Ok, so I decided to blog about the wedding as well, since it's a once in a lifetime experience. We'll see how this keeps up as things get more hectic! This first post will probably be pretty long since I have a lot to say to bring things up to speed! I'll try to keep it brief...
As soon as we were engaged (for the proposal, visit our wedding website: smittyandlolo.weebly.com) it should come as no surprise that I jumped on the computer to start looking at anything and everything wedding related. Let's be honest, I already knew of all the websites. Now it was officially OK for me to join sites like theknot.com, martha stewart weddings & stylemepretty.com...
We started discussing our wedding date and it actually in a way became easier through process of elimination. Although I would have LOVED to have a spring or summer wedding, Sean only asked for one thing- that we have the wedding during the off season (baseball) so that his best friends could come and be a part of our wedding. Darn it!!!! How could I say no? Some of those boys have become my "brothers" over the years and it wouldn't be the same without them. So that left end of Sept- Feb. for us to choose from. Well then we found out Beck and Fisher were getting married in October so that was out... Roenicke and Nikki in December so that was out... too much going on in February...which left November and January, as September was much too soon.
And yup, you guessed right! One of the first things I did was start wedding dress shopping! My wonderfully amazing best friend and MOH Samantha Lavino, helped me do some researching and booked me an appointment at The White Dress in Newport. We had a great day together, trying on my very first wedding dresses, a good 15 or so of them I think! They were really great there and even had a cool feature which could have been really awesome if it had panned out- but they have a webcam in real time so those who aren't able to be there can see you in your dresses... I didn't get to take advantage of that but I thought it was VERY cool. I'm not going to post any pictures of me in my dresses (it has to come as a surprise!) but I will post the engagement gift tub of goodies that Samantha gave me...she's the best! (She even included a bottle of Heiney for Sean ;)
So the first thing we had to decide on was a location. While we were home for Christmas, we were fortunate enough to have a few places booked and one of them was THE spot... To be honest, I had kind of had my heart set here before we even visited, but I wanted to give everywhere a fair shot before actually making THE decision. Especially since it seemed my mom was not so thrilled about an outdoor wedding, I agreed to visit a few "indoor" reception places like The Kahala Hotel and Waialae Country Club. The first on our list was WCC, which my Godmother, Aunty Peggy very graciously had offered to let us have it there if we wanted. I've been here a bunch, but wanted Sean to see it, and wanted to look at it from a "wedding" perspective. I still remember my 13th birthday party at the pool here...with jello pudding games! It was gorgeous as usual, but the ceremony area was a bit small for our liking and I was still fighting the urge for my dream outdoor wedding under the stars... so we marked it down, took the info & waited for our next appointment.
Our next appointment was at The Kahala Hotel. Probably one of my favorite hotels ever. Fond memories from Tutu's surprise birthday party here years ago always come to mind when I visit...oh, and sneaking on to take family Christmas pictures here too ;-) Grace was our wedding guide and took us through a very detailed, informative tour. The area for the ceremony was beautiful and the ballroom for the reception was very nice. (Although I wasn't a huge fan of the orange and something colored carpet which was un-changeable...didn't really go with colors!) While researching photographers I noticed some of the most beautiful photos were always taken at the Kahala. Grace informed us that because so many people would come to take their photos there, they had a new rule, and it was no longer open to the public or for other wedding photos unless you were having your wedding at the Kahala. Quite a bargaining tool for them! We went to her office after the tour and were able to look through a bunch of photo albums with wedding photos, hair, make-up. photography, floral vendors and more. It was really beautiful and we liked it a lot. So we left with a bunch of information and did like it a lot, but again, it was an indoor reception and the prices were all pretty steep...
