tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-54071721274440986982024-03-05T00:30:29.288-08:00Rainforest WeddingsOur name comes from our Wedding Pavilion and Treehouse destination in the rainforest of Kilauea, Big Island of Hawaii. We also perform weddings at other island locations, and arrange receptions at some of the classiest most desirable venues on Hawaii Island.
volcano gailhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/16195012303173293592noreply@blogger.comBlogger68125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5407172127444098698.post-86082501008831498692015-11-04T21:01:00.001-08:002015-11-05T11:46:14.252-08:00That Toes In the Sand Hawaii Wedding<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: left;">
There are a few places on this planet that seem to be the ones we dream about when we think of the idyllic. Wailea Bay on Hawaii Island tends to fit into that mind niche. It is an out of the way beach where storm washed keawe trees serve to carve out intimate spaces on the sand, places where you and your friends will be somewhat apart from others who have discovered this special spot. There are no signs pointing it out, just a parking lot off a winding road. It is not a total secret, but enough of a one that you can have a sense of owning the place late in the day.</div>
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhO5fOYKj-nFqlBVVL0AOvBA26LqUUUB4co2Ekg9A95AYzTpNVrOKZf9SP6vZACe_5TjV07_ZePPLK6GypQQxBM_yTRxMmaFWc6nHnSxrQpeei80Qi7sxEpEXiWM0-IRssqOZmGF0MGbLlv/s1600/sunset+March+27.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="266" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhO5fOYKj-nFqlBVVL0AOvBA26LqUUUB4co2Ekg9A95AYzTpNVrOKZf9SP6vZACe_5TjV07_ZePPLK6GypQQxBM_yTRxMmaFWc6nHnSxrQpeei80Qi7sxEpEXiWM0-IRssqOZmGF0MGbLlv/s400/sunset+March+27.jpg" width="400" /></a><br />
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As wedding providers in Hawaii, we are asked about beach weddings. There are many ways to go about having a beachfront wedding. The least expensive is to do it Las Vegas style - get an officiant, show up, exchange vows and maybe lei, have a couple photos taken, and go on into your day. </div>
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We suggest that you rent yourself a beachfront house on Wailea Bay. There is one we know of that will allow the wedding party to happen there. At the rest, you will have the house as your pied a terre, or that cottage you go to after the beach gets dark. If your wedding is small enough, you can rent the house and everyone who will be at your wedding is already there. After the party, you may wish to sneak off down the beach to some other little hideaway you have tucked away, your secret. </div>
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgHEwCgyXwX8mYCYhWf-YvASHF_0hjTcofoywq2aHbkjG0SBJRSsjZX1vlrV3iIUFaSCDFxZ77oDMlvHJHKRrl1eXH2Hm-3kXGmSzwKW0QGAIi7qNug3Qri1CWtvv5bmWXAhemFkqhCnYrw/s1600/hammock+and+orchid.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="265" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgHEwCgyXwX8mYCYhWf-YvASHF_0hjTcofoywq2aHbkjG0SBJRSsjZX1vlrV3iIUFaSCDFxZ77oDMlvHJHKRrl1eXH2Hm-3kXGmSzwKW0QGAIi7qNug3Qri1CWtvv5bmWXAhemFkqhCnYrw/s400/hammock+and+orchid.jpg" width="400" /></a></div>
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The Hawaii beach wedding is the ultimate in casual. You and your friends get out on the sand early and stake out your spot. Hang up a hammock. Invite a ukulele player to join you. Carry your feast out in picnic baskets, and spread striped Turkish linens on the sand. If you want this casual and photogenic look, we can arrange it for you. It will be as if it simply happened. </div>
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjuPgqAHKJasQxQxg5bW1-DDqr-Zl4rAlQbBnyqtrnATzORfTwUuvGiKaZq6UBuclutdfTYwO3R0ZjDxnDT5xG-v5RpyJaXUMaYHsWZHWIEAiiyAYon3bYlSsazlYLARiUOXVVbKguMPllF/s1600/12052391_525150924308984_2143661339379444067_o.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="400" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjuPgqAHKJasQxQxg5bW1-DDqr-Zl4rAlQbBnyqtrnATzORfTwUuvGiKaZq6UBuclutdfTYwO3R0ZjDxnDT5xG-v5RpyJaXUMaYHsWZHWIEAiiyAYon3bYlSsazlYLARiUOXVVbKguMPllF/s400/12052391_525150924308984_2143661339379444067_o.jpg" width="263" /></a>If we designed your wedding, we would build a ceremony space on the sand, a circle of flowers and coral. Some lava. Or, your wedding circle can be all flowers and shells. The ceremony circle defines your wedding place, now and always. The tides bring daily changes to the beach, but your circle is forever. It's nice to bring along lei for your guests. Have an ice chest with bubbly for your toast. Make it honestly beachy. Have plenty of photographs by a real photographer. We do that. Persuade your guests to let the photos be by others, so when they are in the pictures, they are not holding up their cameras and phones. They can sleep over and take plenty of photos another day. Photobombs will be out of style soon, and you will be happier with wedding pictures of friends having a beach day instead of a gear fest.<br />
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There would be strings of the tiniest lights wound into the trees so as the sky grows dark, the way back is lit in the most romantic way. </div>
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEio42uYevwEndrc_REvcONL0regC4teHn4jEKBS1VHfS8fWRmPfl0ZNAl4mzuZ32V6e2NxoEwcaogZoyIRRS9kP91PMCLPWD48JZxULJwkyk_mR_sEXGtx1B1Fu9THSgR_Lyc3AyALy3tcj/s1600/waialea+sunset+with+R.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: right; float: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: 1em;"><img border="0" height="300" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEio42uYevwEndrc_REvcONL0regC4teHn4jEKBS1VHfS8fWRmPfl0ZNAl4mzuZ32V6e2NxoEwcaogZoyIRRS9kP91PMCLPWD48JZxULJwkyk_mR_sEXGtx1B1Fu9THSgR_Lyc3AyALy3tcj/s400/waialea+sunset+with+R.jpg" width="400" /></a><br />
When it comes to the end of the day, darkness falls quickly after this showy sky. If you have rented that beach house that says yes to weddings, or if all your guests are beach house guests, the party can continue at the house. Poke served in shells with a bit of sea salad, taro chips, imu smoked pork, island fruits, easily arranged at minimal costs. Add a Hawaiian cake with orchids, champagne in hollow stems, your favorite music - this is magic.<br />
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If you want to go late and noisy, there are other options. We can just as easily make that happen, with a beach wedding in Kona and after party at a local club where the dancing can be wild into the night.<br />
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Here's how to connect with us: gail@mahinui.com <br />
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<br />volcano gailhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/16195012303173293592noreply@blogger.com4tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5407172127444098698.post-14125852829236171162015-02-20T18:26:00.000-08:002015-02-20T18:26:00.643-08:00A Wedding Planner's Guide to Keeping Costs in Check<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
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Weddings are similar to construction projects in that they are notorious for going over budget. Maybe you are wise enough to select a venue that offers packages that include everything, and then you discover that "everything" is not what you saw in the photographs but something different. Instead of the handsome Chiavari chairs, there is white plastic. The lovely draping and tiny lights in the trees costs extra. And the arch you fell in love with? A specialty item someone had built for their wedding and kept for their garden at home. </div>
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Shopping for a wedding can cause the most patient of people to growl and seek solace. It is somewhat like planning a dinner party on paper and then shopping for items you expected to find at your specialty shop and then cannot find, except on line and you really do not want to pay overnight shipping. Like planning any meal, it is far easier if you go into your shopping expedition with an idea of what you want, but no set menu in place.</div>
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So here are some of the items you are likely to have to pay extra for, and some that you might luck out with and find at the venue of your choice.</div>
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Many venues have a stock of some items. Any of these are great to find but beware ~ chances are they will not be precisely what you are seeking:</div>
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tables: long tables are more likely to be on hand than rounds. If you can work with the rectangular shapes, you might be able to save the rental fees. </div>
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chairs: typical chairs on site will be stacking plastic or folding style. The elegant Chiavari style is almost always an additional cost item. Chair covers are typically used with the folding chairs for a banquet, whereas the plainer chairs appear as is for the ceremony. When your ceremony venue and reception venue are the same, expect the chairs to be moved from the ceremony site to the banquet site while a cocktail hour is staged somewhere on the grounds, or pay double the cost. </div>
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flowers: there are inclusive pricing structures that will offer you table arrangements as part of your package. It is almost always worth it to go with the package offer on the flowers. You will have seasonal beauty, and can usually have some say in the choices. Expect your choices to be more on the side of eliminating certain flower types rather than demanding certain choices. Demands for certain flowers almost always add to costs. </div>
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linens: custom linens in pretty colors tend to make the rounds of the wedding blogs, and all custom linens will add heft to your budget, especially the textured kinds that are not likely to launder well. If you are budget conscious standard linens are your better choice. Sometimes there is even a no linens option. That generally will work only with heavy plank tables, sometimes available at rural venues. </div>
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table settings: This is an opportunity to either spend a lot of money or not. One of the surprising costs of a large wedding is right here. You may be shocked to find out that you seem to buying a table setting instead of renting one. If you choose a restaurant for your reception, this cost vanishes into the per person costs of the party, as the restaurant has all that on hand. The caterer on the other hand, particularly your less expensive caterer, brings the food, not the place settings. The venue may tell you the caterer will provide, and then when you contact the caterer, it is on a per person cost. Wine and champagne glasses, china for the entree, the cocktail hour, the cake, silverware for both banquet and cake are likely to cost $30 per person and up. The larger your guest list, the more likely you are to face these costs. There are a couple of ways to avert this. Some wedding coordinators can provide non-matching vintage style table settings at a much lower price. Wedding providers will collect items over the years, and can put together a beautiful set of tables, where some of the glasses are gold rimmed, some tall, some shorter, and the plates come from different makers and times, as does the flatware. Another option is to purchase disposables. Recylables made of bamboo are good for both plates and flatware. Glasses can be plastic. Or, rent only the glassware. For matching everything, and a quality set up, the costs will add significantly to your bottom line. </div>
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restaurant or outdoor venue in the countryside: Here is the single other truly big ticket item on your agenda. When you plan your wedding celebration, that is, the reception, in a restaurant, they are prepared for you already. They do food service, and have everything they need including the wait staff. When you see the bill and they have tacked on a hefty surcharge (25% where we are affiliated) understand that this charge represents the cost of the wait staff and the clean up. Your planner will be doing the set up, and most likely be present for the take down. Be aware that those charges will be included in the planner's bill to you. These charges will be far less than the costs for your lovely wine country style picnic in the woods, where every item will be trucked in, set up, taken down, cleaned up, and stored again. So hear ka-ching ka-ching when you see the words "country" and "rural". These are not ordinarily cost saving wedding venues. </div>
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So how can you save money on a rural sort of wedding, where everything is less formal? How much sense does it make to try to do-it-yourself? </div>
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The first step is to find a wedding designer who seems to be a fit for you in terms of personality, and then start asking questions. Do not expect to keep coming back to this person without engaging them and paying for their time, once your initial session has taken place. Let the designer know your budget, and what you have in mind. Ask if your budget is realistic. Ask the designer how you can trim costs if you find what you want and what you can afford are not in line. </div>
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Take the time to visit the venue with the person you are working with to put your entire wedding together, and see what is available there. You may be surprised to find that those old plank tables are stored somewhere and no one even thought about using them for an outdoor picnic. If you are going to be using a destination wedding venue, visiting it may not work for you. In that case, your far away partner is essential. Ask that person to make that visit for you, and work out what the costs will be to you for that. I typically charge $150- $200 for a site visit to plan a particular wedding, take photos and send them to the bridal couple, and then go over all the details that are all about that particular place. </div>
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As for the DIY aspect, where this begins to make sense is when the couple have a large family who want to help out. In that case, people to help with the set up and take down can be provided. Even chair movers between the ceremony and the banquet can come from willing hands. Family or friend can step up and act as cocktail hour bartender. Music can come from inside the circle of friends and family. Even folding chairs and tables can arrive early in someone's van. If your wedding needs just a few extras to complete the set up, this is where it can be easy to round up those things yourself. When thinking of "a few extras" those would be another half dozen table settings, not 40 more. When the numbers begin to go up, the do-it-yourself part begins to make very little sense. </div>
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The very best way to keep your costs down is to keep your guest list small. Venues that work for 20 people are likely to be far less costly even on a per person basis than venues for 200. And finally, you do not want to turn your wedding over to a committee. A typical committee will involve the wedding couple, two or more mothers, a best friend, a sister or three, perhaps an aunt, and the professional. This is how weddings turn into comedies or nightmares. The mother of the bride often wants to be the planner, and that is sweet, and loving, but chances are she is best involved in the invitations, coordinating the bride's maids, setting up a shower. Costs where there are multiple decision makers are seldom kept in check. </div>
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Putting together a wedding does not have to be intense or nerve wracking. The wedding itself can happen within the budget of your choice. Remember this, and have fun! </div>
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<br />volcano gailhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/16195012303173293592noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5407172127444098698.post-37438041222042454982014-05-10T18:15:00.001-07:002014-05-10T18:15:40.129-07:00How Do You Choose a Venue?<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
