Maui Weddings

Lately we've been busy booking Maui weddings with many new couples. Generally July and August are slow months for us and we usually plan our vacations for August for that reason. (And we will be off island for two weeks this year in August). So far this month we've been quite busy booking weddings, 22 so far, and five yesterday.

Yesterday was a little crazy. One of those five weddings we booked was a last second affair. The couple was leaving Friday, and we had a wedding both Wednesday (tonight) and Thursday nights. So if they wanted a sunset wedding, the only time we had on our schedule to do it was last night. Susan managed to pull all of the details together, getting them a last moment license appointment (and talking them through getting lost a couple of times) and so that I did actually perform the ceremony for them, and we shot their wedding photography all on short notice.

Today is not quite so crazy, but we've already booked another wedding, so I will be doing two tomorrow night back-to-back up in Kapalua. Whew.

We can always tell if we're being found on the Internet by the number of phone calls we get. With so many websites competiting for Hawaii weddings, it is often hard to get the kind of placement that we would prefer in search engines like Google and MSN.

But we've found that whenever our Maui Weddings websites are being found by couples, which also includes our Maui Me site, we usually do well with our bookings.

Our couples love our prices and they also tell us that our websites have so much information on them so that they can get a feeling for who we are and what we do. And that's the way we like it. We want our clients to feel comfortable, because this is one of the most important decisions of your life, and you want a company who will make you feel good on your wedding day.

Maui Weddings: A Fun Service

Performing Maui weddings is a really fun service for us. Last night I tied the knot for a young couple who were having so much fun. With some couples, you have to ask them to look at each other. I've had couples who have had difficulty looking into each other's eyes for any length of time.

Not so with this couple. As I was performing the ceremony, I had to get them to look back at me, because they were so lost in each other's eyes. And our videographer was shooting them, so I knew they needed to look back in the direction of the camera.

Because I'm also a photographer, I think about these things even when I'm giving my ceremony, i.e. are they turning their backs to the video camera, are they looking at each other too much -- or not enough, are they speaking to low for the microphone. So I will often say my couples names and pause to get them to look at me, because I know they'll enjoy their video more if they look out towards the camera (which is over my shoulder).

When you perform Hawaii weddings for any length of time, as I have, you get to know what looks good and what doesn't in their video and photography. And so we are doing these subtle little things (without calling attention to them) in the background, knowing that the couple will enjoy their memories so much more if they can see their faces clearly in the video and the photos. We want our couples to look good and so we work on that even during the wedding.

And of course, having a couple like last nights wedding makes our job even more fun. They had been together for nine years and just now are getting around to tying the knot. But that still hasn't dulled their love for each other. As a Maui wedding minister, its always so much more fun for me if the couple is deeply in love.

That's one more reason why I enjoy being a Hawaii Wedding Planner.

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A Flexible Hawaii Wedding Planner

I've been doing a lot of vow renewals lately. On Monday night, I was scheduled to meet my couple and their three kids in Kihei. When they didn't show up on time, I called their cell phone and found out that they were still in Lahaina (about 25 minutes away -- when there is no traffic on the road). But they were still stuck in bumper-to-bumper traffic.

I told them to keep coming in my direction, and we would be flexible on which beach we ended up at. I know where all the good beaches are. So I started driving in their direction. We decided that I would call them in 10 to 15 minutes to see what our locations were. As it turned out, I had no traffic at all going towards them, while they didn't move more than about two miles during the same period.

Listening to their description of where they were, I could tell I was getting close to them. Finally, they told me they had passed a mile marker (16) and when I came to mile marker 17, I just pulled over and waited for them to see me beside the road. We were in an area where there really isn't any sand on the beach, an area where people camp and snorkel, but where Highway 30 and the noise of all the cars is right next to the ocean. Because the sun was going to set in about 25 minutes, I knew that we would never be able to go south to get to a sandy beach down there. It just wouldn't have given us enough time to do everything without being rushed.

So we went back another mile or two to a park where there was some sand and a good spot to perform the ceremony and do our photography. It actually worked out very well and they were very happy. The couple had just booked their vow renewal last week.

