About this vendor
Operating out of Kihei, Maui, HI is Makena Weddings, an enthusiastic team of wedding planning experts. Couples who seek to host a beautiful island wedding or wedding renewal need to look no further. Those who choose to work with these pros can look forward to a memorable experience in paradise.
Owners, Laurie and Al are a dream-team event planner and wedding officiant couple living their dream in Maui. Over the years they have put together a talented group of staff that are dedicated to helping couples realize their dream wedding experiences. Whether it is just the couple or a gathering of 200, these passionate experts aim to make a special occasion unforgettable.
Makena Weddings works hard to make your experience stress free so that you can focus on enjoying your big day. The team will guide and assist you with all the necessary arrangements, making sure that your experience is completely enjoyable. Through their extensive knowledge and know-how, they strive to craft a beautiful occasion aligned with your wedding day aspirations.
The team at Makena Weddings offer full-service, a la carte wedding planning as well as day-of-coordination services. These expert planners assist couples in selecting a venue, while also designing the look and layout of the event space. They can offer several sublime references to local vendors who can perform or supply a host of helpful services and features.
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- A la Carte Wedding Planning
- Day-Of Coordination
- Full Service Wedding Planning
Wedding Activities
- Wedding
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5
out of 5.0113 reviews
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Makena Weddings is absolutely the best wedding planning service on Maui. I feel actual love for these ladies. From the moment we started working with Laurie and Cindy, it felt like we were part of their ohana – their family. The level of care and attention we received was unparalleled.
Cindy took the lead on most of the planning, but Laurie was always there to answer any questions or offer additional help. Their super responsiveness and understanding of all my questions made the entire process smooth and stress-free. I could totally trust them with my vision and all the intricate details. And, anytime I was unsure - they offered suggestions and solutions.
They held my hand throughout the entire process, ensuring that everything was perfect. Our wedding was beyond my wildest dreams – every single detail was executed to perfection. Their expertise and dedication were evident in every aspect of the day, making it truly unforgettable.
If you're looking for wedding planners who are not only professional but also genuinely care about making your special day perfect, look no further than Makena Weddings. They will take those ideas that are swirling around in your head and make them come to life. They will remove your stress, just like they removed mine. They provide 5-star service and make you feel completely taken care of. Highly recommended!
Our wedding day was the most perfect day we could ever ask for. Cindy at Makena Weddings made our vision come true at the most beautiful venue at Olowalu Plantation House. I could not imagine having this wedding without her. We were so lucky to have her when we had to reschedule our wedding from August 2023 to June 2024. She took all the stress off our shoulders. Cindy was fantastic to work with. I loved that we were able to meet her at her home the day we landed and go over everything as well as meeting at the venue for the rehearsal. We were able to drop off some decor stuff at her home such as pictures for the welcome table and guest book. Cindy was so kind to let us ship some stuff to her home as well. At the wedding, Cindy kept us on schedule and made sure our guests had a good time. Everyone loved Waikomo shave ice and the Maui photobooth bus. The flowers and decor were so beautiful and colorful just like how I imagined. Everything was perfect and there's nothing I would change that day. Thank you, Cindy!
Above and beyond! When researching vendors for our wedding, Makena Weddings stood out initially and from day 1, Cindy made the entire experience so easy, especially while doing this all virtually from San Diego. Through COVID, she helped us adjust our date with ease, gave great, honest recommendations for vendors, and every time we spoke with her she answered every question and made us feel at ease. On the day itself, everything went to plan and all the little touches and requests we made were implemented exactly how we envisioned. Cindy had us organized, prepped and ready for everything on the day. Thank you SO MUCH Cindy and Makena Weddings for making our wedding day the best day of our lives!
We had a very smooth small wedding at Kukahiko Estate and reception at Gannons thanks to the wonderful work of Cindy and Laurie. I know they were very very busy with multiple events because of the backlog on post-covid lockdown weddings, but they did their best to communicate and respond to my calls/emails in the months leading to the wedding. They were clear and answered all questions at the walk through before the wedding. They were professional and wonderful on the day of. They have great relationships with the BEST vendors. We were so happy with the photos, flowers, and harpist. Our favorite part was Reverend Al. He did an amazing job officiating our wedding. Thank you team!
I can not say enough good things about Cindy and Laurie. They made the entire wedding planning process so smooth and created our dream wedding. Everything was beyond perfect and we got so many compliments on our wedding and multiple people saying it was the best wedding they had ever been to. We had a very small wedding at the Kukahiko Estate (the prettiest venue I have ever seen) and finished with an amazing dinner at Gannon’s (best dessert I have ever had). Our officiant, Al, was also amazing, the ceremony was absolutely perfect and everyone loved him. I would definitely recommend Makena Weddings to anyone!
We had our absolute DREAM wedding at Olowalu Plantation House, and in large part thanks to Makena Weddings and working with Cindy throughout the planning process and day of. She always comforted me and reminded me they are there to make it "stress free". From my initial inquiry with Makena Weddings I knew it was a perfect fit with me as they provided some sample excel sheets with preliminary budgets from venues I was interested in (I love excel sheets for planning!). From there everything came together so seamlessly, especially planning from California. On wedding day, I felt stress free and was absolutely stunned how everything exceeded our expectations. The venue looked amazing and included all the special details and touches I requested from my pinterest inspiration and even MORE! Thanks to Laurie for getting me prepped and ready for my walk down the aisle with my dad and special thanks to Al for his very special ceremony. The whole day was amazing and magical! Thank you Makena Weddings for everything!!!
Laurie and Cindy were amazing to work with. We fell in love with Olowalu Plantation House prior to the pandemic and were very nervous to book a destination wedding in Hawaii. Laurie helped ease our minds and we’re so thankful she did! With Laurie and Cindy’s help we were able to plan the wedding of our dreams. Their expertise and experience made the planning process fun and enjoyable. Laurie and Cindy took our vision and made it even more beautiful than we could have imagined. We are so happy we were able to have Makena Weddings plan our wedding, we put our trust in an amazing team and are now blessed with beautiful memories of our wedding.
We had the pleasure of having makena weddings for our planners and they went above and beyond. They made everything i envisioned come to life and made it absolutely beautiful. It was such a stress free day! We were more then happy with the work they did and definitely made it the best day ever for us!
CHOOSE ANOTHER VENDOR. We had a horrible experience with Makena weddings and they keep deleting our reviews, as I'm sure along with many other unhappy customers.
From forgetting the flower petal pathway and THROWING buckets of rose petals in front of me as I walked down the aisle with my dad, to having my husband have his back turned as I walk down the aisle, missing a HUGE wedding moment, pick another wedding planner.
The vendors are what made our wedding great, the wedding planners were stressful, forceful, and had no attention to any of the details we spoke about prior.
We highly recommend Makena Weddings!! We got married at Olowalu Plantation House after having to postpone due to Covid 19. Our wedding was much more intimate with only our immediate family, but Makena Weddings made our wedding special and magical! We initially made most of our plans with Cindy who was reassuring and helpful when we had to keep switching our dates, and our guest count dropped from 75 down to 7. She made the process less stressful, patiently answered all of our emails throughout the pandemic, and recommended the most amazing vendors (Meew Meew Studios, NoKaOi Media, Dellables Floral). Cindy and Laurie anticipated rain on the day of our wedding, and were able to move the dining table onto the front porch. We were fortunate to find a break in the rain to enjoy our ceremony and photos. Laurie and Cindy arranged everything to go so smoothly!! They are both so helpful and attentive to every detail of our wedding. Both Cindy and Laurie went above and beyond - from bustling my wedding dress, helping with drinks and dinner, and helping my maid of honor pack up our wedding cake to enjoy on our 1 year anniversary!! We are so thankful to Cindy and Laurie for planning the most perfect wedding we could have dreamed of!!