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The place where your wedding will take place is a choice that usually begins broadly, with a region in mind and then focuses down. For most, cost factors in. Availability of your chosen venue can be an extreme issue if you are not planning far in advance. One of the most significant parts in making your final choice will be the size of your wedding. And probably the choice of your venue will very much set the parameters for the rest of your costs and even for the number of guests you may invite.<br />
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So let's explore venues. A rose is a rose is a rose, but a venue might also be a kitchen and a chef, or it might be a meeting hall in need of decor, or it could be a place so lovely you need little else to set the scene. What the venue offers beyond the place for your celebration can matter greatly. For practical purposes, this means that a more expensive on-the-face-of-it venue can sometimes save you thousands of dollars in added costs, or the cost you see may be the tip of the iceberg.<br />
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With a tent, you can transform certain otherwise not so glamorous spaces. But with a tent, you will need to rent the entire infrastructure for your party, possibly right down to a generator for electricity. The main reason you see so many lavishly decorated wedding tents is that the tent is the way to provide sheltering space for your large party, if you are not going to rent a ballroom. The tent gives you flexibility as to date, decor, and view that you will not have with a ballroom. And on the subject of ballrooms, many are not all that elegant. Those crystal chandeliers you see in wedding albums are more likely to be rented items hung in tents than what comes with the hotel. One major upside to the ballroom is the temperature control. If you are not having your wedding where the temperature is in the mid 70's to mid 80's, you might need an adjustment to keep your guests comfortable. <br />
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Many venues surprisingly enough will not come stocked with those items you most need for your event, and this can add massively to your per person cost. Most venues will come with per person charges as well as venue charges, as every place setting and plate of food carries additional cost. And yet, on the wedding sites we frequently see couples hoping to put together an elegant wedding for 200 people for under $50 a person. Sadly, tables, chairs and linens will gobble up most of that budget. So, is it even possible? The answer is yes, but… you will probably have to redefine "elegant" unless you are borrowing all those accessories from a kindly source who happens to have 200 matching elegant chairs. We can see a beach pavilion with picnic tables dressed in white cloths, with hanging lanterns, within that budget. Oddly, on this island in the middle of the ocean, weddings of couples who live here tend to fall into two categories. One is the 30 person wedding, held on an estate or at another sort of oceanfront venue, and the other is the 500 person wedding held in a park or stadium. Hawaiians are not shy about stadiums for family events. No caterer, no tablecloths. Everyone brings food, and drinks kava. But, if you want a sit down party, and your budget is trying to be as small as possible, you too may decide to forgo tablecloths.<br />
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Indoor or outdoor? Most couples have a strong preference, and for outdoors, will need to consider what kind of weather might be anticipated. Will you risk no shelter in event of rain? Do you have a back up plan to the lovely outdoor seating should an unseasonal storm blow in?<br />
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Here on our Hawaii island, choices are many, but there are some considerations that you will not run into in other less isolated places. If your wedding is planned during the wedding season or during holiday times, if the venue you choose does not come with chairs, tables, and linens, you must plan far far ahead, as the vendors of those items get spoken for a year or more in advance. This is of course is not a consideration in an elopement style wedding.<br />
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Instead of well defined seasons in Hawaii, we have altitude changes. Summer is year round on the west side of the island, with "summer showers" in the spring. Summer is at sea level, where there are luxurious rentable houses on the water, resorts, and fine restaurants. Spring happens at about 1000 feet, pretty much all over the island. In some areas, it brings mists, and lush tropical environments. Coffee farms are found at this elevation, and spreading estates with gorgeous grounds. Fall is almost a state of mind on this island, an idea of a time and place where the tree leaves change colors and fall to the ground. If you like the warm toasty aspect of fall, you will like the upcountry of Volcano, where you can have a fire going any time of the year. But the foliage of fall is replaced by the Jurassic essence of the rainforest, emerald green and often dripping wet, or misty and mysterious. Winter on this island can be complete with snow, and a January wedding in Waimea may give you a full view of Mauna Kea crowned in white, and be cool enough for velvet and tuxedos. A formal occasion in Hawaii with formal western attire like suits and ties is best planned for a cooler altitude, like Waimea.<br />
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When thinking about a venue, if you have budget in mind, it is well worth your while to find out what comes with the venue, and what you will need to bring in. If you are having a wedding celebration for 30 people you can expect to pay $1000 for ordinary, very plain table settings including the seating. Any place you will be renting a tent, you will most likely be renting the seating and linens. Expect to pay another $1000 for a very plain undecorated tent. Draping and simple lighting is likely to cost another $1000, and if your decor includes specialty lighting and table flowers, candles and table runners, expect to spend another $1500. For that $4500 you could rent an oceanfront masterpiece of a home, and bring in flowers for interior decor. You may still need the table and chairs, but the tent? Not always, but sometimes. Specialty lighting? Your choice, perhaps $250 to $300 in exterior lights, nothing more. If your party is 200 rather than 30, look what happens to your costs for renting linens. Have you seen the bohemian style wood table reception, out under trees strung with lanterns, mix and match china and cutlery, vintage glasses of all shapes? Now you know where that comes from. Yes, your ten best friends lend you their stuff, and you bring on the paper napkins or buy the dollar kind, because if you go for the $3 kind, it's already $400 extra dollars.<br />
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Here is where our coffee plantation venue begins to become very interesting. Not only is it truly gorgeous, but it comes with shelter, a dance floor, a sound system, specialty lighting, and very importantly your own wedding designer. Let's not use "planner" - it sounds so office like. The person who will put together your wedding will take your ideas and weave them into exactly what you wish. Spectacular? Yes, we will even bring in sparklers if you want. Exotic? Oh yeah. Elegant? How about crystal chandeliers and mercury glass candle holders, with fountains of orchids?<br />
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So how do the prices compare, venue type to venue type? Restaurant dinner costs will tend to be about half or even a quarter of catering fees. You will be asked to pay an automatic gratuity almost everywhere, and that is 20%. This gratuity charge is not usually a part of an elopement package, but is to be expected if your small wedding party exceeds six. Cost of decor goes way down, as you can almost always go with whatever the restaurant offers in the way of lighting, and your tables require whatever attention brings the party to the level you wish. The least expensive table decor you can use is a combination of the bridal bouquet and the groom's maile lei as a runner, a white table cloth, and a few candles. Expect to pay a little extra for the service of prepping the table for you. If you want an elaborate setting, remember that your wedding provider will love to do this, and will also need to cover costs of finding the things you want, set up, and removal. Expect to pay anywhere from $300 on up for this service, remembering someone will have to make two trips - one to set up, one to take down. If it is more than a single table, you may need the help of two people to get it all done in the time frame the restaurant will require. Even at this, your costs for decor are going to be a fraction of what you would spend decorating a tent. There are however few restaurants on this island that will handle a wedding of over 50. Daylight Mind in Kailua-Kona, the restaurant with the view above, is one of them, and yes, you get your own wedding specialist to put it all together for you. <br />
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Resorts typically have the highest fees in the scale. We recently priced out a private dinner for 30, served oceanside, at a mid-tier resort, the kind where an oceanfront room is $200 a night. $8500 was the cost, plus the 20% gratuity. Generally speaking, you can expect costs of a similar celebration to rise accordingly at resorts with more expensive rooms.<br />
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So how do you choose a venue when you are 3000 to 6000 miles away, and all you have to look at are a few photos online? The very best way is with the help of someone who knows what is out there, and understands your sensibilities, and your budget.<br />
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We are Mahinui Hawaii Island Weddings<br />
808-238-0633<br />
510-965-7367<br />
gail@mahinui.com<br />
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<br />volcano gailhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/16195012303173293592noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5407172127444098698.post-78580745026772692382014-03-20T16:45:00.001-07:002014-03-20T17:50:07.951-07:00Hawaii Island Wedding ~ Putting it All Together<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
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If the idea of planning your wedding in all its complexities on an island far away seems too difficult and too expensive, but would be your dream come true, read on.<br />
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Today someone who was looking at our website asked what we do. Do we send you to venues? Do we help you connect with whoever you might need? The answer to those questions is that we start with your dreams and ideas. Once we have a good sense of what you are hoping for in terms of your wedding and how much money you want to spend, we move on to venue possibilities. As we talk together, your wedding takes shape, and we take care of making sure it happens just as you wish.<br />
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We are the direct wedding planners for four distinctly different Hawaii Island venues. <br />
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<ul>
<li>There is our Rainforest Pavilion at Kilauea volcano, in the midst of emerald green tree ferns, ohia lehua trees, surrounded by birdsong. </li>
<li>Daylight Mind is an oceanfront venue in Kailua Kona, where the upstairs event space is made exclusively available for the wedding, and you have the services of one of the most accomplished chefs on the island for your wedding feast. The sound of the waves breaking just below the deck and dolphins and whales in season out upon the water plus the promise of the sunset set the stage for your event. </li>
<li>The Kona Coffee Plantation includes layers of tropical gardens, an event tent, a dance floor, panoramic ocean views from South Kona up the Kohala Coast, and the choice of an authentic luau with fire dancers or the services of the same fine chef from Daylight Mind to complete your fest. With the latter selection, you can combine the sensibility of a wine country wedding with the soft breezes scented with plumeria and orchids of Hawaii. </li>
<li>Should you wish something more directly on the water, there is the private catamaran cruise, with or without an ukulele player and singer. You can choose to be married with dolphins as guests, and linger into the Hawaiian sunset on the ocean. </li>
</ul>
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In the process of selecting the venue, we talk about your anticipated number of guests, any special needs they or you may have, and plan the festivities to fit your budget. If you anticipate a large number of guests and the only way that can work is if costs are minimized, we can show you ways to work that out so that your guests end up with a Hawaii vacation that costs about half what they would otherwise be spending even for budget travel. If you are flush and have plans for something people would agree is the party of the decade, we would be delighted to help you with every marvelous detail. We do not offer you a boatload of suggestions and leave you to sort through them. As we help you make your plans, we talk about details in terms of wishes you have already communicated to us.<br />
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Your honeymoon stay is also on our radar. We offer a treehouse stay in any package, and can arrange for a romantic cottage on the sand, or an oceanfront suite at one of the top resorts in the world, right here on this island.<br />
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Many wedding planners start with a color palette and go from there. We start with who you are and what you see in your dreams. We invite you to give us a call. There is no charge for that conversation. Let's talk about your wedding.<br />
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Aloha!<br />
Please visit our website: www.myhawaiiislandwedding.com<br />
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808-238-0633 <br />
<i style="background-color: white;"><span style="color: blue;">Make Hawaii Island with its sun drenched promises your wedding destination </span></i><br />
<i style="background-color: white;"><span style="color: blue;"><br /></span></i>
volcano gailhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/16195012303173293592noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5407172127444098698.post-41598738867887287792014-03-09T13:44:00.000-07:002014-03-09T13:44:22.935-07:00First comes Yes, then comes Stress… or does it?<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
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The Big Question has been asked and answered: yes, you are getting married. What is number one on the agenda?<br />
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Do you begin a set of Pinterest boards dedicated to everything from invitations to napkin folds? Do you visit wedding sites looking for inspiration or something that looks like your own style? Do you begin to look at this wedding venue and that, within a short drive, or maybe a longer drive? Do you sign up to have vendors contact you, where you are asked to pick colors and describe the wedding you want but have not yet put together?<br />
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All this makes sense on many levels, as you want your wedding to be the very best party you have ever been to. It is also certain to begin to add to your stress level, as your weekends are given over to visiting venues while answering calls from friends and family whose well meaning advice and serious questions begin to make you wonder if it is OK to reduce your guest list based on who annoys you the most. The fantasy of you, stress free, in a hammock overlooking the ocean on a golden beach seems as far away as the moon.<br />
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Your prospective mother-in-law suggests you can save money and please all your friends by throwing a vegetarian potluck in the park, and you find yourself shrieking that you do not intend to turn your friends into a catering service. She smiles wickedly (did she ever seem wicked before? Will she ever seem sweet again?) and suggests you go with her friend Margot's catering service then. She has a brochure for you, featuring snails and pureed meats on crackers. You try to smile and briefly wonder if that sick feeling in your stomach might mean on top of everything else you are pregnant.<br />
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But, as it turns out you have a fairy godmother. She visits your room while you are sitting on your bed getting it for the first time other why some couples elope somewhere far far away. She leads you outside to the porch swing and waves her magic wand in the air.<br />
