Mona, Aileen and the rest of the NEU team exceeded our expectations. I was a very type A bride but Mona's attention to detail, organization and helpful suggestions showed me how a real pro does it. The biggest issue on our wedding day was some passing rain around the time of the ceremony, but Mona came up with some scheduling pivots on site that helped us find a good solution and everything went off PERFECTLY. Wedding planning is not for the faint of heart but anyone can do it with Mona's help. Full service planning with her team was the way to go! If only I needed her services again, id hired her all over again in a heartbeat! read more

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Mona with NEU Events and her entire team to include Aileen and Heidi were exceptionally organized, professional, attentive, and precise. The days leading up to my son and daughter-in-law's wedding went off without a hiccup due to Mona and her well-orchestrated team. The day of the wedding had so many moving parts, an outdoor wedding on a beautiful estate, with 150 in attendance, ceremony, cocktail hour, dinner, entrance, dance, entertainment, bar, dessert display, coordination of photos and seating it was seamless due to Mona and her team. Mona is always one step ahead with every detail. So many friends and family commented on how beautiful and organized the entire wedding was. My son and daughter-in-law focused on their vows and a beautiful evening with their closest friends and family. All details were taken care of by Mona. NEU Events came highly recommended and I understand why. I was in awe of the level of experience, expertise, and excellence I watched unfold. I have lived in Hawaii for near 50 years and have attended countless weddings, events, and professional galas, many with excellent coordination and event planners, Mona with NEU Events is a few notches above the best I've experienced, Bar None read more

Absolutely fantastic! We had a big summit filled with CEOs, big investors, investment banks - ie a high maintenance and very discerning crowd Neu Events was the coordinator of multiple dinners, tons of activities, breakfasts, etc over four days. Everything was seamless and run flawlessly. We also had number of last minute issues - eg dinner didn't have the right AV and Neu Events was able to find fast alternatives that worked well Lastly we had a big storm completely messing up one day and Neu was able to scramble well Overall truly exceptional service and delivered a very high quality several days that all the participants universally loved So truly phenomenal. We will absolutely be using Neu Events for our conference next year! read more

Choosing NEU Events was hands down one of the best decisions my now husband and I ever made for our wedding day. My college counselor referred me to NEU Events, specifically Mona and her team. We did a Zoom meeting with her and we instantly knew she was the one we wanted to work with. She was so kind and so helpful with our questions during the meeting and we felt super comfortable while speaking with her, which were all the things that were important to us. We then met Deni at our next meeting and let me tell you, Mona and Deni, literally THE BEST DUO to work with. They both were so sweet, responsive and kept us on track during the entire planning process. They asked questions we didn't even think of and even helped us brainstorm some ideas that we couldn't quite figure out. Every time our meetings ended I would feel a sense of relief because I knew Mona and Deni were on top of things. And that's something huge coming from someone who tends to stress about every little thing! Deni then took over majority of the coordinating/planning as we got closer to our wedding day and she was amazing. Super sweet, super helpful, super organized and she really paid close attention to all the details of our wedding. The day of the wedding came and we got to meet the additional team members Karin and Aileen. Who were just as awesome as well! My husband and I got to enjoy every second of our wedding. No stress, no worries. That in itself is the biggest gift we could've ever gotten. And that's all thanks to Mona, Deni, Karin and Aileen. They handled everything, literally everything, so perfectly and executed everything so well. They went above and beyond what we envisioned and imagined for our wedding day. We will forever be grateful to Mona, Deni and the entire NEU Events team. HIRE THEM. You won't regret it! read more

Mona and the whole crew were phenomenal coordinators from the beginning to the end of our wedding planning and wedding day. Mona was very patient, experienced, compassionate, and enthusiastic at what she does for couples. No matter what I threw at her, she handled it with grace and professionalism, and left us with results that my husband and I were extremely happy with. Aileen was also very helpful, making sure that we were all up to speed and had efficient and effective communication throughout the process. On the day of the wedding, her entire coordinating crew ensured that our wedding went smoothly and fun! They improvised and adapted to what was happening, especially since my family was prepping a lot of things that they kept a surprise from my husband and I. Thank you to all the wonderful ladies who all handled the stress, problems, and labor for us-- you were all so sweet and amazing to work with. The whole experience collaborating with neu events felt like we were working with a team who we knew for a long time. They put our needs and wants first, and showed us their passion to make it happen. We are extremely grateful for Mona and all the wonderful ladies who helped us for our special day. We could not have enjoyed our night if it had not been for you guys! read more

