We decided to escape it all and elope on the Big Island with a sunset beach wedding. Larry…read moresuggested Kukio Beach as the perfect location -about a 20-30 minute drive north of Kona at the Four Seasons Resort. Of course we were both nervous about a location we'd never visited before, but we decided to roll with it, and I'm so happy we did. Beautiful mostly secluded beach with an absolutely gorgeous sunset and sea turtles to boot! Larry offered more than just the traditional vows including a ring blessing, lei exchange, unity sand ceremony and a ti leaf and lava rock ceremony which made the whole experience more spiritually meaningful to us. His photographer was professional and they also offered a downloadable video of the ceremony and his wife took additional pictures with our phone as well. Larry was quick to respond during our back and forth planning emails, but his replies were sometimes a bit sparse which I'll admit had us a bit nervous. But after arriving there, we realized the laid backness is just the Hawaiian way, lol. It all turned out beautifully!

Larry and his wife Donna are Gems!!! OMG, please look no further! If you want a beautiful ceremony,…read morebeautiful view, and amazing photos they are your go-to. Not only were the packages offered unbelievable, but they have got to be the most sweetest and accommodating people we've met. They made our day so special and guided us through the whole process from afar. Our pictures were flawless, our ceremony phenomenal and the location was out of this world gorgeous. I am very persnickety when it comes to order and beauty and they really hit the mark. My now husband and I are beyond pleased and have not one single regret, only beautiful memories. Thank you both for perfection, we couldn't have asked for more! 10 stars if I could :-).

My wedding was perfect. From the location at Kikaua Point beach, to Dean the officiant. He does an…read moreamazing ceremony. Beautiful symbolism, stories and touches of the Hawaiian culture. However, if you are from the east coast I would not recommend using Hawaii Island Weddings. At times it took days/week for Kandi to get back to me with answers to my questions. On several occasions she tried changing prices on me. Luckily I held onto everything including emails and text messages and then used to reinforce what was originally said as well as prices originally quoted. If you are able to stay on top of things, are organized as an individual, and have a very laid back attitude go for it. Dean was worth the aggravation that came with her services. If I where just rating Dean I would give him a 5 plus stars. In response to Kandi's comment; You are 100% right. My wedding was perfect. From the location to Dean and the ceremony he performed. My wedding needs as a same sex couple are no different than those of a heterosexual couple. I would hope in this day and age you would know that. I am posting a photo of our contract so people who are looking at this review can see that communication was in fact included in our contract. I won't waste time looking for more of our conversation and such to show that I am not exaggerating about the exchanges we had but anyone reading this should feel free to message me for more including the leis, payments and charges because yes I am also a believer in 2 sides to every story. Luckily for me I saved all of the exchanges that were had.

I got married over two years ago and used Kandy. I would not recommend her to anyone. I have been…read moreavoiding this review but it's been eating at me that I'm sharing my experience with others and helping them avoid what I was victim too. She NEVER got back to me. She doesn't return phone calls and u have to chase her down. I spent too much time trying to get a hold of this lady... especially considering I was a customer! Then, she'd get a "dropped call" and not call back. She wasn't on the ball at all. I had to be on top of everything. Things only got done bc I was calling her and asking and making things get done. She tend to yell at me or "correct me" if I did her job. She was late to get things reserved and we lost out on venues, etc bc of her. She's expensive and will spring fees on u last minute. She didn't even tell me till days before the wedding that my package didn't include a officiant. So I had to hire her husband last min who I thought was already a part of the expensive package I was paying for, and had to pay the steep fee for him bc I had no other options. She told me after the wedding she'd clean up the reception area, and she did, but she gave away everything so I didn't get ONE of my table toppers that I made and wanted to keep for momento sake and had asked for one to be kept. I was SOOOO BUMMED! That's a one time thing and I didn't get to have one. She was very unaccommodating when it came to anything. I asked if I could ship boxes of stuff there and she hold on to it for literally 2 weeks till the wedding and she said no. For the price I pd her to help with this wedding I was shocked she didn't have any ability to receive some wedding things I wanted to ship and hold them for a small amt of time. The photographer we hired she had her be down at the wedding site before the wedding so didn't get ONE pic of us getting ready but have lots of pics of the guests waiting while I got ready :(. Kandy put me in a spot to wait for her while she got the wedding ready then would come get me and that never happened. We had the time set to happen at sunset and we missed that bc she never came to get me so we started 45 mins late and my hotel ended up taking me down in a golf cart bc she never came back to get me. The whole thing, from start to finish, from the beginning of planning till the end of the wedding was a shit show and disappointing and frustrating. I wouldn't recommend her to my worst enemy. I could go on and on abt things but I think I've made my point. Oh! But her husband, Dean, did do an amazing job with the officiating. No disappointment there. He's very cool and spiritual and was a nice addition to our wedding. Kandy wouldn't let us write our own vows, which we wanted to do, but what Dean did was good. Dana.wendland@gmail.comdana.wendland@gmail.com

Our wedding ceremony was absolutely beautiful, Karen made our Special Day everything we could…read morehave asked for. Adding some special touches that we weren't expecting! We definitely recommend reaching out to her if you are looking for something simple but elegant.

Becky was so wonderful to work with. Planning with her felt like working with my best friend. She…read moremade all our wants and needs happen. Our beautiful beach wedding was magical and her husband's assistance was an extra fun touch. Thank you for such a beautiful ceremony.

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!

