We worked with Lisa as our wedding planner/day of coordinator for about 8 months before our destination wedding at 1 Hotel Hanalei Bay. Lisa was a pleasure to work with from the very beginning and it felt like we were planning our wedding with a trusted friend rather than a standard wedding planner. Lisa is warm, patient, a great listener, and we could tell that she is passionate in making our dream wedding come to life. We scheduled regular calls as it got closer to our wedding date to ensure that all the details were meticulously planned and executed as discussed. She went above and beyond by letting us ship wedding supplies to her home as the wedding date approached so that we did not have to pack everything into our luggage. She is also knowledgeable and well-connected to vendors within Kauai and she recommended a handful of vendors who matched our vision, communication style, and general vibe of our wedding. We selected our florist, photographer, officiant/live musician, DJ/Emcee, hair/makeup artist based on her positive experience working with them. She worked with us and the vendors to schedule meet and greets, food/beverage tasting to curate the menu at 1Hotel, and trials with our hair/make up artist, and photographer to ensure that our wedding day went smoothly. Lisa was calm and supportive on the day of our wedding and took charge of the vendors so we could truly be present with our guests. She helped us pivot when the wind picked up before the ceremony to ensure that our decor did not fly away. She also helped us stay in time with the music during the processional and helped me down the grassy hill to the aisle when my veil got stuck. Overall, we had a fantastic time at our wedding and we still dream about how beautiful and fun the whole day was. All our friends had a wonderful time and one of the couples even returned to 1Hotel for their babymoon a few months later! Thank you Lisa for everything you did for us and we hope to see you again someday! To anyone who is considering Lisa as your wedding planner, go for it - she'll take care of you. read more

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We were blessed to meet Lisa this year and honored to work with her for our dream destination wedding at the 1 Hotel Hanalei Bay. Our wedding day was perfect in every way and we have such warmth and fond memories from our special day that we will treasure for a lifetime! Lisa worked with us about 4 months out from our ~20 person wedding at the 1 Hotel and was an absolute dream to work with. Being based in NYC and never having visited Kauai until our wedding week, Lisa was our sounding board for choosing vendors (officiant, florals, music, make-up, video, photo, steam/pressing), was conscious of the time zones and never made us feel rushed, and kept us on track without being overbearing about decisions that we needed to make up until the very end. She really brought our vision to life, always filling in gaps as needed (candles, placecards, baskets for our flower people), and finding a new videographer when our initial choice fell through. Everyone that came to our wedding wants to go back to Kauai and the 1 Hotel to relive the day. We can't recommend Lisa enough! Thank you, Lisa, for everything. Alex and I had been together for 13 years before our wedding day, and this day exceeded all of our expectations about what a wedding could be. We are beyond grateful. read more

Lisa Insalata Weddings - Wedding Planning Near Me

Lisa is simply fantastic at what she does, and we are so happy we hired her! We simply couldn't have pulled off our wedding without her help. Throughout the entire process, she was excellent at communication via email/phone/text, and very diligent on managing details / budgets / timelines. Her day-of itinerary was thorough as can be, and really made the day run smoothly for us. She noticed and handled minor issues (like cosmetic damage on items from a vendor) that even we didn't notice, or have to worry about at all! She's connected with all the best vendors in the area, which would have been incredibly difficult for us to manage ourselves from the mainland. Finally, most importantly, she is incredibly warm and friendly, really embodying the Hawaiian spirit. I'd highly recommend her services to anybody. Thank you Lisa! read more

Lisa Insalata Weddings - Wedding Planning Near Me

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I wanted to take a minute to thank Lisa for all that she did to make our special day even more special than we could have imagined. This note will also serve as a major recommendation for her services. Little did my husband and I expect a second chance at love and marriage, we were both long-time widows when we met and felt that getting into a new relationship wasn't something we needed or wanted, but life had other ideas for us. The first time around, we both had large weddings, so we knew we wanted something different, smaller, more intimate ... just us and the kids. Kauai has always been very special to me, so we decided to do it there. It had been more than 40 years since I had planned my first wedding and even if this was going to be a way smaller one in comparison, there were still many plans that needed to be navigated as I soon recognized. This is where Lisa came into the picture and I honestly feel that she was instrumental in helping to guide us. From the start she exemplified the Aloha spirit with her sweet and easy demeanor. She spoke with us about everything ... when to apply for our marriage license, where to go when we got to the Island to register and she made the appointment for us. She was professional and knowledgeable with all her recommendations in regards to every last detail you could think of, or want, in regards to a church wedding versus an outdoor wedding, an officiant, music, flowers, dinner, a cake and someone to do hair and make-up. Her recommendations were top tier, she gave us a few options for each and affirmed our selections would ensure a magical day ... we loved every single person she recommended. I truly feel that I wouldn't have been able to compile this group of people to help us without her. When we set out to put our plans in action, we had thought that we could just do it ourselves, but we learned very quickly that it wouldn't be easy to navigate all these things and we didn't even know where to begin to find all the people that were necessary to make it happen. Lisa was truly instrumental and well worth it to have her help. She was the one behind the scenes making all the calls, keeping everyone on board and securing things on our behalf. I'm grateful for the timeline she put together, that she was with us from start to finish and handled the inevitable "stuff" that comes up. We had an issue with our dinner reservations being cancelled and she was immediately able to take care of it, she offered to help us with driving which was a kind and unexpected gift, showed up with umbrellas (just in case the weather caused an issue) ... she went over and about with everything she did for us and I can't thank her enough. Looking back on our day, it brings the biggest smile ... that's what it's all about, right!!! Thank you again Lisa ... for EVERYTHING! We are truly glad to have met and worked with you and would absolutely not hesitate to reach out and ask for your help with any future celebrations in Kauai we could ever want help with, definitely glad to have you as a contact! Aloha and Mahalo ... Ray and Debbie read more

