggested we rehearse not just the Catholic, but the and Hindu ceremony as well, which was so worth it given the many rituals and parent involvement. The timeline she had started putting together months before our wedding, plus the finalized version accounting for vendor arrivals, additional notes and moments we needed to incorporate, was exactly what we envisioned and needed the most, and everyone was locked in and delivered once the big day came. On our wedding day, Yanicke managed every vendor, navigated any delays with grace, and even helped with family drama all while keeping us perfectly on track. We felt supported, celebrated, and completely stress-free with her by our side. Yanicke is a real gem with years of wedding planning wisdom and sharp networking skills that is truly hard to come by these days. She advocates for both her clients and her network, and will make you feel like family from Day 1.

My husband and I recently got married in Oahu. We wanted an intimate wedding for our family and…read morevery close friends and Dianna understood our vision perfectly. Planning a wedding in Hawaii from California is difficult but Dianna made everything so easy. She is quick to respond to your emails and questions and you can depend on her to get the job done. She is open and honest and is willing to help you work within your budget and with whatever parts of the wedding planning process you want help. Dianna is very knowledgeable and experienced, and we immediately felt comfortable after we met her. She is very accommodating and even willing to go above and beyond what is required of a wedding planner. Hawaii Weddings and Event truly caters to the kind of event you're having and your exact needs. All the vendors that Dianna used for our wedding were exceptional. Our wedding day was perfect. The venue that Dianna had suggested for our intimate private ceremony was exceptional. The day went on without one hiccup. We couldn't have had a more relaxing stress-free wedding. Thank you, Dianna for making our wedding day perfect! I honestly cannot recommend a more phenomenal wedding planner/coordinator!

I'm a really organized person and have no problems choosing my own vendors but I was shopping for a…read moreday-of coordinator to help oversee everything on the long awaited day. I'm not sure if it's just me but I think there should be a minimum three day response time. If that's not doable, I may accept one week but definitely not two. And there's more... Finally got a response so I go over the package and call them back with questions for all these "extra charges." Getting married outside of Honolulu? There's a charge for that. Having the ceremony and reception at different locations? There's a charge for that. Having it at the same place? There's a charge for that too. More than 75 guests? You guessed it!!! There's a charge for that too! Paying with a credit card so you can earn miles? Yes, there's a charge for that. 3.5% processing fee to be exact! But with all those extra charges, I was still going to book them because of their reputation. I mean look at their reviews! So, I told them to send me the contract and it never came. Two weeks later, I get a email apologizing for the delay and asking me where my venue was again. Are you serious? I need an organized coordinator that I can trust! I sent them an email saying I will no longer need their services. Guess how many emails I got after that? Like five in a row with more apologies and excuses of how busy they were and how they're working on hiring and training someone to make the contracts. Whatever, I don't care. You can't handle the volume of your business, that's your problem. I need someone that can handle. I'm so happy I didn't go with them. I now have a coordinator that responds to all my emails and there are no extra fees. One that I trust and that is something so vital for one of the most important days of your life!

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!

This review is LONG OVERDUE and should have been done the moment I booked with Hawaii Wedding…read moreMedia. I had my wedding in 2018 and inquired 8 months in advance. Their response time was super quick! My experience went very smoothly with Kiwan and his amazing team. They followed up with me very so often to obtain any necessary details to make sure everything I wanted for my wedding day was fulfilled! From beginning of my wedding day all the way to the end. HWM is highly efficient especially with communication as I was able to email them and quickly get a response no matter what time or day. Their team was friendly, patient and made us feel comfortable even for those who were camera shy. Fast forward to present day almost 4 years later, in the midst of moving I misplaced some of the files and I was able to obtain them from the help of Kiwan! & still, he responded to me right away, it was such a relief! Everything came out beautiful, photos, videos and Same Day Edit. Worth every penny. I am forever grateful, Hawaii Wedding Media exceeded all my expectations in capturing this special day.

