About this vendor
Wedding Scenes Inc. provides premium wedding planning services for couples hoping to tie the knot in beautiful locations such as HI, CA, NY, Europe, and Japan. Based in Honolulu, HI, the team would be delighted to help you bring your dream wedding vision to life.
Founder and owner Naoko Kobayashi began her journey as a wedding planner when planning her own wedding over 20 years ago. She fell in love with the craft and found immense joy in helping her couples create a unique and personalized celebration. The team at Wedding Scenes Inc. is dedicated to your day and focuses on the principle of "consideration for guests," which means your schedule will be designed to relax you while meeting your needs.
Wedding Scenes Inc. offers full-service wedding planning in English and Japanese, helping couples feel comfortable and understood during the planning process. The team handles every detail, including venue selection, budget advice, vendor selection, and conceptual design. This expert team is there to help you create an unforgettable and unique celebration.
Details
Business Attributes
- Asian-owned Business
- Woman-owned Business
Destination Weddings
- Destination Wedding Packages
- Destination Wedding Planning
Planning
- A la Carte Wedding Planning
- Budgeting
- Day-Of Coordination
- Destination Wedding Planning
- Full Service Wedding Planning
- Honeymoon Planning
Wedding Activities
- Getting Engaged
- Engagement Party
- Honeymoon
- Rehearsals & Parties
- After Party
- Bachelor Party
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Reviews
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1
out of 5.02 reviews
My husband and I began planning our destination wedding in Hawaii in 2023 for our September 2025 celebration. We selected the full planning service and hired Naoko from Wedding Sce...
nes Inc., which unfortunately turned out to be a terrible mistake.
We initially gave her the benefit of the doubt — she seemed hardworking, her pricing was affordable, and we understood there could be a language barrier — but as time went on, we encountered serious issues with professionalism, transparency, and communication.
As Canadians, we wired payments to Naoko so she could pay our vendors on our behalf (since we couldn’t use services like Venmo). She claimed to have over 10 years of wedding planning experience, but it quickly became clear that she lacked organization, reliability, and integrity.
1. Poor communication:
Naoko frequently took a week or more to respond, often ignoring questions entirely. When we followed up, we’d receive excuses such as her laptop breaking or having medical emergencies — this became a recurring pattern. We were repeatedly told, “I have other weddings,” which made us feel like we weren’t a priority.
2. Broken commitments:
When my husband visited Hawaii to meet her and tour venues (something she agreed to coordinate and drive us to), she canceled last minute on the day of, claiming her car had broken down. This was especially frustrating because our main purpose for traveling was to book our venue.
3. Lack of transparency with funds:
The most serious concern arose when we requested invoices and original contracts to confirm vendor payments. We discovered that a florist contract had been altered, and only $300 was paid instead of the $3,000 we had sent Naoko to forward. It became clear that several vendors had not been paid in full, and she had withheld a portion of our funds. When we confronted her about these concerns, she completely stopped responding to us.
We eventually terminated our contract with her four months before our wedding and had to work with vendors directly to recover our money. Several vendors even mentioned having negative experiences with her in the past.
Naoko’s communication was unreliable, her planning was disorganized, and her handling of funds was deeply concerning. We had to take over almost every aspect of coordination ourselves despite paying for a full-service package.
Brides and grooms — please take this as a warning. Your wedding should be joyful and stress-free. Save yourself the heartache and avoid Naoko, from Wedding Scenes Inc. at all costs.
We hired Wedding Scenes Inc., a wedding planner who promotes 20+ years of experience in Hawaii, Japan, and Paris. In December 2024, we signed a $4,500 full-service wedding planning...
contract for an oceanfront wedding in Hawaii and paid a $2,000 deposit.
From the beginning, we clearly stated our total budget of $30,000–$35,000, and the planner said it was “doable.” Based on that, we trusted her professional judgment and signed the contract.
Unfortunately, what we received was far below expectations:
Only one official quote, which was close to $50,000
The quote included a basic cost breakdown, but no vendor names, package options, or detailed comparisons — just general categories and a high total
Only two Zoom meetings during the entire process, both arranged after multiple follow-ups
Weeks of no response, even though she was consistently active on Instagram
Venue suggestions that did not reflect our preferences
Later, she told us that due to inflation, a Hawaii wedding might be too expensive and suggested Japan instead (my partner is from Japan).
Though it was heartbreaking, we agreed to change our destination to Osaka or Tokyo and hoped to continue planning positively.
We had clear and simple requests:
A venue near Tokyo or Osaka airports for accessibility (most of our guests were flying in from the U.S.)
A city or ocean view location
Instead, she recommended:
An indoor restaurant affiliated with her
A few rural venues 2–3 hours away, completely unrelated to our vision
When we raised these concerns, she went completely unresponsive for weeks.
We then found a Japanese venue on our own that came with a full-service wedding planning package.
Since she offers a Half Service plan, we kindly requested a contract adjustment. (Our contract even states that the terms must be changed if the destination changes.)
She refused, saying she still had "a lot of work to do" and insisted on charging the full $4,500.
After our trust was fully broken, we asked to cancel the contract and requested a refund. She only offered $500, citing time spent on "research."
We have since filed a formal complaint with the Hawaii Department of Commerce and Consumer Affairs (DCCA). All records and communications have been submitted.
This was not just frustrating—it was emotionally exhausting.
We entered this agreement in good faith and were met with silence, inflexibility, and disregard.
If you're planning a destination wedding and are looking for a planner who is professional, communicative, and truly listens, we cannot recommend Wedding Scenes Inc. based on our experience.
Contact
1750 Kalakaua Ave. Suite 113, Honolulu, HI | Hawaii, Los Angels, Europe, Japan
Wedding Scenes Inc.