It was great working with Lisa. She was incredibly kind and patient. She was very reassuring and understanding of all the stressors of planning a wedding from afar. She was the best part of our wedding experience. Our photographer has a personal emergency the day of our wedding and she found a back up. She was really the glue that held everything together read more

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We found Lisa on the recommendation of another wedding planner whom we had contacted first. Turned out to be the perfect fit. Lisa was timely and found us a perfect chef, musician and location for our wedding. To add onto that, COVID pushed our date by over a year, but Lisa made sure it was as smooth of a transition as possible. Lastly, I want to iterate that Lisa did 99% of the work on this as we left a lot of the decisions up to her. Could not have been more thrilled with her service and how everything turned out. read more

Lisa was super! Her response time was always fast and she was always thoughtful. Despite of the fact we had COVID + the road closure where she had very challenging logistic conditions, she lead the service providers and guided our guests flawlessly with smile always. She knows all of the best vendors on the island. We didn't have any problems and we all had such a great party! Thank you, Lisa! read more

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We cannot say enough about how fantastic it was to have Lisa as our coordinator-turned-full wedding planner for our COVID destination wedding on the north shore of Kauai. We hired Lisa pre-COVID when our wedding was going to be in September of 2020 because she was our venue's preferred coordinator and she was so reassuring and kept up to date (up to even the hour) on how Kauai was handling COVID and regulations for weddings. We did not want to have a small elopement so we decided to push our date by a year and thanks to Lisa for coordinating all the vendors we had booked for our new date. Lisa managed all our communication seamlessly and met with us as needed regarding details and timelines. Even though we were planning our wedding remotely, during a pandemic, Lisa still made herself available via email or text and phone call as new things came up with the wedding, vendors, and Kauai's county regulations. On top of COVID, we were navigating the Hanalei road closures but because Lisa lives in the area, she helped us and communicated to our vendors the best way to work around the convoy schedule. It was just the best decision we made to hire Lisa and she delivered a 10000%. Not to mention how personal and welcome she made us feel when we arrived on the island - it will be so special the time we spent together with our venue walk-through and ceremony rehearsal. We cannot emphasize more that our wedding would never have happened without Lisa's help and attention to detail. We had our beautiful wedding and was fully compliant with the county's restrictions all with Lisa's efforts. We could not be happier with how everything turned out and it was just the best memory of our lifetime. read more

Lisa Insalata Weddings - Wedding Planning Near Me

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Lisa is Amazing!!! We cannot express how much gratitude we have for all she did to make our day PERFECT! If you are getting married on Kauai, Lisa should be your wedding planner. Trust me, you will want one, and she is worth every penny!! She went out of her way to make the wedding planning process as easy as possible, and she makes it feel easy and natural. We had a difficult venue to work with, who changed managers on us, was not responsive at all, but Lisa was on the ball and worked magic! We are incredibly lucky to have met Lisa and had the opportunity to work with her! She has a calm demeanor and is VERY detail oriented, which made us feel like she had everything under 100% control, which she absolutely did!! Her AMAZINGLY detailed wedding itinerary blew everyone away, and made our planning so much easier! She recommended the best officiant, DJ, photographer, videographer, florist, etc., literally every vendor AND got us discounts to boot! She went above and beyond helping us with details of other events we had on Kauai, besides the wedding and we are so grateful because she helped us have the best wedding week and vacation of our lives!! She is kind, calm, easy to talk to, professional and will help relieve any stress you might have planning a wedding. Our wedding would not have been possible without her! A wedding day should be all about the love shared between two people, and she made it so we didn't have to worry about a thing! She is the best! Thank you for all that you do Lisa, and much Aloha from Rob and Lacey!! read more

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Our June wedding would not have been as spectacular without Lisa Insalata! She produced a wedding celebration that all our friends are still raving about. Her professionalism and attention to detail were just extraordinary. When there was a problem with vendors she handled it and told us about it later. Her selection of vendors was excellent and worked seamlessly with her. When a flower vendor dropped out a few months before the wedding she came up with the most exquisite replacement. Her relationship with our small North Shore community of Kauai brought her in contact with services we didn't know existed and added tremendously to the overall feeling of Aloha. To be honest, I was an extremely anxious bride, but with Lisa's help and guidance, I was able to navigate a wedding that threatened to overwhelm me. My close working relationship with her turned into a friendship that both my husband and I treasure to this day. read more

I don't think there are enough words to tell you about my daughter's wedding in Hawaii. We all traveled from the mainland to Kauai for the event. We had no idea what was going to happen. What happened was the most wonderful day we could ever imagine. Lisa and my daughter, Molly, worked together via email and phone. We really had no idea what to expect. What we experienced was the most wonderful wedding. We all agreed it was the best wedding we had ever gone to This is all due to the incredible work of Lisa Insalata. The flowers, the band, the dj and the delicious catering. Lisa has the best connections and Hawaii makes for beautiful photos. If you dream about having your wedding in Hawaii, call Lisa she'll make your dream come true. Thank you Lisa. You are the absolute BEST read more