Where do we begin… Cindy and Laurie made our wedding more than anything we could’ve ever dreamed of. We got married February 2020 at Maria Lanakila Catholic Church and had the reception at Olowalu Plantation. Throughout the year leading up to our wedding we were mostly in contact with Cindy and she made the process of finding the perfect vendors within our budget simple. I voiced to her multiple times that I felt like I wasn’t “stressed” enough because she was handling the details and making it so easy for me. We were pretty much hands off with the majority of the wedding planning and trusted both Cindy and Laurie as well as the vendors to use their creative talents …… they blew our expectations out of the water. Our wedding was a fairytale and they handled every tiny detail so we could enjoy our day and soak up every special moment without having to worry. Laurie had my back during the rehearsal when I wanted the ceremony to flow differently than normally done at the church and ensured it would work out how I wanted.
The vendors they work with are exceptional.. Marvin Tevaga & hula dancers, Angela Nelson Photography, Aloha Bars, and Café O Lei catering. The star of the reception were the floral arrangements. We worked with Dellables and gave her a look we were hoping for and let her take it away with designing the floral arrangements and bouquets however she wanted. It was like we walked into a floral jungle and our guests still to this day cannot stop raving about how breathtaking it was. Pictures just do not do justice to how well the entire reception was executed. She also made personalized bouquets for my sisters/bridesmaids based on their individual dresses.
Our day was absolutely perfect from start to finish (even complete with whales jumping off shore and rainbows!). Laurie and Cindy are truly the best at what they do. Trust me, these two will make your dreams for your wedding turn into reality!!
We had an amazing experience working with Laurie and Cindy from Makena Weddings! We had a destination wedding in Maui, planned from California, and they helped to make it very manageable and fun each step of the way. I'm honestly not much of a planner and this was not a problem. They presented us with vetted choices for EVERYTHING from food, to DJ to photographer, hair and makeup, florist, etc. and this made it really easy for us to choose and feel confident in our choices from afar. They were both there on the day of the wedding and kept it running smoothly so all we had to do was show up and enjoy. The vibe and aesthetic of our wedding could not have turned out better, thanks to them. Planning a destination wedding can be daunting, let alone a destination wedding right after the holidays, but it never got to be too stressful with their support and guidance. They were always willing to jump on a call to discuss plans so it felt very doable and everything turned out beautifully!!
A year and half prior to my wedding date, I contacted several Maui wedding coordinators via the Knot. Makena Weddings was the first that responded to my request and we scheduled a time to meet and look at venues during our upcoming summer visit. Another company contacted me shortly after but did not include a subject line and contained a typo in the message (your not you're) - all red flags when you have to consider the amount of trust required to take care of all the small AND big details of planning a wedding from afar (BAY AREA, CA)!
When my partner and I met Cindy, she demonstrated warmth, patience and professionalism. It is important to note that she has extensive experience in the restaurant industry and had the patience to answer ALL of my questions for each venue. My partner and I both left the appointment feeling confident in Cindy's abilities to help us plan our special day at Sugar Beach Events (with a guest count of 100+).
Throughout the process, Cindy responded quickly to ALL of my emails, connected us to the appropriate vendors (e.g. Tino who officiated our ceremony beautifully, Angela Nelson Photography, MeiliAutumBeauty, Missbcalligraphy, and Floraldesignsmaui), advocated on our behalf to remain within our budget with our vendors (she even got us some money back following the wedding) and followed through with all aspects that we had asked for (via our Pinterest board) - extending herself way beyond our expectations! I especially appreciated the flexibility in updating our budget when our guest count changed the week's prior the wedding. The day of the wedding (OCTOBER 17, 2019) went smoothly and many of our guests expressed how impressed they were with the lack of lag time and how much fun they had! It was indeed a magical day (BEST DAY EVER) that went by too quickly!!!
Cindy's attention to detail made her the ideal fit for our wedding and I am grateful that she did such a phenomenal job (my partner and I were stress-free during the wedding)! I would be happy to answer any questions you have about them and please do not hesitate to book them - CINDY IS NOTHING SHORT OF AMAZING!!!
Note: Pictures from our wedday day are posted on Yelp.
You can not go wrong by choosing Makena Weddings. Laurie and Cindy know what they are doing, they have all the best vendors on their speed dial. You can tell they all love working for her and handled everything professionally to perfection. Laurie is calm listens to your desires, needs and concerns, she responds with the perfect answers. Our son's wedding day was worry free. All our guest had so much fun and can not stop talking about the food and how beautiful it was from start to finish. We live in Seattle so everything was done by phone.
My husband and I had hired Makena Weddings for our wedding planning. They did an amazing work. We planned everything from New York over phone and emails without seeing anything but the venue before the wedding day. They are very quick to respond to emails and happy to schedule calls as needed. They were very flexible to our requests and managed to keep us in budget while delivering amazing end results. It’s hard to find someone to fully trust for such an important event and plan over the phone but they worked their magic and made everything perfect to every little details. On our wedding day we also didn’t have to worry about anything, they helped coordinate everything for us and we just enjoyed our beyondddd perfect day. Highly recommend!
Cindy and Laurie of Makena Weddings made our wedding day the most amazing day ever. Communication was always easy, and there was not a single thing I had to worry about on the day of the wedding - can’t tell you how much I appreciate that! Our wedding day was more beautiful than we could have imagined, and it’s a day our families and ourselves will not stop talking about. Everyone was in awe of our special day! We are so happy with our memories of that day, and our communication with Makena Wedding in general, and would not change a single thing.
I’m a bit of a control freak when it comes to anything like this, so I’m always skeptical of getting help from others but the best decision I made was hiring Makena Weddings!!! We are beyond grateful for everything they did. Not only Cindy and Laurie, but Al put on an AMAZING ceremony for us that everyone absolutely loved. His words were so moving and unforgettable. We have nothing but PERFECT memories of our wedding day, and we have Makena Weddings to thank for that. You will not go wrong choosing them!!!
Laurie and Cindy are the best!! We had our destination wedding on 8/4/2019. They made the process seamless, and executed perfectly! The wedding was better than my husband and I envisioned. They wow’d us and our guests. I wish we could relive the day over and over again! Haha. We had way too much fun! Thank you to the two lovely ladies for all your hard work.
Laurie and Cindy made our dream wedding come to life! We planned a destination wedding in Maui from California. I was a stress free bride, and they were always willing to jump on a call if I had any questions, or new ideas. Our wedding day was absolutely perfect, and we owe it all to Laurie and Cindy. Thank you times a million for helping to plan our wedding day. We would relive it over and over again!!
I can't write how great Laurie and Cindy are. They made my vision come to life. No day of issue or hiccups. I wish I could do it all again.