I met Mona 51 days before my wedding and in those 51 days, my view on wedding planning totally changed. Thanks to Weddings by Grace and Mona I can say I think we had an awesome wedding and that our guests enjoyed themselves. I originally thought I just wanted the ON-SITE COORDINATION which is where you would meet with them once before the wedding and do a brain dump of your planning and they would be your go-to person on the day of the wedding. After I realized my wedding was becoming quite a bit more of a production, I realized I wanted the WEDDING WRAP-UP PACKAGE. It is a little more but it gives you unlimited access to them to help you with ideas, and coordination. I don't know how I would have done it with just the day-of coordination. I'm so glad I went for the wrap-up package. One thing is that I don't think I realized there was a difference between a wedding COORDINATOR and a wedding PLANNER. The latter is where they just take over for you; I'm sure Mona has a package for that too but the former is where they really help you plan. I somehow thought that maybe once I brought Mona on board, my life would be easy. Well it's not but that's because I still was the main contact with all the vendors, working out the contracts and had to do all the stupid things like folding invitations, cranes, finding frames, easels and all that. I think if you do the full enchilada of a package, they may take over more of that. But just a warning that hiring a COORDINATOR doesn't mean you get to rest. So to be fair, not everything went perfectly but so is life. But what really mattered was that the major things were all in place and what wasn't going perfectly, Mona, Melanie and Jaymie took care of it so it would be just fine. I didn't have to worry on the day-of because I had 3 of them there with me the whole day! One small example of how they just swooped in to help was that the night before the wedding, I realized I didn't have a contract in place, but that I think I paid but I had no idea where I stood with the vendor--how do I confirm when it's a Sunday and I don't have a contact number! I texted Mona while she was at a wedding the night before mine (she let me know it's ok to text her if something came up and that was the best way to get in touch with her that day) to let her know I was worried and I didn't know how to get in touch with the vendor. Well, never fear, Mona and Melanie reassured me they would follow up and they did. I don't think they are cheap. But I don't think they are out of line with what there is here. But maybe you get what you pay for. But at least WGM takes credit cards! She tends to meet either at Wedding Cafe (Ward Warehouse) or Satura Cakes (Ward Centre) and is open to meeting in the evenings (thank goodness!) If you are wondering how it is to work with Mona and her staff or anything else, feel free to message me. My wedding was so much better and more enjoyable because of Mona. I loved working with Mona and I can only hope you would be able to experience the same thing! read more

As much as this review is long over due (Mona planned and coordinated our wedding in Oct 2015) I couldn't let another day pass without sharing with everyone what an amazing wedding planner she is. Simply said, she will change the entire wedding planning process for you with her organized, caring, creative and dedicated approach. Mona has every detail organized and takes every bit of care to ensure you are 100% satisfied with the outcome and the experience. She creates memories for everyone involved, and makes you feel as though you're her only client. Getting Mona to assist us with full planning and coordination was the best decision we made - you will not have a single regret if you hire her for your special day. note: Mona currently operates under Neu Events. read more

neu events - A spare moment with Mona on our wedding night! - Party & Event Planning Near Me

Mona was recommended to us by a friend and we are SO happy that we found her!! She is so professional and knowledgeable and is also SO nice and compassionate. She really cares about her clients and I even feel like she was our mini therapist and would listen to our complaints and try to help us rectify certain situations. Initially we booked her for her day-of coordination services. But 6 months prior to our wedding date, my stress, fears, and anxiety started to kick in and I emailed her asking if we could do the wedding "wrap up" which starts at 3 months before the big day. She was luckily able to add that service on and I quickly realized I should have done that from the start. We had meetings (over zoom) with her to go over what was done and what needed to be done. After every meeting, we got a checklist of things to do which was PERFECT for me. I had all the big things booked, but its the small details and little things that we definitely needed help with. The checklist was great because I knew exactly what needed to be done and when it needed to be done. On the day of, her team was beyond amazing and everything went super smoothly. We had comments from our guests how everything transitioned so nicely and that's all thanks to Mona and her amazing team. Special shout-out to Aileen, who was also super helpful with emails and answering questions and making timelines! Thank you Mona and everyone at neu events for making our day stress free!! She is a LIFESAVER, save yourself the stress and book her for your big day!! read more

