New Hawaii Weddings and Events Blog

Aloha and Happy New Year!

As they say, out with the old and in with the new!

As 2009 draws to a close, we're phasing out this blog and as we launch our new blog which has a great photo gallery of different venues, is linked in with our Twitter (Hawaii Wedding) and Facebook Fan Page (Hawaii Weddings and Events).

Please visit our photo gallery on our new blog at http://hawaiiweddingsandevents.com/weddingplannerblog/

Personal Event Shopper Service

Are you wondering just how you are going to manage to get all of your errands done the week of your wedding day without going crazy?

Let Hawaii Weddings and Events take some of the pressure off of you with our new personal event shopping service. Your time is precious and the days leading up to your wedding should focused on spending time with your family and friends being relaxed and stress-free versus wandering the streets of Honolulu.

Give us your list and let us take care of your errands (including, but not limited to the following):

· Purchasing items and preparing your out-of-town gift bags so that they are ready upon arrival

· Picking up your special linens and delivering to your venue

· Purchasing your beverages for your off-premise events and delivering them to your caterer

· Buying items and stuffing your favor boxes

· Picking up your wedding gown and getting it pressed for you

· Purchasing bridal party gifts and delivering to your rehearsal dinner

· Preparing children activity bags to keep them busy during the wedding reception

· Having your favors, guest book, parasols, etc. shipped to Hawaii in advance and delivered to your hotel upon arrival.

Our Personal Event Shopping Service fee is $45 per hour plus tax (Please keep in mind that this hourly fee not only covers paying for our staff’s time, but it also covers the wear and tear on our vehicles as well as the cost of gas). Rate is reduced to $35 an hour for those that have booked one of our planning and coordination packages.

The hourly fee is charged based upon amount of time it takes to travel to each destination (copies of MapQuest calculations will be used to figure mileage and time) as well as the amount of time it takes to do your shopping and prepare items.

Our Personal Shopping Service is subject to availability of and requires prepayment for our projected time (based on your needs) and for the products that we are purchasing on your behalf. Receipts for all purchases and your change will be provided upon completion of your shopping trip.

Personal shopping service is subject to availability with priority given to Hawaii Weddings and Events couples that have secured one of our coordination packages.

Orange & Turquoise Lanikuhonua Wedding

This past Friday I had the pleasure of being of service Jamie & Tony who are originally from Nebraska and Canada at Lanikuhonua.

Jamie's favorite color was orange and her bridesmaids dresses were turquoise. As they would be in Europe most of their engagement, I was given some inspiration pictures and then given creative freedom to make it happen.

As with most of my destination weddings, planning was done via e-mail and contact via Facebook.

It was a picture perfect day and they loved everything about the wedding. The orange and turquoise colors blended beautifully throughout the decor and she absolutely loved her hibiscus wedding cake which was made by Abi Langlas at Cake Works which was inspired by the border on her wedding invitation.

When we finally had a chance to meet in person it was like meeting a long lost friend. I couldn't begin to tell you how many times she hugged me and said thank you on her wedding day. That is why I truly love what I do!

Additional pictures from the wedding are on my Facebook page, Dianna K. Shitanishi

Wedding Day Highlights from Studio Red

This is the second time I had the privilege of working with Studio Red who are very easy going and very talented!

Joel gave me a "heads up" on how he wanted to surprise the couple with their first dance on the ceremony highlights video so we were able to get the spotlight on the dance floor set-up to capture the special moment and then it was set back to their monogram gobo.

I absolutely love the music in this video and how Studio Red captured the essence of this wonderful celebration of family, love and life!

Check out Gracie and Kyle's wedding day highlights at http://www.vimeo.com/2683661

Create your own package with Hawaii Weddings and Events

So...........you've been surfing the web trying to find the perfect consulting and coordination package for your Hawaii Wedding. After countless hours, you find yourself frustrated and tired because you just haven't found exactly what meets your needs and the wedding planning is starting to become stressful for you.

Don't waste anymore of your precious engagement time! Hawaii Weddings and Events is pleased to give you the chance to create your OWN coordination package! Send us your dream and let us make it reality!

Hawaii Weddings and Events Frequently Asked Questions

Trusting your "special day" to someone else is not always easy, so I always welcome questions from clients to make them feel at ease and comfortable with their decision.

Throughout my consultations, I have found some "common" questions, so I thought I would create a quick FAQ sheet:

What is your background? Prior to starting my own event planning business, I was the Director of Catering and Conference Services at the five diamond Kahala Mandarin Oriental, Hawaii resort (since changing ownership it is now called the The Kahala Resort). I have been in hotel industry since moving to Hawaii in 1984 working in a variety of positions at a vareity of hotels (front desk, assistant hotel manager, sales and marketing, food and beverage, controllers office and catering). Once I got into catering then I knew that was my true passion and pursued it.

What does CPCE and CMP stand for? CPCE is Certified Professional Catering Executive which is comprehensive exam covering all aspects of catering, food sanitation, laws, etc. (both hotel and off-premise) that the National Association of Catering Executives created to promote professionalism and excellence in our industry. CMP is Certified Meeting Planner which is another exam that Meeting Planners International has that covers the "convention" side of business (housing, shipping, meeting specifications, etc.) as I also handled groups when I worked at the resort. Currently I'm still the only person in the State of Hawaii that has both designations.

How many weddings have you done? When I worked at the resort I did over 800 weddings since I started in catering in September of 2007. That number does not include include the galas, fundraisers, Christmas parties, meetings, President George W. Bush layover visit, Michelle Wie's press conference or off-premise events including dinners on the stage at The Hawaii Theatre (which was very cool!). Since starting my company March 23, 2006, I just finished my 103rd event this past weekend and through referrals from my clients, my business has been growing rapidly as I approach my third year (........wow, time flies when you're having fun!)

How many events do you do in a month? It really depends on the scope and type of the event. In some cases I may be a "day-of coordinator" and in other cases I'm their full service planner, or most often somewhere in between as I really enjoy the "partnership" packages and working alongside the client. Other factors depend on location, number of guests, amount of time for set-up, number of hours the event is, etc. From my years of experience I know what I am capable of and I will not take more events than I can handle as giving my clients the service they deserve is very important to long term success. Money isn't everything.

We're not sure what package is best for us, do you provide a consultation? Yes, of course! I purposely don't post my rates on my website for the sole reason that it is better for me to learn more about your event, budget, etc. to determine what package may be best suited for you. I am also happy to customize a package for you.

We're from the mainland, do you do destination weddings? Actually, destination weddings represent 70% of my business! With today's technology, it makes it very easy to plan from afar (except that you physically can't see things which I know can be a little unnverving at times) but e-mail works out great due to the time difference. Even with my local clients, alot of the planning is done via e-mail because of convenience, so don't worry, it CAN be done!

Do you have an assistant? Generally I work alone as I am very methodical in my approach to planning and by the time the day comes I have literally done a "virtual tour" of the event through my head and know exactly what needs to be done, when and how long it will take me. If there is a "crunch period" due to short windows of time for set-up or perhaps alot of decor, etc. then I will bring in additional staff which is at my own expense. By working from a home-based business and not having to pay a regular full time staff I am able to keep prices down which in turn benefits you.

We're ready, how do we reserve the date!? A contract will be prepared and sent to you via e-mail to your attention requesting a 50% non-refundable retainer. Upon receipt of the contract and retainer the date is confirmed and a receipt will be sent via e-mail. I will also send a bridal questionnaire form that assists in the planning process.