What a perfect day! Laurie and Cindy at Makena Weddings are amazing -- they planned, coordinated and put together an absolutely stunning, super fun and super beautiful wedding that included all of our requests and was really tailored to us -- they made everything incredibly easy for us (we live in Australia, so they took care of ALL details locally, answered all our questions, and were always available to us), and made all our dreams come true. We had numerous guests tell us this was the best wedding they had ever been to. Couldn't be happier -- thank you so much Laurie and Cindy!! If you are thinking of getting married in Maui, absolutely book Makena Weddings. xx
Laurie & Cindy made our dreams come true. We could not have asked for more. Our day was perfect! Aloha and Mahalo, Joe & Tracy Tate
This has been on my to do list for some time - and I am finally writing this review in appreciation for the incredible service and support provided to us by Makenna Weddings.
I worked closely with Laurie and Makena Weddings to help plan and pay for the wedding of our son and daughter-in-law. We couldn't be happier with their work. They made this destination wedding weekend for 160 guests spectacular. The Friday night Luau in lieu of a rehearsal dinner was in a breathtaking rain forest location with wonderful food and all that a luau should offer. Saturday was a beautiful, sunny beach wedding with everything perfectly managed and executed. In addition to the evening wedding, they assisted us in planning a traditional Vietnamese Tea Ceremony held earlier in the day.
The extra time spent helping us make the best decisions within our budget was so appreciated. Laurie worked very well with me, as a parent, and with the bride and groom as well. She was able to meet all of our needs and then some. You cannot go wrong with Makena Weddings. It really was perfect.
Laurie and her team are complete professionals and an absolute joy to work with. She listened to all of our requests (and all of the changes) and executed everything perfectly. My husband and I are from New York, so we relied on communicating with Laurie via email and jumped on the phone when needed. She made the entire planning process extremely easy for us and was always ten steps ahead. We highly recommend Laurie and her team - you will not be disappointed!
Laurie, Cindy and Reverend Al were so wonderful. We had our destination wedding at the beautiful Olowalu Plantation House and Makena Weddings made sure that our day was PERFECT!
Not going to lie. It's hard communicating through e-mails, but Laurie made sure we worked through any hiccups along the way. I want to give Laurie a special thank you also. I was dealing with a lot of stress the day before our big day, but she reassured me that everything would be okay. Sure enough, Laurie never failed to check on me constantly throughout our big day. She made sure that I had the best day ever and I can't thank her enough for it.
Our wedding day was exactly how we envisioned it. From the venue, the ceremony, the reception, the decor.. everything just fell into place. Makena Weddings truly outdid themselves.
Thank you Makena Weddings for making our dream wedding come true.
Laurie & Cindy were awesome! Organising a destination wedding may have challenges, but we did not encounter any. Everything was seamless and they were able to organise everything we asked for. We found it easy to send photos of what we were looking for and Laurie and Cindy worked their magic to make it happen. Very helpful to see detailed budgets and timelines as so we could be flexible and incorporate exactly what we wanted. Our wedding day was perfect and we would not change a thing. Thanks for all of your help Laurie & Cindy! Will highly recommend your services to anyone trying to get married on Maui. Lastly, if anyone is considering Olowalu Plantation House for your wedding venue, do it! That place is unreal awesome!
We can not thank Makena weddings enough for all they did to make sure our day was beyond perfect. From the very first phone call we knew they were the ones ! Laurie and Cindy were open, honest, and accepting of all of our thoughts and ideas. They worked within our budget and were always there to answer all of our questions promptly. They made me feel so comfortable from the time we arrived on Maui and throughout the entire wedding day. Reverend Al was absolutely incredible and offered such a beautiful sermon, including our 7 year old daughter in the vows. We had family asking us where he offered service afterwards as they were so blown away ! The entire experience was so memorable and special to us. We are so grateful to have had Makena weddings there for us on our special day.
When we began to plan and contact wedding planners, it became pretty overwhelming and stressful, but as soon as we found Makena Weddings, a ton of weight lifted off our shoulders and they are a true gem.
From the first contact with Makena Weddings, they were very informative with recommendations of venues and catering. Cindy and Laurie created such a personalized solution based on our vision and made it so very simple for us. Cindy and Laurie were on it with creating our detailed, broken down quotes and did a fantastic job keeping in touch with us all the way up until and after our Wedding Day. I had many questions leading up to the day and they were by my side the entire way. I had initially had certain vendors in mind, and when I had concerns, Cindy and Laurie were there to reassure me. The most important thing to us during the planning was to have someone respond to us in a timely manner and Makena Weddings took the cake!!
Cindy was our main point of contact and she was always so calm and pleasant to work with. Day of wedding, she did not seem frantic at all, and everything ran so smoothly. The Ceremony, Cocktail hour, and Reception were perfect! The details were so beautiful and it really was everything beyond our imagination. She also was able to incorporate the little personalized touches we wanted.
Rev. Al Terry. Oh my gosh! He is a hoot and so gentle. Until this day, our friends and family talk about how light his spirit is and how fun he kept the Ceremony, which by the way, made for great photos!
We highly, highly recommend Makena Weddings. We are so grateful for them and we could not imagine working with anyone else. We hope you choose Makena Weddings as your planner. They are such beautiful souls and spirits and they really are the dream-makers!
Cindy, Laurie, and Al made our wedding day so easy and perfect! It was everything we wanted and somehow without stress. It was awesome working with them!
Laurie and Cindy were a delight to work with! They are both so friendly and helpful. I mainly worked with Cindy throughout the planning process for almost a full year before our wedding in July 2018. They have fabulous vendors to work with - I was so impressed with our florist and photographer in particular, who really went above and beyond. They will take care of just about everything for you. I kept asking if there was more I could do but they kept reassuring me everything was going well, and it really was. We literally had no issues on our wedding day! Reverend Al was amazing for our ceremony - we are not religious but he made it very fun, light-hearted and special. We got so many compliments on everything.
There are a couple of things I would advise asking about before making final decisions on vendors - Laurie and Cindy will have the answers, but I wish I had more clarity on these few things, and it was mainly just my own lack of awareness:
- Confirming the time your venue closes and when you can start the ceremony. I wanted to stretch it out for as long as possible. I believe most venues in Maui close relatively early (10pm) and they will have last call drinks at 9.40pm.
- Confirming what chairs, tables, lighting, arch etc is included at the venue and what you may need or want to hire. We ended up renting most of these things as I preferred a slightly different style to the "standard" stuff at the venue and I would have liked to factor that in to our budget a bit earlier in the process.
- DJ/entertainment. Cindy recommended a DJ they usually work with, and I was slightly disappointed with him. It was the only vendor I felt could have been a bit better. There was a bit of an awkward gap after our first dance and although we didn't have that much time on the dance floor (our speeches went a little long) I thought we could have had a bit more energy from him. This could have just been an off day for him and it was such a small thing in the overall amazingness of the day, I feel a bit petty for even mentioning it. But if this is something you really care about, perhaps do some of your own research and see if they can accommodate your preferred choice of DJ/entertainment.
It an amazing day, and if you are planning your wedding remotely like I was, Makena will do an absolutely incredible job!