I am so extremely disappointed with the lack of service by this company. I spent a considerable…read moreamount of time reviewing their floral offerings on their website before finally settling on one design. I specifically chose the design I did because of the floral content as well as the color scheme. I specifically chose one that did NOT have bold colors. I even spoke to the shop the day after I placed the order to confirm delivery time and no mention was made at all about needing to make any changes. This business apparently uses an iPhone for their business phone and employs text messaging. That's not a problem at all however it does demonstrate the ease at which communication regarding changes could have been. Instead they chose to use completely different and cheaper flowers in what they delivered vs what I ordered. I say cheaper because anyone who knows anything knows that mums are cheap and when it comes to Hawaii so are bird of paradise. They grow everywhere. I was told that "some of the flowers were out of season". Which ones? The noticeably missing ORCHIDS? I'm supposed to believe that orchids were "out of season" on a Hawaiian island where orchid leis abound? All I wanted was what I ordered. Nothing more, nothing less. It was intended to be for my sister who was getting married and it cost me $157!! If I wanted the flower type they gave me, I could have ordered a significantly LARGER arrangement for less money!! In the screenshots you can see the shop insisted they would go pick it back up and they would reach out to the bride. I felt this was disruptive but whatever. Well, they NEVER did that. This matters because of how they handled my dispute with PayPal. When I tried to follow up (as seen in the text conversation) they blocked me. I tried calling and it wouldn't even ring it was immediately sent to voicemail. That's what happens when you're blocked. I opened a dispute with PayPal since there was no further way for me to communicate. They first offered me $75 as a partial refund. Unacceptable. I'm not paying even $1 for something I didn't order. It takes time to move through the dispute process so approximately 2 weeks later they did offer a full refund. The catch? They wanted the item returned with a tracking number. What a scam. They knew full well that wasn't possible and would cause the case to be decided in their favor and they get to keep my money. What was I supposed to send them? A box of random dead flowers? Those flowers were long dead and in a Hawaiian landfill somewhere. They could have had their product back had they gone and picked it up like they said. They never even attempted to reach out to her. If I could give them zero stars I would. I'm not one to make negative reviews, I prefer to leave positive reviews because there are never enough of those, especially for small businesses. These people cheated me out of my money and I would never recommend them to anyone. Ever. I think they know how to work the system and have likely done this to people before. Shame on you for taking advantage of anyone in this economy where folks can barely afford groceries. Definitely no mahalo here.

The only people to get flowers from on the Big Island. I've used Nicco's a number of times for…read moreanniversary, birthday, Valentine's Day and I have not been disappointed. A true Hawaiian icon, they're friendly, prompt, and a delight to do business with. Excellent flowers and arrangements.

Turtle Point is famous in this neck of the woods as an amazing place to get married... I don't…read moredisagree. I attended a small wedding on Turtle Point which is located on the grounds of the beautiful Hapuna Beach Prince Hotel. This is the perfect place to get married if you are looking for a destination wedding on the Big Island. Getting married here right before a sunset is a must. Gorgeous photo opp with the beautiful sunset in the background. Such a special moment for all and so many great memories. Priceless.

Wow!!! The team did a great job. Our vow renewal at Buddha Point was simply perfect. Crystal was…read moreonsite during our ceremony and she made everything happen. Great business, highly recommended! If you are looking for a wedding planner, don't hesitate to hire them.

Everything was PERFECT! So professional but personal as well. They made my day so magical…read more Highly recommend!

Andrea made our very special 30 year wedding renewal more than we dreamed about- she connected with…read moreus and asked the pertinent questions to know us better and to tailor our ceremony uniquely for us . She was detailed as I am and I arrived worry free and she let us know all she had done and was doing I trusted her 100 percent .. I'm glad we did she was amazing .. I loved her writing of our vows and the personalization of each detail . Thanks Andrea for the lovely flowers the music the pics and the service .. we loved it ! We had such a peaceful loving time on your amazing island ...

It's kind of weird, right, searching the internet for a person (who will actually be a pretty…read moreprominent part of the ceremony) you've never met before to actually marry you and the person you want to spend the rest of your life with. Like, as I was searching the interwebs for "Kona officiants" and "Hawaii wedding officiants" I was literally thinking...this is kinda nuts. Thankfully...we found Andrea @ Weddings a la Heart. From the moment we contacted her she was super responsive and kind of amazingly friendly and helpful. For instance, we had a handful of locations in mind for our simple big island ceremony, and she volunteered and took the time to drive to one to check it out as there was the possibility of construction noise. She walked us through the entire process in terms of what we needed to do (we were fairly clueless, and google can be somewhat confusing), what she would do, what kind of options we had for the actual ceremony, etc. We also had a pre-ceremony call where we sort of got to know each other and went over some basics like vows, and other specifics. She was helpful, flexible, and patient throughout. Most importantly, when we met her for the ceremony (again, total stranger!!), she exuded a sense of calm and warmth that immediately put us at ease and let us know that we made the right decision. The ceremony was beautiful, Andrea was great, and, I suppose most importantly, we pulled it off! I guess this isn't a typical Yelp restaurant review where I say that we can't wait to go back, as, presumably, weddings are, ahem, done once, but I can say that I would recommend to anyone I know and to all the strangers of the internet that, should they be looking for a big island officiant, look no further than Andrea, because she is the one (not THAT one, because I already married THAT one, but you know what I mean)! Not only will you not be disappointed - you will be thrilled.

Hannah, John and Johnny were incredible! They helped my wife and I conceptualize our party and…read morebring it to reality. They were punctual, informed, friendly, and filled with Aloha. I highly recommend them for your event. Mahalo team!

Hawaii Island Events was a great part of our event team. John and Hanna were very easy to work…read morewith, super accommodating, and had a really wide variety of items to choose from. They provided a lot of really beautiful options and we were able to create an incredible atmosphere for our celebrations. Our guests loved the decor. Everything was stylish, comfortable, and very high quality. Their team executed the installations and load outs seamlessly and professionally. We highly recommend Hawaii Island Events as we were really impressed and would definitely work with them again.