Lisa was my wedding planner for our Kauai destination wedding! My husband and I live in Michigan and we also brought 35 of our closest family and friends along to the island of Kauai for the big event. Despite the long distance, the significant time change and a bigger final guest list than expected, Lisa made everything stress free and easy! She had great recommendations for vendors but was not pushy for any in particular and ultimately I was able to pick my top choice for each. Lisa was also extremely helpful to me with coordinating activities other than the actual wedding- she helped me plan a brunch for our wedding guests the morning after at the resort! Lisa made our dream wedding at our dream location a reality. Her services were the smartest money spent for the whole wedding! We cannot recommend her enough! :) read more

The story of planning a destination wedding! After combing the internet and meeting with a few coordinators via phone we chose Lisa Insalata because of her reputation on the island, her professionalism, her calm personable nature, and her desire to bring OUR vision to life. Lisa worked with us for over a year to turn every detail of our dream wedding into reality. We planned our entire wedding from California. In fact, prior to boarding our flight to Hawaii for our wedding we had never been to Kauai, never visited our venue, tasted the food, or met with our vendors (including Lisa) in-person. To our family and friend's disbelief, our dream wedding weekend was flawless and everything came together perfectly. We really shouldn't have been surprised, we had Lisa Insalata on our team! From beginning to end Lisa helped us through every major decision and every detail, always giving us several options to choose from in a range of prices. She always supported our final decision and helped guide us along the way via email, phone, and text whenever we needed her. She is a seasoned professional and is well connected on the island. Lisa tapped into her local network to bring us outstanding vendors, sustainable local food, delicious pies, a fun bartender, music from a one-of-a-kind musician and DJ, beautiful leis for all our guests, and a picture perfect setting to celebrate our marriage. Lisa went above and beyond to help make our experience in Kauai one to remember with her suggestions of places to visit and helpful hints for a successful pre-wedding beach day for our family and friends. Once we arrived on the island she met with us to ensure every detail was taken care of including our marriage license, garment pressing, flowers, etc. and she also coordinated our wedding rehearsal. When it came time for our big day, we didn't have to worry about a thing because Lisa and her assistants had everything taken care of! When we walked over to our dinner reception after taking pictures we were speechless, it was literally a dream come true! Through our entire wedding planning journey Lisa went above and beyond our expectations and having her by our side made all the difference. We are still in touch and we look forward to visiting with her next time we are in Kauai! With aloha, Rachel & Ash Bay Area California read more

Lisa Insalata Weddings - Wedding Planning Near Me

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My fiancé and I decided to get married in Kauai after getting engaged on the beautiful island in July of 2017. On our first trip there I was adamant that we needed a wedding planner and that we'd have the opportunity to meet one in person while we were still on island. After meeting and speaking to a few planners, we met with Lisa the day we were leaving to go back home. Lisa Insalata has something very genuine, warm and special about her. She and I connected and we decided to hire her a few short hours after meeting her. She one factor that sealed the deal for us was that she saw our vision and was willing to go to lengths to make it all happen. Throughout our year long process, Lisa made herself available through phone and email whenever we needed her. She provided me with honest recommendations and all of them were on point, from the decorators, to the caterer, the fire dancers and even the live music at the beginning of the ceremony. All of these options were sorted and shifted as we went from one option to the other. She was there to ensure we stayed on budget and didn't overspend. It could have been easy for her to say: "Yeah, get the garlands for each table" but instead she suggested floral options that were cost effective and just as beautiful. Hiring Lisa felt like I was working with my best friend to plan very intricate details of my wedding. She was professional yet warm, straightforward yet flexible and most importantly, very respectful. I remember her spending 4.5 hours with me the week before my wedding to get small details together so everything could look perfect, and boy, did it turn out that way! After our wedding she made herself available and invited us over to take home our belongings and was willing to help anywhere she could. She's a gem! I would hire Lisa again in a heartbeat! Thank you for everything you did for us, Lisa!!!!! Love, Travis and Sue-Ellen read more

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One of if not the MOST incredible planners we have had the pleasure of dealing with. Lisa not only arranged every detail crossing every "t" and dotting every "i", she came up with excellent suggestions and alternatives we didnt even know existed. Her knowledge- and more importantly- her relationships within the community allowed our every dream to come true. From the smallest detail to the largest challenge she was able to handle it- and in a way that allowed us to spend our time together with each other, not stressing as she had us covered. Like having a family member thats a professional planner she was able to make our memorable day incredible and everlasting. Kudos to Lisa - she rocks. Wouldn't consider anyone else. read more