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"Here is where we start," she smiles at you. "Let's talk about the money. How much are you going to spend on this gorgeous party?"<br />
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You give her the impossibly low number of dollars you know you can get your hands on and add in a thousand from your credit line. She says, "Great! Now let's get started." <br />
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Over the next hour or so she walks through your fantasy with you. As you tell her things, she shows you pictures. Once in awhile she says things like "If you are willing to stray a little from convention and go with a table seating chart instead of place tags, we can get you that light curtain and stay on track with your budget."<br />
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When your mother calls the next day to offer up her friend Helene to make your wedding dress and save you money over store bought, you smile and tell her your fitting appointment is already in the works. It was a small fib, and not the first or last you will tell during this process, but you know there will be a fitting and there will be a wedding, without snails.<br />
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This is the role of the wedding designer. This person begins with the given of how much money you are going to spend, takes your wishes of what the elements of the wedding should be, and almost like magic puts it all together to become all you want it to be. Generally this can happen without a potluck in the park.<br />
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If it is a Hawaii Island wedding you might be interested in, we are here, wand in hand. And yes, you could be in that hammock, at that very spot. It can all happen.<br />
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www.myhawaiiislandwedding.comvolcano gailhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/16195012303173293592noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5407172127444098698.post-90168698735011885002014-02-16T13:36:00.000-08:002014-02-16T13:36:05.157-08:00Wedding Colors, Hawaii Style<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
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Hawaii weddings can follow many pathways, and along the way, couples will encounter the latest trends. Some of these such as flowers strewn along the outdoor "path to the altar" lend themselves perfectly to a certain style of outdoor wedding. Like other styles, colors tend to trend, regardless of context. When choosing themes and colors for your wedding, it is helpful to look at photos from your venue, to get to know what colors are already prominent there. That scheme will form the basis for your palette. If you are using a tent with top and sides that are non-see through, the whole scheme is up to you. Otherwise, how much blue sky and ocean, or deep forest and green or gray tropical mountainscape fill your view? Does a color emerge as dominant? Will the outdoors fade to black because your wedding is at sunset and when the party starts, it will be dark night outside?<br />
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If the flowers at your wedding are important to your sense of color scheme, browse what is in season on the date you have selected, in the region of your wedding. Local flowers will be the freshest, often transported a short distance with great care to avoid bruising and bending of petals.<br />
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Here you see a cymbidium orchid, as it grows on the plant. The plant itself is large and unsuitable for table decor. The stems and sprays and the individual blooms are sculptural and lend themselves to idyllic styles in wedding table arrangements. These particular orchids are seasonal, your flower bonus for choosing a winter date in Hawaii for your celebration. Some growers can produce blooms year round, but the color selection will not be as extensive for out of season flowers. In choosing colors for a Hawaiian destination wedding, taking cues from this particular flower will give you ivory, golden yellow and old rose. The way this can play out is to combine this orchid with other kinds of orchids, anthuriums, and tuberose in the same colors.<br />
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The Hawaii Island style weddings often incorporate whatever flowers are in season. These blooms are sometimes gigantic, like the heliconia may be, and are best used in ultra large arrangements for places other than the dining tables. Huge dramatic flower arrangements can also be informal, tied to the tent poles at the entrance, for example. Often palm fronds are combined with heliconia and ginger in local wedding celebrations held at beach pavilions. No alcohol permitted, however, at beach pavilions, or at the beach. To have a beachfront wedding in Hawaii with alcohol and a reception, you rent a beachfront house or estate. We have located a selection of these particularly suited to weddings.<br />
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So for colors to express your style… or to inform your choice of brides maids dresses… take a look at Hawaiian flowers. Think about the colors that will surround you here. If you are choosing a rainforest wedding, you are in the midst of emerald green. There will be red accents of the forest birds and anthuriums in the landscape. From the riot of colors available, you may be drawn to the reds and oranges, or to lighter shades like the chartreuse of the newly opening fern fronds. For a beach wedding, look at the color of Hawaiian waters. Brilliant aqua. The sands tend to be golden along the Kohala coast rather than white. Black edges most Big Island shorelines.<br />
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When sending your invitations, remember that how your guests dress will play into the overall visual of your extravaganza. We have seen Hawaiian wedding guests take the casual nature of the island to the extreme, showing up dressed more as if they were going to build a rock wall than participate in a fancy party. We have also seen men struggle for comfort in suit jackets and ties with the weather in the mid 80s. We suggest this: "Cocktail attire, aloha style". Generally this will be interpreted as aloha shirts and linen or cotton slacks for the men, and Hawaii style dresses for the women, upscale rather than ABC store casual. Be careful of the use of the word "casual" to describe Hawaii style - casual in Hawaii, especially on the Big Island, translates to halter tops, tee-shirts, slippahs, and shorts. You may think your mainland friends would not come to your classy oceanfront wedding looking they were on their way to the beach to strip down and boogie board, but the surprise is many visitors are quick to adopt the local style.<br />
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When your big event is all over, what you will have is the memory and the photos. When we help plan weddings, we think about how it is all going to look when you look back. We want your thoughts to be that it was all more beautiful than you ever dreamed, the moment you see it, and every time you look back through your memory and at your photographs.<br />
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We wish you much aloha in planning your event. If you are considering a Hawaii Island wedding, please visit our website www.myhawaiiislandwedding.com and see if we might be a good fit for your style and dreams.volcano gailhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/16195012303173293592noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5407172127444098698.post-36764821792078700972014-02-11T12:57:00.000-08:002014-02-11T12:57:26.959-08:00Oceanfront Wedding, Kona Style<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
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Kailua-Kona is a Big Island village generally thought of as the liveliest locale on the island, with its boutique restaurants and shops, sunset cruises and parasailing, Hulihe'e Palace and rich Hawaiian heritgage, wild dolphin journeys and whale watches. The weather is likely to be close to perfect. Since 1981, Kona has hosted the Ironman triathlon, an event that originated on Oahu and then moved over to the less congested Big Island. Ironman gear can found year-round in Kailua-Kona. One of the beautiful aspects of Kona town is the walk along the seawall, the village across the street, the streets humming with life but not stuffed with traffic. Faces of the people you see are happy to be here. Happy to be alive, in this place of uncompromising beauty and Hawaiian style.<br />
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This oceanside town has three major hotels. One is at each end of Alii Drive where the shops and restaurants are, and the Sheraton is a bit farther south, at Keauhou. Visitors to Kona may stay at one of these resorts, a condo, or rent one of the many private homes either along the waterfront, in town, or above the village in the coffee country. Some choose the resorts along the Kohala Coast to the north for their ample beachfront. The history of old Hawaii is evident in Kona, and efforts over the decades of development that came along with an expanding mainland economy to preserve the essence of Kona have paid off. The businesses along Alii Drive tend to cherish the island history and culture, and extend a warm aloha to visitors and locals alike.<br />
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A newcomer to Kona town is Daylight Mind Restaurant and Coffee Company, in the heart of Kona, along the Alii Drive promenade. The photo above is from the first wedding they have hosted. The restaurant is downstairs. Up a wide koa staircase is their event area, dedicated to private parties.<br />
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The event area wraps around the bay side and ocean face of the building, that juts out almost right over the water. There is strip of lawn between the rear of the building and the waves below. It is not uncommon to see whales breaching and tail slapping in the winter, and pods of spinner dolphins cavorting in the endless blue. Palms reach out into the view like graceful dancers. Sunsets fill the sky nearly every evening, washing it in golds, oranges, reds and pinks. Sitting at a table along the glass wall, your view is directly to the waves breaking onto the flat smooth pahoehoe edging the ocean here. Patches of coral sand are interspersed along the black edge of the island. The water is pure turquoise under the clear sky.<br />
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Despite the lure of the sunset, the very best time for a party is the afternoon. You are welcome to linger as the sky fills with colors, however we encouraage you and your guests to enjoy the sheer beauty of the location in its glory when the sun is still high in the sky.<br />
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Here, you see part of the view of Kona Village ringing the Bay. From a side table, you are treated to the sweep of the waterfront with its orange roofline.<br />
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The owners of Daylight Mind have great enthusiasm about sharing the beauty of their location with wedding parties. The chefs are eager to show off their versatility and imagination, to create one of a kind celebratory feasts. We will be back next week to show off some of their efforts.<br />
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To learn more, visit us with your wedding inquiry:<br />
www.myhawaiiislandwedding.com<br />
gail@mahinui.com<br />
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We wish you much aloha.volcano gailhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/16195012303173293592noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5407172127444098698.post-67784429292815087162014-01-27T19:50:00.000-08:002014-01-27T19:53:16.938-08:00Destination Wedding ~ Hawaii Island<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
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The destination wedding - a popular choice for couples who have been through the wedding experience already, just not with each other. It is not necessarily that they prefer not to deal with the inevitable friends and family issues, but more that they want the experience to belong to them. And more first timers are joining in the far away wedding trend. What is it about a destination wedding that appeals?<br />
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It has everything to do with the focus of the celebration. With a large wedding, meaning one with family and friends, not only the planning centers upon the guests, but also the sequence of the events. As you plan a wedding, extravagance is encouraged. The more energy you put into it, the less it becomes about you and the more it is a production designed to impress others.<br />
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We find the question of "is the standard thing really the way you want to get married" worth asking, because we know you can toss a very very nice party for 50 people for about $500, at your own place. You can bring in a private chef for maybe triple that, and do something amazing, if you rent a house with great seating. That is very much the spirit we bring to your Hawaii Island wedding. If you don't live here, and the prospect of putting something as off the beaten path as a non-resort wedding party at a private house may seem very far fetched, but that's what we do.With the private house, you are not sharing a resort and therefore your personal wedding with hundreds of other people who happen to be resort guests too. Private house, private venue. You will sometimes have the option of renting the house strictly as the wedding venue or take it for several days and use it as the place friends and family stay on afterwards.<br />
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Have you browsed photographs of weddings? They are so beautifully, heartbreakingly romantic. The couple are pictured getting dressed, arriving at the ceremony. There are kiss pictures, usually not the one during the ceremony. There are shoes. You will see a selection of lovely photos incorporating the picturesque venue. Sometimes you see the wedding party. But most of the shots are of the couple only. Most of these pictures are not reflecting the actuality of the hustle and pizzazz of the wedding. Here is the separating facotr: with the intimate destination wedding, your wedding really will be just like the photos. <br />
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Destination weddings with friends and family tend to be smaller than at-home weddings. But they are not necessarily the weddings of the rich and famous. Cost is a relevant factor. Consider this. Along the Kona coast in Hawaii, your guests can stay in a rental house with a pool for about $100 a couple per night, staying a full week. A comparable room in a resort would be $275 a night. Want something classier? Always possible. If you are able to travel on Hawaiian Airlines, the wedding couple and guests can travel at a discounted price and the couple may qualify for a free first class upgrade. This is something to think on - what is better than a trip to Hawaii where your best friends are getting married, at a price about half what you would otherwise pay for the vacation?<br />
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We recently put together a wedding and reception in Kona for 24. The venue is absolute oceanfront, and completely private. Catering is onsite. We arranged transportation via limo for the wedding couple from their resort up the coast. Organza streamed from the sails set overhead for shade. Table centerpieces were orchids and plumeria. There was a guitar player. Ceremony late in the day, sunset following for photos. Professional photography. The food, locally sourced and presented with panache. Drinks, wine and beer bar, with a champagne cocktail for the toast. Cost, below $5000 for the wedding and reception. Can you do this at home? Not sure the ocean, plumeria scented air, and 82 degree weather will come along at your command.<br />
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Huff Post recently published a blog asking if destination weddings are really stress free. The main message there was not everyone wants to spend the time and money to come to your wedding, and maybe buy a bride's maid gown too. The beauty of the destination wedding is not actually the culling factor, separating those who will do anything for you from the rest. It is about setting aside very precious time in an optimum way for what is really one of the most intimate times of your life. If your friends are adventurous and take vacations anyway, it can work to invite them. If you'd prefer something more intimate and a party at home afterwards, on this island that gives you the latitude to stay in a cottage on the sand, get married in the rainforest or on an isolated spit of land where the waves break below you, spend a couple of nights in a treehouse, and relax into leisurely afternoons letting someone else bring you food and drink while you watch the ocean change moods. We know, you can make it your honeymoon. But we're here to tell you it can be the wedding too.<br />