If you are getting married in Maui, I HIGHLY recommend that you use Makena Weddings. Cindy and Laurie are AMAZING! True miracle workers! I started planning my wedding 15 months prior to the event date. Cindy and Laurie gave us really great vendors to choose from. Everyone from the florist to the photographer to the videographer to the bar service to the DJ was outstanding. As the date got closer, Cindy and Laurie were great about talking me through all the details and logistics and allowing me to be as involved or uninvolved in all of the decisions as I wanted. But the real miracle work came on wedding week. Let me tell you a little bit about the crazy week that was my wedding... it definitely did not go as expected. During our week in Maui we were faced with Hurricane Lane, followed by a fire, followed by a power outage. Dinners and events we had planned for months were canceled as were several of our guests’ flights taking us from a 40 person wedding down to 25. The day before my wedding I learned that my hair stylist and close friend would be unable to make it to the wedding due to flight changes and on my wedding morning, I learned that my Maid of Honor wouldn’t be able to either. I scrambled to process my disappointment while also struggling to find a new hair stylist, make last minute changes to the seating chart, acquire a new MOH... all things you never plan to be doing on your wedding day. Then I found out that the musician we hired wouldn’t be able to make it either. Everything I planned was crumbling before my eyes. I arrived at my incredible outdoor wedding venue Olowalu Plantation House on the sunny afternoon of August 25 but about 30 minutes before guests arrived, the rain starting pouring down. Luckily for us, our wedding planners were absolute professionals, prepared for anything. Due to a power outage in Lahaina, we would not have had electricity (no lights, no mics, no DJ!) but luckily our planners brought generators so we had everything. They brought in a tent and quickly moved our entire ceremony set up underneath it. They also found a last-minute guitarist to play for us! Despite having one of the craziest wedding stories, everything day-of ran seamlessly as Makena Weddings helped us deal with each new change. I absolutely could not have done it without them. Our wedding was memorable, incredible, and full of joy. Thank you Makena Weddings!
Without a doubt, I would recommend Makena Weddings to help you with your special day! Cindy and Laurie were so wonderful to work with! We interviewed several other wedding planning companies and loved the "aloha" we felt after speaking with Makena. They followed my Pinterest page and made many notes after our numerous phone calls and email correspondence. We were able to visit Maui one year to the date, before our wedding. Cindy met us at the venue (Olowalu Plantation House) as well as arranged dinner reservations with Cafe O'lei (who catered our wedding) and had the samples of our wedding cake there!
It was hard planning from so far away, but I am glad that I trusted Cindy to understand what I was picturing. On the day of our wedding, I was completely blown away by the outcome. This would not have been possible without Makena. They took out the hard work, made us feel comfortable and truly made the experience enjoyable. Not once did I become Bridezilla and I was able to relax during the week of the wedding knowing that everything was taken care of.
I wish I could relive our wedding experience all over again <3
We live in Oregon and I started planning our Maui sunset wedding over a year in advance. Their wedding packages and ability to add/remove things was very helpful and allowed a tuned wedding package for our small wedding: for example, I was able to get a credit towards a professional photographer I went with instead of using theirs.
One thing that was critical was keeping our planned wedding date in the email subject line to avoid confusion, particularly when plans are over a year away! Not doing this initially did cause some confusion.
Getting us the necessary legal documents, taking care of beach permits, the pastor (Al was awesome with us & our kids!), ukulele player, etc. was all very helpful in relieving us of duties we would've had to figure out how and when to do. So one could say they did help lower our stress levels.
I'm a motorcycle guy and I noticed Al had a pair of sweet custom rides (one he is building himself) so I said it would be okay if he showed up on his ride. Well, he did! The thumping heartbeat of a beefy V-twin announced his presence and was that nice touch for me to have a fellow rider with a great sense of humor officiate our ceremony.
One thing to mention that we found very odd -- but thoroughly enjoyed it! -- was that there is a lot of kissing involved *during* the ceremony. Just a FYI if you go for a little more Hawaiian slanted ceremony.
From day one, Cindy and Laurie reassured us that this would be an enjoyable process, which it was. They helped us every step of the way, were extremely flexible with the hours in which they made themselves available to us, answered the thousands of questions we had, and helped us pick who they thought would be the best fit for us (and the visions had for our wedding) From lawn games, decor, photographers to caterers. On the wedding day, Cindy and Laurie were instrumental in helping keep everything on schedule, and adapting the schedule even when my future mother-in-law was an hour late. They helped us manage our stress and nerves, and above all, shared their love and joy in celebrating our marriage as if they were part of our family and friends. Reverend Al was such a sweetheart and it felt like we'd known him forever. He made the ceremony really special, intimate, and just the right balance of sentiment and humor. Our day ended up being the most incredible and amazing day ever. It was all we asked for and more. We cannot thank you all enough.
I can't recommend Makena Weddings enough. My husband and I were married at the beautiful Kukahiko Estate on April 12. The day could have not been more perfect. Laurie, Cindy, and Reverend Al are the best trio. So thoughtful, kind, smart and responsive. I felt no stress at all and knew if there were any problems they would be taken care of. Laurie was my main contact and she was wonderful to work with. You can tell she loves what she does. Reverend Al made the ceremony SO special. It felt like we had known them for years. The price was really reasonable too. If you are trying to figure out which Maui wedding planner to use, look no further!
Laurie and Cindy with Makena Weddings were so wonderful in making the planning of my Maui elopement stress-free. It rained in Wailea for most of my wedding day in October. Cindy was so helpful and suggested “out-running” the rain. We did and Ulua Beach was a amazing 2nd location. They truly exceeded all of my expectations. I have no regrets with choosing Makena Weddings. Thank you, ladies for helping to make my wedding day so amazing!
Makena weddings was fabulous! Laurie, Al and Cindy showered us with aloha spirit and listen to all of our requests for a very intimate ceremony for two . We have been a couple for over 15 years and decided to get married and our favorite vacation spot , Maui. We wanted a ceremony that honored our commitment to each other but wanted to keep all of the details minimal. From the initial email all the way through the beautiful ceremony on the beach officiated by Al, everything was just as we had hoped and even then some. I would recommend Makena Weddings to any couple looking to have their ceremony in Maui.
Makena Weddings did a wonderful job with our wedding. Many of our guests told us it was the best wedding they had ever been to. What really stood out to me was the support and experience Laurie showed throughout our special day. She talked us through everything and really put us at ease. I felt like we were in really good hands. Laurie was also very good at listening to my preferences and trying to understand my vision. In the end, we were so happy with our wedding and how the day turned out. It was a dream! Thanks so much Makena Weddings.
Laurie and Cindy are the best wedding planners you could ever chose for
your destination wedding in Maui! It's such a daunting task to plan a
wedding from overseas, but when we first met these ladies, my then-fiance
and I knew we were in good hands! We had three wedding events: a
day-before welcome cocktail reception, the actual ceremony and reception, and a day-after brunch. Everything, seriously everything, went so smoothly and miraculously enough for us, completely stress-free! Like us, all of our guests were blown away as well! Practically everyone has told us, both during and after our wedding, how "chill" and smooth our wedding flowed. We had so many people come to tell us they had the best time at our wedding and that our wedding was by far the best wedding they had or would ever attend! In fact, it's almost a two months later and everyone is STILL talking about it! Honestly, all my husband and I had to really do was tell Laurie and Cindy an idea of what we would like, and they exceeded all our expectations!
Laurie and Cindy are complete pros at what they do! They helped give my
husband and I THE dream wedding we never knew we wanted, but are so happy and feel so lucky to have had.