My wife and I just came back from our wedding in Kauai, and thanks to Lisa, it was absolutely more wonderful and picturesque than what we had hoped for! To give more context: my wife and I are based in Asia and we chose Hawaii because of its location midway between the US and Asia, where our friends and family are scattered. In May of 2017, we actually made a trip to Hawaii and visited several islands to check out wedding venues and we chose Kauai over Maui and Oahu for its remote beauty and lush landscape. At the end of the trip we decided on hosting our wedding on a pristine golf course on the north shore of Kauai. Certainly, the unique appeal of having both ceremony and reception on a gorgeous golf course venue on a cliff overlooking the ocean is there, but we didn't realize how much work it truly was! In choosing wedding planners, we had interviewed several Kauai-based planners and we decided to go with Lisa based on her stellar reviews as well as the confidence she gave us during our phone call with her. To my wife, details are very important, and she has exquisite (and sometimes demanding) taste that she wants to see implemented in the wedding. Lisa was very welcome of these inputs and gave us the sense she truly was willing to work hard to make all of it a reality. After we started the planning process, it dawned on us quickly the complexity of the task, that is, in having a golf course as a venue, we needed to find suppliers for literally everything else, including even electricity and presentable outdoor portable toilets (not the construction site ones), and even security staffing so that when nightfall comes, no drunken guest of our 80 people party would stumble out of the tent and fall off the cliff that's 30 meters away. The number of vendors involved and amount of coordination work was daunting enough, and what made it even more challenging was the fact that there's a 18 hour time difference between us in Asia and Lisa in Kauai, which meant we only had 3-4 hours of daytime overlap each day to coordinate between us. Lisa proved she was up to the task. Not only was she organized and methodical, she was also extremely resourceful and flexible around our needs and schedule. We coordinated through scheduled phone calls, emails, and she even downloaded a hugely popular messaging app (Wechat) that's predominately used in Asia so to facilitate our communications. We definitely were not the easiest of customers, we vetted each supplier that was presented and asked to see photos of every proposed arrangement in the wedding details, even down to making sure the string quartet can time a particular piece of music so that a particular section of that piece can be played when the bride finishes walking to the front. Throughout the entire process, not only was Lisa patient, she listened well, gave candid and practical feedback, willing to exhaust all options in dealing with issues, and skillfully managed all the different vendors so that we had peace of mind that we don't have to worry about each and every detail. Trusts takes time to build up, and Lisa definitely earned our trust as we got to know her and started to work closely together. She was very transparent on her communications with the different vendors, kept close track of different expenses and payment schedules, and towards the end we even relied on her to negotiate with some of the vendors. As we had set our wedding date on the tail end of the rainy season in Kauai (early March), we tried to be optimistically hopeful about the weather, but in the week leading up to the wedding, the forecast had rain every single day and we were extremely nervous and dreaded rain on the day of. We spoke to Lisa about different scenarios and what we'd do if it rained and when we would make a call to go for the rain option (since a different setup is required and takes time). I appreciated her calm and sound feedback. Fortunately, not only did we have reprieve from rain during our ceremony and reception, we had a spectacular sunset that rendered our entire wedding forever memorable. Sure, we got very lucky on the weather, but as the expression goes, luck favors the prepared, and we were definitely prepared, thanks to Lisa and her team! I would definitely recommend Lisa to any future lucky couple. She is experienced, professional, warm and cordial, just an absolute pleasure to work with, and you can trust that on the day of, everything will run like clockwork! read more

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Amazing! I don't even know where to begin. Lisa was a great help with our 60 person wedding in January at Plantation Gardens in Poipu. Lisa went above and beyond, was organized, responsive and more importantly a fun and calming influence. She kept us on track while keeping things calm and merry, she was a patient sounding board and she had great insight. God only knows where we'd be without her. :) read more

Lisa Insalata Weddings - With Lisa at our wedding rehearsal - Wedding Planning Near Me

Planning a wedding on Kauai is no easy task, especially when you live on the mainland. Being from Kauai originally, I knew I'd need someone on the ground to liaise with vendors and help execute my vision. Aside from the fact that Lisa is kind, smart, and easy to work with, what really sets her apart is her incredible network of vendors and knowledge of what will make a wedding on Kauai really WORK. When I was unsure about our reception schedule, or the number of candles we needed, or any other detail I couldn't wrap my head around because I've never planned a wedding, Lisa was easily accessible and always had the right answer. She was quick to supply options for every line item we needed to complete, though I quickly came to regard her suggestions as the right way to go every time. Lisa was a dream to work with. I always knew exactly what I wanted my wedding to look like. I knew every detail. But the wedding she put together was far beyond anything my imagination could have dreamt up. Every detail was a million times better and more beautiful than what I could have hoped for. The evening was a dream, and what I pictured doesn't hold a candle to what Lisa created. And as if it couldn't have been more perfect, what really made the night for me was that I didn't have to worry about a thing. Lisa made sure everything happened when it needed to, and she put my groom and I exactly where we needed to be so we could spend the maximum amount of time enjoying our wedding. Lisa was cool, calm, and confident all evening long, watching over the event like my fairy godmother. If you want a beautiful, stress-free wedding, use Lisa!!! read more

I can't imagine what Miss M is talking about. Lisa did my daughter's wedding - See Jackie A. It was better than perfect. Lisa worked so hard for us, brought in help when needed, suggested the best location on the island. We couldn't have done anything without her. She was responsive and professional. Is she a personal friend? I hope so! You can't spend months planning, changing and experiencing one of the most important events of your life with someone who won't be your friend. The process creates a bond you'll never forget. This shows a big problem with Yelp. Anyone can say anything, and it just sits there, unverified. My business was a victim of a similar attack. Do Not Believe Miss M!! read more

LISA was hands down, no hesitation necessary, the most wonderful, thoughtful, attention to detail, gracious and accommodating wedding planner we could have ever dreamed of. Her commitment to anything and everything we wanted surpassed my expectations. Ya know it's hard never meeting someone in person for something so intimate like eloping know Hawaii! However Lisa calmed every single ounce of nerve we had, reassured us constantly and provided the most heart warming and personal wedding ever. She hired and communicated with every vendor we wanted and requested. The small things that could often get overlooked were paid attention to just as much as the larger responsibilities. We cannot thank her enough or rave about her enough. Do not walk, RUN to Lisa's website and book her for your Kauai elopement. We are indebted with gratitude forever as she curated the most spectacular wedding we could have ever dreamed of. Infinite Mahalos & Alohas, Samantha & Brendan Altieri read more

