Wedding Planning: Invitations, Favors etc

So much to do and only 4 days left!  Can't believe the big day has come so fast! 
We knew since we started planning the wedding that we wanted to do boarding pass invitations.  I was actually planning to get them done on Etsy, thinking it would be much cheaper.  But we decided just to do a consultation with Something Blue Hawaii, just to get a price quote  They specialize in custom invitations, and I had heard a lot of good things on Yelp and through The Wedding Cafe workshops.  We worked with Carol who was really friendly and very helpful.  We had a custom logo that we wanted to include on the invitations which was easy for her to incorporate.  They were surprisingly very affordable so we ended up purchasing our invitations through them instead of Etsy.  She gave us an initial quote, averaging about $4.50 an invitation (including printed return addresses on the envelope.)  After paying a deposit (50%), we communicated through email, tweaking the design, placement and colors on the invitation.  After everything was finalized they were printed and ready to pick up.  I didn't realize until after we had picked up the printed invites that there had been a mistake on them.  It had actually been wrong on the invitation the whole time, and neither of us had noticed the mistake.  I contacted her right away and she was very understanding and apologetic.  She even reprinted the corrected invitations free of charge.

We also did our favor boxes though them as well.  We did plain mini suitcases which were 60 cents each.  We got custom stickers from Zazzle which were surprisingly affordable.  We paid $23 for 100 stickers plush shipping which was pretty quick too.  I was very impressed with the quality and would definitely order from them again.  We stuffed the favor boxes with Haribo Saft gummy bears.  We discovered this on our trip to Europe 2 years ago and fell in love with them, so we wanted to share them with our guests.  I bought them in bulk on Amazon, about 12 pounds worth which was more than enough for 100 favors (we still have one unopened bag left.)  We measured about 1.5oz or 1/4 cup per bag.  But I think we could've filled them a little more considering we had a whole bag left. 
I finally picked up my dress from Bijou Bridal on Sunday.  It didn't need much alterations, just a hem and a bustle.  We also had her do a sweetheart neckline which turned out great.  I would highly recommend this place!  Everyone here was so nice, and I love my dress!
I also had my hair and makeup trial done on Sunday.  I decided to have my hair up in a messy bun, and a neutral smokey eye for the makeup.  Both turned out amazing so I'm really excited for Saturday.  The only downside is we have to get it done really early in the morning, but the ceremony is in the morning so I hope it will hold up throughout the day
We bought our centerpieces as well.  We decided on potted herbs for the centerpieces because we wanted something practical.  We went to Lowes yesterday and bought a bunch of different herbs, as well as some ceramic pots to put them in.  We just have to transfer the plants to the pots and decorate them.

Speaking of decorations, we finally finished stringing all of our paper cranes.  It's tradition in Hawaii for the bride to fold 1000 cranes for her wedding.  It took us about a month to fold them and 2 full days to hang them.  We are not quite sure how we are going to put them up at the venue yet, but we are planning to donate them to the Peace Park in Hiroshima, which gives us another excuse to return to Japan. 
For the music, we are just using a playlist on her ipod.  We are still undecided which songs to use for the ceremony.  I had originally decided on River Flows in You by Yiruma, but we are also thinking of To Zanarkand from FFX or Tifas Theme from FFVII.  Still undecided, but we only have 4 days left to figure out all the last minute details.  Can't believe it's come so fast and we leave for Peru in just over a week from today! 