Laurie and Cindy were SO amazing to work with! I had a chance to meet with Laurie and Cindy about 11 months before our wedding as we live in Oahu and went over to Maui for a short wedding planning trip. They set up a food tasting and cake tasting for us. We met Laurie and Cindy and also met two photographers that we were interested in. Everything turned out beyond perfect. I was the kind of bride who was on top of everything and sent the planners pictures of everything I imagined and it truly was our dream wedding. Also, Al was such a great officiant. Laurie told us we would feel like we've known him for years even though we did not have a chance to meet with him before the wedding and she was right, he made us feel so comfortable and relaxed during the ceremony. We met with Laurie and Cindy in Maui a few days before the wedding and they walked us through everything and made us feel at ease. We did not have to worry about a thing the day of the wedding! Thank you Makena Weddings!!
*The only thing we would change was how quickly the waiters took our guests food and cake. The cake was cut and a piece was delivered to each seat as we were all dancing. I got to take one bite of my cake when I went for a drink break during dancing, I went back and my piece of cake was gone, and I was SO looking forward to our cake. They cut it all even though some people did not want it and I would much rather have had a few pieces cut and had it sitting on the cake table and have people take it as they want it so we could have had the rest saved and eaten it the next day.*
I just got married in Maui last weekend and can't say enough great things about Laurie and Cindy! From the start, Laurie was quick to respond and patient with my questions. When the flowers I wanted for my bouquet were being delivered in a less than desirable state as they were technically out of season, Laurie found a way to get some that were perfect. When it was raining as I arrived to my venue, she ran out with an umbrella to greet me. When the humidity was almost overbearing due to a lack of the trade winds blowing through, she had fans waiting on the chairs for each of my guest. Also, after looking at photos of the many weddings she has planned, I gave her free reign to decorate how she wanted based on my color scheme and a few photos I posted to Pinterest.... and yes, it turned out to be gorgeous and dreamy. I found myself sitting at the reception table trying to fully comprehend how absolutely beautiful and magical it all was. When Laurie wasn't available, her assistant Cindy was there to help me. I seriously can't say enough great things about them. She made the whole planning process so easy and made me feel secure in that she knew exactly what she was doing.
Makena Weddings is Amazing!!! It was an absolute delight to meet and deal with Laurie and Al. Our sunset ceremony was simple but magical. Everything was organized so perfect even though mostly we talked over the phone and personally met only a 1 day before the event. Laurie made everything so stress free and her guidance was priceless. Thank you so much for everything :) I am thinking maybe to renew my vows in 10 years just to repeat the moment
I can't express enough how wonderful it was working with Laurie and Al. We arranged everything online and our simple ceremony was more than I expected! We could not have asked for a more touching ceremony. It felt like we'd known Laurie longer than the 6 months of email correspondences and on the morning of our ceremony and meeting Al, there was an instant connection and a trust that he would conduct a beautiful and heart felt ceremony. He did that and more.
Mahalo Makena Weddings :-)
Laurie at Makena Weddings made our Kukahiko Wedding absolutely incredible. In fact, on their website is a short blog about our wedding and vendors and details to see for yourself! Laurie & Cindy make it happen. They ensured us that everything we wanted or needed, they would do their best to provide and figure out. They made the day of execution so comfortable as we knew they were handling every detail. Laurie is such a great person, great to talk with and share ideas and stories. Her passion is so evident and she is a joy to work with. With the Makena Weddings Team and all of the vendors that we had, we were able to have the wedding of our dreams. Thank you to Laurie and your wonderful team!
What great people to work with! My wife and I were married last week after coordinating our wedding with Makena Weddings from our home in Seattle. The whole process was easy, reasonably priced and most importantly to us, we were able to work with people who clearly care about what they do and those they help on this special day. Al, Laurie and Cindy were all amazing. You can't find a better person to marry you than Al - guaranteed! We instantly felt a connection with him. They also recommended a photographer that GREATLY exceeded our expectations (Michael Stuarts who works for Chris Evans). There was an additional charge for this higher end photographer but he was worth every penny. We didn't really have the money to add this additional cost, but I have zero regrets. What great photos. And what a great wedding. Do yourself a favor and reach out to the kind folks at Makena!
We can’t say enough good things about Makena Weddings and what an incredible job that Laurie and Cindy did in making our wedding something that everyone is going to remember for a lifetime! No detail was left out and Makena Weddings was able to accommodate our budget without sacrificing the elements of our wedding that we wanted. It really made the experience as stress-free as possible with next-to-nothing to worry about! Reverend Al was wonderful and conducted the ceremony beautifully. Our venue (Olowalu Plantation House) was the perfect setting and the food provided by Café O’Lei in Kihei was beyond delicious! Many of our guests have commented on how our wedding was the best one that they have ever been to and we owe that to Laurie and her team. We would recommend Makena Weddings time and again to anyone looking to get married on Maui! Mahalo!
Our wedding on the beach will always be a magical memory thanks to the Makena Weddings Team. All expectations were exceeded! The planning was easy. After the first call with Laurie, any concerns we had about a destination wedding were put to rest. The ceremony was perfect. Every detail was taken care of, and Rev. Al made it more personable than we thought possible. We look forward to working with this team again in the future for our vows renewal ceremony, and have already highly recommended them to friends considering a destination wedding. Thanks for making our perfect wedding a reality!
My husband and I are from Canada and, with the help of Laurie at Makena Weddings, we were able to plan our entire wedding from home without meeting our vendors ahead of time.
I must admit that I'm 100% type A, which meant that I had a long excel spread sheet comparing 10 different MAUI wedding planners AND that I had a very specific vision in mind. While many of the wedding planners that I emailed had great ideas and were able to accommodate our budget, none of them quite compared to Laurie. Laurie was kind enough to offer a phone interview to help with the decision process and after speaking to her, I instantly felt at ease. She very kindly explained that she can make any budget work for a Maui wedding and promised that she'd do her best to help my vision come to life.
We had about a year of emails & phone calls back and forth- talk about patience! My questions were always answered, my ideas were always acknowledged, and any discrepancies in cost or budget were always reconciled quickly. Because she has been in the business for many years, Laurie has intimate connections with all of her vendors and so I felt comfortable trusting her suggestions.
We got married at Olowalu resort and our wedding day was a magical dream! Everything turned out better than expected, and Laurie was there to keep everything running smoothly.
From start to finish, Laurie handled the planning process in both a professional and genuinely-loving manner. It's obvious that she's passionate about what she does, because her heart seemed to be in it every step of the way.
I would highly recommend her to future brides.
Several of my guests told me that our wedding was the best they've ever been to. This is certainly do to, in no short way, Laurie, Cindy, and Al. What an exceptional team! Laurie and Cindy coordinated with me for over a year and managed to give me my dream wedding in Maui. They were efficient, responsive, calming, and creative. They went above and beyond to deliver my vision and helped me deal with stressful issues (like our hotel being under construction) that did not add to their commission in the slightest. Laurie knows all the right people and the vendors they suggested were just perfect. Al was fantastic - warm, funny, and authentic. I could not have envisioned a better ceremony. Endless thanks to this outstanding team!