Our next appointment was at Loulu Palms out in the North Shore. We woke up early and headed over to meet Christina who was showing us the property. This was an estate I had researched with open grounds and I was excited to see what it looked like. When we arrived, they were setting up for a wedding that day. It was really nice, HUGE open grassy field which I loved, right on the ocean, beautiful....the only drawbacks were that the "getting ready" area in the house was a bit small and the boys and girls getting ready so close to each other wasn't exactly ideal. Also, seeing as it was all the way in the North Shore did play a factor...but we liked it a lot!
Next, we had an appointment at Kualoa Ranch. My friends family owns this Ranch and I was very excited to check it out as the pictures online were really nice and there were so many options as to where you could have your wedding on the ranch. I was very enticed to see the "secret isand". Unfortunately, we started driving the wrong way for a good 20 minutes before we realized it and we had an appointment in town with our family friends, the Yabiku's to discuss flowers. So sadly, we had to call and cancel, but planned to try and reschedule before we had to leave and go back to work.
Last but certainly not least on our list was Lanikuhonua. Taryn had told me about this place which I had never heard of before and when I looked it up online it seemed to have been everything I wanted. I was trying not to get my hopes up, but I was extremely excited. Sean and I woke up, started driving out to Kapolei and it stated pouring... uh oh, you know how superstitious I am...not to mention my mom's constant reminder that it might rain a lot during November....nevertheless we kept going and when we got there... the rain couldn't have mattered...Sean and I both loved it!!! I don't think we had to say anything to each other- we just knew this was the one...
Another thing we had booked was a trip to Maui. My dream wedding (which yes, it's a dream for a reason) was to be at the Grand Wailea on Maui. My favorite hotel since I was a kid, I have so many fond memories of visiting here with my family and family friends for vacations and playing on the water slides all day. I have told Sean countless times of how amazing this hotel is and have always wanted to take him here. While it was unreasonable for us to have our wedding here, a great consolation came to mind and really worked out awesomely. Engagement photos! I had been researching photographers forever as we all know how important pictures are and what a paparazzi I am. My favorites had to include Dmitri Photography, Chrissy Lambert and Rachel Robertson. If you ever want something to occupy your time visit their websites- absolutely amazing. The one thing about Dmitri Photography that I liked was that they were a husband and wife team. REALLY liked that concept. I've always been set on having two photographers to catch as much of the details as we can. My friend Kendra, who got married last October pointed out something really important. She said to make sure you have at least one female photographer....when you are getting ready, it would be awkward to have a male in the dressing area, or you lose out on those photos. I made sure to keep that in mind. The drawbacks I had were that Dmitri was on Maui (they would travel, but for a fee) and their website wasn't very detailed. For example, Chrissy Lambert has a TON of information (from which I found out she's travelled all over the place AND is a fellow Punahou grad!), has a blog and tons of information, examples. I was a bit worried that Dmitri didn't have much on their site in comparison, but something kept drawing me back to their sunset pictures which were just fabulous. And in the end, the product is what I am interested in, right? So we decided to give them a shot, and it gave us an excuse to go to Maui and stay at the Grand Wailea... best decision EVER!
Dmitri and Sandra Offgerald were nothing short of amazing. They work so well together and both catch things the other doesn't so they complement each other perfectly. Sean and I had no idea how to stand, how to pose, what to do, and they were sooo patient with us. They were the nicest people ever and we are so lucky to have met them. They even brought us a bottle of champagne and popped it open after our shoot to toast the engagement... in the back of his truck, in the parking lot of the beach! AWESOME! We are so happy and excited to have them at our wedding!
So our trip home was done, but the planning was just beginning. We finally nailed down an available date in November- November 21st- the same day we got engaged! But that also meant less than a year to plan...I wanted a year and a half so I realized I better start acting fast! So far we had location which was a big one, but lots more to do. Luckily, with generous friends and family, we were able to nail down a few more.
Uncle Wayne and Aunty Sue of Flowers N Fun graciously offered to do our flowers for the wedding. They make really beautiful arrangements and they are the nicest people ever. We are very blessed. It was the thought of flowers that helped me to decide my wedding colors. I think anyone who knows me knows it's a safe guess to say pink would be one, but I decided on green and white as well because I love the combination and I think there are a ton of flowers we can use with those colors as well.
