Couture Weddings Hawaii

Shari / Couture Weddings did a really wonderful job for our wedding. My husband and I hired her both for wedding coordination and design/visuals for our wedding in Honolulu. There are two areas in particular where she and her team did an amazing job:(1) Design/decoration services: My husband and I didn't know a lot about wedding decorations, and Shari did an incredible job translating our overall design preferences into all of the details that contributed to an absolutely beautiful wedding day. She had a great eye for tying together the design and color choices for our flowers, linens, ceremony and reception decorations into one cohesive, romantic look that completely exceeded our expectations on the day of our wedding. We received so many compliments from our guests, too. There was no way our wedding aesthetic would have come out the way it did without Shari's advice and design suggestions. It was so magical!!(2) Day-of support and planning: Our wedding day went off without a hitch from start to finish, thanks to Shari and her team's support and attention to detail on the day of. It felt like whenever we had a question, a personal need (such as a drink of water or trip to the bathroom!) or the next item on the timeline was coming up, someone was there to address it and because of this level of support, my husband and I were able to fully enjoy and immerse ourselves in our special day.Beyond these two things, Shari provided so much support leading up to our wedding and is also super friendly and easy to work with. If you are considering her for your wedding, you should definitely go for it. Thank you Shari and team for making our wedding such a beautiful day to remember for the rest of our lives!

HIRE THEM IF YOU WANT A WEDDING PLANNER WHO MAKES YOUR LIFE HARDER...The bottom line - I wouldn't recommend Shari to anyone. We paid her for her most expensive package because we are very busy and wanted to minimize the amount of work we would have to do ourselves, and we didn't feel like she ended up being very helpful. Here are just some examples of things she did that made our lives harder.1. While we work with Shari, we would periodically get a bunch of emails from Shari all at once, where she would forward us emails from vendors or cc us into email threads and ask us to respond. We asked our friend about her experience and she said she never had to interface with her vendors a single time, because her wedding planner took care of all the communication. Simply forwarding all the emails to us for us to take care of makes her life easier, not ours.2. Even though we paid for the most expensive package, which was marketed as being "all inclusive". it turns out there were many services weren't included (e.g, booking transportation to take the wedding party to the venue).3. Shari does not have any system for tracking all of the vendor invoices. In the end it was up to us to keep track of everything ourselves. 4. A WEEK before our wedding, we realized we still didn't have a wedding seating chart, but Shari had never discussed this with us. When we asked her why she didn't ask us about this, she got defensive and said that it's a personal choice and some couples don't need a seating chart. With over 80 people at our wedding, how were people supposed to know where to sit if we don't even have a seating chart for them? We ended up finding one on Etsy last minute, paying extra for expedited shipping for it a week before our wedding. 5. The schedule for the day of the wedding was super unorganized. It was literally a timeline typed out in word and printed out, except the timeline wasn't even chronological and was super hard to follow. 6. On the day of the wedding, it started raining. Shari and her team did NOT have a backup plan for what would happened if it rained. Even though our wedding venue was an outdoor venue. She was literally asking us what we wanted to do to change the layout AFTER we got there for the wedding party photos. 7. Because they were scrambling last minute to rearrange everything due to the rain, they made our guests wait on the bus for over 40 minutes after they arrived. They didn't communicate with the guests to let them know what was going on. People who needed to go to the bathroom couldn't go. 8. One of the bridesmaids was vegetarian and Shari coordinated a vegetarian meal for her. After the wedding, she told us that she barely got any food. She was starving during the entire wedding, and we felt super embarrassed. When we asked the caterer about this, the caterer said there was extra salad that could have been served to our bridesmaid. But the bridesmaid said when she asked Shari about it, she was told that nothing could be done. 9. And the most unacceptable thing of them all: during one of the final planning sessions leading up to the wedding, Shari had promised that she will prepare a box for our guests to leave their cards and wedding gifts in. Then she completely forgot about it. Then the next day when we realized we literally only got 2 cards (out of 80+ guests), we texted her to ask her why she didn't leave out the box as promised. In typical Shari fashion, she got defensive and basically did not take any responsibility for what happened. In fact, this was her response (see the photo). We ended up having to email our guests to tell them that our wedding planners messed up by not placing a box at the check-in table. And basically asked everyone to venmo us if they had a wedding gift that they wanted to give us. It's like putting your hand out and asking your friends to pay you... How freaking awkward. And what do you know - it turns out that we had more than 2 friends who wanted to give us gifts. Like a lot more than 2... despite what Shari would have us believe. And we also had some friends that are very wealthy who ended up not giving us any gifts when we were pretty certain that they would have. So basically, Shari cost us money by being careless.There were more but had to delete them due to limitations of the review, but you get the point.After our wedding, Shari knew she messed up. We tried to get on one final call with her to talk about all of the issues we had, and she dodged the meeting. We are honestly surprised that she has been in the wedding planning business for as long as she has. Some of the things she missed are very basic wedding planning industry know-hows. And she lacks ownership over her work and does not take responsibility when things go wrong. There's always a lame excuse for why things didn't work out the way it should.We hope this review can help another couple not get burned by them. Good luck!

