We decided to escape it all and elope on the Big Island with a sunset beach wedding. Larry…read moresuggested Kukio Beach as the perfect location -about a 20-30 minute drive north of Kona at the Four Seasons Resort. Of course we were both nervous about a location we'd never visited before, but we decided to roll with it, and I'm so happy we did. Beautiful mostly secluded beach with an absolutely gorgeous sunset and sea turtles to boot! Larry offered more than just the traditional vows including a ring blessing, lei exchange, unity sand ceremony and a ti leaf and lava rock ceremony which made the whole experience more spiritually meaningful to us. His photographer was professional and they also offered a downloadable video of the ceremony and his wife took additional pictures with our phone as well. Larry was quick to respond during our back and forth planning emails, but his replies were sometimes a bit sparse which I'll admit had us a bit nervous. But after arriving there, we realized the laid backness is just the Hawaiian way, lol. It all turned out beautifully!

Larry and his wife Donna are Gems!!! OMG, please look no further! If you want a beautiful ceremony,…read morebeautiful view, and amazing photos they are your go-to. Not only were the packages offered unbelievable, but they have got to be the most sweetest and accommodating people we've met. They made our day so special and guided us through the whole process from afar. Our pictures were flawless, our ceremony phenomenal and the location was out of this world gorgeous. I am very persnickety when it comes to order and beauty and they really hit the mark. My now husband and I are beyond pleased and have not one single regret, only beautiful memories. Thank you both for perfection, we couldn't have asked for more! 10 stars if I could :-).

I am so extremely disappointed with the lack of service by this company. I spent a considerable…read moreamount of time reviewing their floral offerings on their website before finally settling on one design. I specifically chose the design I did because of the floral content as well as the color scheme. I specifically chose one that did NOT have bold colors. I even spoke to the shop the day after I placed the order to confirm delivery time and no mention was made at all about needing to make any changes. This business apparently uses an iPhone for their business phone and employs text messaging. That's not a problem at all however it does demonstrate the ease at which communication regarding changes could have been. Instead they chose to use completely different and cheaper flowers in what they delivered vs what I ordered. I say cheaper because anyone who knows anything knows that mums are cheap and when it comes to Hawaii so are bird of paradise. They grow everywhere. I was told that "some of the flowers were out of season". Which ones? The noticeably missing ORCHIDS? I'm supposed to believe that orchids were "out of season" on a Hawaiian island where orchid leis abound? All I wanted was what I ordered. Nothing more, nothing less. It was intended to be for my sister who was getting married and it cost me $157!! If I wanted the flower type they gave me, I could have ordered a significantly LARGER arrangement for less money!! In the screenshots you can see the shop insisted they would go pick it back up and they would reach out to the bride. I felt this was disruptive but whatever. Well, they NEVER did that. This matters because of how they handled my dispute with PayPal. When I tried to follow up (as seen in the text conversation) they blocked me. I tried calling and it wouldn't even ring it was immediately sent to voicemail. That's what happens when you're blocked. I opened a dispute with PayPal since there was no further way for me to communicate. They first offered me $75 as a partial refund. Unacceptable. I'm not paying even $1 for something I didn't order. It takes time to move through the dispute process so approximately 2 weeks later they did offer a full refund. The catch? They wanted the item returned with a tracking number. What a scam. They knew full well that wasn't possible and would cause the case to be decided in their favor and they get to keep my money. What was I supposed to send them? A box of random dead flowers? Those flowers were long dead and in a Hawaiian landfill somewhere. They could have had their product back had they gone and picked it up like they said. They never even attempted to reach out to her. If I could give them zero stars I would. I'm not one to make negative reviews, I prefer to leave positive reviews because there are never enough of those, especially for small businesses. These people cheated me out of my money and I would never recommend them to anyone. Ever. I think they know how to work the system and have likely done this to people before. Shame on you for taking advantage of anyone in this economy where folks can barely afford groceries. Definitely no mahalo here.

The only people to get flowers from on the Big Island. I've used Nicco's a number of times for…read moreanniversary, birthday, Valentine's Day and I have not been disappointed. A true Hawaiian icon, they're friendly, prompt, and a delight to do business with. Excellent flowers and arrangements.

Becky made my special day the VERY BEST that I could've hoped for! I was very nervous and I pretty…read moremuch waited until the last minute to handle everything. She literally soothed my frazzled nerves and provided my fiancé and me' with everything we needed before we even arrived, and once we arrived onto the Island she ensured everything was streamlined and in order. She didn't miss a beat!! She had all of the resources needed -- from an AWESOME makeup artist (Kassie), photographer (Hannah), to where to go for final marriage licensing signing. She even files your license for you!! Once our special day arrived, her ceremony literally brought tears to my eyes. It was just so beautiful... words cannot express... From the serene ocean ritual, her loving and warm words during the ceremony that were genuinely from the heart made my wedding day so memorable and filled with love. As nervous and unorganized as I was, Becky made my day PERFECT!!! I can't thank her and her awesome husband, Matt, enough!!! Becky was a Godsend!! She's the BEST at what she does, hand down!!! Aloha!!