My daughter, Emilee and her husband-to-be, Patrick decided to get married in Hanalei in Kauai. After a lot of searching for a wedding planner, Emilee decided to use the highly recommended services of Lisa Insalata. Lisa was in regular contact with my daughter from start to finish, with every detail pertaining to the wedding, including the appetizers and cocktails, the wedding dinner and table setting, the flowers, the seating, the site for the wedding, the lighting, music, wine, and food selection. I met with Emilee and Lisa the day before the wedding and Lisa handed us each a detailed schedule for the entire wedding ceremony, dinner, and dance, with a minute by minute breakdown from start to finish of each and every detail of the wedding as it would unfold. Lisa's talent for detail and her organizational skills were put to the test as the ceremony began and made its way to the evening conclusion. I witnessed Lisa, with her clipboard in hand directing each and every moment of the wedding ceremony to its glorious conclusion. It was honestly the most beautiful wedding I have ever been to, without a single hitch or hiccup. So many of the guests expressed to me their heartfelt appreciation and awe of the wonder of Emilee and Patrick's wedding. I would highly recommend Lisa to any couple considering getting married in Kauai. She will certainly make your dream wedding become a reality and a moment in time you will treasure for the rest of your lives. read more

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We feel so fortunate to have found Lisa to be our wedding planner. Lisa has many wonderful talents and attributes, but most important for us is that she is honest, and a woman of integrity. She was totally up-front about her fees and services, and after working with her for over a year, there were no surprises; she totally delivered! We had a specific idea in our heads about how we wanted our wedding to be and feel. However, our ideas were very broad and general, and we soon discovered that a wedding requires many small details. Lisa took our broad ideas, and then helped us fill in all those little details to make our wedding the perfect celebration of our dreams. She not only supported us in all of our ideas, but she challenged us when she felt that particular things were not such a good idea. She brought up possible concerns, and then provided us with alternatives. However, in the end, she supported whatever decisions we made. Because Lisa charged us a flat fee and did not also demand a percentage of the total wedding cost (like some Kauai wedding planers do), we were able to trust her suggestions as sincere and honest, not financially motivated. She worked very hard to help us save money where possible, but was also very honest about which areas she thought we needed to splurge a bit more. She was very organized, dependable, and responsive to calls and emails. On the days leading up to the wedding she was busy orchestrating the various vendors, and making sure everything was set up just perfectly. She must have walked around the property 30 times envisioning the layout and making sure the setup was just right. On the day of the wedding, she took care of everything! She dealt with all the vendors, took care of all the payments, and orchestrated all the details behind the scenes so the wedding could unfold perfectly. We didn't have to do anything but live in the moment and enjoy our wedding ceremony and celebration to the fullest. It was the most fun we have ever had at any wedding! read more

I adore Lisa! She is so much more than a terrific wedding planner -- she's also a kind and generous person who genuinely cares about her brides. And, she's a pro who more than met my high expectations. Like other reviewers, we were far away in Colorado and had never been to Kauai so planning a destination wedding requires quite a bit of trust in your planner. Our wedding was also both a surprise for our adult children and a family vacation so there were all the typical details and then some to work out. Lisa was wonderful in helping us plan every aspect and not just related to our wedding but our trip, too. Her recommendations went far beyond the site, the officiant, the musician, the florist and the cake -- she also recommended restaurants, entertainment, shopping and beaches. There are two things I really love about Lisa. First, her caring attitude. Though ours was a very small wedding in the midst of her busy season, never once did we feel like we were not her top priority. And second, her taste level. She is very connected to the best of the best in Kauai and every person she recommended was top notch. Finally, we can't say enough about Kauai as a wedding destination. Our wedding was on the beach near the St. Regis which is a stunning site overlooking Hanalei Bay. Our wedding dinner was at the Makana Terrace at the St. Regis and it was equally wonderful. The island is so lovely and we had such a memorable vacation there with our children -- we'll be back and hopefully soon! read more

Lisa Insalata Weddings - Hanalei Bay beach wedding planned by Lisa Insalata -- thank you Lisa! - Wedding Planning Near Me

Our experience with Lisa as our wedding planner is consistent with all the other stellar reviews written here. We just returned to the East Coast after our June wedding in Kauai where we had over 70 friends and family help us celebrate. We couldn't have been happier as she exceeded our expectations on what we had envisioned for our rehearsal dinner and wedding. Lisa flawlessly planned and coordinated both events, no small task considering both were outdoor events with live entertainment. We choose Lisa because of all the planners we spoke to, she not only listened to what we wanted but also provided recommendations when warranted and delivered a detailed proposal (on time) documenting everything we could expect from working with her. She didn't disappoint. From the moment we hired LIsa she was nothing but professional, patient and accommodating. Particularly impressive was how Lisa bought into our vision early on and then worked hard to bring it to life. Her vendor choices matched our taste and worked with our budgets. When our requirements weren't realistic, either because of location or budget, Lisa provided an alternative solution that was often aligned with our aesthetic. This was something we welcomed and were grateful for as it reduced the stress of planning a wedding from 5000 miles away. Kauai is simply stunning. On our first visit last year my partner and I fell in love and decided the north shore of Kauai was the perfect place to get married. Apart from being paradise on earth it was also a convenient mid-point for family and friends traveling from around the world. Thanks to Lisa, every one of our guests left with the same impression of Kauai and memories of two fun filled events that were perfect in every way. read more