We spoke with Shari for an initial consultation. From the virtual call, we felt she would be a great planner for us. She is easy to talk to and understands all of our concerns and questions. Due to the lag on our part in settling on a date with the family, we lost Shari's availability to be our planner and coordinator. We spoke to a few planners. Shari was the only one who would follow-up with us on texts. There were planners who never gotten back to us for quotes. There was one planner who would say she is available to coordinate during the initial call then returned an email a day afterwards stating no longer available and would substitute with another coordinator. There is also another planner who mentions no questions in emails would be addressed until the contract begins which is one year from the wedding date. When we told Shari about our concern that our desired venue would not book more than a year out. She helped us called the venue to get it sorted out. She did this before we inked a contract with her. From that, I think Shari is the type who would go above and beyond when needed. I feel Shari genuinely cares for the couples she work with, and she focuses on getting things done rather than the fancy marketing on social media. I would highly recommend engaged couples to have a consultation with Shari and find out if she could be a right fit for them.

Shari and her team did an amazing job on our wedding. You have this one chance to make the experience for yourselves, your family and friends memorable and Shari created an unforgettable experience. I think coordinators bring their energy onto the event and Shari is such a positive and fun person to be around that our wedding day was so much more than we had expected. Her team worked behind the scenes and was always a few steps ahead of us and kept the wedding running so smoothly. It was the best day of our lives and I have to thank Shari and her team for creating such a beautiful environment and experience for our wedding day.

When we first began planning our wedding, I absolutely did not want a full coordinator. I was looking for a "Day Of" person. Let me tell you why first: 1. I have a good idea of what I want and I don't want someone telling me otherwise2. I have a hard time letting go and prefer to do things myself 3. It can be ridiculously expensiveI've met Shari before and knew that she was super sweet and funny. When my fiance met her, he was so comfortable with her and instantly had a connection. He knew he could trust her with our day and our money! All of a sudden we are hiring her to do a full coordination! The best thing my fiance could have ever done for me and this wedding. He saw an instant change in me. I was more willing to let go and allow help to, well, basically help me! I had ideas, and too many. She got me focused and paired us up to meet vendors she knew we would click with and who could best deliver our vision.Shari never told us we weren't able to have certain things, instead she advised us on the best way to get there and kept us on track. I feel that we are prepared and now just waiting for our big day. As the day is getting closer and closer, the color on my fiance's face gets paler and paler....okay, just kidding. Mainly when it comes to budget and the realization that WHOA!?! where did all that time go? Sometimes, I wonder that myself. But, Shari is such high spirited, caring, and really in-tune with us. She stops and takes the time to help put my fiance and I at ease. Even by just asking if we're okay. We were bummed that Shari won't be the coordinator performing our coordination on our day. Upon signing our agreement she did mention it to us and will be passing on her torch to her Second in Command Paula, with whom we have met already as well. Let me just say, that we are NOT worried one bit. We trust in Shari and we have full confidence that the day will come together as if Shari herself is there. Paula is just another extension of Shari!Thank you Couture Weddings Hawaii - we can't wait to take the leap as Mr & Mrs Chun with you as our trusted guides!! As for #3 - Being ridiculously expensive: CWH is a fraction of what others may charge, but the service that you get is beyond what you pay for!

Thank you Shari and Couture Weddings for doing an exquisite job on our wedding day! From the moment we met Shari, it was an instant match. She made Glenn & I feel comfortable, calm, and collected throughout the entire wedding process (Glenn & Shari both were wearing Vans sneakers when we met. We knew then, this chick was awesome!). Hiring Shari & her team was the 1st and easiest decision we made for our wedding.With my constant emails about the lil details to the day of the defining moment, Shari kept the lines of communication open at all times even telling us when she was on vacation, who would be covering, and that she could respond via email-very professional & considerate! It felt like she was always there. We knew we didn't want an uptight bossy planner for our wedding. We wanted someone who understood our vision, who understood our 'budget', and ultimately someone who we felt we could trust. And we found her at Couture Weddings!On rehearsal day, a herd of family & friends arrived (which of course only 1/2 were a part of the entourage party) yet Shari and her team took control and were able to direct the stampede. All still with professional integrity. On the day before the wedding, Shari handled all the tweaks that needed to be done without getting the bride panicked at all. Mind you, I am a control-freak hands down. Shari and her team were very organized especially in times of Hawaiian blessings (aka some rain drizzles!) She made decisions on relocating the buffet line and watering station based upon her planner instincts which ultimately went flawless. We had 75 guests all from the eastcoast NJ/NY area who all had the time of their lives.Looking back on the wedding planning process, we could not have done it without Shari! We are so humbled to have gained a new friend. Couture Weddings did such an amazing job that my 'maid of honor' chose Shari for her wedding next year too! Well see you ladies very soon. Many mahalos to you and your team Shari and shoutouts to your girl Paula! Mad love for you guys,Your friends, Jeannie & Glenn

Wow! The team at Couture Weddings made our wedding the most amazing day! I had complete confidence that they would do just so and they didn't miss a detail! The team showed up with smiles on their faces that stayed the entire day and night! They blended in like long time friends or family, but were able to put all the pieces of the ceremony and reception in place like only an expert can do! Between my five bridesmaids and me, we've been in over 50 weddings and this was by far the most expertly coordinated wedding any of us have seen. Pure Joy!