Our wedding ceremony was absolutely beautiful, Karen made our Special Day everything we could…read morehave asked for. Adding some special touches that we weren't expecting! We definitely recommend reaching out to her if you are looking for something simple but elegant.

My wedding was perfect. From the location at Kikaua Point beach, to Dean the officiant. He does an…read moreamazing ceremony. Beautiful symbolism, stories and touches of the Hawaiian culture. However, if you are from the east coast I would not recommend using Hawaii Island Weddings. At times it took days/week for Kandi to get back to me with answers to my questions. On several occasions she tried changing prices on me. Luckily I held onto everything including emails and text messages and then used to reinforce what was originally said as well as prices originally quoted. If you are able to stay on top of things, are organized as an individual, and have a very laid back attitude go for it. Dean was worth the aggravation that came with her services. If I where just rating Dean I would give him a 5 plus stars. In response to Kandi's comment; You are 100% right. My wedding was perfect. From the location to Dean and the ceremony he performed. My wedding needs as a same sex couple are no different than those of a heterosexual couple. I would hope in this day and age you would know that. I am posting a photo of our contract so people who are looking at this review can see that communication was in fact included in our contract. I won't waste time looking for more of our conversation and such to show that I am not exaggerating about the exchanges we had but anyone reading this should feel free to message me for more including the leis, payments and charges because yes I am also a believer in 2 sides to every story. Luckily for me I saved all of the exchanges that were had.

I got married over two years ago and used Kandy. I would not recommend her to anyone. I have been…read moreavoiding this review but it's been eating at me that I'm sharing my experience with others and helping them avoid what I was victim too. She NEVER got back to me. She doesn't return phone calls and u have to chase her down. I spent too much time trying to get a hold of this lady... especially considering I was a customer! Then, she'd get a "dropped call" and not call back. She wasn't on the ball at all. I had to be on top of everything. Things only got done bc I was calling her and asking and making things get done. She tend to yell at me or "correct me" if I did her job. She was late to get things reserved and we lost out on venues, etc bc of her. She's expensive and will spring fees on u last minute. She didn't even tell me till days before the wedding that my package didn't include a officiant. So I had to hire her husband last min who I thought was already a part of the expensive package I was paying for, and had to pay the steep fee for him bc I had no other options. She told me after the wedding she'd clean up the reception area, and she did, but she gave away everything so I didn't get ONE of my table toppers that I made and wanted to keep for momento sake and had asked for one to be kept. I was SOOOO BUMMED! That's a one time thing and I didn't get to have one. She was very unaccommodating when it came to anything. I asked if I could ship boxes of stuff there and she hold on to it for literally 2 weeks till the wedding and she said no. For the price I pd her to help with this wedding I was shocked she didn't have any ability to receive some wedding things I wanted to ship and hold them for a small amt of time. The photographer we hired she had her be down at the wedding site before the wedding so didn't get ONE pic of us getting ready but have lots of pics of the guests waiting while I got ready :(. Kandy put me in a spot to wait for her while she got the wedding ready then would come get me and that never happened. We had the time set to happen at sunset and we missed that bc she never came to get me so we started 45 mins late and my hotel ended up taking me down in a golf cart bc she never came back to get me. The whole thing, from start to finish, from the beginning of planning till the end of the wedding was a shit show and disappointing and frustrating. I wouldn't recommend her to my worst enemy. I could go on and on abt things but I think I've made my point. Oh! But her husband, Dean, did do an amazing job with the officiating. No disappointment there. He's very cool and spiritual and was a nice addition to our wedding. Kandy wouldn't let us write our own vows, which we wanted to do, but what Dean did was good. Dana.wendland@gmail.comdana.wendland@gmail.com

Wow!!! The team did a great job. Our vow renewal at Buddha Point was simply perfect. Crystal was…read moreonsite during our ceremony and she made everything happen. Great business, highly recommended! If you are looking for a wedding planner, don't hesitate to hire them.

We had our wedding on November 11th (a very long over due review oopsie), and we truly couldn't be…read moremore grateful to have had Hailey as our planner. From the very beginning, she was incredibly organized, communicative, down to earth, and thoughtful, which made the entire process feel so smooth and stress-free. No detail was overlooked, and she always made sure we felt confident and taken care of, even when nerves were getting the best of us. Planning a wedding comes with so many decisions, and having someone who is transparent and straightforward is incredibly important. She always gave thoughtful, genuine guidance, whether it was about timelines, logistics, or what would realistically work best for our day. That level of honesty built so much trust and made us feel confident in every choice we made. On the wedding day, everything went perfectly and we were able to be fully present and enjoy every moment, knowing everything was handled so seamlessly behind the scenes. We feel so lucky to have worked with her and can't recommend her and the team enough. We truly had a five-star experience in every way!

