We've utilized Big Island Tents for two very special events for a non-profit I work for and I…read morecannot say enough great things about their company and their staff! In addition to creating the most magical setups, they worked hand and hand with us to make sure the every single detail was planned out so that it was as stress-free as possible. They helped connect us with other amazing local businesses to partner with, they consistently go above and beyond what we ask for, they donated extremely generously to make sure that the children being celebrated got all they asked for and then some, were extremely responsive and helpful. They are our go-to partner when it comes to events on Hawai'i island. We love our Big Island Tents 'Ohana!

They have EVERYTHING you need for your party or wedding needs! These guys were efficient in set up…read moreand showed us how to take the walls on or off if we needed to, set up the games, and one even offered to come help with the imu pit the following morning. They made one stop reserving so easy with everything we needed to build our wedding venue in a field. Look no further for all your event needs!

When we first got engaged, I was determined to save money by not hiring a wedding planner. I…read morethought, "I'm super organized, detailed and fairly good at planning things -- I can do it myself." But after repeatedly hearing that hiring a wedding planner was worth every penny, we decided we would give it a try. I'm so glad we did. Now I'm the one telling engaged couples, "it's worth every penny!" I've outlined our thoughts on their services below - hopefully it will help you make your decision as well. :) PACKAGES: Swept Away provides an array of packages that are fairly priced and can be tailored to fit the needs of your wedding. I loved that they offered everything from day-of coordination, to event design, to full-service coordination, and more! We went with the full-service coordination package, which was much needed for a busy bride and groom like ourselves. Also, because we lived on O'ahu and were planning to be married on the Big Island, it was super helpful to work with a team who lived there. DETAIL + DESIGN: Contrary to the stereotype that every woman has dreamt of their wedding day since they were a little girl, I had not done any planning or dreaming prior to getting engaged. The only thing I knew was that I wanted an outdoor wedding. I felt that Swept Away was strongest in this area of wedding planning. Since I seemed to like anything and everything on Pinterest, they helped me hone my overflow of diverse ideas, made design suggestions, and gave practical feedback that elevated the vision I was forming along the way. I've included a few photos that illustrate some of the ideas that came to life. Also, if you check out their Instagram account (@SweptAwayEvents), you can view a bunch of other design masterpieces they've done! COMMUNICATION: As a communications professional, I can't even begin to tell you how important this is to me. My world is fast-paced, so timely and complete responses are crucial! Tiffany (one of the owners), was quite on top of it. She replied to every one of my emails and answered all of my questions. She deserves an award or something; I must've sent her several hundred emails over the course of our 8-month engagement! DAY-OF: They say no wedding day is 100% perfect, but I'd say ours was pretty darn close thanks to Swept Away. Our wedding had a lot of details and moving parts, but Tiffany and her team stayed on top of it. They were professional, timely, calm and helpful. We ate, we danced, we spent time with our friends and family, and the event surpassed our expectations! I had originally considered asking a friend to handle day-of coordination (to save some money), but after seeing how much work it was, I'm so glad we didn't. All of our friends were able to fully celebrate our day with us. If you're still not convinced by my lengthy review, I encourage you to at least call or email Swept Away just to ask a few questions and get to know the team. They're friendly, personable, honest and down-to-earth, and I'm sure you won't be disappointed!

I don't even know where to begin. I had fired my first wedding planner after 5 months of radio…read moresilence, I mean not one response to an e mail, a call, nothing. I already wasn't even sure if I wanted a wedding so after that I was even more soured on the idea but my husband and our families insisted and along we went trying to plan our own wedding. Eventually his mom decided that she needed help and we hired Ashley from Swept Away. I had little to no involvement in the actual planning process, but I can tell you that Ashley talked to my mom, my husband or his mother ally the time. There is a 6 hour time difference with us here and she always found the time to walk them through whatever concerns they were having. The hotel gave my parents some bait and switch action once we got there and Ashley was the mediator and really fought for us. The rehearsal and day of she was on top of every little detail. She had Danielle (also from Swept Away) helping her and she was also super lovely and helpful and they were both cool as a cucumber on the outside even though I am sure it wasn't easy. But their calm demeanor kept everyone else calm too. Now the fun stuff. Holy wow. Since I had no involvement in the planning I had no idea what the wedding would look like. It was something out of a Martha Stewart magazine. Not even joking. I never even wanted a wedding and I can honestly say now that it was THE BEST AND MOST BEAUTIFUL thing ever and none of that would be possible without Ashley and the girls at Swept Away. Thank you guys a million times over. We can't wait to grab a drink or coffee next time we are over there!

Highly recommend this extremely talented duo! We came across @alohazoephotography work on Instagram…read moreand knew we had to book them. Their aesthetic and vibe was exactly what we were looking for and they seemed like genuine people we wanted to adventure with! Planning our wedding on the Big Island from SoCal in less than 6 months was easy breezy with the help of Ryan and Corrine. They were wonderful to work with from start to finish- getting to know us and getting a feel for our dynamic, and hearing us out on our vision. I feel like we bounced ideas off each other and it was a great creative space! Their project management is efficient and their communication is so on the ball. They have it very much together. Our big day and adventure session was captured so beautifully by them. We think a big part of their talent comes from their ability to truly connect with their subjects. Their warmth and excitement for us made us feel so grounded and light and it radiated in the pictures! My family and I are obsessed with our phenomenal photos and the team behind the cameras. Such lovely people. We are overwhelmed with gratitude for getting to work with Ryan and Corrine!