We decided to use Couture Weddings Hawaii after I was in a wedding on Oahu in which my cousin had hired Shari and her team as their wedding coordinator. I remember how great that wedding was and how smooth everything went so we decided to go with CWH for our wedding this past June. We got married on 6/24/17 and started the planning process with Shari about a year before. We communicated the first time via skype and she explained all she would do and all that was involved in the planning process. She told us to sleep on it and let us know if we would like to hire her. After we got off that first skype meeting, my wife and I looked at each other and both instantly knew she was perfect for us. We communicated through Skype and Shari began our wedding timeline with us. She helped us pick our vendors and we were very welcome to all her suggestions. She constantly communicated via email, text, phone and Skype. Our lives were so busy during the planning process, but Shari was so patient and assisted us in making decisions. We relied on her expertise on what would look good and which vendors we should pick and she offered a ton of suggestions. We were on a tight budget and she always kept that in mind and gave us tips on where to save when we could. 6 months into the planning process we took a trip to Oahu and spent the week there with Shari going to food tastings, flower appointments, cake tastings, and checking out the venue. Shari assisted in the entire process and by the end of the week she felt like family. During the final 6 months, with Shari's help we finalized everything. All that was left to do was just show up and get married! We landed in Oahu a couple days before the wedding and Shari was putting the final touches on everything. The day of was awesome. All the guys were getting ready and the photographers and videographer showed up and took pics and videos of the guys. Afterward they headed over to the girls. We showed up to the venue and Shari was there putting all her final touches on everything making sure everything was perfect! And it was! The day went so smooth and Shari and her team were there making sure everything was going as planned. The day went so good and flew by. I got so many compliments from family and friends about how fantastic Shari and her team were. It made us feel so good and happy that we had the perfect wedding coordinator. As a side note, Shari somehow worked her magic and got lauae leaves donated and used them to decorate the venue and used them as placemats as well. It looked so perfect. Numerous people told us it was the best wedding they have ever been to and that was all because of Shari and her wonderful team. We are so thankful for CWH and we owe them a huge THANK YOU for making our day so perfect for us. At the end of it we gained a lifelong friend in Shari and a lifelong memory for ourselves and our families.

If I can give 10 stars I would! Shari from couture weddings is THE BEST! I just recently got married on Feb 16 and it was a destination wedding for us~ I was so uncertain how I would coordinate everything overseas but once I found Shari it was smooth sailing from day 1. One thing I really appreciated and could speak for most bride is that we appreciate a planner who has quick responses & actions. Shari always responded within 1-2 hours and kept me on track throughout the year. She kept me focused and gave me insightful suggestions when my mind was jumbled with ideas/information. She communicates swiftly with all the vendors and just knew exactly what I was trying to convey when I couldn't. Even when there were last min changes a day before the wedding from some guests, she made sure I was calm and just took care of everything so I could relax...it also helps when she's such a wonderful, cheerful person to talk to on the phone. Thanks Shari and your team from the bottom of our hearts

We worked with Couture Weddings Hawaii for our destination wedding in Oahu and we couldn't have done it without Shari and her team! I'm not much into cliches but our wedding was truly the best day of my life - a dream come true!My husband and I hired Shari as our full time coordinator. Right from our first Skype meeting we could tell that she is very professional, devoted, and most importantly experienced. It was apparent that she wanted to get to know us as a couple , and from there would be able to better help us plan a wedding that showcased both our personalities and our relationship together. We quickly knew that we were going to be in great hands! My husband and I are from New York and despite the 6hr time difference, communication was never an issue! She was available via FaceTime, Skype, phone and text! When we couldn't make a decision about something, she was always ready to give us her insight which helped make everything smooth and easy. She was very professional in all our encounters, but kept things fun. I admit that wedding planning was at times stressful, but Shari had her ways to make my husband and I feel comfortable and put our minds at ease. When our wedding day finally came, it was absolutely perfect! My husband and I were amazed to see all our ideas that we had spent so many months planning, all come together. Everything looked great, our vendors were awesome and the ceremony and reception ran smoothly! My parents and all our guests kept telling my husband and I how great Shari and her team were with how on point they were throughout the night. They also said that if there were any problems or issues that day, there was no way anyone would ever notice because of how composed and organized they were! Shari's help and suggestions were not just limited to our wedding. She is so thoughtful and caring that she made sure we were well taken care of whenever we visited the islands! Her recommendations of what to do and where to eat made our visits to the island fun and helped keep our bellies full and happy! Planning a wedding, especially a destination wedding, can be stressful but if you are in search for a wedding planner than look no further! Shari and her team are a perfect choice! She'll go above and beyond for you to make sure your wedding is everything you imagined and more! Also, just as we did, through the planning process you will develop a new friendship that you'll truly cherish! We are lucky to have met and hired her, and know you will feel the same if you do also! THANK YOU SHARI AND COUTURE WEDDINGS HAWAII! Miss you! Much love,CJ and Brian