PaddleAddict

Quote: Originally Posted by Jordanna Ristau I just returned from going on a cruise in Hawaii, Maui was beautiful...we rented a car and drove all over. I just wanted to give you a different option. We had lunch at this wonderful restaurant & Inn in Paia called Mama's Fish House, it was stunning and the food was so delicious. The restaurant overlooks there own little beach and it is truly a romantic spot if I was getting married in Hawaii it would be their. They do weddings on the beach and the manager sets everything up. I really liked the Kihei area too but I found this place truly breath taking. Best of luck planning Another vote for Mama's Fish House. We had lunch there during our honeymoon and it is truly an incredibly gorgeous, breathtaking place. The food is the best fish I have ever eaten. It would be an amazing place to have an intimate wedding for you and your fiance. Good luck!

#3 looks beautiful on you. You don't have anything to worry about your stomach!

My parents paid for a good portion of the wedding, so my husband and I are giving them a nice card and a romantic weekend at a local resort with a fancy dinner and golf day. I really hope it conveys how much appreciate all they did. My husband's mom also contributed to the wedding (on a much smaller scale), so we are planning on giving her something similar (for her and her boyfriend), but not as expensive as what we are giving my parents. We did not make any public announcements about the gifts, but did thank my parents at the reception. Also, at the wedding, we had visors made for the two dads that said "Father of the Bride/Groom" for the men's golf outing before the wedding, and had personalized handkerchiefs made for the moms (they loved these!). We're also going to be making photo books for all the parents (these will probably be a Christmas gift).

Susan, check out Joanna Tano on the island of Maui. She just did my wedding and was more reasonable than some of the others. We paid around $2,300 for five hours of coverage and 300 digital files (with the rights to publish). We also got a small print credit with her. She was the sweetest thing, and had such a wonderful eye. I wish I would have hired her for longer so we could have taken more photos. They turned out beautiful. Check them out here: Maui Wedding | Fairmont Kea Lani :: Jackie & Jeffrey joannatano.com

Congrats on your upcoming wedding. I too am slightly worried about rain in Hawaii, but will send good thoughts your way.

Feb 11, 2009: Trish + Bill @ Makena Secret Cove + Kimo's Restaurant Sep 26, 2009: Jackie + Jeff @ Fairmont Kea Lani (Wailea) Oct 14, 2009: Deb + John @ Kalaeokai'a Estate + Five Palms Restaurant Nov 12, 2009: Karina + Cory @ Ritz Carlton Kapalua Feb 10, 2010: Laura + Jim @ Maria Lanakila + TBD Reception May 22, 2010: Huey + Isaac @ Honua Kai Lani + Spago June 17, 2010: Krystall + Nick @ Olowalu Plantation House + Old Lahaina Luau June 12, 2010: Autumn + Mike @ Ritz-Carlton Kapalua July 28, 2010: Lisa + Al @ Olowalu Plantation House Oct. 19, 2010: Amanda + Patrick @ Kula Botanical Garden + Ruth's Chris Steakhouse

Wow, that dress was made for you. You look amazing!

I have one bridesmaid and I let her pick any dress she wanted because she has a troublesome figure when it comes to dresses. I didn't want to stress her out by making her wear something she was not comfortable in. Anyway, it ended up costing $300 and I offered to pay for it (quite strongly) but she flat-out refused to let me pay. I have a pretty wonderful bridesmaid (there is a reason she is my best friend).

Those look great, really incredible job! I wish I were so creative!

Congratulations! I'm glad your wedding was wonderful. We are considering the Five Palms for our rehearsal dinner so I am glad to hear the food was great. Curious, who was your original photographer who your W/C said was not doing well lately. Hope it is not the one we have booked!

Quote: Originally Posted by inunez i don't even know how to bring it up again. i don't want to get into another arguement and the pre-marital counseling i would like to do is not religious at all! but then again - where do i look for it in NY? if it's something we have to pay for out of our pocket, we def do not have any extra money for that. i think that he was a little more hesitant about it becasue the conversation came up when my sister asked me about. she's a born again Christian and she and her husband go to church very often. my FI and i are not church lovers. how do i present this idea to him again and making him understand that it has nothing to do with religion? i really think i need your help ladies!!! My health insurance covers premarital counseling. I did not think it would, but I called the company and had them look into it and it did. We had to choose an in-network counselor and our co-pay is only $20 per session. Not bad! As far as how to approach your fi, well, I would just explain that it is important to you and it's non religious, so why not try one or two sessions and if he doesn't like it, at least you tried...

We are seeing a premarital counselor (non-religious). It was my idea, but luckily, fi thought it was a great idea. I am so glad we decided to do it, so far we have had two sessions and some very interesting things have come up. We really like our counselor a lot and she has already taught us some good tools for compromising and expressing ourselves more clearly. I highly recommend it!

Quote: Originally Posted by dcnetworks Advice: do NOT do the bike down the volcano tour. Hello, sorry to jump in this thread, but we were thinking of doing this tour. Could you elaborate on why we should not? TIA!