Cousin Chris Kajioka the Chef also has offered to take on the huge task of cooking for our wedding. I love him to death and his cooking is top notch. He's worked in New York, San Fran and Hawaii at some of the best restaurants including Per Se, the Ritz, Roy's and more. Can't wait to plan that menu with him!
So when I got back I knew I needed to find a wedding coordinator, at least for the DAY OF. Someone to make sure things ran smoothly that day, so that I wouldn't have to worry about anything, which we all know I will anyway. Sigh! Such a head case. Anyway, some of the wedding planners I researched and liked were Let's Do This, Seasons Of Life, Weddings By Grace & Mona (which was referred to me by my cousin Amber), A Perfect Day & Parasol Events. I talked to a few of them and listed my pro's and cons and found them all to be a lot more expensive than what I had in my mind... (also made me think hey, maybe this is something I should look into career wise after the wedding is done! I mean, I'll be a pro by then, right? ;-) Let's Do This Event Planning really caught my eye beacuse the planner/ coordinator Melissa Laudise specialized in Weddings in Hawaii and California! I emailed her and it just so happened she was on business in LA. We decided to meet up at the Coffee Bean near my work and had a little chat. Sean and I both really liked her and were confident that she would help us make our big day a success. She will be helping throughout the planning process as she can with unlimited email consultation, and then will take over 2 weeks prior to the wedding. We decided to go this route because she emphasized the ability to have more familiarity of what was going on as well as us being able to hand over everything to her 2 weeks before so we could enjoy our stay and enjoy our guests and not be bogged down with work.
Next step: Book our flights! Since we had our wedding day set, next thing was to ask our bosses for time off. I think it's just about the perfect amount of time... a week before the wedding to tie up loose ends and get things together & a week after to relax and enjoy being married! We also decided not to go on a honeymoon right away. One, we'll be broke; two we'll have no vacation time. We are looking to go on a delayed honeymoon next summer of 2011. Hopefully somewhere tropical once we can afford it. The Caribbean and Fiji are two possibilities... in any case, our flights are booked! November 13th- 28th. It'll be here sooner that we know.
In the midst of all this, I was pretty sure I wanted to do save the date magnets. I had seen one on Sean's parents fridge and loved the idea ever since. One of my bridesmaids, Alanna, all the way in Tokyo, wanted to be able to help and she sure did here. She researched a bunch of save the date magnet places online and sent me a total of 5 or 6 with a little exert on what they had and prices. In the end, I picked magnetstreet.com and am VERY happy with how my product turned out. I played around with it trying different backgrounds and styles (even one with a baseball theme saying "Diamonds Are Forever" which was cute but kinda tacky looking according to Sean), but I finally made a decision and was able to use a coupon they mailed me whoohoo! All about saving any way we can here...Everything turned out great and we were able to use our engagement photo in it which was really nice too!
While we were waiting for our magnets to be printed and shipped, my duty was to get everything else ready. Sean's mom who is GREAT with photoshop helped me create our own personalized stickers to seal all of the envelopes with (and who knows what else for the wedding!) I love love love lilies, and plan to have them at the wedding, so the main focus of the sticker is a pink lily with green leaves (perfect! Our colors too) with the words "Me Ke Aloha" or "With Love" in Hawaiian and our names & date of wedding. She did a great job with them and I love how it just tied everything together. I also created personalized stamps on zazzle.com. I had the hardest time deciding which pictures to use, but my friend Jennifer Inouye helped me "talk it out" and in the end, I decided on a few to see what they'd look like and I loved those as well. They were bigger than I imagined but still great. Definitely plan on making more for the actual invitations...I think they are worth the extra $.