Absolutely Amazing! Everyone that went to our wedding has told us it was the most beautiful and amazing wedding that they have ever been to..and it was. From the beautiful venue, to Reverend Al who made the ceremony special, to the decorations, music and performers, all were exceptional. Being the bride and letting Laurie handle all the details once we made our selections made my wedding day easy. She calmed any nerves before they started. She and Cindy made the day perfect. Everyone she recommended did an outstanding job and made our day something to truly be thankful for!:) We feel blessed to have found them and worked with such wonderful people. They are truly the best and bring the best out in people. Words can't express how wonderful they are at bringing your vision to life. MAHALO
Laurie is an amazing coordinator! She made the planning process for a destination wedding so easy and a breeze. She made sure everything went perfect and looked amazing on our wedding day. Reverend Al made us feel like we had known him for forever. He made our ceremony all that much more special.
Anyone who is considering their wedding in Maui should definitely go with Makena Weddings, they are a great team and I couldn't thank them more for making our day a day to remember.
Our wedding was the most special and and wonderful evening of our lives. Reverend Al and his lovely bride Laurie took us in and embraced us with much love and the aloha spirit. They walked us through every step to make sure it was just as we wanted it to be. We wanted simple and it was much more than we imagined. Laurie took all the photo's and captured every moment. It was a day we will always cherish and have the photo's to look back on and share with our loved ones. The best choice to begin your journey together is Makena Weddings. Al and Laurie know just what to say and how to help you put it all together . They will share the love and warmth and magic of the beautiful island of Maui
Aloha and much love Kathy and James
Laurie Terry planned my daughter’s Maui wedding two months ago. She did a fabulous job and helped us all have a wonderful wedding and phenomenal experience. She knows Maui and the providers and which options we should explore with her. Right away she sent us a list of photographers and we chose Scott Drexler who did an incredible job. Laurie took my daughter’s rather vague description for flowers and had it executed to perfection. There are so many things involved in planning a wedding and we could always get a hold of Laurie and her excellent team to work out the details. Laurie also offered excellent suggests for pre- and post-wedding activities.
Laurie has an expression she uses a lot “Don’t worry. It will be fabulous.” With Laurie on your side you won’t worry and the wedding will indeed be fabulous!
We cannot say enough about how Makena Weddings made our wedding day absolutely perfect. Without a doubt, choosing Makena Weddings for our destination wedding was the best decision made in our entire wedding planning process. Laurie and her team walked us through every step of the way and really took our every desire into consideration and made us feel completely comfortable and cared for. After choosing the venue (Kukahiko Estate) and the vendors, we took a more "hands off" approach with our planning and told Makena Weddings our main requests and general feel that we wanted to achieve. From there, Makena Weddings made the wedding magical for us. We knew that our wedding day was going to be special, but the amount of care that went into all of the small things that were planned out for us did not go overlooked or underappreciated. They really took the time to make every detail just right. But aside from all of the details of the wedding itself, the entire process was fun and all the stress of planning a wedding was non-existent. They made us feel completely comfortable and cared for and treated us like we were family. There is something to be said about wanting to stay in touch with our wedding coordinator even after it is all over. We can't tell you how much we enjoyed working with Makena Weddings. We wouldn't have had it any other way.
My sister/maid of honour and I met Laurie by accident while waiting for another planner to show us around Kukahiko Estates - lucky for us, Laurie happened to be doing a site visit at the same time and she walked us through the property. She was lovely and helpful, and answered all my questions - it was meant to be! My now husband and I booked our wedding date with her a year in advance. The planning phase was great - she was very informative and honest, and gave us lots of options for various elements - everything from flowers and music to our marriage license and different activities and restaurants around the island.
The couple days leading up to our wedding were not panicky or stressful at all - again, Laurie demonstrated her experience with wedding planning by going through all the last minute details with us and answering our final questions with confidence. I realized I didn't have a pretty hanger for my dress and she got one for me, plus she arranged a petal path for our ceremony the day before - I decided I wanted it at the last second. She also organized a mini rehearsal for our families beforehand, which isn't something she normally does but I had requested it and she made it happen.
Our wedding day was incredibly humid, and Laurie was there to help get my dress on, making sure we started on time and having water/tissues/everything in between on hand for our families at the venue. I think she even managed to shoo away some passersby from the public access path around the estate! All in all, she was instrumental in making our wedding day very memorable and everything we wanted.
And of course, we have nothing but wonderful things to say about Al! He performed an awesome ceremony and made it funny, heartwarming and romantic. He was great with our six-year-old nephew, who was our ring bearer - fist bumps and everything! Could not have asked for a better minister.
If you are thinking about a destination wedding in Maui, definitely look up Laurie and Al at Makena Weddings. Love their work!
Laurie, Al, and Cindy made our wedding day as smooth as possible. We had a private ceremony with me and my wife and we were in constant contact with Laurie from the beginning. Whether it was paperwork that needed to be filed or options to choose from (photographer, hair/makeup, etc) they were always very prompt to respond. They were always very accommodating as we had planned our wedding during a very busy week in May but it could not have gone smoother. They always had time to answer our questions or concerns even though we had a very small wedding. As soon as we arrived on the island we got in contact with Cindy who also works on the team and she could not have been any nicer to work with. She told us exactly what we needed to do to prep for the wedding and called us to let us know how things were progressing. We ended up choosing Po'olenalena Beach in Kihei and had a sunset wedding on May 14, 2015. Since she was handling a lot of the details this allowed me and my wife to enjoy and relax in beautiful Maui as our wedding date approached. On the wedding day we finally got to meet Reverend Al, he performed a beautiful traditional ceremony including a lovely traditional hymn for us and always kept us loose and would always know to say to keep us laughing. This was truly a memorable day, and I am glad to have chosen the team at Makena Weddings to coordinate and plan our special day. They really go out of their way to make you feel comfortable and relaxed and it's really those special little touches that made our wedding day that much more memorable. Aloha!
Reverend Al and his wife were the best. We contacted them looking to elope while in Maui, met with them in the afternoon and five hours later we were having a sweet ceremony that was perfect for us! They are very genuine people, and show they enjoy bringing people together. From a small ceremony or a large one, I would recommend them to everyone!!
We couldn’t have made a better choice than Makena Weddings. Reverend Al and Laurie Terry helped us throughout the entire process, from getting our marriage license to helping us select a wonderful secluded beach for our wedding ceremony. Reverend Al’s sincerity and humor created a causal and warm atmosphere. We love how he incorporated the Hawaiian traditions of the “Oli Aloha” greeting chant, and the lei exchange. We highly recommend Makena Weddings to handle your wedding too.
Mahalo nui loa
December 30, 2014 Doug & Jean Fulton
My husband and I wanted this for our wedding: sunset beach wedding with only us, Hawaiian minister, guitar player, photographer and videographer. After hearing about and bearing the cost of attending other weddings, we wanted to just show up with no stress and get married without having to please anyone or worry about anything.
Laurie delivered! I couldn't have asked for a better day!
I had been communicating with her from the mainland for months before we even arrived. She was always fast to respond to emails. When we got there, we met at her house/office to go over the final details. Next, we were sent down the street to get our marriage license. Laurie had everything arranged and we were able to get in and out in a matter of minutes. Other couples sent from other planners were there for at least an hour as they didn't have the correct information or documentation. We were already looking at beaches while other couples were still having a "DMV" experience. This is how Laurie operates.