Wedding Planning Update: Flowers, Cake, Invitations

So I just thought I'd do a small update on my wedding planning so far. We have made some progress lately.  Already have a cake and flower vendor, and someone to do our invitations.
And even better news, my dress came in!  I went to try it on a few days ago and it fits SO nicely!  I was actually really surprised that it fit so well.  I don't think I will need to have much done for the alterations.  After wearing it for a second time and having it fit so well, I fell in love with it even more!  I wish I had a good picture to show, but the one my sister took from her phone was really blurry.  The dress actually has a corset inside, which I didn't notice the first time I tried it on because it was so big.  The woman there said it was good for me because I'm so petite.  I will probably go back to do an actual fitting sometime in March. 
We chose A Cake Life to do our cake.  We found them through The Wedding Cafe's Wednesday Night Workshop.  Kristen had contacted us through email after attending the workshop, and we scheduled a cake tasting with her.  The cake tasting cost $25 which we paid through paypal, and we got to try 6 different flavors.  She brought a selection of their most popular cakes, and we discussed our design and how the whole ordering process works.  All of the cakes were delicious and very moist!  We ordered 72 cupcakes (3 different flavors) and 1 round cake for the top of the display. Kristen has been really patient with us and it's very easy to communicate with her.  I'm really looking forward to seeing how our travel-themed cake will look.
For our flowers, we actually contacted someone we knew from high school.  Candi's Flowers is a business Alanas friend owns.  She has done flowers for many friends weddings and her prices are very reasonable.  I'm not a huge fan of flowers so I know I didn't want to spend that much.  We just ordered flower bouquets for us and the bridesmaids, a flower piece we could put on the arch (which she is also providing) and boutonnieres for the fathers.  We really didn't know where to start with the flowers so she was really helpful!  We've also paid the deposit with her, and I can't wait to see how they turn out!
Our wedding venue, Queen Emma Summer Palace requires us to have valet parking with 50 or more guests.  We also found Prestige Valet  though the Wedding Cafe.  I got a quick reply through email with a quote for the event.  I also attempted to contact Elite Parking who said they would email me back as they were working on the rates for 2013.  I still haven't heard from them, so we just went with Prestige Valet.  I thought it was a little weird that we didn't have to sign a contract.  We just paid a deposit to secure the date.  They also had great communication from the start and were really easy to work with.
I'm excited to see how everything will turn out!  It's actually turning out to be much more stressful than I thought it would be, but I'm glad to be making some progress.  5 more months to go!
 

Dreaming of...Peru?

So this idea all started about a month and a half ago.  I was on my lunch break at work and saw a blog post linked on Facebook about hiking the Inca Trail.  I really wish I could find the blog, because it was really well written, but I can't seem to be able to find the link again.  Anyway, we had been debating for quite a while as to where we should go for our "honeymoon", and we were pretty set on going back to Europe.  However, after reading this blog, I was inspired to do something different.  I've always wanted to see Machu Picchu, and since we've already been to Europe I thought going to Peru would be a nice change of pace.
We had been looking at airfare for the last month or so trying to set a date to go.  I was debating for a long time whether I should use my miles or just pay full price for the round-trip ticket.  Luckily the ticket prices have slowly been dropping the past month, and the price just dropped $250 yesterday so we took a big leap of faith, and bought our tickets!  We leave May 9, 2013 for 18 days in Peru!  I'm excited, but scared at the same time.  If anyone has been to Peru or hiked the Inca Trail before, please let me know if you have any advice!
We still have to book our flight from Lima to Cuzco, as well as out 4 day trek to Machu Picchu.  We are probably going to go with Peru Treks after hearing a lot of good recommendations from different blogs, and on Tripadvisor.  I will update on how the booking process goes, as well as how we will be training for the hike. 
As far as the actual wedding planning goes, we have secured a flower, invitation and cake vendor and well as the valet parking that is required at our venue.  My wedding dress should also be coming in sometime in December, so I'm really excited for that!  It's really nice to see things finally coming together.  I can't believe we only have 6 more months! 

Engagement Photos

Yay!  We finally got our engagement photos in!  I was so excited when we got the CD in the mail.  Our photographer Shannon Sasaki was amazing and did such an awesome job!
We took our engagement photos at Hawaii Loa Ridge a few weeks ago.  We were both pretty nervous before the shoot and didn't know what to expect.  She did a great job making us feel comfortable and we actually had a lot of fun.  The photos were uploaded for us to view online by the next day.  After choosing which photos to edit we got the pictures on a disc a few weeks later. 
The pictures turned out amazing, and the best part was they were free!  They were actually included in the 6 hour package we purchased, so it was a really good deal.  I highly recommend her!  I can't wait until she does our wedding!

September Update: In Photos

Avington Coffee Table from Target

Our brand new Avington coffee table from Target!  Bought after a crazy drive, getting lost in Kapolei one night.  We actually intended to get a coffee table over a year ago, after we moved into our new place, so it was was about time.  It was really easy to assemble, and great quality.  It was about $140, but it's very nice and made from real wood. 

