amandadburns

Quote: Originally Posted by jean-marcus oh that is just frustrating to hear that. I am sorry. I hate when vendors give me a bad name by luring you in with a cheap price and then try and stick you with hidden charges and stuff. They are pretty much worse than used car salesmen.. UGH... ON A SIDE NOOOOTE.... I am shooting a wedding 45 mins out side of london. PLEASE tell me where I need to go in London to really experience London. Not just the tourist traps. I'm no expert (have only lived here a few years myself) but I'm also not keen on the usual tourist traps so here's a quick braindump... Markets: avoid Camden (can't stand it, I guess you need to like incense and overpriced black and white prints of old actors but you might bump into Amy Winehouse staggering about in the early hours). Instead check out Borough Market on a Thurs or Friday (avoid Sat/Sun like the plague - not open rest of week) or Spitalfields on Friday well known for upcoming designer fashion (it's in Jack the Ripper's territory too) Interesting streets/areas: Avoid Oxford St, Leicester Square, even Convent Garden - full of dull chain stores and restaurants (and tourists) although Neal Street just off Convent Garden is probably the exception. In central London try Marylebone High Street (Mar-lee-bone) or Carnaby Street for very good independent boutiques/shops. A bit further out of London try Richmond in south west London (about 30 mins on the tube from the westend). Enjoy a pint at a pub on the Thames in Richmond or one of the several that surround Richmond Green - infact visit on a sunny summer Saturday and you can drink a pint while watching a game of cricket on the green (they've been playing cricket on the green every summer since the days of Queen Elizabeth I). Watering Holes: Windsor Castle in Nottinghill is a very cosy olde English pub (dark wood panelled, open fires) and has a good beer garden. Cheshire Cheese Pub on Fleet Street (where all the British national newspapers used to be based until Murdoch moved them all out!) is supposedly the oldest pub in London and worth a look. Soho is always reliable for a lively night out, head towards Wardour Street. Shopping: Carnaby Street is great; Liberty (tudor department store) on Regent Street is a visual feast; or for a more modern mall experience the new Westfields shopping centre in Wood Lane is a good bet if you want to attack a lot of shops in one session (very pleasant as far as malls go, good restaurants and a mix of high street labels and designer). It's also right across the road from the good old BBC TV Centre. Kings Road is also worth wandering down and the Bluebird Cafe on the Kings Road is definitely worth stopping at for a bite to eat or drink. Entertainment/Arts: if you're here during summer and enjoy a bit of classical theatre definitely worth your time is catching a show at Shakespeare's Globe Shakespeare's Globe Theatre, Bankside, Southwark, London. If you're into art and design you must visit the V&A (Victoria & Albert) Museum Victoria and Albert Museum . They often have fantastic exhibits on. Restaurants: One of our favourite places is the Skylon Cafe in the Southbank Centre just across the Thames from Embankment. Get a seat by the window and watch the world go by. It's near the London Eye, and it's a tourist drawcard so yep queues, but does provide the best views and orientation. Phew that's about it for now. Hope some of that helps guide you towards a very enjoyable visit!