We live in New York City and had never been to Kauai so we really had to blindly trust Lisa with everything which wasn't as stressful as it sounds because Lisa was always available to us and our parents on the telephone despite the time difference. It's all worked out better than we ever could have imagined. She has lots of relationships on the island and arranged a beautiful reception at the St Regis for 30 people. She also collaborated with our minister to create the most beautiful ceremony and post ceremony brunch at a beautiful ocean view home. I can't say enough good things about her. She even made us leis constricted of flowers grown in her back yard. And the most shocking part it was all affordable. 1/4 of what we would have paid in New York City. read more

With every wedding there are hurdles, with a destination wedding those hurdles are even higher. Coordinating your big day from an ocean away can be daunting. Lisa makes these hurdles much smaller. Lisa knows all the right venders and has the insight on the island to plan the wedding you want. On the day of your wedding she is right there with you to help make things go as smoothly as they can and to keep you as calm as possible. She is there to make your day everything it should be and to make your vision a reality! read more

There is a reason why all of the reviews for Lisa Insalata Weddings sing of praise and admiration. It's because she is simply incredible! We were trying to plan a destination wedding in Kauai all the way from New York, with no relatives or friends living anywhere near the Hawaiian islands. Lisa was our only connection to Hawaii in the months leading up to our big day. She managed to put all of our concerns to rest right off the bat with her calming yet reassuring nature. Every phone call or email we had with Lisa was a well thought out plan that she had put together, easing us into planning the big day one item at a time. Lisa's logical step by step planning program was easy and stress free. We never had too many things to worry about at once and she made sure not to overburden us, and move at our pace. Fast forward to the big day and everything was PERFECT! There was not one issue we can think of, from planning the hair and makeup, coordinating flower delivery and transportation, arranging the mobile caterer, orchestrating the lighting and decor installations, etc. it was all PERFECT! This was a wedding at a barn with practically no facilities so everything had to be brought in a la carte. We even shipped part of the silverware and table setup down to Lisa a few weeks before to be used on the table. She somehow managed to make our vision come to life so perfectly in every way, without any headache, stress, or aggravation whatsoever. We HIGHLY recommend Lisa and cant thank her enough for such an amazing unforgettable wedding!!! read more

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If you're the kind of bride that is looking for minimal planning and thinking, then Lisa is your go-to planner! Her connection to local vendors gives her an edge and makes it easy to make selections on who to go with. My husband and I live on O'ahu making it harder to meet in person, however this posed no problem when it came to visual components of the details. Lisa is great with communicating and always doing her best to make herself available to you and your needs. Mahalo Lisa! read more

I hired Lisa for my wedding last August. I've been hesitant to write this review, but I feel I need to so no one else feels the disappointment I do. There were MANY minor things that bothered me leading up to the wedding, but I ASSumed maybe this is just island time or island behavior, let it go. There are several things that I realized the day of my wedding & after that are completely unacceptable: - She didn't actually do much planning prior. She took almost 3 hours the day before talking to me, my brother & husband about logistics for the day of. About 99% of this stuff could have and should have been addressed prior instead of taking that much time out of our day & away from our families. - Our officiant, Tommy Tokioka, was a total tourist trap type of guy. I told her I wanted an authentic Hawaiian ceremony & she said he was THE best. Granted, we did get what I'm hoping (again ASSuming) was a traditional ceremony. But, this guy was not the best or even that great. I talked to him a couple months before the wedding about what we wanted/didn't want. One of the things he asked was who would be presenting me, I told him I don't have parents anymore & would like to skip that question. I reminded him of this about a week or so before the wedding. What does he do as soon as I get to the alter? Asked who presents this woman!? I started laughing & told everyone that I'm an independent woman and I am no one's to present ;) Even though I made light of it, I did not appreciate that at all. - I wanted hula dancers at our reception. The first group she sent me looked more like Cirque de Soleil than Hawaii. I love Cirque, but that's not the feeling I wanted at my reception. So she suggested a more local group, but promised they were fantastic, established & often perform at all the four & five star resorts. When the dancers arrived, they were all very young (several still had braces) students (I know this because they introduced themselves as students of the dance group). Not only that, we saw them performing at a dive bar in the Hanalei shopping center a few days later! And since there was no contract, there was nothing I could do about it. So this is partly my fault in trusting her when I repeatedly asked for contracts & she kept telling me that's not how locals do things. I should have known better. Another, issue was I wanted the instrumental version of "Here Comes the Sun" played as I was walking down the aisle, but they sang it. These are the kind of details I trusted her to take care of. - I hired a photographer, Rachel, based on the recommendation of a friend (not Lisa). My wedding was Lisa's first time working with Rachel. Which by the way, Rachel is THE BEST. She is the coolest woman ever & took the most amazing pictures. Anyways, Lisa kept bossing Rachel around like she worked for her, telling her what shots to get. I think Lisa just wanted to use Rachel's pictures to update her website. After the wedding she asked me if she could have some pictures to post on her site & social media. I initially told her yes, as soon as I get them I'll send some over to you. Rachel is a very busy photographer & took pictures at my wedding for 8+ hours. I told Lisa I wasn't expecting to get anything back for several months. She asked me again a couple months later & I hadn't received anything but a small preview yet (5 pictures). I knew Lisa wanted pictures of the details, not just me & my husband so when she asked again I told her I hadn't received them yet. Instead of being patient, she started harassing my photographer directly! I told Rachel, at this point I didn't care and I'd rather Lisa get some pictures than to make Rachel deal with her. I then emailed Lisa & told her I talked to Rachel & didn't appreciate her going around me and that if she is going to post pictures of me & my wedding to please let me know and also make sure to tag me & give Rachel credit if she posts on social media. She never responded. She then posted a picture of me & my husband. I emailed her again & no response. I just checked her social media & she posted at least 3 pictures from my wedding, two of me & my husband, without responding to me or letting me know in any way. I just left a public comment on one of them stating I never gave her permission to use my images, maybe now she'll finally respond. It's not that I don't want my pictures out there, they are beautiful, Rachel is amazing. It's the fact that I specifically asked Lisa to let me know what she was going to be posting instead she went around me then she completely ignored me. And the pictures of the details - she's acting like she's the one that came up with these ideas & that is NOT the case. She had so little to do with the actual details/concept. -She tried getting me to pay for things I didn't need like tent rope covers - she said they were a must yet she couldn't show me one picture of a past event of hers or the vendors where these were used.. read more

