REA Events & Designs

When it came to wedding decor, one thing I knew that I MUST have were chiavari chairs. I hate the look of banquet chairs and I hate the look of those slip-on covers with a bow for banquet chairs. So I did my research for chiavari chairs and linen and I was most impressed with REA's decor and prices. I also thought that her suspended cake stand was a major plus!The Yelp reviews scared me, but I wanted to give REA a chance and I'm so glad I did! I was able to meet with China twice before my wedding at The Wedding Cafe. Our meetings were very productive as we met for 2 hours for each meeting. She is just so fun and easy to talk to and she had great ideas. For our second meeting, China brought in several tablecloths and overlays that we've discussed from our previous meeting. We mixed and matched with the linen and I was so excited about my final choices!I've communicated with China and her assistants through Honeybook and it was nice that I was able to make payments through it. You have two weeks until the wedding day to make changes, and her assistant, Jaron, kindly reminded me the day before that it was the last day to make changes (thank goodness, because I lost track of the days!). When I walked through the ballroom on my wedding day, I was in awe of the decor. It was everything I've envisioned and more. China beautifully decorated the ballroom and I can't thank her enough for her amazing eye and talent!

Overall Impression:Very unprofessional and very difficult to coordinate with. Not worth the stress. Also too risky-may not get what you want by the time of your wedding. Positives:-nice selection of linens-great ideas, able to help you plan your vision-competitive pricing Negatives:-showroom is in a dingy location-poor communication-unorganized-unreliable: you risk not having the stuff you want at the time you want it My wife and I arranged to meet with China Anderson, the owner of REA events a little less than a year before our wedding. We are busy people and wanted to get some things sorted out and planned early. When we arrived at her showroom for our free consultation meeting, she seemed surprised that we were there. She mumbled something about not expecting us because she didn't confirm it. She met with us regardless, and did a very nice job meeting with us for over an hour. She was friendly and seemed to understand our vision and could show us some great linen and lighting ideas that fit our theme. In fact, she even helped us to define our vision even clearer. One negative point about the meeting was that she had a kitten running around her showroom that she told us she rescued from the street. My wife is highly allergic to cats and who knows what kind of diseases that kitten was carrying. It was a cute cat, but probably not the most sanitary or professional thing to have when clients are in the showroom. After the meeting, China said that she would get back to us within 2 weeks with a quote. Two weeks past, and after 4 weeks my wife emailed and called with no response. She also emailed her assistant at 6 weeks and her response stated that she would try to get it to us soon but China has been busy with another big project. We knew that our wedding was still a ways away, but it would have been nice to still have a timely response. Additionally, telling us that they are busy with another project does not make us feel like valued customers. About 5 months later, my wife got a phone call from some lady that just started working for REA Events. She wanted to follow up with us to see if we were still interested. Sadly, we had not even gotten the quote that was promised to us and had already gone to other vendors. With all that said, we basically took all of our ideas that we got from her and took it to other vendors. You have way too many things to be thinking about when planning a wedding, and waiting around for vendors does not make it any easier.

Like other Yelpers have reviewed, VERY unprofessional and VERY disappointing!!!!!China came highly recommended and when we met with her, it seemed so. She had so many great ideas but was VERY unorganized. She did not even have a gallery available to view her work! Instead, she went back and forth to her and her clients' IG profiles to view images of the events she handled.After our consult was done, she said she would email us a quote by the next week. We waited and waited......and waited. I tried to email and text her numerous times, even had my coordinator help me locate her. Finally received a text back apologizing and said she had back to back events and didn't have time to respond. We waited another week.....still no quote. This went on for another month!!!!! I finally gave up and we went with another, more professional and organized vendor.Btw, she does not have her own office space. She met us at a co-op/shared office space. Kinda weird and awkward since everyone else who was there could hear our entire consult!