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http://www.myhawaiiislandwedding.com<br />
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<br />volcano gailhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/16195012303173293592noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5407172127444098698.post-22908270573117536192014-01-16T18:07:00.000-08:002014-01-16T18:24:07.555-08:00Let's Talk Venue Types and Styles<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
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Aloha from Hawaii Island. Pretty cool wave, all right. This is not a view from the beach, but from about twenty feet up. This particular spot is in the weeds, up a short cliff, adjacent to a resort. Amazing view, and not quite available as a wedding venue, unless you want just the two of you and a celebrant. Sweet place to wander off to with a bottle of champagne after the event though.</div>
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When thinking about a wedding venue, you have certain obvious considerations. One is price - sticker shock can feel like a way of life when you start pricing places with panache. Another is, weather. Will you be outside for the festivities, subject to freak weird weather? Or, is weird weather becoming less and less unusual… so, will you go with a tent? If a tent, how important is the look of the venue? You don't want your wedding guests passing the local homeless encampment on their way to your tent, of course. But the beauty of the place will not factor into the party much if you are tented. </div>
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A less obvious factor when thinking about your venue, especially if you are not here to walk it yourself, is the composition of the view. We heard that a local old time hotel that has undergone some massive renovations has added a wedding locale. We hustled over to take a look, and concluded we would not recommend it to our couples. The reasons why are a bit picky on our part. It is pretty much on the ground. There is a concrete pad, and a roof. But it has the same sort of feel as a $60 county park venue, except the chairs aren't benches attached to nailed down tables. It can be jazzed up, of course, but the cost of adding lots of decor and keeping it tasteful is quite pricey. Although the ocean is right there, the view is not so dramatic because you are level with the water. It is a bay, so there are not likely to be waves unless it is stormy. You and your guests will notice the proximity when you walk up, and then forget about it. There is a walking path, but it will take people away from your party.</div>
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Our new favorite wedding locale is in Kona. It has an upper view, where your wedding will be away from the street and the noise, and not subject to people walking into it or through it. It is private. This is difficult to achieve in an ocean front setting as the beach belongs to everyone, and everyone is always welcome, anywhere on it. This is not an upper view from the hillside, miles away, but from a building right on the ocean. The architecture of the place is appealing. There is the inside space in case the sky opens up. We have been making arrangements with the owners and talking to our local specialty vendors to put together an afternoon wedding package for up to 25 people that will cost under $5000. A sunset package for up to 50 people with a seated dinner comes in under $8000 with limo service for the bride and groom. These prices include the inevitable gratuity and tax charges all vendors add for large parties. In Hawaii, those extra charges come in at nearly 25%. Take another look at our inclusive prices… What do you get with us? We arrange every detail for you, and help you with anything else you might need. You will have a licensed celebrant, shell blower, custom ceremony, wedding lei, an arch with drape and orchids, table decor on white linens, a signature champagne cocktail and either "bottle service" or wine and beer, a bartender, an array of Hawaiian inspired small plates or a full wedding buffet, music that can include live guitar, wedding cake adorned with orchids, limo service, and wedding photography, all in a gorgeous classy setting right on the ocean, with a blue blue view that can become a sunset view if that is your choice. </div>
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Bottle service is something we can arrange with the venue, in lieu of the per person wine and beer charge. For the afternoon for twenty five guests, we selected a prosecco signature cocktail for the wedding toast, and prosecco at a bottle rate for 12 bottles. Maybe you would prefer your bubbly to originate in France and proudly carry the label "champagne" - it will be as you wish.</div>
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When we design a wedding package as an offering to you, the brides and grooms, we try to put together the most elegant party at the classiest venue at the best price. If you are intrigued, go on over to our website, www.myhawaiiislandwedding.com and send us an inquiry. Aloha! </div>
volcano gailhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/16195012303173293592noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5407172127444098698.post-69655085528805421292014-01-12T14:30:00.000-08:002014-01-12T14:30:12.689-08:00Your Wedding Photographs<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
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If you are planning your wedding, chances are you have at least one photo board on Pinterest where you keep your ideas, and images of weddings that speak to you. If you do not, you might like to at least browse the Pinterest wedding boards to see what is there.<br />
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The photos you see on the major wedding sites and on Pinterest show you how far wedding photography has come from the series of set shots that dominated the industry for so long. No more line ups of the wedding party and guests three deep like the annual classroom photo. You will see very few photos of weddings that include guests beyond the bridal party itself on any of these sites.<br />
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If you love the look of a certain place, but your wedding and reception are not there, consider having a photo session done where the look is all you dream of. Our destination wedding couples often opt for a photo session where we take them to various places on the island that are super photogenic.<br />
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgtkFGTEDvc2Ti5fxdZNTKJgSfSYFlg6ec5yVLmSx-n9uH8AdaWQOcv07PPOAqNRpfZGbxv7eZYAqPulKqXEg0CtrHAQQHiV_dj869Qh2PNWNX0KcT9ph89YgoF3Fuf7sq6LzHuVjV9gwbR/s1600/DSC_0358.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgtkFGTEDvc2Ti5fxdZNTKJgSfSYFlg6ec5yVLmSx-n9uH8AdaWQOcv07PPOAqNRpfZGbxv7eZYAqPulKqXEg0CtrHAQQHiV_dj869Qh2PNWNX0KcT9ph89YgoF3Fuf7sq6LzHuVjV9gwbR/s1600/DSC_0358.JPG" height="263" width="400" /></a></div>
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There are of course those aqua water spots with the ultra Hawaiian sensibility, and we love those for the context. But we also seek out spots that have something to do with the things the couple is drawn to, like this 50s style diner that appealed to this couple.<br />
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Brides who collect photos of other brides, and want to recreate something they have seen elsewhere are not necessarily going to be happy with the result. If you do not tell the photographer what you are looking for in those poses, peculiar things can happen. I photographed a couple where every time we changed locales, the groom would lift her into the air. She was stiff as a board when he did this, except her head was angled toward him. I didn't realize the effect they were going for until I got home and began the editing process. It was too late then to tell her to kick her feet backward, or at least one foot, and bend way low, hovering just over his face. Even had I done that, the pose was clearly not natural to them.<br />
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A couple will typically fall into normal postures and attitudes during a photo shoot, if the pace is relaxed and the stress of day to day life is forgotten.<br />
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhcG18jR20wnedugsajyP35qORWQBuXc-da3Zy30-CGr23lttZbI2Agec95kpmD8E3v7DdkZp5J-1e827sQtarJOiOGug_pqeW2u4clh2MnQOQK4GXTuPR0uxxtZhhMFbblw3p-RpOHzrJt/s1600/DSC_1178.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhcG18jR20wnedugsajyP35qORWQBuXc-da3Zy30-CGr23lttZbI2Agec95kpmD8E3v7DdkZp5J-1e827sQtarJOiOGug_pqeW2u4clh2MnQOQK4GXTuPR0uxxtZhhMFbblw3p-RpOHzrJt/s1600/DSC_1178.JPG" height="310" width="400" /></a></div>
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A natural photo tends to be the most beautiful, and show the couple at their best. This means the photographer is walking a narrow line in posing the couple, encouraging them to relax, and at the same time, let them express themselves, as they are.<br />
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My suggestions for couples who are having wedding photography done are these:<br />
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<li> Consider a pre-wedding or post-wedding photo session, with a change of clothes or two.</li>
<li> Select a photographer based on your enjoyment of their portfolio.</li>
<li> If there is a wedding pose you want to try, make a print and bring it along.</li>
<li> Make sure you have the digital images at your disposal, so you can make a wedding book, put together a video of your favortie shots, and pull off the shots you love to your own digital album.</li>
<li> Keep a digital album online, so if something happens to your computer, you wil not lose your photos. </li>
<li> Above all, enjoy this. You are the stars of this session, so bask in it. Love it. You are at your most beautiful, happier than you have ever been. You will see that every time you look at your wedding pictures. They simply get better and better. </li>
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<br />volcano gailhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/16195012303173293592noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5407172127444098698.post-77715000855087752652014-01-11T12:58:00.000-08:002014-01-11T12:58:12.664-08:00Elements of a Perfect Day * * Part 2<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
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Your big day is coming right up. Here you are in Hawaii, and your wedding will be happening … this day you have anticipated in many ways and in many moods over years.<br />
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What better way to get ready for your amazing occasion than on this golden beach, and in this turquoise water.<br />
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This is Waialea Bay, the beach popularly known as Beach 69. It is not marked on the highway. There are no signs to it. The road there is a twisty little potholed sometimes single lane stretch between Puako and Hapuna. I am giving away nothing here, as Yelp shows it, and guidebooks tell you exactly how to get there. So, it may not look as empty as it does in this photo, particularly on a summer day, or during the winter holidays. However, a weekday during the rest of the year can be just what you see here. Sweet stretches of sand punctuated by a few beach chairs, people chatting. Keawe trees stretching into the ocean. A couple of rope swings. A long stretch for walking. the ocean itself, just right for snorkeling or swimming, most days.<br />
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For perfection, bring along a hammock and string it in the keawe. Sound a little extreme? You can buy one at the Bamboo in Hawi, about a forty-five minutes north, and mail it home to yourself at the end of your stay. Why not?<br />
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Bring along sunscreen, and a picnic. There are no food vendors here. Stay for the sunset, and don't be surprised if it gets so dark as you return to your car that you wish you had a flashlight. You may be walking by the light of your cell phone. <br />
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Waialea Bay may feel far from the rest of the world while you are there, but there are some great places to stop for dinner just a few minutes away. Next blog post!volcano gailhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/16195012303173293592noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5407172127444098698.post-43019793380595394742013-09-27T18:24:00.001-07:002013-09-27T18:24:28.726-07:00Elements of a Perfect Day * . * . * Part One<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgquY9dFXZYDwgkYZ4OaN6pSbqzW2gOAIDDW-ajApq_ZuDa7f-xdS_Gh_9QoH23iHEMAhN4bcxcCdOMaMynhF1OL2Qr5vLeaHx_-XZQutG-iadWyuuTf3ESJ1JXmkLjBWzD6i8JR0184g4z/s1600/piper's+view.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="400" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgquY9dFXZYDwgkYZ4OaN6pSbqzW2gOAIDDW-ajApq_ZuDa7f-xdS_Gh_9QoH23iHEMAhN4bcxcCdOMaMynhF1OL2Qr5vLeaHx_-XZQutG-iadWyuuTf3ESJ1JXmkLjBWzD6i8JR0184g4z/s400/piper's+view.jpg" width="297" /></a></div>
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You flight lands in Kona at noon and check in at the resort is 3. Even if your room isn't quite ready, you can always go hang out, maybe have a drink poolside. That exquisite island feeling probably began to kick in when you caught the first heady scent of plumeria in the airport. It is still likely to be a day or two or even three before your mainland timestream slows to island time.</div>
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There is a way to ease into your West Hawaii stay that is oh so worth the side trip right into Kailua-Kona, even if your destination is a resort up the coast a ways from the airport. That view above is the sunset view from a chair at Piper's Pedicures and Polishes in the Kona Inn shopping center on Alii Drive. The before sunset view is pretty smashing as well. The price will not be a resort price, and is no different from what you will pay at any strip mall. But oh what a difference the waterfront view makes. Lean back, soak up the contentment of the swaying palms and lovely aqua ocean.</div>
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To make a reservation before you leave the mainland, call 808-324-4852. There is a shave ice stand not far from the salon where your traveling companion who is not into the mani-pedi thing can get a rapturously fabulous shave ice with an ice cream center and a snow cap. It is across the street and down about a block to the left. If that does not appeal, there are opportunities for a beer or a coffee at any of the Alii Drive spots nearby. You might consider arriving with a cold split of champagne from the ABC store for your relaxing pleasure. </div>
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Remember to wear your slippahs on da plane! Aloha! </div>
<br />volcano gailhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/16195012303173293592noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5407172127444098698.post-69614329783839915992013-08-27T16:28:00.001-07:002013-08-27T16:28:21.503-07:00Those Crazy Little Extras<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
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If you read bridal blogs and subscribe to wedding newletters, chances are you are bombarded with ideas of fun things to add on to your wedding celebration to make it so especially your own.<br />
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To the left, we have a signature cocktail served in an antique glass. Because, what is a signature cocktail served up in plastic or those thick stemmed all purpose wine glasses? <br />
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For beach weddings we love those flip flops (slippahs if you from here) where your footprints leave words in the sand. <br />
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If you go to this Etsy shop you can custom order them with your names, and of course "just married" is already there for a standard order.<br />
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Maybe they don't look all that, but for the photo op after the ceremony, may be irresistible.<br />