The day of the wedding went insanely well. Regina, my hair and makeup lady, met me in my room while my then fiancé played golf. She made me look both beautiful and natural. No nasty airbrushing or contouring. My normal seaweed on a rock hair looked full and incredible.
We then drove down and attended our wedding. Everyone was there waiting for us and it was a beautiful afternoon. Her husband, Reverand Al, is a pro and even had a tissue for when I started welling up. Laurie even made us reservations for dinner at our favorite restaurant after. Our photos turned out incredible.
If you want a stress free, reasonably priced wedding where you can just focus on your day, Makena Weddings is the way to go. The attention to detail and quality of vendors is amazing. I couldn't have asked for a better day.
I cannot thank Al and Laurie enough! We were married last week on November 10th, 2014, and even though we had some bumps along the road (none of them because of our coordinators) everything turned out beautifully. A co-worker worked with Makena Weddings, so I went in based on a recommendation. They handled the details, including my extra requests to bring my own minister and an all-white bouquet. I was so concerned about not having enough time with the photographer that Laurie made a call, got us extra time, and never raised the fees.
When my pastor was 45 minutes late to arrive, Laurie did a great job keeping everyone calm and rolling with it to make sure we didn't miss the sunset for photos. Our guitar player was fabulous and our photographers (MeewMeww) and videographer (who will also get rave reviews) were outstanding, staying late to take pictures because we lost 45 minutes of time with the delay. Everyone went above and beyond. After reading others' horror stories of working with coordinators, I highly recommend Makena Weddings. They know their business and worked hard to make everything perfect. It was the most fun I've ever had! Thanks Al and Laurie!!!
I'm not usually one to write reviews BUT Laurie and her staff definitely deserve the recognition for the AMAZING job done. My husband and I wed at Olowalu Plantation House. I was skeptical at first with even getting a planner as I'm very much a hands on person that organizes and makes almost anything from scratch.
But with the wedding being in Maui and me being all the way in Canada, I knew I had to get a knowledgeable local to help me. Boy was she worth it! From beginning to end, Laurie was sincere, courteous, warm, friendly, understanding and compassionate. I feel like I've made a genuine friend! Every detail was so well organized and professional executed. From the cake cutting with the perfectly timed sunset behind us to making sure I was well hydrated and remembering to relax. The vendors that she recommended and worked with at my wedding were very much like her as well. Everyone "working" felt like they wanted to be there as opposed to just being there for a job. I couldn't believe how great our day turned out.
Being very much a perfectionist in everyday life, I would even go as far as to say that the day went flawlessly. Makena Weddings was the best darn choice we made for our wedding!
PS her husband Reverend Al was awesome. EVERYONE loved him.
I can't say enough good things about Laurie and Al from Makena Weddings. When we decided to get married in Maui we were at a loss of where to start. Being from Alberta, Canada we knew nothing about potential venues, bar services etc. A friend recommended Laurie and Al and raved about them. From the first contact with Laurie I was totally confident we had made the right choice in wedding planners. She was on top of everything from the beginning and took all the stress out of planning a destination wedding. I gave Laurie a color pallet we wanted to use and let her do her magic. The table decor, outdoor decorations and bouquets were all chosen by Laurie and they were beautiful. We literally showed up on the wedding day, got married and had a fun, relaxing day/night with our friends and family. Reverend Al was amazing as well. We chose a traditional Hawaiian ceremony. Rev Al made us laugh and cry while still keeping the tone light. All of the staff that worked our wedding were so friendly and helpful.I would recommend Makena Weddings to anyone planning a special event in Maui. You will not find anyone better!! Thank you Laurie and Al for making our wedding day so special.
Laurie and Al made our wedding totally perfect! We had email contact almost half a year before the wedding, and everything went on so easy. We live in Sweden, so it was a little hard for us to imagine how the wedding would look like before we got to Maui. But Laurie and Al made us calm and secure with evertyhing, they really know what they are doing. We met each other some days before the wedding at Laurie and Al's house, and went through the whole ceremony. It was just me and my husband on the wedding so it was very small, but Laurie really made us feel important and wanted to make our day perfect for just the two of us. She made us feel like we were the only couple they planned wedding for. Very proffessional. I wanted to have a bridal bouquet, but was not so sure how I wanted it to look, so I just told Laurie the colors that I wanted. We got married at Makena Surf Beach, and I really reccomend that beach!!! When we got there, Laurie and Al and the photographer, Chelsea Cheffer, was already there. And when I got to see my bouquet I knew that the wedding was going to be absolutley perfect! Laurie really knew me and my husband, for real. The wedding was the best, and the sunset was perfect! When it was over we said goodbye to Lauire and Al, and they told us that if there was something we needed help with at our vacation on Maui, we should call them and they would help us. It was so nice to know that we had someone there for us, even when the wedding was over. Thank you, Laurie and Al!
I cannot say enough about Laurie and Al and the perfect day they created for my husband and I. We wanted a simple wedding but as any bride there were a few details that I had my heart set on. The perfect beach and a beautiful bouquet. Laurie delivered with both, and she went above and beyond with the most beautiful plumeria bouquet, exactly like he pictures I sent her. I was worried a few months before the wedding about researching and picking our beach but Laurie reassured me we would go over that when we met the day before. It was hard to take a breath and trust....but when we met she gave us two beaches to go check out that were both so perfect that we had a hard time choosing between the two. Laurie also arranged hair and makeup to be done at my Villa as a late add on to my package and Jean was just wonderfu! Al has a very special gift and made our ceremony very intimate and personal, and even funny in some parts after just having met us the day before. From the moment we met them in person they both put us at ease. I have seen the pictures of all the different sizes and styles of wedding they do and would not hesitate to recommend them to friends, family or anyone looking for help with planning a wedding in Maui. They take the stress out of long distance planning and you will not be disappointed! Not to mention all the invaluable recommendations on local cuisine and hot spots!
We were staying at the Fairmont Kea Lani and they wanted to do a wedding for a base of 6,000. Steve had found Makena weddings which was a reasonable price range for us and included our package included hair, make up, a photographer, and the actual ceremony. Al & Laurie were very accommodating and helpful. We didn't have to worry about anything. Simple & easy, thank you!
I had spoken with many, many people trying to plan my simple wedding on the beach but no one seemed to listen to what I wanted- until I found Laurie of
Makena Weddings! She knew exactly what I wanted and listened to my wishes. She was easy to communicate with (especially with the 6 hour time difference!), thorough, and helpful on the day of even picking up an extra camera! Reverend Al helped make us feel comfortable and gave us the Hawaiian beach ceremony we will not forget! I cannot say enough about Makena Weddings, our experience was perfect!!
Reverend Al & Laurie were awesome! They're an amazing husband and wife team that made our wedding day perfect and stress free! We communicated with Laurie to coordinate all the details and Reverend Al's presence made us feel completely comfortable during the ceremony. We're so lucky to have found these amazing people and would definitely recommend them to anyone!