In the meantime, I started researching free websites. I was determined to find a good one I could use for our wedding and have it be free. I researched a bunch, read reviews and tried out a few, but ultimately decided on weebly, which as you can see I enjoy and am still using! Once I decided on that, I was determined to make it as useful and informative as possible. Especially since a bunch of our guests would need to travel, I wanted to make sure I could make it as easy on them as possible. This entailed getting information on hotels, airfare, things to do around the Island, and yes, I even included a page dedicated to food...it was only fair I did! I worked on it fast and furiously since it had to be done before we sent out the save the dates (since our website was on them) but I was so happy when it was.
www.smittyandlolo.weebly.com- felt so accomplished when it was done! And I love reading the comments that friends and family are leaving. It makes me :)
Oh...and right about the time we started putting together the save the dates, my DRESS came in... March 10th to be exact! But that's about all I'm gonna say about that ;-)
Another ongoing task I've had is finding and securing a rental company. Because our wedding is outside and at an "estate" we have the freedom to create anything our heart desires, BUT that does entail a lot more work on our end. Everything from the napkins to utencils, to glassware to tent, to tables to chairs....the list goes on! This has probably been the most tedious task of all so far, and not very fun like some of the others. I started with 5 companies- JMJ Rentals, Pacific Party Rentals, Accel Rentals, Hawaii Tents & Events & Royal Party Rentals. In the beginning I thought I had to go with Pacific Party Rentals since the wedding at Lanikuhonua the day before was using them. They normally don't let you have events on back to back days, which I forgot to "blog" about. But thanks to a good family friend JoAnn Bayne, who called in a personal favor to Aunty Nettie, we were able to book our wedding on the 21st as we had wished. So big thanks to her! Anyway, back to vendors... I made an excel sheet and boy was this a HEADACHE. Finally decided JMJ and Accel were priced the best, and recommended by my wedding planner nonetheless. So I have been emailing back and forth with them for the last 2 months or so. I want to get the best price possible, but at the same time I kind of just want to have something locked in already! (side note: who the heck knew it was SO expensive to rent a tent???)
In terms of picking an officiant, I was not really loving the idea of some unfamiliar face marrying us, something SO important and meaningful...and...being in a whole bunch of all your ceremony photos! All of the priests from my church at home are pretty elderly and not sure they'd be able to make it out to Lanikuhonua and as I was brainstorming I reverted back to an old episode of "Friends". Remember the one where Joey became ordained? So then I naturally thought of my good friend David Marsh. Great speaker, entertaining... I thought he'd be great. Sean agreed. However, when I approached my mom with the idea, she didn't seem to keen on it. She suggested he do some sort of emcee-ing at the wedding instead. Luckily while I was home, I thought of Chaplain Heidel and that made me really happy. He was not only a chaplain at Punahou while I was there, but also our head Intermediate track coach when I was in 7th and 8th grade. As it turns out, his sister is also friends with my mom. He has agreed to do our wedding (yay!) and he sent us a bunch of materials to look over so now it's just a matter of going through them together and deciding on the ceremony we'd like. :)
Phew! I think I'm almost caught up here. This Saturday, April 10th, the bridesmaids and I were finally all able to get together to go bridesmaid dress shopping. The only one missing was Alanna since she is in Japan, and we missed her dearly! Our first stop was to Bella Bridesmaid where they had a nice selection of dresses. The girls tried on about 7 or 8 and actually all unanimously decided on the same one! So great! We headed over to Renee Strauss next, where Sam and I had visited a few weeks back to check out the Jim Hjelm trunk show. The girls tried on the 2 dresses we liked there, but it didn't compare to the first one at all. So that ended up being easy!
It was a really great day bonding with the girls. We went bridesmaid dress shopping, tried the delicious red velvet from dough boys courtesy of Becky, had macarons at Paulette's (which I am thinking of getting as favors for the wedding...!!), went to my place and discussed wedding plans, looked through bridal magazines, went through my crazy obsessive amounts of "wedding junk" and just talked for a few hours. Later, we went to the alibi room for some kogi tacos and some drinks. It was a great day!
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