Hawaii Weddings and Events

My husband and I recently got married in Oahu. We wanted an intimate wedding for our family and very close friends and Dianna understood our vision perfectly. Planning a wedding in Hawaii from California is difficult but Dianna made everything so easy. She is quick to respond to your emails and questions and you can depend on her to get the job done. She is open and honest and is willing to help you work within your budget and with whatever parts of the wedding planning process you want help.Dianna is very knowledgeable and experienced, and we immediately felt comfortable after we met her. She is very accommodating and even willing to go above and beyond what is required of a wedding planner. Hawaii Weddings and Event truly caters to the kind of event you're having and your exact needs. All the vendors that Dianna used for our wedding were exceptional. Our wedding day was perfect. The venue that Dianna had suggested for our intimate private ceremony was exceptional. The day went on without one hiccup. We couldn't have had a more relaxing stress-free wedding. Thank you, Dianna for making our wedding day perfect! I honestly cannot recommend a more phenomenal wedding planner/coordinator!

I'm a really organized person and have no problems choosing my own vendors but I was shopping for a day-of coordinator to help oversee everything on the long awaited day.I'm not sure if it's just me but I think there should be a minimum three day response time. If that's not doable, I may accept one week but definitely not two. And there's more...Finally got a response so I go over the package and call them back with questions for all these "extra charges." Getting married outside of Honolulu? There's a charge for that. Having the ceremony and reception at different locations? There's a charge for that. Having it at the same place? There's a charge for that too. More than 75 guests? You guessed it!!! There's a charge for that too! Paying with a credit card so you can earn miles? Yes, there's a charge for that. 3.5% processing fee to be exact!But with all those extra charges, I was still going to book them because of their reputation. I mean look at their reviews! So, I told them to send me the contract and it never came. Two weeks later, I get a email apologizing for the delay and asking me where my venue was again. Are you serious? I need an organized coordinator that I can trust! I sent them an email saying I will no longer need their services. Guess how many emails I got after that? Like five in a row with more apologies and excuses of how busy they were and how they're working on hiring and training someone to make the contracts. Whatever, I don't care. You can't handle the volume of your business, that's your problem. I need someone that can handle. I'm so happy I didn't go with them. I now have a coordinator that responds to all my emails and there are no extra fees. One that I trust and that is something so vital for one of the most important days of your life!

With just 2 months left until our wedding reception, the only thing we had confirmed was the location -- Lanikuhonua. Dianna Shitanishi saved our special day.We knew we wanted to get married at Lanikuhonua ever since we went to a friend's wedding a few years ago. But we didn't think about all the challenges that arise with have an outdoor wedding at an independent location. You basically have to bring everything from the food to the drinks to the tables and chairs to the linen to the silverware to the AV equipment. And being that we had just moved back to Hawaii from San Francisco, we had no idea what vendors to check out, much less book with so little lead time. We were literally freaking out.Dianna restored our sanity. She helped us find some great vendors. She gave us a detailed checklist and plan for everything that needed to happen all the way through the wedding day. Since she's done numerous weddings at Lanikuhonua, she knew all of the challenges and the best way to deal with them. And most importantly, she counseled us in a way that always provided us with a sense of relief for having contracted her.Her depth of expertise in this field is invaluable. We definitely recommend her to all of our friends getting married.

He proposed in March, wedding date was October 15th.Always wanted a destination wedding, especially in Hawaii!! I've been in a few weddings and helped with a handful of them so thought I could handle my own. Boy was I wrong! At first, I was okay, no big deal. Got the ceremony and reception site squared away quick! Set a budget. Had help from my sister and sister-in-law. Booked the DJ, sent save the dates, picked out invitations, bought the wedding dress, bridesmaids dress and rented the tuxes.... good to go! We booked our flights and hotel stay as well as our immediate families flights and hotel.I was on a roll! THEN.... it happened! Around the end of June, I began to stress a little bit. My sister and friends told me not to stress and that they would help me plan and secure more vendors. My soon to be hubby was also hands on in the planning process, so really I had nothing to stress about. But I did! As the days passed and July began to slip away, I knew I couldn't do it alone. I couldn't plan from where I was (LA). I needed inside help, someone who knew Hawaii. Who knew, Waikiki. And who knew the right vendors who would help make my wedding amazing! My catering sales coordinator, from the hotel I secured to have my wedding at, gave me her recommendations. There were a few names listed. I began calling and did some research on my own. Ultimately I decided on Hawaii Weddings & Events. I am so happy I did! My first consultation with Dianna was very informative and helpful. She made me feel at ease and reminded me that my day will be one of the best days of my life and to stress out before, during, or after it is silly. During the remaining 2 and 1/2 months of planning, Dianna definitely didn't mind all the questions I bombarded her with. She responded very quickly to them via e-mail or quick phone call. Even if she didn't have the answers right away she would kindly let me know that she's working on it. That's what I love about her! I also appreciated the little things she did to help us save some money. She definitely knows that weddings can get very expensive and saving even a little helps a lot!All in all, my husband and I were very happy to have Dianna there during our special day. Having her there to guide us and keep us on the time line was something that we needed. It made us free to enjoy the day and be stress free! We really had the best day of our lives! Our friends and family enjoyed themselves as well and are still complimenting us on how beautiful our wedding was. Thanks again Dianna!