Two words can summarize my experience with Weddings by Grace & Mona - Exceptional Service. My husband and I planned for a relatively simple wedding, but we wanted to be able to enjoy the day with minimal stress. I knew that we needed a coordinator for the day-of to achieve this. Enter Mona Hirata and her team, Megan and Carly. The team at WGM were amazing to work with. Mona and Megan met with my husband and I to go over all the details of the wedding a couple of weeks before the big day. At this meeting, the WGM team brought up a lot of good questions that I would have not thought of until the day of the wedding. It was a good thing that we met a few weeks before the wedding so that I could use the days after the meeting to talk to my other vendors and get the small details ironed out (pretty much crossing my t's and dotting my i's). The coordinators were the first to arrive on the wedding day (at 4:15 am!) and were the last to leave (at around 3:30 pm). They were so prepared with binders that held all the paperwork that we may possibly need, such as the invoices and contracts for the vendors, and they had extra copies of our vows and thank you speech notes. I was pleasantly surprised to find a copy of the thank you speech notes on the podium, but they printed it in larger font so it was easier to read. Little details like that, which I saw throughout the day, really made me happy that we hired Mona and her team to do the day-of coordination. They kept us on track with our timeline and had open communication so that everyone was on the same page. With WGM as our coordinators, my husband and I had a beautiful, stress-free wedding. I believe that the day went by so smoothly because of them and we were able to truly enjoy our special day. Thank you Mona, Megan, and Carly! read more

My wife and I booked the wrap-up service (last 3 months leading up to the wedding) from NEU events and we're so glad we did. Mona Hirata was our main coordinator and we would have been so lost without her. We cannot emphasize that enough! Mona is incredibly diligent and prompt with everything and knew just exactly what we had to get done. At every meeting, we were given tasks to complete. It honestly felt like neverending, but there is a reason why and when she assigns the tasks--to gradually alleviate the stress counting down to the big day. We had an amazing night and it would not have happened without her expertise and zeal for this profession. Her line of communication is clear and very accessible via text or email. Besides her outstanding professionalism, we got to know Mona on a personal level during the planning process---she's got a bubbly personality and a big heart!! We highly recommend NEU Events, you won't regret Mona and her team! read more

Heidi from Neu Events was such a pleasure to work with, and I couldn't have imagined a better planner to help turn our wedding dreams into a reality! My husband and I decided to use the wedding coordination package which included 6 months worth of services from coordination of vendors, regular meetings with Heidi, budget planning, program and wedding day timeline planning, and day of coordination services. From the very first call, we could already tell that we would be in good hands. Heidi helped us narrow down what we were looking for by giving us plenty of options to choose from when it came to picking out vendors without ever pressuring us to make a decision. Without Heidi, we would not be able to plan a Hawai'i wedding all the way from California. She is very responsive to all forms of communication via email and phone. Our phone calls never felt like work because of how personable she is, and it felt like we were planning with a great friend. When it came to our wedding day, Heidi and her team ensured that our day turned out perfectly. They were very meticulous and made sure each vendor knew what to do and when. My husband and I were able to focus on our special day without needing to worry about any of the logistics. Our ceremony, cocktail hour, and reception room set up turned out absolutely beautiful! See attached pictures as proof :). Thank you, Heidi, for making our day one that we and our guests will never forget! read more

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Mona was an absolute pleasure to work with. She ensured all small details were taken care of before and on our wedding day, which we really appreciated since we are an out-of-state couple. She is extremely professional, punctual, and is a very warm-hearted person. We had all of our weekly meetings via Skype and she was always free to answer any questions offline promptly. Mona even attended our catering finalization meeting for us. She has a great depth of knowledge and is dedicated to what she does. Our wedding day was the best day of our lives and it would not have been possible without Mona and her team. There was a horrible storm on the day of the rehearsal and Mona made sure that it was moved to an alternate indoor location. While we were discouraged about the unexpected weather, Mona never lost her composure or optimism. The weather cleared up beautifully the morning of our wedding and our dreams of having an outdoor ceremony came true. The entire day, from getting ready early in the morning to cleaning up at the reception, went according to Mona's schedule that she created for us. We hardly even remember any of the logistics since they were all taken care of by her. We were able to enjoy our special day instead of worrying about the details. We don't know what we would have done without her. We cannot thank or recommend Mona enough! read more

