Wedding Rehearsal

We had a wedding rehearsal at front of Aloha Tower in the afternoon. My photographer and videographer showed up because they wanted to get an idea how they set up and prepared themselves for my big day. I had a good conversation with Rev. Chris Cain and my vendors. I was glad how everything turned out really good and came on time.

We enjoyed our rehearsal dinner at Wah Kung Restaurant in Salt Lake. Delicious entrees!

Do-It-Yourself

I went to buy silk flowers at Ben Franklin, a large assortment of various flowers. With the membership card, it gave us 10% off on items at the checkout. We bought glass cylinders at Walmart at their good prices and pink gingers at Flora-Dec. The silk flowers are far cheaper than fresh flowers, in fact. My family and I made bridesmaid bouquets and table centerpieces.

I also bought lauhala favors and orchids that were sold by Creations By You on Liliha Street. Believe it or not, we made more than 300 favors. In about a month prior to the wedding, we placed one fortune of cookie with a message in each lauhala box. Not only the lauhala favors, I also purchased lauhala money box, lauhala guest book, pen, lauhala flower basket, and lauhala ring bearer.

For the formal invitations, I actually designed the invitations myself. It was a lot of work, but was worth it. James and my family helped me cutting the coupons for drinks and invitations. I ordered the specialty papers on Papers and More and the pocket cards on Cards and Pockets.

Meeting The Wedding Vendors

I researched a lot through many wedding vendors. I found a site about Anthony Consillio, a professional photographer. I negotiated with him about lowering the costs, and he accepted my best offer with a few bucks off and a complimentary photo album for $800. $800 was a good deal for a full day, unlimited copies and a complimentary photo album. He actually did a lot of good shots!

I also met a videographer, Sam, a friend of my cousin. He discounted $2,000 to $1,000 for a full package as long as he knows my cousin Lani since high school. He captured the stunning videos!

Moreover, I hired a wedding coordinator, Sharon Orbitz because I just needed her to work everything out with Rev. Chris Cain and follow up with the schedule on the big day and keep in touch with all my vendors and ensure my wedding so perfect.

I deposit $500 in order to reserve DeRussy Hall. The second deposit of 75% repayment was due within two days before the wedding. The final bill came in on the wedding. Within six weeks prior to the big day, there was an important meeting regarding the buffet menu and everything what I needed to get it done. Within two days of the day, everything had to be turned in: table diagram, beverage coupons, favors, centerpieces, etc.

My husband and I went to Pastries Bakery on King Street. The cakes were so beautiful yet expensive. We tasted five different flavors and fillings, such as chocolate, guava, lilikoi, strawberry, red velvet, and etc. However, we decided not to order a cake from them because Hale Koa Hotel will charge $30 if I want to bring in my cake. They would provide the complimentary knife for my cake and not charge me if I order their cake and serve cakes to the guests at no extra fee. They gave us one free night, complimentary cake knife and ice sculpture. Fantastic! Ice sculpture would be included for free if I had over 250 guests. It happened! It was stunning and breathtaking!

Planning Our Big Wedding

James and I discussed about choosing a wedding date during college. Could it be 2010 or 2011? We finally decided to get married in 2010 because it would be our 10th anniversary. Following the wedding date, we chose July 31, 2010, however, my mom suggested another option which would be on August 8, 2010. The number 8 is a symbol of wealth and good luck. The wedding date was officially set! What's next? Where should we get married in Hawaii? We made a list of the possible venues, including water falls, beach, etc. One thing, we were concerned about the length of time and money. We wanted all the guests to drive close to the ceremony and reception sites. And it would be easy to go to some vendors' places for the wedding accessories what we needed. Thus, James and I finally found an unique place at Waterfront at Aloha Tower. They have a waterfront where the reception venue could be taken place. It was expensive to book a ceremony and reception though. I was thinking about booking a reception at a hotel, but I knew they cost a lot of money. I had to maximize the number of guests due to the budget. I went ahead booking both ceremony and reception. In a few months later, I applied for a job at the Hale Koa Hotel. That was how I started exploring the venues. It made me realize that I wanted to book a reception there because they does not charge taxes since it is, in fact, the military hotel. Sure enough, my $850 deposit for Aloha Tower was a loss of money, but Crystal took $500 out of the pocket for the ceremony venue. Originally, the number of guests was 100-150, but I increased it to 350 or up. I finally booked a reception at the Hale Koa Hotel. Whew!