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Chair decor is a current trend. Maybe just the bride and groom need the prince and princess of the event treatment, or possibly all the chairs require a slip cover, a bow, and perhaps a garland. Or at least the garland or mini bouquet on the aisle seats. And don't forget the carpet of flower petals if you are going all out with the chair covers and garlands.<br />
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Then on the tables all the small touches, like the place holders - not just a card, but something twiggy and sentimental. I am not meaning to poke fun at all these extras, as nothing is quite so special as a wedding. And nothing is quite as much fun as putting together all the little extras to make a celebration special.<br />
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From a practical point of view, you may want to consider that "less is more" whereas "more" is absolutely "costlier". You will rarely see an item by item price description of your choices until or unless you request that after you have done your ordering or you are in the midst of it and all signed up.<br />
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One way to save big on the cost of your wedding extravaganza is to put the money into the big stuff. Photography is number one. Those photos in an album are with you for a lifetime. How many people pull out their wedding videotape? Do they get it moved over to DVD or does it ride out the change on the shelf? Have one photo matted and framed. It need not hang over the fireplace. But on your 10th and 15th and 25th wedding anniversary you will like to be reminded of what that day did look like.<br />
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If you have chosen a destination wedding, the sense of place in that photo is all important. A sweet hazy shot where your smiles are the main feature is lovely, but do choose a photo where you can see where you were, right in the picture. Even a courthouse wedding deserves a shot of the sweeping staircase or the sturdy pillars in the front.<br />
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhq74727aRZe_O64AF5DP6-CWiuoicXJpZln3ZuvD4mNIPUe0vulLthkIVpPunj4iMo4M1hWYYPza0URaTpmsevAtX63c1yBtmhpyjYOb1LdlL8A5CVm8ea5ToU28cLqDilcN0eCxkznLTb/s1600/Amsale+Aberra.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: right; float: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: 1em;"><img border="0" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhq74727aRZe_O64AF5DP6-CWiuoicXJpZln3ZuvD4mNIPUe0vulLthkIVpPunj4iMo4M1hWYYPza0URaTpmsevAtX63c1yBtmhpyjYOb1LdlL8A5CVm8ea5ToU28cLqDilcN0eCxkznLTb/s320/Amsale+Aberra.jpg" width="213" /></a></div>
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiGwAD9wW9EqKx8ngVyhqZPu-L62AmwYbrPyYnI6YXsr6-rvff1jUnxASGrUng-n0PYOk24-xTvfrESv5E6O2wcUHdD2rP6u7sJKLcn1Y8DxrzryLKN9tqJ4-DEG9IRBDfp2-BIt09TEyQx/s1600/jade+fashion.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiGwAD9wW9EqKx8ngVyhqZPu-L62AmwYbrPyYnI6YXsr6-rvff1jUnxASGrUng-n0PYOk24-xTvfrESv5E6O2wcUHdD2rP6u7sJKLcn1Y8DxrzryLKN9tqJ4-DEG9IRBDfp2-BIt09TEyQx/s320/jade+fashion.jpg" width="128" /></a>Ah, the wedding gown... To the right, a delicate Amsale Aberra concoction befitting the most formal of occasions. And you can make your destination wedding a formal occasion, and wear such a gown. You are probably equally aware you can go to a bridal shop and buy a knock off gown at a far lesser price, or even rent a gown. For most brides do not see themselves re-donning the bridal attire for another function.<br />
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If however you are planning a destination wedding somewhere tropical and hot, maybe with ocean or forest in the mix, non-traditional attire is entirely appropriate. To the left, a rayon wedding dress available from jadefashion.com. The bustle effect gives way to a softer, easier style, where your wedding lei will match the loveliness of your attire.<br />
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For your Hawaii destination wedding, if you want something extravagent to commemorate the occasion, it would not be the diamond on your finger but the shell lei. These ni'ihau lei are made of thousands of tiny shells gathered from the sand of the island of Ni'ihau. The lei are crafted by a few remaining Hawaiian lei makers who are keeping the art alive. The crazy little extras would be orchid lei for your guests.<br />
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The elegance of your destination wedding comes not so much from the amount of money you spend on the extras, but how you select the main elements. That would be the venue, your attire, the music, and the sensibility of those you work with. <br />
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May your wedding be brimming with aloha. <br />
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<br />volcano gailhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/16195012303173293592noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5407172127444098698.post-19561698646155248112013-08-10T22:54:00.000-07:002013-08-11T14:40:53.304-07:00The Beach Wedding, Hawaii Style<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
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The so called toes in the sand Hawaiian wedding has such a universal appeal that couples from all around the globe select Hawaii as their destination wedding.<br />
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As those couples may suspect when they begin viewing vendors for these weddings, the quickie ceremony packages are more than a little bit like eating out at MacDonald's. What's on your tray is pretty much what's on the tray next to you. The wedding reality is there will be a couple ahead of you, then you step up to the front of the line, have your turn, and it's over. <br />
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Once you begin speaking to a wedding planner, you may find yourself steered away from the wedding on the actual sand. There are many reasons for that. Hawaiian statute throws up roadblocks. All beaches are public. There is no way to simply reserve a piece of beach for a wedding. And this is just the beginning. But take heart. There are ways to make it all come true.<br />
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The experience you may have had sitting out on a beach at sunset listening to a couple of guys play guitar while you sipped drinks and had coconut shrimp does not readily translate to a weddng ceremony with the same elements, because the beach is a place where children play and everyone with a camera phone stands up and starts walking between people's beach chairs when the light gets pretty.<br />
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All that being said, there are ways to have that beach wedding. The very best way is to reserve a beach front house or cottage. This still does not guarantee you privacy, but it will allow the person who is setting up your wedding to stake out some territory and create what for lack of a more suitable phrase we call sacred space. This patch of sand dedicated to your wedding becomes a place even the children understand is special, and they respect it. The people bearing cameras get it that this is special, is yours, and they can generally be discouraged politely and kindly from intruding upon your ceremony.<br />
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If renting beachfront is not within your budget, we do have a choice spot where we can take you, away from the crowds. It means driving awhile, and walking a bit, and then you will be where it is just you, the sand, the waves, the palms. For this style of wedding, we recommend the party take place away from the ceremony spot. It can still be at the beach if you want it there, but it will be at a place not so isolated, where bringing in your cake and so on is much easier.<br />
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A third alternative is the lawn.<br />
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Here you can see the beach just beyond the lawn. The lawn is private. Here, your event designer can bring in an arch or chuppah and decorate it. You can rent an open sided canopy as rain is highly unlikely, and in the middle of the day, you will like to have shade. Would you rather have cake and champagne or a fully catered party? Either is possible. And you can have photos done right on the sand, after the ceremony. Or before.<br />
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Now you maybe thinking, hey, I like those guys with the guitars. I like that beach. Can I just rent that place and get those guys to come out? Yes and no. Or, not exactly. You can only share the restaurant, and those guys will be playing for the restaurant. As for the happy people in the background, even though you did not invite them to the party, they will come. <br />
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Perhaps now you are thinking, but wait! This is my wedding! Can't I just have a couple of guys with guitars, a nice beachfront, and a few dozen of my closest friends and family, without the paparazzi and the children running in and out of the water? Yes ! But, that would be the beachfront house. Even the poshest resort on the island has myriad other guests, and they will have equal access to your sacred bit of beach. The beachfront house will be away from the public area of the beach, unlike the resort, and that is its secret.<br />
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Having thought about all this, you might mull over the recipe we have for a perfect beach wedding. There are some very nice houses in spectacular locations around the island that are available for rent. They generally rent with a five day minimum stay. Visually, some are like private resorts. The per bedroom cost on these homes can be comparable to staying at a mid range resort in a garden view room. These houses can be the party site, with the wedding a sweet walk away along the sand, on a part of the beach away from the crowds at the resorts. <br />
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And sure, the guys with the guitars can come to the party if you like. volcano gailhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/16195012303173293592noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5407172127444098698.post-82622639843847486332013-01-08T11:01:00.000-08:002013-01-08T11:01:12.066-08:00Your Wedding Photographs<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
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There are two kinds of wedding photographs - bold statement, yes? Those two types are your wedding photos and other people's wedding photos.<br />
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I have photographed enough couples now that I have lost count. The setting for these photos recently has been the Big Island, Hawaii Island. I love this place, and the couples who choose to come here to become married generally love it too. But nothing is guaranteed in this life.<br />
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Awhile back, the bride in the photos was unhappy with the shots I liked best. I felt dreadful for her, and sought to understand what was amiss so I could edit appropriately. She told me she didn't like her expressions in some photos, her
husband's in others, that they generally did not look interested enough
in each other, and that the photos were not flattering. Most of that commentary is not subject to editing. She was unwilling to discuss further, leaving me to sort through the experience from this end and learn from it.<br />
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I wish I could put up that selection I liked from that shoot so you could see their photos for yourself, but she has forbidden their use. To my eye, they are among the best I have done. Based on her remarks and looking at the photos, I think she would have preferred a more animated set of photos on the
one hand, and something more studio-like and posed on the other. I am
also pretty certain that in future years, perhaps as few as two or
three, when she looks at those photos, she will be stunned at how pretty
she is, how handsome her husband, what a great looking couple they
are.There is also something else - during the shoot she repeatedly remarked about how little she cared for this island, for its culture, and for what it is about. Perhaps that has something to do with her perception of her photos as well. <br />
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The photo above is of other people. I have chosen to use it here to illustrate what wedding photography is for me as a photographer - it is an opportunity to make a record of what this experience was for these people, in the context of this place, Hawaii island. Here the couple is studying the ground, the a'a and pahoehoe lava in a somewhat recent flow. There is a look of geologists about them, because they had a sincere interest in the lava. Their intelligence and sparkle and shared enthusiasm comes through, despite the sunglasses. They are in a place they have not been before, and it is fascinating. This is both one of their favorite photos from the shoot and mine as well. It is right for them - it is them. For you, it would be another sort of picture altogether. <br />
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So here is my take as a wedding photographer. If you are looking for verve and animation, dress casually and be prepared to jump about, run, and be excited. That sort of look does not happen in a dress with a long heavy train and a suit, tie, and heavy dress shoes. As a wedding photographer, I always suggest the couple take some photos in their wedding attire and the remainder in casual dress. Both sets look lovely, and the contrast tends to be between the solemnity and joy of taking marriage vows and the playfulness of having succeeded in becoming married and being happier than you had even imagined. If you are looking for studio shots, use a studio photographer. There everything is controlled. The camera person sets you in position and moves you and the lights until everything is as flattering as it can be, for each shot. <br />
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If you have seen an effect or a set shot in someone else's photos you would like to try, by all means tell the photographer about it. But do not keep trying to recreate it as your photos are being done. This is likely to have peculiar results. In the photo session that disappointed the bride, she repeatedly asked her husband to lift her vertically into the air. She was wearing a dress with a long train. The effect was that she appeared over him in a surreal column. She did not look like she was floating, being held down like an unruly balloon, but more vampire like. And no, she did not see any of the photos where she looked like that! And there were dozens of them, because everywhere we went, she would repeat the pose And yes, I included a couple of them that sort of worked in the set of photos she received. Be prepared to find out that the set shot you imagined is not at all what you envisioned. It was someone else's photo, not yours. <br />
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In viewing Pinterest wedding boards, I note there are certain genre shots that are popular now where a heart appears in the photo. Sometimes the heart is drawn in the sand. Sometimes it is fashioned from rocks or shells or flowers. More often it is formed using the hands and arms of the wedding couple, the setting sun behind. If you desire shots like this, it is vital to tell the photographer. Do not expect your photos to duplicate what you have seen elsewhere. Your photos are not and cannot be what you have seen somewhere else, of someone else. I know that sounds remedial, but that is a fact. You may have been told you look like a certain celebrity. Do not expect that in your wedding photos you will look like her double. If you ordinarily do not wear makeup or wear very little, and then have your face done for your wedding or your photos, you will look different than you usually look. Be certain you like that look. Makeup is not an essential part of wedding photos. The best photos of you are the ones that look like you. Again, this sounds so very basic, and yet we do not always think in basic terms. <br />
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Everyone and anyone, any couple, can look wonderful in wedding photos. By wonderful, I mean like your own best self. As a photographer, that is what I am after. You as your shining, happy, most radiant self. I am also after the you of you, whatever person is beneath your skin. This is why I love doing this work. It is a treasure hunt, and there is always treasure to be found and shown. <br />