Quote: Originally Posted by cutefeet I feel your pain Amanda! My wedding is May 15th and I was just informed that the name of my venue has changed from SeaWatch Restaurant to Gannon's and that my guests will no longer be allowed to order table side, I will now have to have their entree choices in 72 hours prior to the wedding. None of this would have been an issue if I had been informed BEFORE my invitations went out. Now my invitations and directions card lists the wrong name of my venue and my RSVP card did not have meal choices. So now I have to contact all of my guests somehow (phone, e-mail, mail) and let them know of the name change so they don't get confused when trying to find the venue, and also to give them their meal selections and get their choices. With all the etiquette and class that involves I might as well have sent out an E-vite!!! Gannon's will NOT accommodate me with the table side ordering even though this change is taking place only 2 weeks before my wedding!!! AND now my invitations which were obviously intended on being keepsakes have the wrong name on them! So since we now have to contact everyone anyway we figure we will see if we can find another venue because we are so angry at this last minute change and no communication from Gannon's that we don't want them to have one red cent of ours!! Oh no what a pain! I can understand why you don't want to give them your business for mucking you around. They really should honor the previous owners agreement with you. If you do have to get all your guest meal selections you could delegate that task to your bridesmaids! You'll have enough on your hands (and mind) in the lead-up without having to make all those phone calls/letters/emails yourself. We were going to do an ice-breaker brunch for our wedding guests at Seawatch/Gannon's but their brunch buffet was underwhelming for the price. The location looks lovely though so if you do go ahead there I'm sure the setting will be beautiful. We're doing dinner at Spago and they've been brilliant (this is one part of the day my wedding planner is not organising!). Their catering manager replies to emails within minutes (that freaks me out but very impressive!) and the menu looks yummy. No pre-ordering required, but our party is only 30, perhaps that's a factor. I hope Gannon's works out. Take a deep breath, and wishing you a wonderful day when this trouble will all be a faint memory

I'm too scared to say who my planner is incase she reads this, gets angry and she has my wedding in her hands. I have my fingers and toes crossed she's just typical of the laid back Maui attitude but will pull things off on the day, but when I see other girls talking about their fantastic planners I kick myself for not finding out more about mine before hiring her. I promise to write back after our wedding on May 10th how it turned out. Even if it comes off well I would not recommend my planner as her communication is terrible and I've ended up taking at least half the wedding tasks off her because she was either quoting ridiculous prices ($1000 for flowers on 3 tables of 8 at the dinner for example). She does bizarre things like arrange to have my guests dropped off at the ceremony venue 45 minutes before the ceremony. They'll all be bored senseless after 15 minutes of waiting not to mention melting in the sun. She arranged for candles at the venue even tho we leave an hour before sunset and arranged for us to be collected from the reception an hour before it finishes. I just have no idea where her head is!

I know everyone is supposed to be all 'how wonderful everything is and how happy I am' on these message boards, but I have to say I have regretted my impulsive decision to marry in Maui on many many occassions. I've lost count of the number of times a local vendor has said one thing then weeks later said something completely different without any reasonable explanation as to why. That prices have unexplainably shot up overnight. That people I am trying to do business with take weeks to reply to emails (brides, choose your wedding planner with great care). I am trying really hard not to let it rub the magic away, but it is a real effort at times and it makes me really sad that I even have to make that effort. I have a very confused impression of people in Maui right now, I'm not sure what to expect. I'm upset writing this but am I the only person who is not having the perfect wedding planning experience?

Hi all! We are taking our wedding party (of 26) to Spago for dinner after our sunset ceremony in May '10. Unfortunately almost everything in Wailea seems to shut at 10pm, which is so early! We would like to take our wedding guests somewhere closeby afterwards so the evening doesn't end so quickly, preferably somewhere with music (suitable for a bunch of 30-somethings), a nice atmosphere and dancing would be great. Our wedding is on a Monday and all our guests are staying in Wailea, so we'd like to stay in South Maui area. Mulligan's on the Blue is the only option I've found so far, but it looks like on Monday's their live music wraps up at 8.30pm. Does anyone know of other nearby venues (would go to Kihei)? And does anyone have any inventive plans for their wedding party post-10pm, or is it bedtime for most people?! (unless for the lucky ones who have a private indoor venue with band or DJ - we considered taking the room at Spago but suspect our small party would feel lost in all that space). All suggestions and ideas gratefully received