 One day a couple of months back, I saw a puzzle while shopping at Barnes and Nobel.  It was a scene from a town in Cinque Terre, Italy, and it immediately brought me back to last spring when we were there.  Although I've never done a 2000 piece puzzle before, I knew I had to buy it. Another reason we bought the coffee table was so we could do the puzzle on it, but as you can see, the puzzle is clearly too big, so we had to move it to the floor. 

 The above picture is after our first night of working on the puzzle.  It took about 4 1/2 hours to get this far. 

And this is the most recent shot, from a couple days ago.  It's been about 2 weeks since we've been working on it, and I've lost count of how many hours we've put into it.  We are planning to frame it after it's done, but I think that in itself will be a big challenge. 

Awesome lemon raspberry muffins!!  Made from a recipe I found on Pinterest made with whole wheat flour: http://www.faithfitnessfun.com/8420/healthy-muffin-recipe/
I'm thinking about doing a few blog posts reviewing recipes I've tried on Pinterest.  I've tried several others that have come out amazing, and they've become staple dinners in our house :)

Kainoa getting ready for a trip to the store!  We took him out to Petco last week.  I don't know if he enjoyed it too much, because he seemed more scared than anything, but he definitely enjoyed the car ride!

As far as wedding planning goes, we met with our florist last week.  We had a consultation with her, and hopefully will get an estimate by the end of the week.  We had out engagement photos done yesterday!  We had our engagement session at Hawaii Loa Ridge, and it was so much fun!  Our photographer Shannon Sasaki was amazing!  Even though we were both nervous at first, she was super easy to work with and so much fun!  We had a great time and I can't wait to see the pictures!
Work has been crazy lately.  I finished my training, and have been on my own for the past week.  Even though it's been super busy and stressful, I do like my job, and I'm learning a lot. 
Hope everyone is doing well!  Sorry for the lack of posts...my life lately has consisted of work and puzzle time.  Btw isn't it crazy that it's almost October??  I can't believe how fast this year is going!

The Hunt For The Prefect Dress: Bijou Bridal

I first found out about Bijou Bridal a couple of weeks ago on Wedding Wire.  I was looking at different bridal salons in Honolulu and came across this one, which had just opened.  It was brand new (opened just a month or two ago) and I only saw one review on Yelp, which was 5 stars.  I decided to give this place a try, so I called to schedule an appointment for Saturday at 11:30.  Unlike Davids Bridal, I had no problem contacting them, and they were very friendly on the phone.
I arrived a few minutes late for my appointment, and we were greeted by a couple of ladies at the reception desk who were very friendly and energetic.  My consultant was Brenda and she was really nice.  She asked what kind of style we were looking for, what our budget was, and let us look through the racks to see if anything caught our eye.  We actually pulled 7 dresses to try on and she got me started in a fitting room.  The first dress I tried on was one I saw an a mannequin in the front of the store.  As soon as I saw it I knew I had to try it on, and I loved it!  Since it was the first dress I tried on, we went through the other 6 dresses but I didn't find anything I liked better than the first one.  A couple I really loved, but once I tried on the 1st one on again, I knew it was the prefect dress.  My mom and sister also loved the first dress too, so even better!
The customer service was great.  Brenda was really knowledgeable about the dresses, and gave a lot of helpful suggestions.  She wasn't pushy at all, and helped me find a great dress.  The showroom is actually pretty big, and I like that they allow customers to browse the racks freely.  We were the only people in the store, so everyone was attentive, but not overbearing.  As you can see in the pictures, the mirrors were huge and allowed you to see the dress really well.  The dressing rooms were also quite spacious.  They had a good selection of designers, but the dresses are definitely more expensive, compared to Davids Bridal.  I'm not sure what the range was, but the dress I chose was $1500.  They had a 10% off opening sale going on (until August 12), so I saved $150!  They didn't seem to have a huge selection of bridesmaids dresses (only one rack), but if you purchase a dress with them, you get 15% off bridesmaids dresses too. They are located in Honolulu, around Kakaako (600 Queen Street) right near the Bridal Boutique.  There is free parking in the building and appointments are recommended.
Overall, I had a great experience here!  I highly recommend this place!  I will make an update when the dress comes in.
Here are a couple of the dresses I tried on.  The one I chose is the last one:

David Tutera for Mon Cheri Solange #112209

The Hunt For The Prefect Dress: Davids Bridal

So the first place I visited on my search for the perfect dress was Davids Bridal.  I was a little hesitant after reading the horrible reviews on Yelp, but it's the only place open late on weeknights, so my mom and I went there on Friday night.  When I called to make an appointment a couple days earlier, I was put on hold for 10 minutes (wtf) so I just hung up and called back later.  They sounded a little busy and the second time I called I left a message with one of the associates who said she would give me a call back to see what they had available.  Eventually, I was able to get a 6:30 appointment on Friday.
Fast forward to Friday at around 6:00.  We got there pretty early and checked in with the woman at the reception desk.  She was very friendly and explained about discounts and perks you get with purchasing at Davids Bridal.  Our consultant was finishing with another customer so she told us we could look around until she was done.  I was actually really nervous to try on dresses, and I didn't really know what to expect.  It was a little overwhelming at first because it was my first time.  My consultant’s name was Maria, and she was pretty good.  She was very friendly and knowledgeable.  Since I had a favorites list saved on Davids Bridal online, she pulled a few from my favorites list and we worked from there.  I think I tried a total of 7 or 8 dresses, which was a little too much, in my opinion.  I thought a lot of them looked good on the hanger but not so much on myself.  I only found a couple that I really liked, but none that I loved.  A lot of the dresses has things I really liked and disliked.  I walked out empty handed, but overall had a good experience.  I had a pretty good consultant, and she wasn't too pushy (it's obvious that these girls work on commission) so that was nice.  I didn’t find any of the associates to be rude, like I had read on Yelp.  But I guess it really helps when you have an appointment.  They weren’t busy either, so maybe that’s why I had such a good experience.
I am going to the Bridal Boutique and Bijou Bridal next weekend, so hopefully I will find my dress soon.  I can’t believe it’s only 9 more months!

Davids Bridal Collection Style WG3477

Oleg Cassini Style CRL277

Davids Bridal Collection Style WG3263

Wedding Planning: Our Photographer

We actually started our search for a photographer several months ago.  We wanted to start early so we could do our research and make sure we could book our wedding date.  We did a LOT of research, reading reviews and looking at portfolios, and eventually narrowed it down to three choices:
Alvarado Photography
Pinky Photography
Shannon Sasaki Photography
As far as our budget, I was willing to spend a little more on photos, especially since we chose not to have a videographer.  We set our budget at around $2,000-$2,500, (for 5-6 hours) which is actually on the cheaper side for wedding photography.  We were also looking for someone who was really comfortable to work with, and LGBT friendly.  I started to email the photographers in April trying to get some price quotes so we could see who fit into our budget.  We got really quick responses from everyone, and I was quite surprised that everyone fit into our budget.  Pinky Photography was actually the most expensive out of the three, then Alvarado Photography and Shannon Sasaki.  Shannon's prices were very reasonable for wedding photography, and she asked to schedule a face-to-face meeting.
We met with Shannon about a month later.  She was so friendly and upbeat, even though we met so early in the morning.  She explained about the different packages she offered and her contract, and we got to see some prints and different samples of her work.  I loved her style.  It's very fresh, modern and candid.  Her prices were very affordable and she was lgbt friendly.  Soon after meeting with her, we decided to book her for our wedding.  I thought about meeting with the other photographers, but the price of her packages were too good to beat.  We chose a 6 hour package which was $1300 and included a free engagement photo shoot.  We haven't scheduled out photo shoot yet, but I'll definitely update when we do.  I would definitely recommend her if you're looking for an affordable photographer.  However all three we considered were reasonably prices for wedding photographers, so if you're looking, definitely check them out.
I'm also going dress shopping tomorrow!  Unfortunately I've been putting it off for quite some time just because I've been so busy, and it's hard to coordinate schedules with my mom.  But I got an appointment at Davids Bridal tomorrow, so we will see how it goes.  I've heard really bad reviews about the place, but I'll definitely blog about the experience.  We are also planning to visit a couple of places next weekend as well, so hopefully I'll find my dress soon :)

Wedding Planning: Venue Reviews

Sunset Ranch

Sunset Ranch

 This was one of the first sites we visited.  Sunset Ranch is located on the North Shore at the very end of Pupukea Road.  The view from this place was incredible!  It's also quite secluded and feels very private on the ranch which was nice. The woman who gave us the tour was very helpful (I can't remember her name) and answered a lot of our questions.
Pros:

• The rental fees were for an all-day rental (10am-10pm) and gave full use of the facilities.  They don't book more than one event per day.
• Location!  The view here was amazing, and overall the property looked great (despite the storm from the previous week).   Unique location that not many people know about.
• Allowed outside catering.
• Outdoor and indoor space (they had a barn that you could hold the reception in), or you had the option of setting up tents on the lawn.
• Guest suites were included in the cost.  You can use these for the day to get ready in and they included en suite bathrooms too.
• Free parking on-site.