We worked with Lisa for about nine months to plan our romantic beach wedding on Kaua'i. Working with Lisa was a pleasure; she was always very responsive, organized, and proactive. We felt like we could trust her completely with regards to both finances and tasks that needed to be completed. She helped to make the planning process fun and exciting rather than daunting; we really looked forward to correspondences with her since they gave us opportunities to think ahead and make exciting decisions. In particular, there were two things I loved about working with Lisa: 1.) She hooked us up with the best in the business. Lisa had wonderful ideas for our minister, photographer, cake baker, and hair/makeup stylist. We never would have been able to find these folks on our own. In this sense, her help was absolutely invaluable. 2.) She was willing to work with our vision. We eloped, and wanted a very simple wedding: barefoot on the beach, picnic dinner sitting on the sand, no bells and whistles. I could imagine that many wedding planners would have been exasperated at our minimalist approach. Lisa really understood us, our relationship, and what we wanted; instead of imposing her own ideas, she adopted ours and worked completely within the bounds of what we envisioned. It was wonderful to work with someone who understood, accepted, and wanted to highlight our own unique style. Overall, we're incredibly happy with Lisa's services. I was originally resistant to hiring a wedding planner since I'm very logistically-minded myself... but it was 100% worth it. Our romantic ceremony was exactly what we had fantasized about, largely because of Lisa's help and ideas. read more

Lisa is a WONDERFUL wedding planner; not only is she very professional, she puts her heart and soul into each couple's vision. I had been searching and researching wedding planners for months, for various destinations, and their websites and names and emails were all starting to blur at the point when, having finally decided on a Kauai wedding, something Lisa has written on her website really spoke to me. She lists all her duties as planner, and I could hear her voice in the writing, and her bullet points showed an amazing attention to detail in an unusual tone of candor that I had not really heard from anyone else I spoke to. This dedication to detail proved to be a strong and true trait in Lisa, along with a calm demeanor that could soothe the most nervous of brides or grooms, and especially family members! She fully understood the anxiety I felt in trying to plan something so important, entire remotely from another country. She was always prompt with email responses--over the course of our year of planning, hundreds of emails were passed back and forth, which included tons of reference picture PDF's, menu details, chair details, you name it, it was covered! Lisa has a gift for suggesting themes but respecting her client's visions, and suggesting vendors appropriate to that end. From the get go and throughout, Lisa always presented us with a good price point range of vendors/venues/etc, from very budget to high end. She is well organized, savvy with Google docs to share all materials, from contracts and receipts, to sketches and layouts. Being a longtime resident of Kauai, Lisa was always well-versed and prepared for every weather-related unpredictability for the big day. Most importantly, Lisa is sincere, a person of utmost integrity. I believe that is shown in the fact that Lisa, going against the standard industry norm, charges a flat fee and not a commission off the total cost of your wedding. She readily agreed to and safeguarded our privacy requests. Although we didn't ask for this specifically at all, Lisa made it a point to have herself and her team in the shadows and out of the spotlight during the wedding and reception, which I found a very thoughtful touch. I can't recommend Lisa enough to plan your wedding if Kauai is calling you; she's a treasure! read more

Lisa Insalata Weddings - Wedding Planning Near Me

Lisa is fantastic! I grew up in Kauai and have known her since I was a teenager. She thought of everything and gave sound advice. She was very patient with us when we had to make choices. She also coordinated a last minute location change of the ceremony with ease. I loved working with Lisa for my wedding and look forward to working with her again for anniversaries! read more

This wedding planner is terrible! Her attitude left a lot to be desired, she would insult the relatives of the groom for no good reason. Once she started having such a bad attitude we asked to cancel the arrangement and she would not budge. We hired her based on the reviews we found online, however, we discovered most of those reviews came from her personal friends so they are no legit reviews. read more

Lisa was the most fabulous wedding coordinator a bride could ever ask for! From the very beginning, I knew my wedding was in great hands. She is so kind, thoughtful, and hard-working. You can truly count on Lisa to put her everything into making your dream day come to life. If you are planning a destination wedding in Kauai, Lisa is the absolute best! She knows the best vendors and locations on the island and is such a true partner in the wedding planning process that you just feel the stress fall off your shoulders. She answered all of my questions immediately and always went to whatever lengths possible to make my wedding the most amazing day of my life. From the very first phone call to your wedding day and beyond, you can rely on Lisa to be there for you and help you with anything and everything you need. I would recommend Lisa to anyone who wants a beautiful, memorable, authentic Hawaiian wedding planned by a gracious, detail-oriented coordinator. read more