Wedding's by Grace and Mona are Great! Mona is very kind and patient. She really helped me keep on track. I had problems with a couple of vendors and she fixed the problems and got me a discount from both! I really enjoyed working with her and her team. I opted for the 6 month planning package. I picked and booked my vendors then 6 months prior to the wedding started meeting with Mona. She then took care of contacting and setting up meetings with the vendors, suggested vendors if I did not have one set up for something. She also created a timeline leading up to and for the day of the wedding. I had no worries and completely enjoyed my wedding day because I knew I could trust her to take care of everything. I got many compliments on how smooth my wedding went. Thanks Mona! read more

Excellent communication, response time, great suggestions, and wonderful level of knowledge, and you will not regret it. The best thing that can be said is that our guests went out of their way to say how fun and wonderful our wedding was. Seeing that we were busy off doing our own picture/wedding things, this is was exciting to hear. We had uncles who never like to go to weddings and say that he had a great time! A 90 year old who goes to many social events exclaim that this was the best wedding she's ever been too! I could go on and on, but you get the point. I honestly don't think that things would have gotten done and that we (and our guests) would have been able to enjoy the day as much. They relieved so much stress that goes with all of the tiny junks that need to be taken care of in the event planning process. I'll be honest and say that I didn't have too much fun planning, but I REALLY enjoyed my wedding day... And THAT is what it is all about, yeah? It was beyond a memorable experience. The next question you guys are probably thinking, "How much does it cost?" My answer is, "Is being able to enjoy your Wedding day of value to you?" Can you put a price on that? Anyway, I would highly suggest anyone getting married look into hiring WGM! read more

As good as you can get is right! We had our wedding at Honolulu and it was a destination wedding for us. Since my husband and I live in Chicago, we needed to find a local wedding planner to help us. From a friend's referral, we found Weddings by Grace & Mona. We started working with Mona for 6 months prior to our wedding. Mona was very professional and was great with communications. We had monthly meetings via Skype and gradually moved to bi-weekly and weekly meetings as we got closer to the wedding day. Mona and her team was very organized and kept everything well documented. She was good in coming up with ideas and concepts for the wedding and provided high quality vendor listings for us to choose from. She definitely has great relationships with her vendors and all of her vendors are top-notch! Her recommendations were wonderful and at the same time achievable and within our budget. Mona and team performed excellent on the wedding day. Under tremendous pressure and last minute changes (as many who had gone through hosting a wedding can relate), you couldn't even see a trace of stress in Mona's face! She is always pleasant and calm and all of her team members were courtesy, energetic and positive which definitely is a plus. Our wedding went super smoothly and almost flawless. My husband and I only had to worry about how good we looked ;) Thank you so much Mona for making our wedding like a dream comes true! read more

Choose Heidi now! She seriously was so amazing from beginning to end. Our wedding ended up being a *torrential downpour* but Heidi didn't skip a beat! She was so organized and professional and handled the challenging weather so well and with grace. Heidi handled all of my day-of coordination and even met with me during a very specific timeframe when I came to Hawaii for a trip (planned the wedding from Rhode Island). She coordinated with all of the vendors and the venue and I couldn't have asked for a better coordinator. I seriously cannot think of anything else she could've done better. She had my back and did absolutely everything she could've to turn my wedding vision into reality. Trust me, you want to pick Heidi! Choose her now! read more

Mona, Jaymie, Jen and the rest of the staff had really helped us in our wedding. From 6 months prior to the wedding, Mona came and sat with us once a month to keep us on our toes with vendors, details, etc! For me to having no clue on the planning of the wedding, Mona helped out so much! Mona & Jaymie was there every step of the way! There was an issue with the wedding dress and the bridesmaid dresses up to the last minute but Mona and Jaymie were there making sure that everything came out perfectly. On the day of the wedding, the entire wedding party was impressed with the way how Mona and staff handled everything seamlessly. We are really grateful for their services and would love to recommend their services to anyone else! read more