Very unprofessional to stand-up a potential client! This really deserves 0 stars.After about half a dozen email exchange in requesting just simple information, I was pushed in doing a face-to-face consultation with China. In my very first email, I mentioned that I was not local so meeting her was not an option. Email correspondence were never answered directly from China, she was always CC'd though -- she had her assistants respond, either Tracy or Jason. It was repetitive as it was not just one person so I had to repeat info I've already told them. Very disorganized.We then did have an opportunity to go to Oahu, so I emailed again. My email was never responded to, just the automatic replies, which I noticed included a (new) option to book a consultation. I booked it for 4pm on 11/8/16. We got there around 3:30pm and walked around the area for a bit.At 3:50pm, we arrived at The Wedding Cafe (where our meeting was suppose to take place) and waited...and waited...and waited. We left at 4:40pm. I have not received a phone call or email of apology (it's been a week now). I really wanted to give them a chance. The owner of The Wedding Cafe (Luke) was extremely nice and even texted China for us while we were there waiting. We did pick up some marketing materials though while at The Wedding Cafe, so not a complete lost.Screw REA Designs/REA Events! I've never met a vendor so rude!

We REALLY wanted to give REA a chance. We were looking for a specific lighting option for our reception and our venue coordinator suggested we reach out to REA, as they had done the kind of thing we were looking for before. We read reviews of the communication issues that the company has, but figured that we weren't asking for a lot of services, just lighting and linens, so it should be easy.We are from out of town, so on a "vendor meeting" trip to Hawaii, we scheduled time with China through her assistant Tracy. A lack of communication had us meeting them in the wrong location, and after we repeat-dialed Tracy, we finally figured out where we were supposed to go. But even though we were already 30 minutes late after having to cross town, China was still 15 minutes later than we were. Okay. We'll just brush it off and keep moving. During our meeting, China was kind and was able to talk about some of our options. However, her appearance was less than professional. It worried me that she looked more like she had just come home from a house party than ready to meet with potential clients. We won't judge based on appearances. As long as they can do the work...China told us she could have our simple proposal to us by the next day. Although we doubted that quickness, we were disappointed that even 2, 3, 4 weeks after we had met with her, we hadn't heard anything. We followed up with calls, emails, even text messages just to get a simple quote. We were told a few times that we were "on the list for a written proposal"... We waited it out, but steadily became nervous that we'd have no vendor on the day. It is now almost 3 months after we met with them, and less than 2 months until our wedding and we STILL haven't gotten any word back from them. We've moved on and are now working with a different, AMAZING, communicative, professional event team. Perhaps they are simply too busy... perhaps we didn't offer a large enough budget to make it worthwhile... They should at least hire someone to handle their correspondence...

China was our event coordinator and designer. What this girl does is amazing... She made our dream wedding come true, the ballroom was so beautiful it brought tears to my eyes during our private reveal. I am SOO happy and fortunate to have China and her expertise cover our wedding. From her extensive timeline, to her superior design skills, to making sure it was a stress free experience...She was wonderful and worth MUCH more than what she requests. She is truly an upscale design and wedding professional.We are so fortunate to have these wonderful memories to cherish forever. Thank you China, Justin, and the REA team for this unforgettable experience.

I recently attended a wedding coordinated by REA Events. There were several highlights that were amazing. First of all, the entire event was seamlessly executed and timed to perfection. From the pre-wedding preparation to the ceremony and finally the reception and subsequent program. All events were held at Ko'olau Ballroom. What was most notable and impressive was the program, which was interactive and highly engaging. It was truly one of the most entertaining wedding programs I have ever witnessed. You could see Wedding Coordinator China's attention to detail which was evident in every facet of this wedding.The other really impressive facet of this wedding celebration was the absolute beauty of the reception room. It incorporated the color scheme of the wedding with every chair being decorated and incredible lighting highlighting the backdrop. Just exquisite.One of the most impressive weddings I have ever had occasion to witness....