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When we do wedding photography, it happens on the scheduled day, out of doors for the most part. We can do some indoors, incorporating the sense of place. We can always use the treehouse, even in the pouring rain, and get sweet results. We can also go somewhere the weather is nicer. We have not had a wedding shoot yet where we could not find good weather and pretty light. We do half day and full day shoots. Half day seems to work the best. You do not want to appear tired in the photos. What every couple always comes away with is an experience that was unlike any other - a journey around and about the island that was recorded for them in dozens of photos, where the context of the island frames who they are, in this time, in love, in this gorgeous place. <br />
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<br />volcano gailhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/16195012303173293592noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5407172127444098698.post-49883870468644109882012-12-27T09:08:00.000-08:002012-12-27T09:08:43.244-08:00Why Choose Hawaii Island for Your Wedding?<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
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Those who have either been to or dreamt of the Hawaiian Islands have heard them call "come to me, come to me...". From the ultra blue water and skies that change color at dawn and dusk, to the scent of the very air the moment you step from the plane, these islands are softly alluring. Hawaii's romance is a guitar softly playing as waves lap against the shoreline in the moonlight, while your hand lingers on the sun warmed skin of your lover. <br />
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgMBaHta1-jv9kG052hUzAId6GtOVhj9rg9Xue7HrPmcCRPvIxSI8PNfLiKtML6wqRxdXVvQFDpjkTD_19Pgfd4jbjbptdjYO0t9hrARAVtnhEKbF0pontYMvSBAHfN3UtoPKDBK9kWiovQ/s1600/treehouse+and+orchid.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: right; float: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: 1em;"><img border="0" height="400" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgMBaHta1-jv9kG052hUzAId6GtOVhj9rg9Xue7HrPmcCRPvIxSI8PNfLiKtML6wqRxdXVvQFDpjkTD_19Pgfd4jbjbptdjYO0t9hrARAVtnhEKbF0pontYMvSBAHfN3UtoPKDBK9kWiovQ/s400/treehouse+and+orchid.jpg" width="298" /></a><br />
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Hawaii Island is where you will find Kilauea Volcano, lava churning and spilling down the sides of the mountain, falling in burning orange rivers down the cliffs into the sea. It is where the ferns of the rainforest grow to be thirty feet tall, and the curved beak red apapane greets you with a morning song in mid-canopy of the rainforest when you stay in a treehouse for your honeymoon. <br />
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On Hawaii Island you will find world class dining<br />
You may choose amongst the oceanfront restaurants of Kohala and Kona, where in the winter time the whales breach and spout as the sun goes down and the sky changes through an array of colors from gold to deepest red or brilliant pink, from peach tones to gleaming carnelians then purple. You can arrange for a special post wedding photo shoot to capture those colors that have decorated your evenings on the Kohala Coast. The musicians who so casually entertain you as you enjoy your evening meal are among the finest in their genre.<br />
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgsLYiE7LFVtQzT2v8b8yDpkomGONhHNbV98RtVJYUXuAMp0dzhIzlootvyqBkvobeLqnCodYpJDq7F5OHoeQJ_UMbpgNEfzQtQPM-F4OfdkAHnD3qM7FRgODam0kk9e2orqjog8FKFvT6-/s1600/beach+tree+hula.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="272" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgsLYiE7LFVtQzT2v8b8yDpkomGONhHNbV98RtVJYUXuAMp0dzhIzlootvyqBkvobeLqnCodYpJDq7F5OHoeQJ_UMbpgNEfzQtQPM-F4OfdkAHnD3qM7FRgODam0kk9e2orqjog8FKFvT6-/s400/beach+tree+hula.jpg" width="400" /></a><br />
When you choose Hawaii for your wedding, you will then select a destination within your destination. Many hotels offer wedding services on site. Should you prefer something more personalized and private, wedding coordinators like Mahinui Na Lani can help you find the venue that meets your expectations, whether beachfront, rainforest, waterfall, or private residence. All details are handled according to your wishes. Your ceremony and celebration will unfold like your fondest dreams of Hawaiian paradise.<br />
www.mahinui.com<br />
PO Box 531 Laupahoehoe HI 96764<br />
808-238-0633<br />
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<br />volcano gailhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/16195012303173293592noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5407172127444098698.post-1547130863154421942012-09-25T15:37:00.000-07:002012-09-25T15:37:35.877-07:00Best of the Best Hawaii Wedding Destinations<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
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Aloha from Hawaii Island.<br />
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When you begin planning a Hawaii wedding while living on the mainland, or on some other continent, what you will notice right away is there are so many choices it can be bewildering. Maybe you have a picture floating in your mind of how your wedding will look or even how it will feel. Or perhaps you have the romance of Hawaii firmly rooted in your being, and being married in Hawaii is perfection.<br />
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Where do you start? <br />
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Your venue matters. Many people think of a beach wedding, and that can absolutely be your first choice. Bear in mind that all beaches in Hawaii are public. Some are more remote than others, and if very remote, getting there can pose difficulties you do not want as part of your wedding day. The very best way to have a beach wedding in Hawaii is to rent a beach house. We have thoroughly researched what is out there, and frequently check all over again. There is one rental house that is a complete stand out from everything else. It gives you privacy, a lovely lawn, beach beyond, and an open lanai leading into the house itself that is gorgeous. It has a turquoise infinity pool and sumptuous interior.<br />
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The lanai of this house is broad and deep enough to hold several tables for the wedding feast, and beyond the pool is the beach. Picture this lanai simply decorated with hanging candles in glass bubbles at sunset, the tables in pristine white linen, table runners of tropical flowers with candles nestled amongst them. <br />
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The venue cost for this house is $4000 for up to 50 guests. If you rent the house at $1500 a day for 4 nights, the venue cost drops to $2000. Cost of table and chair rental is additional. When you choose this as your wedding location, we take care of every detail while you relax and think about how spectacular it will all be.<br />
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This home offers you a level of privacy simply not attainable at a resort, and the cost is about half what you would expect to pay for the use of a comparable home at the island's premier Kohala Coast resort complex.<br />
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At the right you will see a large and enchanting older structure from the sugar cane days. This location is just outside Hilo, and is available as a wedding destination. The cost to use this venue includes their wedding tent, as well as the set up and removal of the tent after your celebration. The cost for tent and venue is $3800 for up to 4 hours, and $4200 for up to 6 hours. What you get is a venue for large celebrations and privacy. The beauty of the location is rooted in its history and ultra tropical location. Future blogs will have some photos of the grounds.<br />
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We can arrange for large weddings here and coordinate catering and decor. Specialty lighting, live music, lei, a profusion of island flowers, an amazing cake, your photography and videography, sounding of the sacred triton shell and custom ceremony are all a part of what you can expect should you choose this venue and ask us to handle the details. <br />
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The venue costs can be pushed way down by staging your celebration at a beach park. Costs for the tent, chairs and tables will drop price by 2/3. However, you will sacrifice privacy, and not have the use of the kitchen for catering. This venue adds the option of a sunset wedding, whereas beach parks close their gates when the sun goes down. An East Hawaii sunset means colors in the sky but no setting sun in your eyes as the sun sinks low on the horizon.<br />
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Our specialty continues to be weddings in the pavilion at Kilauea volcano. If you are planning a small destination wedding, this setting can be yours. The pavilion is perfect for a romantic wedding or civil union if it is just the two of you, or if you are including a few people who matter most. The $2500 cost includes everything, even a 2 night honeymoon stay in the treehouse nearby. For a look at the treehouse, come visit it virtually on Facebook at Hawaii Treehouse. <br />
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What is everything, you may wonder. Flowers and music, cake and a toast. Custom ceremony. Tiki torches if your celebration is late in the day. Candle light. The sacred triton shell is sounded to announce the beginning of your celebration. You will have the use of the chalet on the grounds to dress and relax before the ceremony. You will have fully edited professional photographs to commemorate your ceremony, digitally delivered and easily converted to a photo book or slide show or video. <br />
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The caterers we use can offer you resort quality menus and preparation of the highest caliber.<br />
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If you have friends who need a place to spend the night, the chalet is available. If you would like to spend the night before at the chalet, that too may be arranged. <br />
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Our goal is to give you the wedding of your dreams and desires with no stress, always with an eye on your costs.<br />
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We leave you now with an East Hawaii sunset as illustration of just how glorious they can be.<br />
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Contact information: gail@mahinui.com or by phone 808-238-0633<br />
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Mahalo nui loa ~ thank you so much!<br />
<br />volcano gailhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/16195012303173293592noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5407172127444098698.post-3646574489409284312012-09-17T19:29:00.000-07:002012-09-17T19:29:30.085-07:00Weddings, Wedding Planners, and Costs<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
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Aloha! Today there are three photos of candles on the page. These photos will illustrate how weddings can end up costing less rather than more, and how a wedding planner is invaluable as you put together your wedding.<br />
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At the right is a simple candle in glass. There are bits of fern from our rainforest, called uluhe, tied to the candle with a bit of raffia. The fern fronds shield the candle flame from the eyes, and bring a perky bit of rainforest feel to the candle. As it happens, this candle treatment is a bit work intensive. The fern pieces need to be gathered and trimmed, as in their natural state they are too long and curly to be of much use for this. Then they have to be tied to the candle. Prep time for say 40 candles will be maybe 3 hours. If you add an hourly wage of $15 for someone to put this together, this adds $45 to your wedding costs.<br />
This is not a lot in the grand picture, but as it happens, almost every addition to a wedding carries a cost. It can be mind boggling if you are paying for your wedding a la carte. At Rainforest Weddings, we try not to charge a la carte prices. Instead, we try to work within your budget. <br />
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To the left is another candle treatment. A piece of ribbon is tied in a bow on the same candle. The ribbon can match any color scheme. It can tie into the orchids or other flowers for the wedding, match the bride's sash, be white... This is not nearly as work intensive. Although the cost to the planner is higher for the materials, the time to tie 40 pieces of ribbon to 40 candles is only about an hour. Savings: not $30 as there is a cost for the ribbon. So, $25 or $20. <br />
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Are you thinking, maybe you will do this yourself? On your wedding day? Maybe you have a friend who will do this. Savings: $35 - $40! <br />
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We are not counting the costs of placing the candles, as that will be the same no matter what. Where will they go? If depends on your venue. Perhaps on a railing, like this one. Perhaps defining the edge of a swimming pool, or as part of the table decor.<br />
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At the right is choice number three. The flame is clearly visible here. If the candle glass was frosted, the flame would be hidden. Maybe you like the look of the flame. And, notice how the ribbon color matches the orchid. And there is the uluhe in its natural form. For this treatment the uluhe still must be gathered, and the orchid purchased, and those costs are absorbed at Rainforest Weddings into the standard package. The placement is also absorbed in a standard package. Savings on this treatment is $45.<br />
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The wedding planner ~ where does the wedding planner factor in? Wherever your wedding will take place, there are things to think about. Lighting is one of them. When you rent a venue, you get the house lights. Candles are more romantic. How many candles do you need? Where will they be? Are they going to be an important source of light, or mainly for the mood? And how much do you want to spend on candles?<br />
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At Rainforest Weddings, when we do everything at our own venue, we include candles in the basic package price, with the orchids and ferns included. When we go off site and have to bring everything along, the pricing is different. <br />
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If you were to go online and purchase candles like this, you might end up with votives in glass, and those are different. They will burn out after a couple of hours. Tea lights burn out even faster, and are not good at staying lit. The candles need to be lit before the guests arrive. We use candles with a 9 hour life. Your chances of spending from $7 to $10 per candle are pretty good. That is $280 to $400 for 40 candles. And if you need 80, the costs begin to crescendo. We will not spend your money like that. If you are spending $280 for candles with us, maybe you are getting candles suspended in glass bubbles because in your dream wedding there is that effect. It is costing more because having just sourced glass bubbles the best we can do for the cost of each is $11. And that is without the candle. You probably will not need forty bubbles. But chances are you will need 40 candles, or like one wedding, "a million" candles. We asked for a candle budget, and it was $200. They had a dazzling array. <br />
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Maybe you are wondering what you are paying the wedding planner, and if it is worth it. At Rainforest Weddings, you get a wedding planner, with every package. You can't have a wedding here without the planner. The cost is built in to the package. Elsewhere, you will pay $60 an hour, or perhaps $1500 to start. What you get is a wedding where someone else thinks through every little detail and makes sure everything is as you wish and dream. That someone will look after you like a fairy godmother. And when you walk into your wedding, it will be like magic. <br />
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<br />volcano gailhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/16195012303173293592noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5407172127444098698.post-86821490296817057432012-08-31T14:29:00.002-07:002012-08-31T14:29:34.310-07:00Dreams Come True<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