Cons:

• Price!  For a party of our size (about 80 people) it was $3,000 for the site.  This was the most expensive place we saw.  They were willing to offer a Kamaaina discount, and had a Facebook promotion that would take $250 off, but even than it was still out of our budget.
• Bathrooms, although included in the guest rooms were only for brides and close family to use.  Other guests were to use the portable AC restroom trailer.   It actually looked pretty nice, but I could see a line forming easily (only one mens and one womans bathroom).  The concept was interesting, but I guess I would prefer something indoors.
• The site was quite big, and I think almost too big for under a party our size.  Also, since it's on the North Shore it's a long drive for a lot of our friends and relatives.
• No smoking allowed on property.  Not that I smoke, but a lot of friends and relatives do, so that would be a problem.

While this place was amazing, and it did meet a lot of our requirements, it was out of our budget and a little too big, which is why we chose to keep looking.  

Kualoa Ranch

Kualoa Ranch Moili Gardens

Kualoa Ranch was the second venue we visited, and this one was much more reasonable than Sunset Ranch.  They had several different sites that we could chose from, and the views were great!  The tour was very through and we got to see all the sites.  Kristi who did our tour was really helpful.
Pros:

• Price was reasonable.  For up to 150 guests, an all day rental was $1500, half the price of Sunset Ranch.  For certain sites like Secret Island, it cost more and there were time restrictions, but for the most part, the sites were reasonably priced.
• Choice of different sites within the venue.
• Allowed outside catering (at an additional cost)
• Great outdoor spaces with nice views.  Each site also had a covered pavilion area which would make a nice reception area.  Good size for our party.
• Free parking on-site.

Cons:

• Catering fee was something like $2.50 per person if we chose to use outside catering. 
• Location was a little far, and through it is secluded some of the rental sites felt very touristy and felt a little dated.
• They don't really provide an on-site room to get ready in. 

Overall they offered a competitive price, but I wasn't too keen about paying extra for the catering.

Hawaii State Art Museum

Hawaii State Art Museum Courtyard

This place was right in the middle of Downtown Honolulu.  I didn't even know the building existed, let alone rented the facility out for events.  The building looks nice from the outside, very European.  They had several rental options.  We didn't actually take a tour of this place, we just went there one day to look around.  I did email them for some information though.

Pros:

• Location is right in downtown Honolulu, so it's pretty central and convenient.  
• Rental options included the lawn in front of the museum, or the courtyard upstairs.  I loved the courtyard and it would have made a nice and intimate setting for the reception.  There is also a nice open garden downstairs too.
• Allows outside catering.

Cons:

• Prices quoted are only good for a rental period of 5 hours maximum.  I would prefer an all day rental so there isn't as much time constraint.  I don't plan on the wedding going all day, but it's always nice to have some flexibility.
• Overall it's quite expensive.  Not as bad as Sunset Ranch, but considering it's only 5 hours it's not such a great deal.  For the courtyard option it would be $2400 for the 5 hour period.  
• It's only available Tuesday through Saturday after 4pm, which wouldn't work for us since we wanted a day reception.
• Because it is a museum, there are a lot of rules to follow in regards to decorations etc.  

I really liked the look and feel of this place, but for the price I think it's a little out of our budget.

Queen Emma Summer Palace

  This was actually one of the last places we looked at.  I started to feel like we were running out of options especially for our budget, so I was really happy when we found this place.  I actually heard about it from a co-worker who said he had been to a wedding here once.  Queen Emma Summer Palace is located right near Oahu Country Club on Pali Highway.  It's actually a historical site, but can be rented out for events.  