If you are having a wedding in Honolulu, these folks are it. We had Wai (one of the coordinators with Hawaii Weddings and Events), help us plan our destination wedding. We were very hands on and were considering to do the whole event ourselves, but with hindsight I am so happy to have gone with Wai as our wedding coordinator. I can't imagine how much of a headache it would have been to try and coordinate all the vendors and wedding details ourselves.She was amazing! We gave her our budget, and she stuck to it. She even got us some savings on some of the vendors. All of her communications to us were prompt and professional. She chased up details herself without any prompting, and made sure that all preparations were in order.Come our wedding day, she showed up right on time and got down to business without a second glance. By this time, throughout all of our communications, we trusted her to do the right things and she did not disappoint. Our wedding day came and went, and we had NO headaches or worries - it was truly the worry free wedding we were dreaming about.100% recommend to anyone looking for help with their hawaiian wedding!

When I starting planning my wedding over a year ago, Dianna was the very first vendor I hired. I knew from the start that I wanted (and needed) a wedding planner, especially since I wasn't living back home in Hawaii, and had recently moved with my fiance to a new city. With all the life changes going on, I wanted the very best planner, and one who could handle my destination wedding. After finding HWAE in a wedding magazine, and then doing research online (including reading Yelp reviews!), I knew without a doubt, that Dianna was the planner I would use. Her motto of "Amazing, Fun, & Stress-Free Celebrations" was exactly what I wanted, and it is exactly what we got! At our first meeting, I knew that hiring Dianna would be one of the best decisions we ever made. I was on the fence about whether to do the 4 month or 6 month package, so in our contract, Dianna allowed me to upgrade to the 6 month package, if I needed it. I can't tell you how wonderful it was to know from the start, that Dianna had my best interests in mind. She is also very kind, pleasant, and so easy to work with; I always enjoyed our meetings and chats. She gave top-quality, professional service from start to finish. She was always responsive to any email or phone call, her prices were very reasonable (she is the only nationally certified planner in Hawaii, with CPCE and CMP credentials), and she was always flexible and willing to help with anything. My wedding had a variety of challenges, including a rehearsal with a last minute venue change (due to a festival that held up traffic), coordinating with an inter-island officiant who flew in that day, the set-up of a custom-made wedding canopy, and guests who got lost en route to the ceremony! But Dianna handled everything with a calm smile, and I knew I had nothing at all to worry about. So many of our guests commented that this was the "best wedding" they had ever been to. My family from NYC (who have been to many posh events), said that this was truly the most beautiful and enjoyable wedding they had ever attended. Not to mention, the most fun!! We had the time of our lives, in large part, due to the amazing talents of Dianna. Much Mahalo and Warmest Aloha!!! :)

Without a doubt, Wai is the best coordinator on Oahu! My husband and I are from California and I knew right away we would need a day of coordinator. I'm the type of bride that wanted to talk directly with vendors to figure out pricing and who would fit our style best. However, if budget allowed, I would've booked Wai as a full on coordinator. I trust her completely. Before the wedding Wai dealt with unresponsive vendors, a very detail oriented bride, several changes and numerous conference calls. Wai is calm yet firm, the perfect combination when trying to get things done quickly and smoothly. She's extremely professional and thorough.During the wedding, Wai dealt with every bride's worst nightmare...rain during an outdoor wedding! Wai handled each hurdle with calm and grace. That positive energy spread to my husband and I which allowed us to enjoy our day. When questions did come up, she consulted us, otherwise she was behind the scenes. Wai remembered things when I forgot them and chimed in with opinions when they were needed. I realize she is doing her job but the overall feeling I got was that she genuinely cared about how things turned out for my husband and I. Wai worked on our wedding as if it was her own, not just a client's. Go with Wai and Hawaii Weddings and Events, it's the best investment you can make for your wedding!