Since getting married + having kids, we have had our share of professional photography done. I…read morehave loved all our experiences throughout the years and (dare I admit) have become accustom to some pretty high standards. Needless to say, Corinne + Ryan blew it out of the water! From the very moment I contacted Corinne + Ryan, they were very responsive and flexible given our limited time on the island. Typically they specialize in weddings and intimate adventures with couples, however they were excited to take on my request for family photos. We shared/brainstormed ideas regarding location, logistics with kiddos, and capturing my overall "vision." On the day of our shoot, they went as far as scoping out the location an hour beforehand just to make sure everything was good to go. Due to some challenges we faced, they provided other location options to ensure a better outcome. I'm so glad they did!!! Upon meeting them in person they were just as amazing as I thought they'd be. They were great at directing us, made my kids smile, and created the perfect experience for my family and I. Even after the shoot, they continued to communicate timelines and shared some incredible sneak peeks. The images they captured were absolutely stunning!!!! These are photos I will truely cherish forever. The overall experience and finished product were the best!!!! Thank you Corinne + Ryan....you are such special people with amazing talent and I'm forever grateful for your service!!!

Jeremy assisted me in planning for my birthday party in April 2025 with an emphasis local entrees…read more Our selections were scrumptious, delectable and well catered to our desires. We'll keep East-West Catering on our Hawaiian trips.

My wife and I work with Jeremy once per week on a chef-made dinner for our household. Turns out we…read moreare next door neighbors and didn't get to know him until recently when we trimmed our hedging. He always has our weekly dinner ready on time, with documented and clear warmup/prep instructions. His portions are big. He changes up the food flavor/region every week. The food is always fresh and tasty. Thank you chef!

I'm reluctant to leave a negative review for a small business, but it's hard not to when I've…read morereceived no response after several days to an inquiry on their "contact us" page on their website or to an iPhone test message that shows as blue and "received." Angela might be a great chef and might have a good reason for not responding, and my rating is based solely on the fact that she didn't respond and I need to move on and try to find someone else. I'm fine with someone being too busy or otherwise not available, but a response saying so is just common courtesy.

I don't usually do reviews but I noticed Angela needed a recent recommendation and I had to say how…read moregreat she is!! We had a larger sized group visiting the Big Island and we knew didn't want to cook every night or deal with the hassle of finding a reservation so we hired Angela for a couple meals on our visit. From start to finish she was so attentive to our dietary needs and likes and even came up with ideas that we wouldn't have thought of ourselves to help please our entire crowd. Angela and her crew and came and made us a couple of beautiful and delicious dinners-we were all wowed with how gorgeous her presentation was! She even made us a couple quiches for our mornings. She was such a delight to work with and made our trip so much more fun. My favs- ahi won ton nachos, her homemade sourdough bread, lilikoi cheesecake, Waimea filets with her purple potatoes- all were so yummy. We can't recommend her enough.

We recently used Aloha Photobooth at our Hawaii wedding reception, and the response from our guests…read morewas WONDERFUL!! They provided a table full of props that made excellent photo opportunities for our family and friends. Each guest was able to print a copy of their photo strip to keep for themselves and one strip for a wedding scrapbook. Attendants helped our guests put together a scrapbook page with their photos and a message to the bride and groom. The final scrapbook was priceless! It was so much better than the traditional guestbook. Afterwards, we even received a disk drive full of all the photos taken that night. We can't thank Aloha Photobooth enough for the added element of entertainment at our wedding. Dara did a wonderful job keeping in touch with us until our wedding day. She even made a lovely Valentine backdrop that looked great in the photos. I highly recommend Aloha Photobooth for your next event!

I recently hired Aloha Photobooth for our wedding and Dara was great! Our guest had fun with the…read moreprops and loved that they could have a hard copy to take with them. Dara even stayed late to ensure my husband I could take a few extra pictures. I highly recommend you hire them for you next event!

I had a wonderful experience with Cynthia designing and painting my wedding mehndi (henna). Cynthia…read moreturned my hands and arms into an immaculate masterpiece, and I received soooo many compliments over the following two weeks. Cynthia's communication style is professional and welcoming, and she explains how henna works, the application process, and aftercare, in an easy-to-follow way. I don't know if I will be back to the Big Island any time soon, but I sure hope to book her services again when I'm there. I highly recommend CynthiArt. She is a true artist who makes beautiful art, across multiple media. Thanks, Cynthia!

I highly recommend Cynthia. We had a great experience with her for our twins' senior photos. She…read moreknows her stuff! I will for sure use her again in the future.

I can't say enough good things about Puako Provisions and Catering. My husband and I used them for…read moreour wedding in Hawaii and couldn't have been more thrilled. Noah has a passion for delicious beautifully prepared food. Planning the meal for a wedding can be stressful but not with them. They have so many great food options to choose from and everything was sooooooo delicious. Noah is not only a great chef but also a wonderful friend!!! The day of the wedding went great and the whole staff was wonderful to be around. They worked hard with a smile. I hope to have more events that I need catering for so I can have their delicious food and presence. Thank you Noah, you are the best!!!

Chef Noah provided our group of 11 people with 4 days of AMAZING food (all meals and snacks). We…read moredecided to hire a chef and not worry about the cooking, grocery shopping, dinner clean up etc... He made our vacation the wonderful vacation it was! We loved his flexibility with our food requests (dinner time, menu planning, etc....), cocktail requests, and shopping for THE BEST quality ingredients. There was NOTHING we didn't love that he cooked for us. Salads were fresh and delicious. His grilling skills are 100%. The servers he hired to help were fun and friendly and we enjoyed having Noah and his team as a part of our vacation. Would recommend without any hesitation. Would fly him to Los Angeles or Cleveland (home) to cater a special event.