I have never been to a wedding that they have coordinated, but I can tell you from my interactions with Mona and Jen that they are AWESOME!!! Mona is teaching my Wedding Planning class and it has definitely been a benefit to have her as our teacher. She has shared great tips and insight with the class, not to mention the amazing contacts that she has made with so many of the vendors in the Honolulu area. Mona's name is recognizable by so many, which says a lot in itself. If you are planning your wedding or need help planning your wedding or with coordination Mona and Jen are two you should definitely add to your list and use. Awesome Awesome people!!!!!! read more

I have been looking for a good Wedding Coordinator for my Destination Wedding in Oahu and Grace & Mona Weddings caught my attention with their great reviews and professional looking website and brochures. Mona Hirata and Jaymie Shoda were my main points of contacts and I hired them to develop my Wedding Designs and also for the "Day of" coordination. Looking back, this was probably the best decision that I made for my wedding even though initially I was worried about the price. They were with me every step of the process and my wedding was pretty complicated. Not only was this a larger destination wedding, it was a THEMED wedding. They came up with some fantastic ideas for me and I was really impressed! Without them I feel like I would've been lost and overwhelmed with so many little details, but they really know what they're doing and so I really looked to them to guide me. Also to note, on my wedding a lot of things went wrong. There was a huge accident on the hwy and it caused many of the Wedding party members to be late to the point where I could not wait for the flower girls any longer and decided to proceed without them. The team helped us through that even though I was pretty worried. The weather was also not ideal, I know that in asian culture (I'm asian so it does apply I suppose) that when it rains on your wedding, it's good luck. Well it rained during the ceremony and throughout the reception and it caused huge puddles of mud everywhere! The coordinators had completely muddy shoes and were going to and fro as if it was nothing! The power also went out for several minutes during a live song too. Yikes so much went wrong but we recovered and got through it all thanks to the team. The interns and other staff were extremely accommodating and helpful. I couldn't ask for anything better, these gals were professional and on top of it so I didn't have to worry about anything! I highly recommend them for your Hawaiian weddings. If you want the job to be done right, Weddings by Grace and Mona are TOP NOTCH and worth every single penny. read more

My wife and I worked with WGM for about one year to plan/coordinate our wedding. If it was possible to give them 10 stars I would but unfortunately I'm limited to 5. After the first few meetings Mona and Melanie were hard at work scheduling meetings for different venues, photographers, linen vendors, etc. that fit our general theme/vision. They attended every vendor meeting and had great suggestions. As a typical groom, I was very worried about our budget. WGM were great in tracking the various costs and always had ideas to keep us on track. As for the actual wedding day, everything went smoothly and we could sit back and enjoy. Mona, Melanie and Carly handled everything. All I had to do was get dressed, smile for pictures, and show up for the ceremony and reception. With their help, we got our perfect wedding and I would recommend them to anyone. read more

My husband and I decided to have a destination wedding in Hawaii. As we lived in Canada, we knew we needed someone local and on hand to plan our wedding. We interview 3 planners. Mona was quick to respond and proactive with setting up our skype interview. After the interview, we knew that Mona's friendliness along with her professionalism would work well with us. Throughout the 9 months we had to plan our wedding, Mona and her team kept us on task and managed our focus of what were priorities for decision making. The team was always quick to reply to our questions via email. They followed and tracked all my postings on my Pinterest. Our monthly skype meetings with Mona allowed her to quickly get to know our personalities and tastes. She gave us lots of suggestions and asked a lot of questions to help us narrow down the big task of making decisions. We had a small budget for our wedding and Neu Events' services were higher than what we had expected for planning services but they are really worth every penny. We really valued Mona's goal on keeping us on budget but getting the most bang for our buck. They helped narrow down our vendor options with the best in the industry but were within our budget. We completely trusted Mona's opinion and valued her working history with all her suggested vendors. In the end, we were so happy with all our vendors. All of them exceeded our expectations. We spontaneously planned a weekend trip to Honolulu 5 months before our wedding date. Mona and her team helped us use that visit as an opportunity to meet, or interview, all our vendors, taste caterer and cake options, and see our venue in person. Our entire weekend was perfectly planned with scheduled appointments, addresses, contact information and even our tastings were set up to substitute for our travel meals. A month before our wedding, we met with Mona every week on Skype. She kept us calm and was always there to remind us of payment due dates. She was always happy to give suggests beyond our wedding day such as rehearsal dinner, jack & jill parties and after wedding events. The day of the wedding the Neu Events team was always there to make everything run smooth. They balanced the fine line of always being there if and when needed, but not over running the event - it was evidence of their professionalism. Their checklists, budget sheets, schedules and floor plans all help to make our entire wedding planning process and the wedding day worry-free. I would highly recommend Neu Events to anyone planning a wedding and especially anyone planning a destination wedding in Oahu. We loved working with Mona and feel like we have a friend in Honolulu. Our wedding day was an absolute success with being on budget, on time, exceeding our expectations and many of our guests saying it was the best wedding they have ever attended. We couldn't have done it without Mona and Megan. Sincere Thanks! read more