My husband and I are so happy that we hired Dianna as our first step to planning our wedding. It was the best investment we made for our big day! My now-husband and I planned the wedding from afar-- we lived in Boston when we were first engaged, and then we moved to the Seattle area. He was born and raised in Honolulu (his family is still there), so we didn't want anything too "destination-cheesy" style. We explained this to Dianna and she really understood. We hired The Willows for our catering and had the wedding over in Lanikuhonua. The wedding was simple and it felt local. We had the most stress free time-- ever. In fact, we were so care-free that we enjoyed our three-course meal and danced the entire night away! 10pm rolled around so quickly, we couldn't believe the night was already over.Dianna really took the time to make sure the wedding planning ran smoothly- from scheduling monthly conference calls, to finding time to meet with us in person when we were visiting Honolulu, to answering emails within 24 hours. The best part about hiring Dianna was how easily she got us in touch best and cheapest vendors in the area. It may seem like a lot of $$ to hire a wedding planner, but it really saves so much time and money in the end. We reserved all our vendors in the beginning (12 to 9 months before the wedding date) to save the headache later. We knew all our vendors were great because Dianna recommended them-- we didn't have to take the time to research them ourselves. I used a Pinterest page to keep track of my wedding vision-- flowers, cakes, decorations, etc. I sent the link to Dianna and she distributed the ideas to all my vendors. It was so easy! A week before the wedding, I handed off my all materials to Dianna so I didn't have to worry about it-- escort cards, table numbers, guest book supplies, a polaroid camera with photo-booth props, etc. She took it all, and it felt amazing to have all that stuff done! She even took our little lime tree, dirt, and shovel! (We had a tree planting ceremony during our service.) Also, she ran a really smooth rehearsal, even though we had a super hyper, 12-person wedding party that was basically bouncing off the walls. She was so patient with everyone... haha. The process was so smooth I don't have many complaints at all. You just have to make sure you are VERY clear with what you want, and she will help you! One small thing-- Dianna said she would have table number holders for the wedding, but the day of the wedding, there were none. But...it was such a small detail and I had so much fun at the wedding that I didn't care. In the end, that's all that matters. If that's the only detail that wasn't perfect at the wedding, I consider it a success! Dianna is such a nice, lovely person. If we run into her in Honolulu, I know my husband and I would give her a big, long hug! Believe me, it makes a huge difference to have a calm, friendly, and compassionate person there when you are planning a wedding. It just makes all the stress melt away. Thanks Dianna!

This review is coming a bit late but hopefully still helpful. I have given Dianna's name to several friends/coworkers who were interested in planning a Hawaii wedding since I had mine in October 2013. I'm a Hawaii native living in California so hiring a wedding planner was essential to ensure a successful wedding day. I had contacted several local planners and was most impressed with Dianna's reviews and our initial contact. My first trip home we met in person and she showed up with a beautifully organized binder dedicated to my wedding so that gave me a good feeling about how the rest of the planning process was going to go. Overall I had no idea where to begin planning on my own so I just showed her some Pinterest ideas and we shared a few important details we wanted incorporated into the wedding (i.e. our favorite baseball team) and Dianna took those ideas and ran with them, coming up with the most clever things we hadn't even dreamt of (i.e. ring bearer using a baseball glove, pennant table markers, etc). Dianna helped to negotiate securing me an even better venue when the hotel I booked at decided to remodel the room I originally booked and we ended up with an entire oceanfront restaurant instead - a major upgrade. The entire planning process went so smoothly due to Dianna's attention to detail. We communicated through email and skype calls regularly. She would give me tasks and due dates and I would just knock them out and I felt super accomplished with every step. The vendors she has connections with are also of very high quality and great value. I've uploaded some pictures so you can get an idea of the scope of awesomeness that was my wedding. The best part was the actual day when things went on without a hitch and ON SCHEDULE which for anything done in Hawaii is a feat in and of itself. Some family members of mine thought she was a bit bossy but I didn't care - that's what it takes to get the job done and we were super pleased with every little bit she did for us. Thank you Dianna and team!

Our wedding day was like a dream. It was pleasant and stress free from start to finish. The different events throughout the day transitioned seamlessly. Dianna had a big part in that. She did a great job for us.I'm sad to hear about Dianna. She had a part in putting together one of the best days of our lives. May she rest in paradise.