Wedding cakes - Mini Cakes and Cupcakes

Photo Credit: Eugene Kam Photography

Photo Credit: Lighthouse Cake Company

Photo Credit: Pink Cake Box

Photo Credit: Pink Cake Box

Photo Credit: Cake Creations

A lot of brides have been asking me about wedding cupcakes and mini cakes. They are the latest trend and they have been very popular in the last couple of years. In fact, I had the 3" miniature cakes at my own wedding (photo #1 above) 2 years ago! Yes, being the planner that I am, that was me checking on the little cakes right before the reception! =)

I realized that wedding cakes are mostly for photos opps, and a lot of times after the caterer slice them in the kitchen and bring them out to the guests, the guests never touch them and they just sit on the table. But when the cakes are all individual cakes, guests tend to consume them and even ask for more!

There is really no right or wrong way for wedding cakes. Of course, the more traditional brides still opt in for the regular tiered wedding cakes, but if cupcakes or mini cakes are what your heart desires, I'd say go for it. They are fun to have at a reception!

Beth and Alex's Scouting Trip

I had a wonderful time this week taking Beth and Alex to look at all the locations and check out photographers. The 2 biggest items on a bride's list! They flew in from Los Angeles on Monday and we spent everyday driving around to different ceremony and reception sites.

After 3 days, they finally selected a date and the wedding location. Yesterday, we even picked out a few condos where they and their guests can stay when they come back in May 2008 for their wedding. It's definitely a very productive trip for them.

I always recommend to my destination wedding couples that if they can, it's really beneficial to do a scouting trip 9 to 12 months prior to the wedding date. That way, I get to meet them in person and address any questions or concerns they may have with planning a destination wedding so far away. Secondly, pictures just don't do justice in terms of the locations. It's always good to see them in person to get an idea of how things should go and where things should be.

Featured Wedding - Anna and Elan

Photo Credit: Yumi Numata

Anna first approached me 6 weeks before her wedding. She and Elan just moved to Mau`i from LA with their dog, Barkley, and she was looking for a planner who could help her with the rest of her planning. When they first came to Mau`i in January for a scouting trip, they visited a few locations, including Pua Le'a (the Haiku Mill) and the Seabreeze Villa. That's also when they realized that they wanted to move to the islands.

By August, they made the move and for the past month and a half, Anna and I had been meeting a few times a week to go over all the details of the wedding - the timeline, the floor plan, the vendor list, the wedding party list...etc., and we checked out both Pua Le'a and the Seabreeze Villa. Elan would come along to a few meetings and the 3 of us had such a great time going over all the wedding plans. They are such a wonderful and laid back couple to work with. They finally decided to have the big day at Pua Le'a and it was just magical. It didn't even drizzle at all, which was a miracle for that part of the island!

The wedding went off without a hitch. Everything was according to plan and everybody had such a great time. Now I can't wait till Anna and Elan are back from their honeymoon, and we can hang out more and enjoy the island together.

Congrats, Anna and Elan!

Sutong and Mami's Wedding

Congratulations to my dear friends, Sutong and Mami! Sutong and I were both applying for the MBA program, and we took the Statistics pre-requisite at City College of San Francisco because it was only $11 a unit at the time. We had a blast and became very good friends. A few months later, I met my hubby and about a year later, we all joined this business networking group called "Ryze" and that's where Sutong met his future wife, Mami.

When Sutong and Mami came to our wedding in June 2005 in Honolulu, it gave them the idea of having a destination wedding on O`ahu as well. On March 18, 2007, they tied the knot at the Ko 'Olina Chapel Place of Joy in front of 50 guests. It was a beautiful fairy tale wedding and we were so blessed to be there to witness the union.

Heather and Peter's Wedding

Congratulations, Heather and Peter! My hubby went to college with Peter and for some reason, he and I became good friends and fellow bloggers as well! They got married on Saturday, October 21, 2006 at the Halekulani in Waikiki. The ceremony was held in the courtyard and the 150-person reception was in their main ballroom.

Heather's parents were born and raised on Kaua`i, so she has a lot of families in Hawaii. But both she and Peter live in Southern California. Peter invited a lot of his college friends, so my hubby had a great time catching up with old friends.

Peter loves to cook (and eat too), so they named each table after the famous chefs. We happened to be sitting at the Giada De Laurentiis' table, where Giada is one of my favorites! And for each place setting, they gave each of us a little grater. It was really cute!

It was totally emotional when Heather's dad gave a speech, saying that as much as he loves to sing, he doesn't like to sing in public. But when Heather asked if he could sing "Somewhere Over the Rainbow" at the wedding, he said: "How could I say no to my daughter on her most special day?" So he started singing and there was not a dry eye in the audience. It was absolutely beautiful!

The lunch buffet was amazing, but everyone was ooooing and ahhhhhing over the dessert buffet! Hmmm... that was my favorite part of the meal, in addition to the wedding cake of course. After the reception, we hung out at the bridal suite for a little before taking the bride and groom for a few drinks at Duke's down the street. It was a great weekend!