If I had not been flexible and willing to drive to meet them, we would have had to postpone their renewal for another night. Whenever we encounter anything like this, whether it is traffic congestion or rainy weather or someone getting lost, we always try to be flexible. We know that the important thing for our couples is that we get them married. We always try to keep their spirits up so they can enjoy the day. The exact beach does not matter, as long as we accomplish the most important part of the evening.

I would recommend that you leave early to come to your wedding, especially if you are on the west side where traffic congestion lately has been pretty bad. Better to be early than sitting in bumper-to-bumper traffic wondering if you're going to get married or not. Or should I say, "or knot"? ;>)

Magical Maui Weddings

I just performed a magical Maui wedding -- or should I say a miracle Maui wedding. . . The young couple I performed the ceremony only for were for Holland. They spoke very good English, and they booked their wedding with us at the last second, calling us up for the first time the day before the ceremony.

When I met them at the location where we like to meet couples (one that is easy to find so they won't get lost), he was wearing a bright red T-shirt and she was dressed very casually. Not the usual clothes I expect to see from my couples (although I must admit, I've seen just about everything). When we got to the beach and they got ready to do the ceremony, they both took off their T-shirts because they wanted to get married in their bathing suits. He set up a video camera using the nearby rocks for a tripod (which I don't recommend) to catch the ceremony.

The couple was so "cute", if I can use that word. They were so much in love. They kept looking at each other during the entire ceremony, with those star struck eyes. When I finally pronounced them "husband and wife", they lite up. They kissed and danced and I picked up their video camera (which was an old VHS quality camera) and filmed them for a bit while they kissed. Then they ran down to the water and jumped in together. In a moment, a big wave came in and they both body surfed back up to the beach.

I enjoyed watching their exhurbant love of life and love for each other. When we filled out the wedding license we had to be careful, because they didn't even bring a towel and the groom did drip one big drop of sea water on the certificate. As they were filling out their name changes (they each added the other's last name to their own), they told me how grateful they were to be able to do this.

As it turns out, they had been in a car accident earlier in the day. Coming around the West Maui Mountains, near the tunnel, another driver sideswiped their car and sent them up the side of the mountain overturning their car. The next thing they knew, they were upside-down in the car, hanging their by their seatbelts! Fortunately, they were not hurt, only shaken up. Even their surfboards which were on top of the car survived.

The rental car company gave them a new vehicle and they still made it down to the wedding site that afternoon for their wedding with me. Wow. You never know what's going on in someone's life. And it is a little amazing to me that they were so loving at their ceremony. Then again, maybe it's not all that amazing either, considering how close they came to a tragedy earlier in the day.

Maui Wedding Cakes

Yesterday we had a call from someone who found us listed on Yahoo for "Maui Wedding Cakes". He was checking on trying to get a cake for his Maui Wedding for next year. He thought that we actually make cakes, although our webpage is clear that we use one of the best bakers on Maui.

This groom had never even thought through the idea of using a coordinator. They are planning to do everything themselves for their wedding next year. For some reason, many people like the idea of pulling together all of the details themselves. But that can work against them. Every time I go to a wedding (to shoot photography or perform the wedding ceremony) where there is no on-site coordinator, I see disorganization and a lack of continuity that a coordinator usually corrects.

When I'm working as just a photographer, it's nice to have someone pull everything together. As the photographer, whenever I have to shoot a wedding that doesn't have a coordinator, I often end up doing that job myself. (Because I can't stand disorganization). So I end up asking questions and making "suggestions", which are usually accepted eagerly. Because often, no one really knows what to do next.

Having a wedding coordinator at your wedding really doesn't cost that much more. You won't be paying any more for your Maui wedding cake or your other vendors. Most of them give the coordinator a "wholesale" price. So the coordinator gets part of her pay that way.

And if you don't have a coordinator, who will pick up your Hawaii wedding cake? Finding the baker, and then getting the cake to the wedding can be a big job (considering how Maui is laid out). And if the cake is "too fresh" it may just implode. For smaller weddings we make certain that it is in an ice chest so that it stays just cool enough. But how would a visitor to Maui have an ice chest with them? For larger weddings, we make certain that the cake is delivered by the bakery.

We've used several different Maui wedding cake companies, and the one we now use, based upon our previous experience, is the best on Maui. If we have a choice, we don't use anyone else. Again, that experience is something you'll get from a coordinator that you won't get if you "do it all yourself."