Hawaii Nei Weddings

I called to inquire about wedding services for a destination wedding and was immediately denied due to the fact that my fiance and I are a same-sex couple. Thank you Hawaii Nei Weddings for providing me with humiliation. It really was the first time I felt ashamed for being gay. On to the next...

We used Hawaiian Nei weddings because we lived in Utah and our son who is in the Army and his fiancé were planning a Spring wedding. He found out he was getting deployed so they moved up the date and they just decided to get married at the courthouse in about 2 weeks. Well we stumbled across Hawaiian Nei's website and like the idea of a beach wedding better. They provided a minister and a photographer and it was amazing how well the wedding went off on such short notice. Our minister who also played the ukulele and sang Hawaiian songs gave our son and new daughter-in- law a very nice Christian ceremony. We were quite pleased. We are still waiting for the photographs but we have seen some shots and were also pleased. We recommend this service in the event you need a quick beach wedding or even if you have more time.

This company gets NOOOO Stars DO NOT , I REPEAT DO NOT USE THIS COMPANY. I wish I would have read all the reviews prior to booking,I booked with this company because Jackie the owner always picked up the phone, answered all my questions so of course I felt comfortable. I was told to give a $ 300 deposit up front to secure the date & time So i did so months ago. I visited Hawaii in February of this year I called a week prior to arriving with no retured calls nor emails , I also called numerous times when I was in Hawaii ( I was trying to meet with Her in person to see everything she offers ) Not till 3 weeks after i retured did i get a call back. Jackie's excuse was she was on another island doing a wedding. I have had no comunication with this Hawaii Nei Wedding From Her end since I gave a $300 deposit . Now coming apon my wedding in less then 3 weeks Jackie tells Me she no longer offers chairs or arches. I literally have 40 people coming to my wedding this is a big problem . I finally went with another company NO BRIDE SHOULD HAVE TO GO THOUGH THIS!! I have requested a refund since She has provied me with nothing and Her reply is "its non refundable" . Im not pleased she has been very dificult to contact by phone & email. I have no idea how she is still in bussiness with the lack of communication.

We wanted a simple April wedding on the beach in Hawaii (Oahu) and found Hawaii Nei Weddings after a brief search online. They may not be the biggest wedding planning company in Hawaii, but they were worth every penny. Communication was a big plus. We called them all the time during the planning phase from California, and were able to reach a live person almost all the time, and received prompt callbacks when we didn't. Jackie was our contact person up front and did a great job helping us right through the day of the wedding.Their wedding packages were very straightforward with no hidden charges, and they were very helpful in explaining all the options and helping us pick the right package for our needs. They also provided links to the necessary government sites to apply for our wedding permit online, so that once we reached Hawaii we were in and out of the government office in 15 minutes. They also helped us choose a wedding location and the subsequent hotel to make everything as simple as possible. They recommended the closest hotels to where we wanted to get married and we ended up staying at a great spot (Marriott Ko Olina Beach Club).As for the wedding itself, Jonathan (who sometimes presides over ceremonies but in this case was the photographer) made my bride and I feel like were we movie stars, and strained and contorted himself into all kinds of angels and positions to get the perfect shots (often taking some waves in the process). The ceremony itself was simple yet very well done (thanks Mark). They've had a wedding business in Las Vegas for around ten years and it shows in their experience and execution. Most importantly, my bride-to-be was a bit of a wreck heading to the beach ceremony (which bride isn't), but once we met up with Jonathan, his calm demeanor and reassuring manner put us totally at ease and everything ran smoothly from start to finish.I'm sure there are some larger companies that might offer a lot more bells and whistles and elite-level packages, but for a couple looking for a simple yet very special beach wedding in Hawaii, we couldn't be happier with Hawaii Nei Weddings and would recommend them to all like-minded couples.

I was not impress with their service. The fact that I went to the website and reserve our wedding date and they took the money right there and then, but I had to call them to get confirmation whether or not they received my information. Then the day of the event they stated that the location would be private it wasn't and people where around which didn't bother me much, but my husband and I wanted a private event. The biggest issue I have with them is the fact that they are telling us that we have to wait 4-6 weeks to receive our wedding photos. This was our special day and the only way we captured that day was through their photographer. I wouldn't recommend them to anyone and if you do use them make sure you bring your own photographer. I know in today times is doesn't take that long to develop any pictures. I am very upset to say the least.SignedHighly disappointed

Major kudos to Hawaii Nei!When you're 3,000 miles away from your wedding destination, it's tough to plan everything that has to happen for a successful wedding day. The first few places I checked were very expensive. Fortunately, I found Hawaii Nei through a Google search. Their "packages" were well described, their prices very reasonable and it was easy to add "a la carte" items to our package of choice. I started working with Jackie, and she explained everything in very understandable terms. We picked our package about six months before the wedding, and as the time drew nearer, we wanted to make a few changes, and Jackie handled those with ease. She suggested a few beach locations and we finally chose one just 2 miles from our hotel. It was perfect.We sent a photo of a bouquet that my bride loved and asked if it could be done by their florist. They assured us it could.On the day of the wedding, their hairdresser/makeup person arrived on schedule at our hotel room and made my bride very comfortable as she took very good care of her wishes. She was thrilled with the result.The bridal bouquet that was a major concern to my bride, turned out to be an exact replica of the photo we sent, down to the smallest detail. She was thrilled!Arriving at our beach location, we found our coordinator, Tiffany and our officiant, Mark already there with everything set up and ready, ahead of schedule.The ceremony performed by Mark was beautiful, and he made us feel as if we were the only two people in the world at that moment. His charisma and caring demeanor made us feel very much at ease, and we loved the ceremony.The photos taken by Tiffany during and after the ceremony turned out beautifully and she and Mark worked together to find great locations and poses for us.It was everything we hoped it would be, and it was stress-free. Really, I mean that. How many times do you hear of a wedding day being stress-free? We felt so at ease since every detail was well handled. We really appreciated that Hawaii Nei made it all come together with no worries for us.I highly recommend Hawaii Nei if you're planning a wedding in Hawaii. It was perfect.Mahalo, Hawaii Nei!