* Please read before booking! I rarely write one star reviews, but please continue reading what my…read morehusband and I had to go through. I don't know where to begin with Kiwan, the head of this company. Throughout our wedding, my husband and I regret having this company for our wedding video and photographer because of Kiwan. He lost the first half of our wedding video footage that his crew took, which was so heart breaking since this was our wedding. We wanted everything to look back on for our memories of our special day. He gave us the run around with everything. Kiwan was initially responsive and helpful prior to our wedding. Then two months after our wedding we didn't receive our wedding album and video. I sent numerous emails, phone calls, and text messages to ask him where everything was since we already paid for the package prior to our wedding in hopes to get what we paid for. He didn't respond for a while then when he did he kept giving us dates with when he would sent it to us, but he never did. We also asked for a refund and he kept trying to play the victim about how he didn't have money to pay for his bills and how he only had a few dollars in his account. That to me was personal and not business let alone not professional at all! We too, were needing money because of the whole pandemic and costs of living. At times, he wouldn't respond at all, and we thought he was just going to take our money and not refund us, which stressed us out. He even mentioned taking us to claims court because he thought it would be better to take it to court instead of dealing with it. After a few weeks, we finally made a deal that he could pay us monthly until he had paid us out. In the end, he did pay us back, but all the stress we had to go through wasn't worth it and fair to us. He sent us the wrong album of another couple's wedding, which I felt bad for them as well! Almost one year after our wedding... we received our album and our low quality made video that didn't capture everything we wanted or talked about prior to our wedding. Thinking about this makes me sad and frustrated. But, what is done is done. It's just upsetting how everything went down. We were a couple seeking company to capture our special day, and everyone in his crew delivered, EXCEPT for Kiwan. If he just did his job this would not have happened. I know we received our refund, which thank goodness we did but I honestly just wanted the footage from beginning to end of our wedding day because it was so memorable and priceless. I'm just lucky that my friends took a few videos prior to the reception for our keepsake. Overall, if you want quality photos, albums, and videos for your special event... I DO NOT RECOMMEND using this company and pay the extra for another. Hope this helps!

I was connected with L'Amour Photography & Video through my venue, Haiku Gardens. Much appreciation…read moreto Eric and all who were involved (notably Jon and Jimmy in the day of; and everyone behind the scenes in coordinating and editing the content). L'Amour can be credited for capturing my wedding day (October 2025) and creating life-lasting memories of one of the best days of my life. I felt so comfortable with the team and it made the wedding day that much less stressful, not having to worry about constant posing or feeling unnatural. There was an oversight on a relatively last minute addition I had requested and thought was approved by my wedding planning team + L'Amour. Though it was physically impossible to make up for it (the moment had already passed), I appreciate Eric's sincerity in trying to remedy the situation however possible. Reflecting back, the mistake could have been caught by multiple people involved, including myself, but life is too short to be upset about something that cannot be helped at this point in time. Ultimately, received a ceremony highlight video and many, many photos -- which I love and value so much. To Eric, Jon, Jimmy and everyone else whom I hadn't gotten the chance to get the name of at L'Amour, know that you folks make such a significant impact in making people's special days as amazing as they are. Grateful to have had your team capture our wedding day! Despite the oversight referenced, I am more than happy to overwhelmingly recommend L'Amour 5/5 stars.

We had our wedding at Haiku Gardens on September 3, 2025. And were suggested by our wedding…read morecoordinator to use L'Amour Photography & Video. The team of L'Amour Photography & Video are genuinely caring and fun to have around. They even would ask what other poses would we like to try. Eric definitely took the time to even talk to me and my husband to get to know us. He helped release any nerves we had on our big day. After seeing their edited video...wow. It was beautiful. We were able to see photos as well (still waiting for the rest as they said they will upload them soon) and my husband and I were smiling from ear to ear looking at them! It was hot that day, a lot of us were sweating hehe but when you see the videos and photos...you can barely tell. L'Amour Photography & Video and everyone in it have compassion for what they do and you can tell from their captures and how they are in person. Definitely would recommend!!! Mahalo L'Amour Photography & Video for everything!

Joseph was one of our favorite vendors to work with! He made us feel comfortable and captured our…read morewedding day beautifully. I was impressed at his speed and ability to get through all of our requested portraits and family photos, many of them with just one take. His team is fun and professional and we are thankful to have so many amazing photos to relive our wedding day through!