I am so sorry that you have to deal with this situation. It is downright abhorrent that your father would be so selfish as to use your WEDDING DAY as an opportunity to flaunt his new girlfriend in front of your mother. I don't know if he is always so self-absorbed, but when you talk to him I hope you point it out that him bringing his gf to your wedding and upseting your mother is going to cause you, his daughter, more pain and suffering than any woman should have to think about on her wedding day. Be strong. Your dad is not being a good dad right now. I hope that after you talk to him he sees the error of his ways and apologizes for even making you have to deal with this.

That is a beautiful dress and it looks great on you! Congrats!

Quote: Originally Posted by PhillyBride09 Thanks ladies and Aww Thanks for the offer Lisa!!!! Well, I did call Davids and the girl was (Surprising) very nice and helpful. She said I can exchange it for something of equal or greater value and if the new dress costs less, I will have to make it up in accessories. All of that was exactly what I wanted to hear!! I called both of my MOH's....And they are both very supportive and offered to go back with me. I haven't told my mom yet. I don't think she will be mad or anything, I just feel bad because I know I drov her crazy the first time..LOL I know I am short on time, but I don't think I am gonna go this week because I have a visit from Our favorite Aunt and eww , who wants to try a White dress on with her around? Lisa, I feel the same way you did, getting caught up in everyone's tears and "Oh thats the one's"..And I was also rushing. I'm not super girly and I like to make my decision and move on..But I have envisioned my wedding since I was a kid and Although I realize this isn't a traditional wedding..I wanted something a little bigger...I described it to my sister just now, when she asked what I wanted, i said, "Somethin I have to lift up to walk around..LOL" My dress is beautiful and light and it will be perfect for Mexico..But who cares if I don't love it So...If I feel better by Wednesday, I may make an appointment for Thursday night :-) If not, I won't go until Tuesday of next week and who knows, I may decide to keep my dress, although I doubt it. I need to just try some other dresses. Thanks for all of the advice and stories! :-) Here is the dress I currently have: Oh my gosh! I also tried on that same dress and everyone with me LOVED it and thought it was "the one" but honestly, I just didn't feel like me in in, and it wasn't what I was imagining, so I ended up with something else, which I am really happy with (and it was half the price!). It's a beautiful dress, but like you said, I just didn't love it on me. Good luck to you on your new dress search!

Thank you so much for your review! Unless someone else requested it, it was me who asked for a report when you got back. Congratulations on your wedding! We were deciding between the Maui Prince and the Fairmont, and just yesterday decided on the Fairmont. Reading your review made me feel even more comfortable with our choice. I think the Maui Prince sounds great for a get away, but the Fairmont will probably be more appropriate for the wedding, as well as being more central for our guests, who will be staying in Kihei and Wailea. Thank you again! Jackie

Just so everyone is aware, SeaWatch is not surrently accepting books past mid August 2009. They are dealing with renegotiating their lease and until it is resolved they aren't booking any events. I really hope the resolve their lease because this is where we really want to get married.

Congratulations and have a wonderful time!!!

Thank you for the link... your wedding looked just lovey! Who did your bouquet? It's beautiful!

Thank you for the offer of photos! jeffreyandjackie @ yahoo dot com

Oops, forgot one very important question: Do you have pics from your wedding? I'd love to see them. Thanks again, you are an amazing help!

Thank you so much for your reply!!!! Did you post a wedding review? I am really leaning toward the Five Palms due to the atmosphere and the views. Question regarding inside vs. outside: We will probably have 35 guests. Do you think with that many people the inside area will work as well? I was considering the patio due to the number of guests. Also, our reception will be a dinner reception on a Saturday night, so I imagine the inside of the restuarant might be a little more crowded at that time. Thank you again, this is such an incredible help!

I am looking into having my wedding ceremony and reception here. My parents will be in Maui next week and are going to check the Five Palms out for me, so I'll reply when they get back!

Hi Thanda, The Marriott is in Wailea, which is where SeaWatch is located. I believe they are pretty close. However, I feel the same way that it would be easier to have the cermony and reception all in the same place, especially since we want to pick our guests up (shuttle) and take them home after to avoid any drinking and driving. SeaWatch has told me that the hold up is due to renegotiating a lease agreement, but they have not been able to tell me when the bookings will open up. Someone else (on The Knot) said that Susan at the SeaWatch told them it would be two to four weeks before they would be able to book (this was last week). I have found when researching my other options that places are not booking up as quickly as I thought they would. Right now, our wedding is about seven months away and all four places I've contacted still have our date available (and it's a Saturday, too). For me, we are going to wait a few more weeks before booking. I am not too worried that we will be unable to find a place. SeaWatch is our first choice, but we will have to book something eventually, and if they are not accepting bookings soon we may choose something else. An option I like is the Five Palms restaurant. I've been speaking with the events coordinator, who is very nice, and they allow you to get married on their lawn (oceanfront) without any fees other than chair rentals. The reception would be inside the restaurant or on their patio. We will only have 25 to 30 or so guests, so this would work out well for us. The food looks pretty decent and the prices are similar to the SeaWatch. My parents are taking a trip to Maui in two weeks and they will be checking out all four venue options and taking pictures, so I'll let you know what they learn while they are there.