The Good: We hired Betty for our wedding in March of 2020…read morebut had to reschedule due to Covid and she was very flexible in working with us on this. She also did a good job of performing the ceremony once she arrived. The Less Good: We had a wedding on the Hilo side of the island which has spotty service to say the least. Betty was 45 minutes late for our 10am ceremony and this is only because we had to send my uncle to find her lost on the side of the road. Due to spotty service, no one heard from her until I called at 10:15am and come to find out later, she had been calling my wife (the bride) from 10:01am multiple times that she was lost, having a backup phone number would be helpful to prevent this. The place isn't hard to find if you plug it in your phone/GPS prior to losing service, but this and other communication issues definitely lead us to believe there is a struggle with technology. Once she arrived, the ceremony went well and the next lapse in communication ensued. My wife and Betty had exchanged voicemails the day before the wedding after we finished on virtual licensing agent appointment so our marriage certificate could be issued. Betty stated that she had everything ready for the day of the wedding and didn't clarify that we needed to print off our marriage certificate so we were rushing to find a printer after the ceremony which caused more delays and we were not able to sit down to brunch with our guests after the ceremony. Because she performed well at the ceremony, I was initially going to leave a 3 star review. However, we had a friend get married several days after us and we heard that she was late for their wedding as well. Being late to two weddings in the same week is very unprofessional so I can't in good conscious recommend Betty to other couples and if you do book, maybe lie and say your ceremony is earlier so she is on time.

We Just got back from Kona for our 20 year anniversary with a vow renewal on the beach at sunset…read moreofficiated by Betty. Everything went smoothly, starting from my initial inquiry a few months ago, to the ceremony on the beach. Betty emailed the vows to me and allowed us to customize it anyway we wanted to. We found that what she had written was perfect. She gave us a choice of locations, and offered suggestions such as bringing leis to the ceremony for a Hawaiian lei exchange. Nice touch She showed up a little early, which was great, because we took a few minutes to find the right spot with the sunset in the background. If you are looking for the perfect sunset pictures in the background, I would recommend a 6:45pm start time. I highly recommend Betty, for someone that doesn't want the big production and big cost at one of the hotels.

The best. Above and beyond feels too trite to describe how Cheryl handled our ceremony, but above…read moreand beyond is how she operated in every possible way and our day was meaningful and poignant and we could not have imagined it better. On our first conversation, Cheryl said to me "Let me handle all the stress, you just get to Hawaii." I didn't have to worry about a thing; it was one of the easiest partnerships I've ever had with someone I'm working with to plan something. Cheryl went out of her way to accommodate every detail and request we asked for, from having our ukulele player learn our song (They Love Each Other by The Grateful Dead) on a weeks notice, to exploring every single option available to try and find a same-sex cake topper on Hawaii at the very last minute. When my mother wanted to be a sleuth to try and figure out our hotels, etc so she could do something, I put her in touch with Cheryl thinking she'd help her arrange dinner or a spa day at our hotel. Little did I know that Cheryl was talking to my mother and my mother-in-law almost daily, accommodating their requests and in the end keeping the big secret that our mothers paid for the entire day, photographer and wedding dinner. But even more special, Cheryl worked closely with them to give them the opportunity to put their small touches on our ceremony. Cheryl revealed the surprise after the ceremony and I can't tell you how special that was for us. Cheryl made it possible for our mothers to be part of our elopement and I can't thank her enough. Incidentally, my mother shared with me the pages and pages (.....and pages!) of emails she and my MIL exchanged with Cheryl. Even from 5,000 miles away, Cheryl's warmth and kindness touched our mothers and they will be forever friends. Our ceremony was intimate and and so well done. Her service was spot on for us as a couple, and Cheryl cried the whole time which made it feel like we were married by an old friend. Cheryl is everything you want for your Hawai'i elopement. She will forever hold an incredibly special place in our hearts and I couldn't ask for a kinder soul to remember as part of our day. Cheryl exudes love, fun and the spirit of aloha, and any couple who has her at the helm for their wedding is extremely blessed.