YearMonthDate Bride & GroomWhere 2007Jun12 Ann + Paul @ outside of the Wailea Marriott (AnnR) (only us, it was our legal ceremony/honeymoon, wedding was in Mexico) 2008Oct4 Sherry + Patrick @ Wailea Marriott + Seawatch (Sherry) 2008Nov5 Lisa + Jayson @ Mokapu Beach + Seawatch (Chiquita) 2009Feb11 Trish + Bill @ Makena Secret Cove + Kimo's Restaurant (mplscold) 2009Sep26 Jackie + Jeff @ Fairmont Kea Lani (PaddleAddict) 2009Oct12 Rina + Yuriy @ Kapalua Bay + Son'z Restaurant at Hyatt Regency (rina) 2009Oct14 Deb + John @ Kalaeokai'a Estate + Five Palms Restaurant (da.schmoopies) 2009Oct18 Patty + Jason @ Old Lahaina Luau for wedding & reception (mspattemac) 2009Nov12 Karina + Cory @ Ritz Carlton Kapalua (1sunshine) 2009Nov18 Vanessa + Jared @ Maui Tropical Plantation (brightesthour) 2010Jan12 Danielle & David @ Westin Kaanapali Villas + Old Lahaina Luau (michelle0 2010Feb10 Laura + Jim @ Maria Lanakila + TBD Reception (laura&james) 2010Feb11 Jane + Mark @ Makena Secret Cove + Capishe? (hawaiidreaming) 2010Feb25 Adam and Sandra @ Ritz Carlton Kapalua (sehender) 2010Mar10Ruth & Erik @ Makena Cove & TBD (madiamondgal) 2010Apr7 Tami & Adam @ Private Estate in west Maui (tovaqt) 2010May4,5 or 6 Leah + Dillon @ Royal Lahania (photopia) 2010May10 Amanda + Niall @ Honua Kai Lani + Spago (amandadburns) 2010Maytba Susan + David @ Grand Wailea + TBD (just4susan) 2010May15 Carol + Doug @ Seawatch Restaurant for wedding and reception (cutefeet) 2010May22 Huey + Isaac @ Honua Kai Lani + Spago (Huey) 2010Jun7 Brenna + Doug @ Kapalua Bay Beach + Old Lahaina Luau (Brenna) 2010Jun7 Stacy + Craig @ Merriman's Kapalua + Dukes (Stacy015) 2010Jun12 Autumn + Mike @ Ritz-Carlton Kapalua (asharp) 2010Jun17 Krystall + Nick @ Olowalu Plantation House + Old Lahaina Luau (azulskies) 2010Jun17 Aisha + Chris @ Kapalua Bay Beach + Reception TBD (ThefutureMrs.Jones) 2010Jun26 Jessica + Dan @ The Bailey House Museum + Sarrento's on the Beach (jam8x2) 2010Jul28 Lisa + Al @ Olowalu Plantation House (lwav8176) 2010Jul29 Julie + Brent @ TBD Ceremony & Reception (jewels0729) 2010Aug9 Lisa + Daniel @ Wailea Golf Club (lower knoll) + SeaWatch Restaurant (pjlisa) 2010Aug14 Liz + Michael @ Merriman's Kapalua 2010Oct19 Amanda + Patrick @ Kula Botanical Garden+ Ruth's Chris (Amanda81) 2010Nov8 Joanne and Ed @ Four Seasons Wailea (sleepyj) 2010May12 Lindsay + Justin @ Olowalu Plantation House (weiky) 2010Sep9 Lindsay + Ed @ TBD +TBD(lindsnyff)

Hi there, we are also using those 2 venues for our May 2010 wedding. We were going to have a late afternoon ceremony at Honua Kai Lani then dinner at Spago, but now I am quite taken with your idea to do brunch first then dinner in the evening! I would be really interested to hear what your plans are, who you are using for the brunch etc. I understand photos can't be taken b/w about noon and 4pm in Wailea due to the sun/heat and trade winds so what time will your ceremony be in the morning? Is it terribly expensive hosting a brunch at the estate? We have 26 guests so have reserved the Point of Lanai at Spago for our evening meal. We debated using the private room but felt due to it's size it would lack atmostphere for a group our size. xx