My mom and I LOVED working with Mona. We met with her for several hours a couple weeks before the wedding. She helped us prep down to the smallest details and was always several steps ahead of me when I had requests or questions. The BEST part about working with Mona is her composure! As a frantic bride, she helped calm me down and I was able to be less of a control freak during the day-of, knowing that everything was in her confident hands. She's great!! read more

WOW - I am so thankful that we found Mona and her team! During the initial wedding planning phase, my fiancee (now husband) and I were struggling trying to plan a wedding in Oahu from California. I think I probably cried almost every week trying to make sense of all the things we needed to do before we finally found Mona. Finding Mona was the best thing that ever happened to us and for our wedding. She helped set-up meetings with tons of vendors when we went venue hunting about a year before and then kept us on task for the 11 months leading up to our wedding. She never ever made us feel bad about procrastinating or not knowing what we were supposed to do for all kinds of wedding tasks we had no idea we should be thinking about. She kept us on task all through the year and helped us sort through lots of different decisions even when we weren't sure what we wanted. We had a lot of details for our wedding since it was held at a private estate with a lot of moving pieces, vendors and people (literally we shuttled people in from Waikiki to Hawaii Kai). Everyone kept saying they couldn't understand how Mona did it all with a smile on her face - she was calm the whole time! Trust me - if you are thinking of planning a wedding in Hawaii from out of the island, Mona and her team are worth every penny. I can't thank them enough for making all of our dreams come true and making our wedding the best day ever!!!! read more

I live here in Hawaii and of course I had my biases about the local businesses. They were always catering to the destination brides and giving the destination brides the best of the best, while us locals don't always get the same kind of service. HOWEVER, Weddings by Grace and Mona, was EXCEPTIONAL! They were AWESOME! Mona ad her team were excellent, communicated very well, very organized, very honest and know what they are doing. I felt like a queen each time I was to meet with them because they respected our decisions. My parents were the ones paying for the wedding and Mona was very professional and honest with them. I would HIGHLY recommend this company for anyone wanting to coordinate their wedding. My wedding was small but they were champs. Everything went smooth on my wedding day. I had my anxieties and they calmed me down. My florist was messing up the dates on our contracts. Mona was able to ensure she showed up on my wedding day to deliver my flowers. To my surprise my flowers were delivered 2 hours earlier (that was better). I would highly recommend them for your wedding planning. I was a happy bride and now a happy wife :) read more

I've been using yelp FOREVER now and this is only the second, very much deserved review I have ever written, so listen up, Yelpers! If your shopping for a wedding coordinator, stop here and look no further. TRUST ME, you will not regret it. I hired Mona and her team to help coordinate my wedding from start to finish. The first half of my wedding was being planned with me living in another state, so hiring someone in Hawaii was a must for me. Mona and Melanie were my go to girls for anything and everything I needed. Despite their popularity and very busy schedules, Mona and Melanie were always quick to respond to my emails/phone calls and made me feel like my wedding was their only focus. I am terribly unorganized and generally somewhat apathetic in all things wedding-related which is why I needed to hire someone, otherwise I'd end up with pizza, nachos, and beer at my wedding. Mona is the ultimate professional and is clearly loved and respected by the wedding community. She was organized so I didn't have to be and always did whatever she could to keep my stress levels to a minimum. I loved how their team made me feel like they cared more about the details of my wedding than I did. My wedding day was a totally stress-free and amazingly beautiful day and I owe much of this to the Weddings by Grace and Mona team. read more