If you want to immediately feel like part of the family contact Cheryl. From the moment we made…read morecontact Brendan and I knew she was the one. We had an immediate connection. She truly took her time in getting to know us, our family and how we came to meet. She truly took her time in building a relationship with us. You can tell she loves people, loves love and her job. She put so much love and care into our day. I am not just saying she's the best because of how she married us. She truly is the best person in general. She invited us to her home, she treated us like family and her and her husband pas are both just all around kind and loving souls. She even went out of her way to help us with some local places to do , eat and see. Not only all that but she was down for an adventure elopement with us all the way down to the bottom of Waipi'o valley beach at sunrise. She was a trooper and one of the best friends/person to have married us. Thank you so much Cherly for your love and kindness

Andrea made our very special 30 year wedding renewal more than we dreamed about- she connected with…read moreus and asked the pertinent questions to know us better and to tailor our ceremony uniquely for us . She was detailed as I am and I arrived worry free and she let us know all she had done and was doing I trusted her 100 percent .. I'm glad we did she was amazing .. I loved her writing of our vows and the personalization of each detail . Thanks Andrea for the lovely flowers the music the pics and the service .. we loved it ! We had such a peaceful loving time on your amazing island ...

It's kind of weird, right, searching the internet for a person (who will actually be a pretty…read moreprominent part of the ceremony) you've never met before to actually marry you and the person you want to spend the rest of your life with. Like, as I was searching the interwebs for "Kona officiants" and "Hawaii wedding officiants" I was literally thinking...this is kinda nuts. Thankfully...we found Andrea @ Weddings a la Heart. From the moment we contacted her she was super responsive and kind of amazingly friendly and helpful. For instance, we had a handful of locations in mind for our simple big island ceremony, and she volunteered and took the time to drive to one to check it out as there was the possibility of construction noise. She walked us through the entire process in terms of what we needed to do (we were fairly clueless, and google can be somewhat confusing), what she would do, what kind of options we had for the actual ceremony, etc. We also had a pre-ceremony call where we sort of got to know each other and went over some basics like vows, and other specifics. She was helpful, flexible, and patient throughout. Most importantly, when we met her for the ceremony (again, total stranger!!), she exuded a sense of calm and warmth that immediately put us at ease and let us know that we made the right decision. The ceremony was beautiful, Andrea was great, and, I suppose most importantly, we pulled it off! I guess this isn't a typical Yelp restaurant review where I say that we can't wait to go back, as, presumably, weddings are, ahem, done once, but I can say that I would recommend to anyone I know and to all the strangers of the internet that, should they be looking for a big island officiant, look no further than Andrea, because she is the one (not THAT one, because I already married THAT one, but you know what I mean)! Not only will you not be disappointed - you will be thrilled.

Working with Rachael and The Chapter of Love was hands down the best decision I made as a bride!…read moreFrom start to finish, Rachael was incredibly thorough and attentive. She took the time to really get to know me, understand my vision, and made thoughtful vendor suggestions that matched my style perfectly. I was so overwhelmed at the beginning and honestly didn't even know where to start, but Rachael immediately made me feel at ease with the whole planning process. The venue and vendor guides she provided were incredibly helpful and gave me a clear idea of what was available, which helped everything come together more easily. Throughout the planning process, Rachael was always available to answer my (many!) questions. Her experience and calm demeanor made everything so much easier and truly gave me peace of mind. We also hired her for Day of Coordination and if you're on the fence about that, let me just say: DO IT! You will not regret it. Because of Rachael, I was able to relax and enjoy my wedding morning without stress. She handled everything and I mean EVERYTHING from setting up the decorations I had purchased, to creating a beautiful orchid display by our welcome sign mirror, to artfully arranging desserts on the dessert table (which looked stunning!). Everything ran so smoothly from start to finish, and that is 100% thanks to Rachael's expertise and dedication. If I had to do it all over again, I would hire Rachael and The Chapter of Love in a heartbeat. Thank you, Rachael, for making our day so special and seamless!

One word, RACHAEL!!!!! We were so blessed and thankful that we were recommended Rachael, we could…read morenot imagine the wedding process without her energy and her support. Whenever we needed Rachael she was there and always one phone call away. Through the whole process it never felt like a stress because we trusted her and knew she always followed through for us. What we appreciate the most was her patience, her sincerity and her easy going personality... when we met her we knew 100% she matched our energy, she kept us on track and calm through the whole process. The wedding day was absolutely perfect, everything was just what we imagined but even BETTER! Could not have done it without Rachael. We love you!! You will forever be family to my mom, Kyle and I. Thank you for everything. We love you!

Hannah, John and Johnny were incredible! They helped my wife and I conceptualize our party and…read morebring it to reality. They were punctual, informed, friendly, and filled with Aloha. I highly recommend them for your event. Mahalo team!

Hawaii Island Events was a great part of our event team. John and Hanna were very easy to work…read morewith, super accommodating, and had a really wide variety of items to choose from. They provided a lot of really beautiful options and we were able to create an incredible atmosphere for our celebrations. Our guests loved the decor. Everything was stylish, comfortable, and very high quality. Their team executed the installations and load outs seamlessly and professionally. We highly recommend Hawaii Island Events as we were really impressed and would definitely work with them again.