Long Overdue Praise for Joseph Esser and His Incredible Team…read more This review is long overdue for Joseph Esser and his phenomenal team of photographers and videographers. If you're searching for a wedding photographer and videographer in Hawaii, look no further -- Joseph and his team are truly among the best. From the very beginning, I was impressed by Joseph's professionalism, warmth, and incredible attention to detail. In the months leading up to the wedding, he collaborated closely with my amazing wedding planners, Fred and Kate, to review the timeline and ensure everything was aligned. That preparation paid off -- the entire day ran smoothly and stress-free, allowing me to fully enjoy every moment. Joseph and his team arrived punctually and were ready to capture the magic from start to finish. They didn't just take photos -- they preserved moments. Looking back at the images and videos now, I'm filled with joy reliving those memories with my husband. What truly sets Joseph apart is how much he cares. His energy and positive attitude were infectious -- he had us laughing all day, which naturally translated into joyful, candid photos full of smiles. Beyond his personality, it was his instinct and thoughtfulness that left a lasting impression. For example, during our grand reception entrance, we used a money gun that left fake bills scattered all over the dance floor. Before our first dance began, Joseph got down on his knees and cleared the floor himself -- not something you'd expect from your lead photographer, but it speaks volumes about his commitment to the perfect shot and a smooth experience. Similarly, during the ceremony, when my wedding train and cape needed adjusting, Joseph didn't hesitate or wait for a bridesmaid -- he stepped in and fixed it himself to ensure everything looked flawless. These small, meaningful actions showed just how much he truly cares about his clients and the quality of his work. Joseph and his team worked tirelessly for nine hours, and the final results were nothing short of spectacular. Every guest who's seen our photos and video has commented on how stunning they are. We also opted for a 10-minute wedding highlight video -- and I highly recommend it! The timing of the music, lyrics, and our vows were perfectly matched with the visuals. The attention to detail, from the transitions to even the placement of our names on the Cover page -- Everything was intentional, thoughtful, and beautifully executed. As someone who is very detail-oriented, I was blown away by how aligned Joseph and his team were with my vision. Their passion for what they do shines through in every frame. They don't just document a wedding -- they tell a story. Thank you, Joseph, for being such an integral part of our day and for capturing it so perfectly. You and your team are truly the best -- mahalo from the bottom of our hearts!

My husband and I made a last minute decision to do a "courthouse wedding" before our big event in…read moreorder to ease some legal and moving issues we were having. 7 days before our selected date, we realized courthouses close at 4pm on Fridays and we were planning to pick up our marriage license that day--at 3:30pm after work. Cue Rev. James Chun--I send him an inquiry at 8:30pm on a holiday and get a phone call him from him within 15 min saying let's book your beach wedding. 5 days later, my in-laws flew down from the mainland and with my parents, brother and grandfather, witnessed a beautiful and intimate ceremony at sunset at Magic Island. James was not only professional and helpful in the whole process, but despite not knowing us at all, truly found the words to capture our love and curated a ceremony that was truly "us." I cannot recommend him enough and feel so thankful he was the one to go on this adventure with us!!

Rev. James Chun helped my husband and I feel at Ease during our rehearsal the day before our…read morewedding by making sure we both knew what to do and gave us discrete little cues incase we forgot some steps for the day of the wedding. He was easy to communicate with. His directions for our rehearsal were clear and easy to follow. During the day of our wedding he ensured our ceremony went smoothly, he informed our guests it was an unplugged ceremony and that he would give them a moment once he pronounced us husband and wife to pull out their phones and capture the moment. He even stepped aside during our kiss at the alter. He is very professional and down to earth. I highly recommend working with him. He will ensure you are comfortable and will make sure your day is everything you hoped for and more.

Just reviewing the wedding videography & can't speak to other services!…read more Kenson and his videography team is incredible! I wasn't originally planning to do wedding videography, but my family generously gifted me a video package - and I couldn't be more grateful. Kenson captured our vows, the best snippets of speeches during the reception, and the very essence of our wedding. He edited it all together in a way that is truly magical, and produced a video that we will truly cherish for a lifetime! Both my husband and I bawled all over again seeing the end product. You also get both the raw video, and an edited down version of the entire wedding. Honestly, brides, you are so moved and everything happens so fast during the wedding, a week later you've forgotten all the incredibly beautiful speeches people spent so much time on, and delivered on your special day. It's definitely worth it to get a videographer, and I couldn't give any higher recommendation than to Kenson and his team!! I included a few screenshots from our video too! https://vimeo.com/683042205

Some update afterwards. We tried to get compensation from the merchant, and they threat us to…read moreapologize publicly otherwise they will not refund a single dime after they ruin our wedding. Because of this, recently we have to have a lawyer for our money. Our lawyer tried to contact them but they never replied back. Just like disappear.