I was pleased with the ease of my wedding day. And that's largely to do with Mona, Jen, Jamie and Joy's help. The day went off without a hitch and all I had to do was make eye contact with one of them and they were by my side. Our "week-of-wedding-brain-dump" where I unloaded all the wedding planning I had done onto them went way over the 3 hours they had scheduled. They simply said "no problem" and made me feel like they cared more about my wedding day being perfect than whatever important things they had planned later for that day! I felt completely safe in their hands and had one of the best weddings I could have imagined. Their services aren't cheap but when it comes down to it, wouldn't you prefer a stress-free, no hassle wedding day? It's common at weddings for all the problems to go straight to the bride when she's got enough ish on her mind. I made it clear that they (and my maid of honor) were to be the go-to for everything on the day of and that's exactly what happened. We had two wedding locations, one for the ceremony and one for the reception...Jen stayed at the hotel and prepped the reception room while Mona was at the temple bright and early. Joy helped get everyone onto the bus that we had booked and made sure there was no person left behind. Jaime dealt with all the late night mess (bless her heart dealing with a bride that perhaps had one too many GnTs to be making solid decisions about were the flowers should go!) It was nice to know that there was constant communication going on with all the planners. It was clear that the vendors I worked with even felt better that we had WGM on our team. If you want to breathe easy on your wedding day (who doesn't?!) then call WGM. You will be happy that you did. read more

Mona and her team are the best wedding planners hands down. To begin with, Mona has always been kind, courteous, detail-oriented, very organized, genuine and professional. We could ask her anything and she always gave us her honest opinion. She is well known in the wedding industry which made it great for our other vendors who were all excited to work with her. There was never an obstacle too big for Mona and her team to handle. For example, my husband and I did a choreographed first dance and I needed to make sure (but only told her moments before our dance that I was worried) my wedding dress train stayed bustled for all of our twirls and dips. In comes Mona with heavy duty pliers to make sure my bustle clasps stayed firmly in place. My train didn't un-bustle once and our dance was executed beautifully. We decided to go with the 6-month package which was completely worth it. We basically booked all of our vendors, kept track of our contracts and then handed everything over to them once they came on board. If ever a vendor tried to ask us a question we didn't know the answer to, we would just respond, "Ask Mona!" The biggest benefit for the package we chose were the monthly meetings and then weekly meetings the month leading up to our wedding. After every meeting my husband and I left with "to-do lists" that kept us on task so that we weren't scrambling the week before our wedding. During this time I also graduated from medical school and Mona was very patient with me. She even came to my medical school graduation (BEST WEDDING PLANNER EVER!!!) and luncheon which truly touched my family and I. She took an interest in us as a couple and you just get that feeling like you are in great hands. My mentality in getting a wedding planner was that I did not want to worry about anything on our big day and that's exactly how it happened on the actual day. We were able to enjoy every moment and we could not be more grateful for Mona and her team. read more

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I haven't had the pleasure of hiring Mona to coordinate my upcoming wedding so I'm not sure how helpful this review is. I did meet with Mona to discuss the details and pricing and thought that she was very organized, professional, detail oriented, etc. She was very sweet, easy going and I could totally picture myself working well with her. The only reason why I did not hire her was due to the fees which was pretty pricey for the day-of services. It was somewhat expected when you are getting an experienced coordinator that really knows her stuff! read more

You know how everyone says, something always goes wrong, well that isn't the case when using Neu Events. It was the best and most stress-free day I've ever had. If there were any issues, Mona and her team took care of them quietly with a smile and discretely, without anyone noticing. Neu Events is the truly the best! I cannot recommend their services more! After interviewing several other coordinators across Oahu, we stumbled upon Neu Events, and am so pleased that I did. From our very first conversation, Mona has been a dream to work with. Her experience in the industry, professionalism, attention to detail and the amount of time she invests in planning your special day, really does make her the best out there. Mona and Rya made the entire planning process a breeze. We were able to contact her anytime with questions that we had (and I had a lot!). They would send through checklists, updated schedules, budgets, revised invoices on a regular basis. Literally leaving no detail undone. The team is so passionate about your wedding, and make the planning process so much more personal. The day of our wedding was absolutely perfect. And there is no doubt Neu Events is the reason it all came together seamlessly. If you are on the fence, I urge you to set up an interview. Neu Events was by far the best investment we made for our wedding. You will not be disappointed! read more

I love Mona and the gang. Always full of positive vibes and I use to refer clients to them.