They really screwed up my order for my wedding. Not only did they order the linens wrong, but they also arrived a half hour late! Here's the drama: They invoiced me for seventeen 6' ROUND tables (correct), five 8' rectangular tables (correct)... but when they finally showed up to set up my reception, they arrived with all 8' RECTANGULAR linens!They were supposed to arrive at 3:30 to lay the linens down. At 3:45 my coordinator was trying to figure out where they were. At 4:00pm they finally show up and then get upset that the tables are ROUND! My ceremony was scheduled to start at 4:30pm, but thanks to the linens being late, my coordinator had to call in three of my friends (who were waiting at the ceremony site), the florist staff, the hotel staff, and REA had to help frantically set up the center pieces, put out the favors and set the table all in a half hour! Meanwhile everyone at the ceremony site are waiting... my bridal party doesn't have the ring pillows, flower girl basket, nor bubbles to pass out because my coordinator was stuck setting up my reception area and dealing with REA who kept saying it was not their fault.During the reception, my guests who had the long side of the linens tucked under the tables kept getting their feet and chairs caught in the table linens! While the guests with the short side of the table, the linens didn't even touch their laps. At the end of the night we approached REA who denied they processed the order incorrectly, but instead told me they had to special order the linens only to find out when they got there that the tables were round. When questioned about the time of arrival, they couldn't gave us two different times... that they were there at 3:03 and then later said 3:33... (yet my florist has time stamp showing they called at 3:39 to find out where these guys were)Checking all email correspondence AND the invoice that they billed me, the descriptions for the linens were correct (ROUND)... so someone in their office ordered it incorrectly.After showing proof that it was their order, they finally credited me the 17 tables they processed wrong.I do not recommend this vendor to anyone. They were highly unprofessional when dealing with my coordinator and with me and my family at the end of the evening. For an event like this - every minute counts and you can't have someone being late that will set everyone else in a frenzy....

Worst appointment ever. I was so frustrated from minute 1. My fiance and I should have walked out. 1) We met at the wedding cafe at 4:30 pm. when we arrived she was nice and all. However, China received a phone call that she "needed" to answer. We were like , OK no big deal. She spent over 30 minutes talking to her internet person while sitting with us at the table. Awkward and wasted our time. She got us a drink for each of us, which was nice. ONE STAR!2) Once we started talking about my wedding date, she said I was looking too early. Saying I'll be too stressed now to think about it. I wasn't. I just told her that I'm shopping around, and I just wanted to see things. Why can't I look? Weddings take planning and money. She went on about it for a while. Advice, maybe.... But seriously dont you want my business?3) she started to get mad and raised her voice once I mentioned I was thinking of blue uplighting. However, I didn't get to finish my sentence.... I wanted to say that I was also thinking of a golden amber. She started to raise her voice and stated that I didn't tell her about blue up lighting. I told her that I spoke to an assisstant, who asked me what i was thinking about colors. I thought we were just talking about linen. I'm all about taking advice, but I felt she was scolding me. She went on about it for a while. Like a WHILE! We should have just walked out. 4) talks about herself a lot. I'm down to make conversation, but this meeting ended around 8pm. I wanted to end it, but I did not want to meet with her again.

From what I've seen at the bridal expos and online, REA is a talented event design company that has everything you need....unfortunately their business sense needs major improvement. I'm in the process of planning my wedding and any bride-to-be will agree that it can be a super hectic process. We have so much to do in so little time, so the worst thing is a vendor who's unresponsive. If you can't answer emails in a timely manner, why would I trust you to handle my wedding? Getting in touch with REA in the beginning was easy. After one email I was able to to meet with the owner for a consultation, which went really well. My fiance and I were ready to book their services. Unfortunately it took them a month to get us a quote (or even respond). I was pretty turned off by the time I received our quote, but I still liked what I saw. Before committing though, I had a few questions, which NEVER got answered. If I were a business owner, I would definitely get back to all potential clients. How are we suppose to book your services if you don't respond?! It's like a sales person who delivers their sales pitch and then walks out the door when the customer is ready to pay. By the way, one of my friends also met with REA for her wedding, but didn't even get a quote. I actually got one step further! Oh well...too bad, so sad. I wonder how many other people's business REA has lost because they fail to respond?