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Rainforest Weddings began as an idea that it is possible to have a elopement style wedding that has in it such elements of romance that it brings to life dreams of a fairytale wedding. <br />
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It began with the forest itself, emerald green understory of giant ferns, mossy paths, swaying ohia high overhead. We found a high point in the forest, and added a Balinese style pavilion for creating private space and shelter. We had an altar carved with shell ginger flowers, the flowers that grow at the end of the drive onto the grounds. The altar converts to a bar for parties, and serves to add a sense of the sacred to the place that is already heavily imbued with the aura of Pele. This is her sacred forest, and you can feel that as you walk up the mossy path set with beach washed lava stones. <br />
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Fire bowls bring Pele's element right into the pavilion and add warmth to cool afternoons and evenings. Tiki torches illuminate the path. Balinese benches and moss green velvet chenille upholstered chairs provide seating. <br />
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Island flowers such as the ones pictured to the left flank the pavilion entry. The flowers that greet you there always depend on what is in season. An ultra large arrangement of island flowers adorns the altar, usually a mix of anthurium, ginger, heliconia, fern, orchids, maybe bird of paradise, tuberose - again, the flowers of the season. <br />
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Clusters of candles sit amidst greens from the forest upon the railings. A crystal and sea glass chandelier hangs overhead. When you look out into the forest, you overlook the mid canopy of tree ferns due to the elevation of the pavilion. In summer and fall, you will find the fragrance of ginger and tufts of bright yellow flowers. Orchids planted in the ohia and hapu'u re-bloom year round. <br />
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And this is just the setting. It is also just one setting, one venue, you may choose from for your remarkable island wedding. If a beachfront wedding is what you have in mind, there are some locations that are far more spectacular and more private than others.<br />
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If you bring us your dream, it is with the same sense of place and beauty and respect we brought to our forest, to Pele's forest, that we will help you make that dream happen on this island. <br />
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Aloha!<br />
<br />volcano gailhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/16195012303173293592noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5407172127444098698.post-77493116911012537532012-08-22T17:00:00.001-07:002012-08-23T22:23:38.734-07:00Planning a Hawaii Island Wedding?<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
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Aloha. Welcome to our beautiful island. Today you visit virtually, and if you are thinking about a Hawaii Island wedding, you will be here for real soon enough.<br />
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The Buddha face to the left represents the serenity we try to create for you as a wedding experience. We have performed ceremonies and put together wedding packages both including our venue or others for many couples, in all seasons. There are probably hundreds of purveyors of Hawaii weddings, and hundreds more vendors who provide the myriad parts that go into a wedding. <br />
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What are those parts? The most basic piece is the venue. Many people want a beach wedding. There are beaches here, some of them white and pristine and remote, some black and oft visited by tour buses, one green, some golden. All Hawaiian beaches are public. The rules as to the use of the beach for weddings are such that many celebrants who have no venue to offer in particular will not do a beach wedding. You may have seen photos of beautiful arches decorated with flowing silks and draped with orchids. Those cannot go on the sand in Hawaii. It's a rule. So if you want a wedding with an arch, what do you do? You will need to pay for a venue. You may be thinking, wait, I have been to countless Hawaiian beaches and there are those pop-up pavilions all over the place. I have seen Beach parks with wall to wall canopies where tarps are tied to poles, and you say I cannot have a beautiful arch? It is not me who says that, but Hawaii. You can have your beautiful arch on the lawn, and if you look closely, you will see those canopies are on the lawn too. At private venues.<br />
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The very best way to have a beach wedding in Hawaii is to rent a house on the beach. Our favorite beachfront location will run you $10,000 all inclusive, with the use of the house for three nights. This includes your wedding dinner served to you ocean front or food served party style for up to 30 guests. And your cake. And your photography. If you can afford a $10,000 wedding, and you want it in the sun, at the beach, in Hawaii, this is an elegant and happy choice. And if your have more than 30 guests, this venue can be used for up to 50. <br />
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There are open air parks in Hawaii, and for celebrations in the out of doors on this island, there are tent rentals. When you bring a tent to a wedding, you will be wanting to decorate those poles and probably drape the interior ceiling part. To get it looking spectacular will require two people working a full half day each, at minimum, and that is after they bring in the greenery and flowers and drapes. You may be thinking, why would I need a tent in Hawaii? The answer is that it can rain anywhere, any time. If you choose a dry side wedding in the summer or fall, your chances of not needing shelter from rain are better. But then it is hot, and your guests will like shade. For any outdoor wedding in Hawaii, a tent is a good investment. If you find a house to rent on the island for your party with an open air pavilion, you will not need the tent. Count on spending $1000 or more for a tent rental, delivery etc and decor to dress it up. <br />
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There are beach pavilions in Hawaii you can reserve. The cost is very slight. However, these pavilions have tables bolted down inside so you do not have floor space underneath, but tables. This works nicely for having a sit down meal, but is not conducive to a wedding where people are watching the event. Mostly these pavilions are used for birthday parties.<br />
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There are non-beachfront rental houses on the island that have grounds and sometimes covered spaces amenable to weddings. The typical way these places do business is they have a fee for the use of the grounds for the wedding. That fee may be $1000 or $4000 or $8500. It is important to consider what you may have to bring in if the rental house is not fully equipped for an outdoor wedding. There should be shelter for the wedding party in event of rain, shade from intense sun. If not, shelter will need to be brought in. This can amp up the price considerably - figure $1000 for a tent with decor. You will not want naked poles and a pop-up style ceiling, but soft drapes and flowers. <br />
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There is a lovely bed and breakfast on the Hamakua coast, on the east side of the island, that offers a wedding option. When you open the page and see how the pricing structure is, they break down each part of the venue and charge a fee. So it costs $250 to dress inside and have the bride come down the staircase. There is a separate charge for use of the grounds, with a per person charge of $50 added onto that, and in fact there are 3 separate site fees, all necessary to have the wedding. The fees each go up with additional people, and the bride and groom must be guests of the facility. To have the place to yourselves, all 8 rooms must be reserved, at a cost of $5800. This is one of the prettiest locations on the island, and the cost of having a private wedding there tops $10,000 for a party of 16 without any decor, lei, food, drink, or taxes. And they also have an hourly charge to talk to them. <br />
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There are also wedding services at nearly all the hotels. It is the nature of hotels that their grounds are public. This means that people will stroll by, and may stop and watch. And talk. Many hotels have private residences on site that may be reserved for weddings or simply for privacy. Count on paying $5000 a night on up for these, usually with a seven night minimum. <br />
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Welcome to our wedding pavilion.<br />
Here you have shelter from rain and sun, a hardwood floor, a carved altar. We do not demand that anyone be our overnight guests, although most couples opt for a treehouse honeymoon. There is a house on the grounds, and not only do we include its use for the day in our standard fee, we make it available for guests of the bride and groom to spend the night. <br />
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The orchids you see flanking the entry are part of the decor, included in our pricing. If you look closely behind the orchids on the left, you can see the sumptuous tropical bouquet gracing the altar. No additional charge. And outside the pavilion, everywhere you look are giant tree ferns and tall swaying ohia trees. The path to the pavilion is lit by tiki torches, lined with anthurium and orchids. There will be seasonal orchids at the entrance for your wedding. After your ceremony, they will be planted in the tree ferns along the path - the hapu'u. Should you return for an anniversary stay at the chalet on the grounds, you may revisit your wedding flowers, perhaps in bloom again. <br />
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We love doing weddings, and will find a way for you to have the wedding of your dearest delight on our island. We will do what we can to help you stay in budget. Our prices include our conversations, and all the planning needed. $2500. That is for an intimate wedding in the pavilion with live music, the sounding of the triton shell, on site photography, lei, cake, use of the house on site before the wedding and after for guests as well, and a two night treehouse stay for the bride and groom. We are on top of the volcano, with rainforest all around. Private. Emerald green forest, birdsong, orchids in the trees. It is magical. Clearly we will go elsewhere, but elsewhere there are significant additional costs. <br />
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<i>as always, prices shown are subject to change. These are prices in effect as of this writing August 2012</i><br />
<i>mahalo!</i>volcano gailhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/16195012303173293592noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5407172127444098698.post-58550956335778579042012-06-09T15:30:00.000-07:002012-06-09T17:45:53.669-07:00Pavilion & Big Island Oceanside Weddings with Price List<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
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Aloha and welcome to Rainforest Weddings. Our specialty is intimate small scale weddings at either our own venue, the rainforest pavilion, or at certain island locations such as not-so-public beaches or oceanside outdoor sites. <br />
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The photo at the left shows the last part of the natural path through the forest into the pavilion. The beach washed lava forms shallow steps. As you enter the pavilion, you walk between a Sugi pine and a hapu'u tree fern. A bromeliad grows at the foot of the hapu'u. Tiki torches help light the path. Moss forms a soft carpet along the perimeter of the path.<br />
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Beyond the pavilion, the views are out into the forest of kahili ginger, hapu'u, Sugi pines, ohia trees, orchids and other epiphytes and bromeliads. The chalet on the grounds is hidden from view by the forest.<br />
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The photo at the right shows the carved altar and wedding altar piece of heliconia, ginger, anthurium and orchids, as you walk up the stairs into the pavilion, between a display of living orchids.<br />
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During a wedding, candles burn on the altar. There is island music. <br />
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A vintage chandelier reworked with glass and crystal beads and copper wire wrapped sea glass provides lighting at the right side of the pavilion.<br />
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Carved Balinese benches provide seating. <br />
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Firebowls stand in the corners to provide ambience and warmth in the cool evenings. The fire is a tiny echo of the burning lava of the volcano Kilauea, upon which we are situated. The caldera itself is about ten minutes drive from this site, and readily visited after dark when the glow of the lava rising and falling within can be seen. <br />
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Below is price list. Your wedding may be customized from the a la carte price list, or you may select a package already designed and specially priced. <br />
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Rainforest Weddings Packages and Prices</div>
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The pricing below is current for calendar year 2012. Any reservations completed in calendar year 2012 for calendar year 2013 will be at this same price level. Future reservation prices, for reservations completed in calendar 2013 and beyond are subject to change. For a full description of services and amenities, please refer to our website www.mahinui.com and to our Facebook page Rainforest Weddings for additional information and photographs. Please call or email with any questions.</div>
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Packages<span style="font: normal normal normal 14px/normal Papyrus;">:</span></div>
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Zen: day time wedding, vow renewal, civil union celebration. Includes: pavilion site, island music, sounding of the triton shell, decor, custom ceremony, licensed officiant, lei, cake, bubbly toast, certificate, on site photography, use of adjacent house for dressing etc, timeline coordination, three night honeymoon stay in either chalet on grounds or off site treehouse. . . . $2500</div>
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Zen without honeymoon stay . . . $2000</div>
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Rainforest aloha: day or evening wedding, vow renewal, civil union celebration. Includes: pavilion site, island music with guitar player, sounding of the triton shell, decor, tiki torch path lighting, candle light blessing circle, fire bowls, custom ceremony, licensed officiant, lei, cake, bubbly toast, certificate, on site photography, use of adjacent house for dressing etc, timeline coordination, three night honeymoon stay in either chalet on grounds or off site treehouse. . . . $2900</div>
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Rainforest aloha without honeymoon stay . . . $2400</div>
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Rainforest aloha plus 12 - 16 living orchids freshly interplanted along path . . . $3500</div>
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Rainforest aloha plus intimate meal in pavilion with live music … $3500 for 2, $3700 for 4 … $4000 for 6, $4300 for 8</div>
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Off site ceremony (beach or park) includes celebrant, certificate, custom ceremony, flowers, musician, photography at celebration, site coordination, permit facilitation … $2500 add 3 night honeymoon at treehouse or chalet … $3200</div>
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**all package prices are inclusive of clean up</div>
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Photographic excursions<span style="font: normal normal normal 14px/normal Papyrus;">: </span></div>
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half day Hilo area, morning with waterfalls, beaches, gardens, lagoons … $850</div>
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half day Hawaii Volcanoes National Park, Black Sand Beach, heiau and environs … $850</div>
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half day into sunset either of the above ... $1000</div>