WGM: Terrific teamwork! Mona is very organized and thorough. She thinks of things that we never would've thought of (and some of them were pretty crucial.) With her guidance we were able to have a successful wedding. If there were any problems the day of the wedding, we didn't hear about it (as it should be LOL) If anyone is in search of a coordinator they come highly recommended by us. read more

Where do I begin to talk about one of the most amazing women I've ever met? I met Mona in MBA school many years ago when she was just starting her events coordination business, which was to become solely focused on weddings. Since I was far from getting married at the time, I referred an engaged friend to Mona, wanting to help out a fellow MBA classmate. I attended that friend's wedding and was blown away by the beauty, yet simplicity, of the wedding. I started referring more and more of my engaged friends to Mona. Before I knew it, Mona had coordinated 5 of my friends' weddings, including my own last June, and I have since become their enthusiastic, yet unofficial wedding evangelist! I've watched Mona's career and company skyrocket over the years and I couldn't be happier for her and her team. Her company has been written up by every major local magazine and newspaper, as well as featured on local television. And now Mona's the official Hawaii blogger for theKnot.com. A huge, national wedding website has recognized WGM as a premier resource for all things wedding in Hawaii. You'll read other reviews from other happily married couples about WGM's high level of service, their warmth, their professionalism, their can-do attitude (all of which are very true), but I'm going to tell you about something others may not mention or know about. Weddings are more than just a job or career for Mona. It's a passion. A calling. And weddings are about people. Not only is Mona an excellent people person, but she's a connector as well. She treats each wedding like a long term relationship. Over the years, Mona has become friends with my friends and vice versa. Your relationship with WGM doesn't end with the wedding. Mona keeps in touch as a friend, wishing you well on your anniversary, inviting you out the next time you're in town, introducing you to other people she knows. Here's a funny story: Mona invited me out for drinks at Formaggio one night a few years ago. That night, I met My, who Mona had planned a wedding for in the past. My and her husband live in Chicago, but had a destination wedding in Hawaii. They loved Hawaii and Mona so much that they usually spend their vacations in Hawaii. I met My and we became friends and now every time I go to Chicago for work, I meet up with My and her husband. This is just one of many stories in which I've witnessed the phenomenon that is Mona and her team at WGM. If you have a wedding coming up, go with WGM. Just do it. You won't regret it. p.s. My Facebook review: HANDS DOWN, Weddings by Grace and Mona offers the best wedding coordination services in Hawaii. I speak from more than just personal experience. My faith in Mona and her awesome team is so deep, I referred 5 of my friends' weddings to her, before my own magical wedding in June 2009. And I plan to continue evangelizing ...their company to all my single friends and anyone else who's planning a wedding. Here's a story: My wedding was more like a military operation. Tons of family, guests and vendors that needed to be organized efficiently, without sacrificing their good time. Mona and her team were exactly what I needed. They were, literally, troopers. Jaymie, a member of Mona's team, was only supposed to be present for the first 8 hours of the wedding day. I noticed that into hour 16 of the wedding day (in the rain), Jaymie was still running around getting things done (always with a smile on her face). I only found out after the wedding that her relief had gotten food poisoning that day and couldn't come, so Jaymie worked a double shift just like that. Mona, Jaymie and everyone else at WGM does what it takes to give you that perfect wedding you've always dreamed of. And they do it with a smile. :) read more

In summary, Mona Hirata ROCKS! My wedding day went so perfectly smoothly and it was mostly (if not all) because of her. I highly recommend Mona -- she's wonderful! read more

Long overdue review. Mona helped my husband and I plan our wedding in March '11. She really listened to what we wanted which was unconventional- elegant, but with a Street Fighter theme. I don't know how she did it, but she succeeded on both counts. We also wanted the evening to be one big party so we had dress up with photos and a video game station. Our MCs were the Braddahs and they kept everyone laughing. It was so much fun and after all this time, we still have people tell us that we had such an awesome wedding! We simply couldn't have done it without Mona. She was easy to work with, gave us great suggestions, and kept us on track on the actual wedding day. I would recommend her without reservation if anyone wants help to plan a unique, memorable event. Thank you so much Mona! read more