There is not much more to say about Lisa than what has already been written in these glowing reviews. From the outset she was amazing. Fully responsive to all the queries and requests that came from both my wife and I. Nothing was too much effort for Lisa and provided us with great recommendations for catering, officiant, flowers, lighting and put our minds at rest that it was under control. We arrived on the beautiful island of Kauai a few days before our intimate planned ceremony on the beach at Hanalei and Lisa met us off the plane at our rental house. She was every bit as warm, genuine and professional as she came across in her correspondence. She had everything planned so meticulously in advance and on the big day she was on hand pretty much the whole day, through the ceremony and then for an hour into our reception dinner - organising and arranging ever detail with such grace and poise and always with a smile. When my wife an I return to Kauai, the first person we will look up will be Lisa. She is a beautiful soul and a great planner - don't hesitate to engage her services read more

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I've had the pleasure of working with Lisa via email to plan a vow renewal ceremony for my 10th Wedding Anniversary as a surprise for my husband. Her email response is immediate and impeccable. From the moment I contacted her she made me feel at ease and she worked as if I was already her client. I would definitely recommend everyone and anyone to Lisa. She is true professional with great venues and connections on the island. In addition to that she always has your vision of your special day at the for front. Mahalo Lisa! I hope to work with you in the future! read more

We had a lot of nerves flying in to Kauai to celebrate our wedding without ever visiting beforehand. Lisa was able to transform our initial nerves into confidence through phone and Skype meetings, sharing photos, and coordinating with the best local island vendors. Above all, Lisa understood that the wedding planing process is personal. We never felt like we were "just another couple on another weekend." Lisa got to know us, requested our vision and input, and then custom designed our ceremony, reception, and pre/post activities for our group. She gave us valuable advice about the choices we had made and guided us to our final plan. Upon meeting in person, Lisa greeted us in true Hawaiian style and made us feel very welcome. Without exaggeration, every detail of our wedding and surrounding events exceeded our expectations. We truly felt like we had the "best of the best" in every capacity. We our most grateful to truly proclaim that our wedding was the best day of our lives, and we have Lisa to thank for a great deal of it. read more

Kauai is a very special place for my wife and I, so when we were planning our wedding we immediately wanted to get married on the amazing island. However, we were both nervous about the logistics of planning a wedding remotely and without having an opportunity to come back our prior to the actual event. We chose Lisa for our wedding planning after reading a number of positive reviews online, and we were not disappointed! She handled everything from day one, which was especially important because my wife and I both work long hours. Once we got to Kauai a few days before the wedding, Lisa had everything teed up and detailed confirmation that everything was in order. Despite the level of detail required, Lisa made us feel really confident that everything would go according to plan, and that we would have backup plans for anything that didn't. The event itself was everything that my wife and I had hoped for (and more), and things went off without a hitch. A wedding is an incredibly stressful and emotional event, and Lisa made things much easier than I could've imagined. I would recommend her to anyone that wants to get married in paradise and still be able to enjoy the view :) read more

We are from Montana and found Lisa through a mutual friend. We had been on island for a week thinking we could find a venue and do all of the planning ourselves - but this was not so. We were desperate and needed assistance with everything. We called her, she was quick to respond and met with us the next day. We loved her from the start. She listened to all of our thoughts and wants, then gave her advise and unique island insight. Even after we left Kauai Lisa stayed in touch with us as the plans developed. We were able to chat with her anytime any day. Lisa definitely has patience and dedication as she worked hard to find us the exact color of flowers for our ceremony and the reception. We had portions of our wedding at two different locations and our reception at a third. Lisa was willing to work with the coordinator from our reception venue and together they worked out all of the kinks. Lisa came to the rescue when our cake plans fell through for the reception - she got us one of the best bakers in the country to make our cake, which had to be dairy-free. It was Awesome looking and Delicious!! Lisa provided her little touches throughout our time before and during our amazing day. We truly appreciated all of her attention to detail. Lisa and her assistant were gracious and pleasant to all of our guests and helpful with each step of our busy day. She found us an incredible photographer, a wonderful musician for the ceremony and an amazing DJ for the reception who was a lot of fun and kept our guests dancing. Our incredible day was on Oct 10, 2015 and we don't know who Miss M is speaking of since we had Lisa the very next day and she was doing things for us on that Friday before. Lisa was very professional and caring. We started our adventure with her in February 2015 which didn't give her a ton of time to get things accomplished but she did!! As a matter of fact; if you look through all of Miss M's reviews you will find a very disturbing trend. "She" has given negative reviews for all but one business and if you check the dates, businesses and locations you will find that she is all over the map. It really looks like this individual is being paid to write bad reviews. Their should account scrutinized. read more

Words cannot express the love and care Lisa brought to the arrangements for my 30th anniversary vow renewal at Wai'oli Mission Church in Hanalei. From my initial contact with her, to the last hug we exchanged, my confidence in her judgement and capabilities grew enormously. She always replied to me quickly and carefully, following through on everything. Her local resources were considered thoughtfully with my small group in mind. Every resource she referred (cake, linens, flowers, music, food) were top of the line. She respected my budget and kept impeccable records. Her local knowledge and talents added such a special touch to the character of my event. She is a jewel, and I know you can entrust her with your most special occasion. read more