Rev. Al originally married my wife and I in Maui in September of 2000. His kindness then and the love of bringing two people together who were then and are still now madly in love. His passion was truly a blessing from God and a sign of Rev Al's love for what he brings to every ceremony. From the moment he shook my hand to the time he reached out and put his hand on my shoulder, I knew that this was how I always wanted to remember this day. He married two people who had been looking for each other all of there lives, both wanting to find someone who wanted to be loved as much as they wanted to love someone. The ceremony then is still captured in my memories as I can still feel the breeze of the ocean and the warmth of the sun on my face. June 6th of this year my wife, my ten year old daughter and I stood on a beautiful secluded beach on the island of Maui, and listen to Rev. Al as he performed a ceremony for the renewing of our wedding vows. Almost fourteen years after our first meeting, my wife and I along with our daughter stood in front of the same man who had married us in the 2000. His calming voice and gentle smile seemed to calm all reality as he performed our ceremony in both English and Hawaiian, as he sung the Hawaiian song of Marriage the tears poured down our faces as they did at the beginning of our joining in 2000. Rev. AL and his wife Laurie are truly what the Aloha spirit is all about, from my first phone call last year explaining to Laurie of our plans of our trip to Maui in June. And my wanting to surprise my wife by renewing our vows with Rev. Al during our stay and how I wanted them to make my daughters involvement in it to be special. Laurie and I spoke several times and emailed many more, right up until our arrival in Maui. Although I must tell you that I did eventually let my wife know of my plans, so that she could prepare and shop for dresses for our daughter and herself, and clothes for me. We kept it a surprise from our daughter. Every since my daughter could remember I have spoke of Rev. Al, because during our stay in 2000. I purchase a CD of Rev. Al singing songs of the Hawaiian Islands. My daughter and I have listen to the songs on that CD a thousand times. We woke up the Wednesday before our renewal and told her we had an appointment. Well we were on our way to meet with Laurie to review our ceremony arrangements, when we arrived Laurie meet us outside and introduced herself to us, because in 2000 we did not have the opportunity to meet her. She welcomed us into her home as if she had known us all of our lives, her detail to every request was spot on as were all of her suggestions. Rev. Al had to perform a ceremony earlier that morning and arrived before we departed. He was as we remember a man whose heart was as big as he is. He walked in and and said hello and hugged my wife and I. He then turned his attention to my daughter as she told him how she listens to his music all of the time. He listen to her as she told him how happy she was and that she was going to be part of the renewal vows. He explained to her how special she was and how much we loved her. And told her that she would always be part of their Ohana. Bottom line, I wrote a story Rev. AL and Laurie's love for what they do. These are two of the kindest people you will ever meet, they make each and every ceremony a event that you too will remember as we do. You will always remember the day you marry, Makena Weddings will make that happen. ALOHA
We chose Laurie & Al with Makena Weddings because:
#1. They are native to Hawaii-- not a transplant just for the "maui wedding" business. They are a sweet genuine husband and wife couple who really Love what they do and it shows!
#2. They are the MOST affordable wedding officiants of Maui. Believe me...I looked at ALL the companies.
#3. They were straight forward with what they offer and didn't spam me with junk emails trying to upgrade me to higher packages like other wedding companies.
Laurie&Al were so welcoming to us when we signed all the remaining documents/paperwork the day before our wedding at their home. It was so peaceful and relaxing sitting on their on the back patio listening to how they met and connecting with us. Laurie had set up our state marriage license appointment to be right after our appointment with them which was located right down the street which made it super easy.
We loved Al's Hawaiian style ceremony where he sang a Hawaiian song for us and assisted us in the bridge groom lei exchange (leis provided by them) which was very special to us. The quality of the leis that came in our package with them were beautiful and it also saved me time from running around the island trying to find the right ones.
I'm so glad we found Laurie&Al they made our day smooth and memorable at the
best price possible, you just cant beat it! THANK YOU for making our day the best!
Jeff+Samantha McDougal
My now husband and I decided we wanted to elope in Maui and have a small ceremony for just us. We found Laurie online and went off reviews and could not have been happier. Everything from the beach location to my bouquet was perfect. Laurie and Al were so warm and made our day special for the two of us. Laurie even called me the day of our ceremony to make sure I was feeling great and to offer any help I may need, it was nice as we were so far away from home. I would absolutely recommend them to anyone who wants to get married on the beach with low stress and no hassle. Especially if you are planning from far away like we did, it can be daunting but I never had any doubts with Makena weddings that they had us covered!
Makena Weddings is a one of kind wedding planning agencies that combines the highest level of professionalism with the true Hawaiian kindness and love for hospitality. We got married in June 2014 in Sugarman Estate in Makena and for several months Laurie was there every time we needed her to answer all of our questions and address all of the concerns. She went out of her way to negotiate all the prices to make sure we got the best deal and the best service on the island. Her attention to detail and patience is beyond believe, nothing gets left behind.
Now, I should say a little bit about our wedding. My husband is originally from Maui and has many friends there, and I am from Russia, we live in California now, so our wedding brought together friends and family from across the world. We had a large wedding with many special requests and lots of entertainment for guests. Our wedding was also kids-friendly. Laurie arranged amazing Musician who played during the ceremony and reception, hula dancers that taught our guests how to dance hula during the reception hour, she also brought a balloon artist and a face painting artist, both were a great hit with kids, we had a photo booth that turned out to be our guests’ favorite and Polynesian fire dancer produced a show that even Maui natives called the best one they’ve ever seen. And of course there were tons of dancing and music for everyone to enjoy.
Another fact that speaks to Makena Weddings level of professionalism is the fact that on the day of our wedding it was heavily raining for several hours right during the time when everything had to be installed and set up (from 10 am to 4 pm!). The rain was not in the forecast and I personally observed clear skies on my smart phone screen when it was pouring like crazy outside. How about that for a real wedding test?! The wedding took place outside and everything from the tent and a wedding arch, to a dance floor and lounge furniture had to be installed and connected. We had LED TV screens to show our pictures during dinner, sound system, lights, and all the electronics that had to be installed during the rain. I have no idea how Laurie and her Team managed to do that (giving the fact that Laurie was checking on me multiple times reassuring that the rain would pass), but when I was walking down the isle (the rain magically stopped right at 4 pm when the ceremony started), everything looked amazing. And I mean amazing, just perfect.
Laurie took care of us from the day we met her just to “talk about the wedding”. She is not your average wedding coordinator, she is truly a producer who delivers high quality event just the way you envision it with the most personal and kind attitude possible. During the wedding she was on site to oversee her staff and make sure everything went as planned. Everything that we talked about before the wedding was completely carried through and we were able to just live in the moment and enjoy our wedding because we had such a great team taking care of everything else!
Special words should be said about Al who was our Minister and led the ceremony. He is exactly the person to trust with such a special moment: wise, calm, kind, loving, with a great sense of humor, the one who respects traditions and fills each of his words with meaning and appreciation for love and family.I also wanted to mention Amie, Laurie’s assistant, who helped us with lots of special requests. http://scottdrexler.com/sugarman-estate/katejohn/
Dear Readers of this Review.... The wedding of Dallas and Vicki was simplicity in itself. With the direction and strong armed advisement of good friends, Gretchen and her neighbor Dee of Seattle, WA. Vicki and I were Married after 18 years of living together. The wedding came together @ Makena Beach, with Reverend Al and of course Laurie, whom invited Vic and I into their beautiful Home and set the Wedding in motion. Al's hydroponics garden(s) and Laurie's after beach Wedding dinner was superb. As a retired Architect and lazy Groom, I was thoroughly impressed. I just stood back along with my Best Man Duncan and my Mentor, Bill W. Thank You so, Rev. Al and Laurie..................Dallas Olson, Camano Island, WA.
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