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half day Waipio Valley or Kohala Coast beaches & countryside, meet at Waipio overlook … $1000 </div>
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full day west Hawaii park and beach excursion with sunset … $1600</div>
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A la carte pricing, pavilion site<span style="font: normal normal normal 14px/normal Papyrus;">:</span></div>
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facility use for up to 12 people, includes use of house and pavilion for up to 4 hours . . . $750 </div>
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*please note number 12 includes all using site </div>
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additional hours . . . $150 per hour</div>
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clean up post ceremony . . . $300 </div>
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use of house and grounds inclusive of pavilion from 4 pm day prior to celebration until 10 pm night of celebration, with facility use for 12 people, including clean up: . . . $1200</div>
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standard decor, includes altar flowers and plate rail flowers . . . $300</div>
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add celebrant at pavilion site and custom ceremony …$400</div>
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on site photography … $850 </div>
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Full living orchid decor along path . . . $800</div>
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Blessing circle with candles, orchids, ferns, liko, etc: … $400</div>
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triton shell sounding with lei … $250 </div>
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guitar player … $250</div>
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lei for celebrant, wedding party of 2 … $100 .. add $12 for each guest</div>
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tiki torch path lighting … $200</div>
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three night honeymoon at chalet or treehouse … $800</div>
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intimate catered candle light meal for two at pavilion … $750 for four… $1000 <br />
for six … $1500 for eight… $2000</div>
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wedding planning services … $1500 and up</div>
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other specialty items, such as custom wedding cakes, bridal bouquets, limousine service: inquire for pricing</div>
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The purpose of our package pricing is to facilitate a stress free wedding experience for all involved. The use of our pavilion allows your ceremony to go forward regardless of the weather, in a totally private setting, The pavilion provides shelter and enclosure without a sense of separation from the out doors. It is our goal to provide a romantic Hawaii Island alternative to a justice of the peace or indoor wedding chapel style experience. Our packages include almost everything broken out in the a la carte pricing if the ceremony is held in our pavilion at Kilauea Volcano on the Big Island. We also provide off site ceremonies including beach weddings. </div>
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The three night honeymoon as shown a la carte includes flowers, breakfast food and treats, turn down service, all cleaning fees. Both the treehouse and chalet are situated in a private forest, with lanai hot tubs, top quality beds and linens, less than five minutes from the entrance to Hawaii Volcanoes National Park. Both have kitchens, outdoor showers, and views out into the forest canopy.</div>
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Availability: currently there are openings as early as late July for a pavilion wedding and chalet stay and third weekend in August for pavilion wedding and treehouse stay. Four to five months out is generally sufficient to find open dates to fit a somewhat flexible time frame. For specific dates, over six months ahead is recommended. </div>
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We may be reached as follows:</div>
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land line 808-238-0633</div>
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cell phone 510-965-7367 </div>
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email gail@mahinui.com</div>
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website www.mahinui.com</div>
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<br />volcano gailhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/16195012303173293592noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5407172127444098698.post-1855198874600437522012-06-05T16:45:00.000-07:002012-06-05T16:45:20.897-07:00Hawaiian Rainforest Elopement<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
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Although we happily perform weddings and civil unions all over the island, our rainforest pavilion is at the center of our imagination. It gives us the versatility to offer a romantic experience that derives from the place itself, this ultra green forest on top of Kilauea Volcano. <br />
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This is Sara and Jason. Sara's favorite flowers are hibiscus. The hibiscus flower is so delicate it begins to wilt almost as soon as it is picked. Up in the rainforest, there is enough moisture in the air that the flower holds up a bit longer. We collected the flowers on the woody stems in the morning, and they retained enough hardiness to stand up in the blessing circle for the wedding, and to adorn the plate rail for the celebratory wedding supper. <br />
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Sara wished for a brilliant pink in her lei, to do with her pink sash. The pink in the lei is pink ginger petals, braided with ti leaves. Jason's lei is the traditional maile, a fragrant vine. <br />
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The guitar player is William Jaiva. William plays for us and he plays along with the best of the best island musicians in recording sessions and big events. We are so lucky he enjoys being a part of the rainforest wedding celebrations. He plays Hawaiian music and sings. Some of what he does is all Hawaiian mele, some in English so you can appreciate the lyrics if you do not know the Hawaiian. <br />
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Jason and Sara chose a private wedding feast with tiki drinks to complete their wedding celebration. The sea glass chandelier is our newest addition to the pavilion. It is an old crystal chandelier reworked with copper wrapped sea glass and an assortment of glass and stone beads. The lights can be made bright or dimmed down to candlelight level.<br />
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The wedding couple arrived late after a long flight, and settled into the chalet on the pavilion grounds for the night. The next day they had a leisurely visit to waterfalls, and came back for their late day wedding. After their romantic supper, a treehouse honeymoon. The first day of their married life starts with a transit of Venus. <br />
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If you are not familiar with Hawaiian music, there is a lot on YouTube. Some Hawaiian families like the Beamer ohana, the Kahumoku ohana, Cyril Pahinui and friends and family have brought Hawaiian music to a level where you do not have to show up here to hear it. Thanks to YouTube and the internet generally this culture is at your fingertips. Listen if you have a moment, and be transported to our world. Here's Darlene Ahuna with Akaka Falls. http://youtu.be/WCoXbcSfhwg mood music to be certain, and views of our beautiful east Hawaii falls.<br />
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Aloha!volcano gailhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/16195012303173293592noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5407172127444098698.post-41128947459815738702012-02-28T12:26:00.001-08:002012-02-28T12:26:40.272-08:00Hawaii Beach Wedding<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiZLZ8d4vdlJuT5fOkj2CdiRU5QYZEgrJmTJEjddxfklVJX3ufumGdnHNyoWgzVAmzrZmEeA1Y1rOhrzbKWpvWcC0x2KvMAAmUw_hBhgxCCtyW4mzws-JLhyphenhyphenCmZPSOAN7TM28n6fl9x5WdS/s1600/69+trees.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="400" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiZLZ8d4vdlJuT5fOkj2CdiRU5QYZEgrJmTJEjddxfklVJX3ufumGdnHNyoWgzVAmzrZmEeA1Y1rOhrzbKWpvWcC0x2KvMAAmUw_hBhgxCCtyW4mzws-JLhyphenhyphenCmZPSOAN7TM28n6fl9x5WdS/s400/69+trees.jpg" width="238" /></a></div>
The Hawaii Beach wedding is such a popular idea that you would think it would be super easy to arrange. And in many ways it is. You do an internet search and up pop a plethora of possibilities. <br />
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When you look closer, you may notice some of these details:<br />
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You cannot put up an arch or canopy at the beach in Hawaii. When you see an arch in the photo, that is on grass, near a beach, sometimes on private property. There is no beach ownership of property, hence no private beach. <br />
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So since all beach access is public, there is no private beachfront wedding site, other than a private home with beachfront access directly adjacent. <br />
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If you long for a sand between the toes Hawaii wedding with maybe no one wandering right through your ceremony, there are a couple of spots we like. One is pictured right here. These Keawe trees form multiple corridors between a walking path and the water. The beach is fairly narrow, and the trees lie right down on the sand. There are more open areas at either end of this stretch, but right here, for a significant length of beach, the trees form almost outdoor rooms. <br />
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We also like this for the photo possibilities. This is a difficult back lit shot, where the sky is gone white on a sunny day so the texture of the trees shows. We see a billowy chiffon wedding dress, colorful aloha shirt. We see a path of orchids and plumeria. We see candles in glass surrounded by orchids balanced along the branches, tied in raffia streamers from some of the overhanding boughs. We see tree branch climbing in full wedding regalia. And we see no one else in the picture. That is partly because of the way the trees cordon off sections of sand. That is partly because this beach is just enough off the beaten path that it is possible to claim a spot and secure some privacy. Not 100% privacy, but enough for a lovely ceremony and lots of fun photos. Plus the snorkeling is phenomenal. <br />
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We can set this up with table and chairs, quilts and pillows, cake and champagne. It can become an opulent arrangement for a day or an evening. We can bring in candles in hurricane glass and tiki drinks. A caterer. The picnic of your wedding dreams, complete with white tablecloth and sunset, guitar player and a long linger in the twilight into evening on a beach now deserted but for you.volcano gailhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/16195012303173293592noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5407172127444098698.post-44324019728695821302012-02-27T12:47:00.001-08:002012-02-27T12:47:26.680-08:00Night Magic and Music<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjsQP7Hy1C5A9_GlB6cvnTY7iEh9LEG03GdmPioYU6NhynbgtFoBXuPhRZjfZBbmqXJh7bKXN8aDde9F0Q21AoLj34WPiei68-4uZiYwrmnF3dKwgE_e_np5YIBcSMmufMog-5pu1k_oNn9/s1600/winter+wedding.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: right; float: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: 1em;"><img border="0" height="300" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjsQP7Hy1C5A9_GlB6cvnTY7iEh9LEG03GdmPioYU6NhynbgtFoBXuPhRZjfZBbmqXJh7bKXN8aDde9F0Q21AoLj34WPiei68-4uZiYwrmnF3dKwgE_e_np5YIBcSMmufMog-5pu1k_oNn9/s400/winter+wedding.jpg" width="400" /></a></div>
The winter palette is soft and subdued, with muted colors and firelight warmth. In the forest on top of the volcano, the beauty of winter is evident year round, especially as night falls and the emerald greens of the surrounding forest fade with the forest filtered light. Unlike winter weather on other mountaintops, what chill may be in the air may be staved off with fire bowls and candle light, so the wedding party may go on barefoot with aloha attire. When it is over, the winding curvy path down from the pavilion is illuminated with tiki torches. <br />
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Here the ceremony has just concluded. Outside a thunderstorm is sparkling up the night and rain is streaming down. The open sides of the pavilion allow the couple to experience the storm from this romantic vantage point. Loud storms happen once in awhile on top of the mountain, most often in winter. The thunder will sound and lightning flash and between nature's symphonic percussion the music of the wedding plays the story of the lovers who happily unite within the passionate soundings of the storm. <br />
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When planning a wedding in Hawaii, embracing the weather is a significant part of the experience. If you are seeking pure sunshine, you are best with a west island destination. For the drama of winter weather, our rainforest pavilion lets you be right there and stay dry and warm. The surrounding forest is red flowered ohia trees, cedars, and Sugi pines. There are also giant tree ferns, flowering orchids, and anthurium. It is lovely to walk up through the forest while it is still daylight. Night falls quickly, so the procession amidst the ferns can happen in the fading light, and the candlelight in the pavilion will already be prominent as the couple enter. This same effect may be achieved any time of the year, and in summer months, the perfume of the night flowers adds that extra dimension to the experience.volcano gailhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/16195012303173293592noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5407172127444098698.post-83696265475204432602012-02-04T14:20:00.000-08:002012-02-04T14:20:47.979-08:00Sand as white as snow<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEh5vQNQd0CQC2Kg6bApqPnItm5yuIEpES2HoGXwAcSH8qhRHikAuGq3f33UryB_iRyNB5bqQfmabgsdQpdSHDJKJtQkaBiODzf2Wm8Myjn-pbhA5N_UcQ3Sq9-qmwoTy7czwDQyuYninWpl/s1600/makalawena+magic.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="300" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEh5vQNQd0CQC2Kg6bApqPnItm5yuIEpES2HoGXwAcSH8qhRHikAuGq3f33UryB_iRyNB5bqQfmabgsdQpdSHDJKJtQkaBiODzf2Wm8Myjn-pbhA5N_UcQ3Sq9-qmwoTy7czwDQyuYninWpl/s400/makalawena+magic.jpg" width="400" /></a></div>
Who has never had a deserted island fantasy? Imagine yourself on this beach. The sand so white, the sunlight a mellow 85 degrees. The only footprints are yours. <br />
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This is a beach in Hawaii that is on the Big Island. You can drive in with four wheel drive, if your vehicle is high enough to manage the deep deep ruts and you are willing to take the time to creep along. You can hike in, with whatever you can carry. Or, what about a helicopter drop? This is where it can become one of life's ultimate adventures ... <br />
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Here is how it could work. You are visiting Hawaii. Your amazing life partner is with you. You are moved to do something to honor this person. What about a helicopter tour over the active volcano, then touch down here? You have with you a picnic lunch prepared to match your palates. Perhaps something like this: Tiny island greens, a cold bottle of wine. Opakpaka prepared with wasabi and flying fish eggs. Quinoa with Hamakua mushrooms sautéed lightly in a sherry sauce. A desert of dried starfruit dipped in Hawaiian chocolate.<br />
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You bring this along in a basket with a lounging cloth for the beach, and a couple of folding chairs, cloth napkins, bottled water and calamansi. <br />
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You are the only two people on this beach. The helicopter will return in 3 hours. Meanwhile, leave behind all the constraints of civilization and let yourself become as a Hawaiian of days so far gone by ... and there can even be music. <br />
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We can arrange this ... are you ready?volcano gailhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/16195012303173293592noreply@blogger.com0