We booked our wedding with Hawaii Nei Weddings after reading tons of favorable 5 star reviews... apparently not on Yelp. We wanted a simple yet perfect destination wedding on Oahu at sunset and our research made us believe this company would give us just that!We booked over a year in advance, and were called a day before our wedding date, yet a year early, to confirm our wedding for the next day. While it was a little concerning, I thought "we all make mistakes, this is silly enough...no big deal"I did not ask for a lot, however I did want confirmation of items I was asking for. I had specific questions about the process of the ceremony (fair enough right?) the pictures the photographer would take (I thought this was a typical bride inquiry) and a few preparation request such as, we would like to be separated up until the ceremony and we want to have a sunset wedding. While I felt these questions and concerns were simple enough to ask and to answer, I quickly learned that was not the case. Jackie, the "wedding planner" was not as responsive as a wedding planner should be nor was she very professional. Each time I tried to make contact with her, I waited days if not weeks for responses. I also asked to talk to the officiant and the photographer as we got closer to our date, so that I could have peace of mind that my name would be pronounced correctly and that we would have pictures with us and our guests. While I was promised immediate call backs, they did not happen. I had to inquire a second time before the photographer called me and I inquired a third time regarding the officiant yet still without a call back. The fourth time I inquired about the officiant I was advised that (Jackie) actually handled those inquiries and the officiants do not typically talk to the couples... This was all frustrating but I decided to not stress and to be positive that the wedding would make up for it.The day of the wedding, Jackie called me to confirm the time and place of our arrival. We agreed to meet at 5pm because the wedding would begin at 5:30pm to make for a beautiful sunset wedding. When I arrived on site, I waited for a call from Jackie asking to meet me somewhere onsite... it never came. Instead, I received a called from the photographer who advised Jackie (MY WEDDING PLANNER) would not be there. He said it would just be him and the minister. I continued to stay calm and be happy because after all, I was about to marry my best friend and I was not about to let a disorganized, unprofessional company ruin this moment for me. The minister was late, so late that we were 20 minutes late starting the ceremony... this meant that the ceremony was mostly "sunset" however the pictures (while they would have been) were not... instead, the sun was already set leaving minimal lighting for photos. On the subject of photos, we took several pictures of the two of us (some are beautiful!) however our friends and family were never asked to be a part of them and none of my requests were provided in terms of our conversation a month prior.There is a positive here. Even though he was late, the minister (Billy) was amazing. He was kind, funny and sweet and he seemed to be very genuine in his presence and wishes for us. He played the Ukulele and ended our ceremony with Adam Sandler's "I Want to Grow Old With You"... this was wonderful!The icing on the cake that made me wish I had never found this company was the following:1) While we had already prepared gratuities for the photographer and the minister prior to the wedding, we were presented with pre-labeled envelopes by the photographer on site. Helping us with an envelope is one thing... BUT soliciting a gratuity, not just a gratuity but a specific amount, is tacky and unprofessional. I was appalled that they did this as I have never seen such a distasteful move.2) Before we left the wedding site, the photographer took a moment to show us our photos he had just taken. He then provided a sales pitch as we were trying to head off and celebrate at dinner. He had taken 172 photos and because our package came with 75 photos, he offered for an additional $200, the rest of them. He then went as far to say because it was our wedding day, he would give us all of the pictures for half off, only $100 more. I chose not to pay the extra money but left with an even less pleasant feeling about HNW. To our surprise, we received all the photos in the mail (on a disc).

Hawaii Nei Weddings is an absolutely outstanding organization. Jackie, the minister and the photographer were extremely professional and made everything fun and easy. We were able to plan and have our wedding in less than 2 days time and it was the best wedding I have ever been to.

We had our Vow renewal ceremony in Hawaii on a private beach. Jackie, was wonderful in planning & providing all the options available all the way up till the ceremony took place. Tiffany was the photography & Mark was the minister. What a blessing they both were. We couldn't have asked for a better ceremony & they both were great in posing us & ensuring our pictures were great....Mark went on & beyond with helping to make us be relax & provided that special ceremony over looking the Honolulu beach & private @ that....Much thanks to the whole team for a wonderful job in helping our very special day be very special. They also helped out on dinner afterwards with the most romantic place we could have had to top the evening off....We are anxiously awaiting pics.....

If you're a same sex couple, DO NOT USE Hawaiian Nei Weddings!!! We made arrangements & they bailed on us the day before we were to fly to Hawaii from Texas, claiming they didn't have an officiant who would perform same-sex marriages. We exchanged several email before that time & they were very interested in obtaining our credit card number for payment. They were unprofessional & waited until the last possible moment to refuse us service. We don't have a problem with anyone else's beliefs & we certainly didn't want to purchase services provided by any company lacking integrity. The State of Hawaii has provided legal same-sex marriages for six months & officiants are licensed. If they don't want to perform them they should make a declaration on their website. We were fortunate to find an awesome company called I DO HAWAIIAN WEDDINGS operated by June Dillinger which was better, less-costly & offered more of everything to ANY couple!!! So really, perhaps we should thank Hawaii Nei Weddings...if it had not been for their unprofessionalism, we wouldn't have discovered the best wedding planner in the entire world!!! Hawaii Nei Weddings actually gets a google ZERO rating!