Pros:

• Very reasonable and budget friendly!  They actually have 2 sites you can rent: Prince Albert Terrace which is $400 for all day rental, as well as Emmalani Hale which for a party our size would be about $400, also for all day rental.  At a combined total of about $800 this is by far the cheapest place we found!
• The site is really nice.  Small and intimate so I think it would be the prefect size. I think this would also be a unique place to get married, since it is a historical site.
• Indoor and outdoor space.  Although the indoor space seems a little small, they also allow tents which would be nice for additional covered outdoor space.
• Allows outside catering.

Cons:

• Parking might be an issue.  With a party of 50 or more they do require a valet service, so that would be an additional cost.  
• Since this is a historical site, the palace hours will coincide with our actual wedding.  This place can get a bit crowded, at least it was the day we went there.
• Weather could be a problem.  It's located on the Pali so there definitely is a chance of rain.  

So after going to look at this place and talking to some of the staff there, we decided on Queen Emma Summer Palace for our wedding.  There are some downsides, but the cost is definitely what sealed the deal.  It's incredible affordable and the place itself is really nice.  I think it would be prefect for a group our size.  We are hopefully meeting with someone on Monday to pay the booking fee, and that would secure the date!

Wedding Planning: The Hunt For The Perfect Venue

Wow, the past few months have been pretty busy!  I'm finally getting around to writing this post, and I'm happy to say I think we have finally settled on a wedding venue!  Finding a venue that was within our budget and that met our needs turned out to be a lot harder than I thought.  It took us about a good two months of researching and visiting several sites to finally decide.  Here are some of the things we were looking for:
- Allows outside catering
Since my father-in-law offered to cater our wedding as their gift to us, this was at the top of our list.  This actually ruled out a lot of venues in town, namely hotels, that didn't allow outside caterers.  We found a couple sites that we liked (Laniakea YWCA), that we couldn't use because of this condition, so we just had to keep looking.
- Outdoor venue 
We really wanted to have our wedding outdoors.  This is Hawaii after all, and finding an outdoor venue wasn't too difficult, however I would have preferred to have a "plan-B" (aka an indoor space) in case of rain.  A lot of the venues we went to see had a nice big outdoor space as well as an indoor or covered area. 
- BUDGET
Well, quite frankly we don't have a firm budget.  We have a rough estimate at about $10,000, but nothing really set in stone.  I think the cheaper the better, but finding a cheap venue in Hawaii wasn't easy!  The sites we visited ranged anywhere from $800 to $3000 for anywhere from 5 hours to a full day rental. We were hoping to find something under $2000, but again, the cheaper the better!
- Parking
We would have preferred free parking (or parking fee that was included in the rental fee) and something that wouldn't be a hassle for our guests.  Most of the places did offer free parking, but some would leave guests needing to find street or public parking, which would be really difficult.
- LGBT friendly
To be honest, this was the most nerve-wracking part of the whole process, for me at least.  We were fortunate to find that people were very accommodating and didn't get any negative reactions for anyone.  For most of the venues they had never had a same-sex couple married there before, so they were equally excited.

Now on to the list of places we were considering

• Sunset Ranch
• Kualoa Ranch
• Hawaii State Art Museum
• Queen Emma Summer Palace
• Bishop Museum
• Waikiki Aquarium

I will do a separate blog about each venue with pros and cons, and you'll see the one we ended up choosing.  If anyone has any questions, please feel free to ask!

Wedding Planning

So now that we have our civil union license, we have been starting to plan our ceremony and reception.  We're shooting for May of next year, sometime around our anniversary.  It's a little overwhelming that there's SO much we need to think about.  We haven't even set a firm budget yet, but we get free catering (our wedding present), so that's one less thing to worry about.
We actually ended up buying our wedding bands yesterday.  We originally went just to look, because I saw a few that I liked online.  I had intended to keep the purchase under $500, but quickly realized that might not be reasonable.  After seeing them in person, I decided to go with something a little more expensive.  The ring above is the one I chose and I really love it.  we had to special order a ring in my size (3.5 -_-) so it will take a couple of weeks to get it in.  I also bought her wedding band as well, which was a lot cheaper than mine, but still looks really nice.  I'm so excited we finally have one thing done, and I can't wait to get the rings!
Has anyone else ever been through planning a wedding on a budget?  Any tips on how to save money?  Any advice would be greatly appreciated :)
Btw does anyone else use Pinterest?  Here's my profile: http://pinterest.com/akira53/