"Barefoot Black Tie - Mau`i Style" Fundraiser

I have the privilege of being a part of the Planning Committee of Imua Family Services'Barefoot Natives. All proceeds from this event will help children with special needs access necessary therapeutic intervention programs and services.

If you are interested in becoming a sponsor of this wonderful event and for a great cause, please send me an email at info@eventsbyevonne.com.

Much mahalo for your generous support!

Let's talk flowers!

Photo Credit: Yvonne Floral Design

I didn't learn to appreciate flowers until I started planning weddings and events. They always seem so fragile and they only last such a short period of time. But you just can't have a wedding or an event without them; it will be so boring then! Besides, who doesn't like flowers?

When I work with my clients in choosing flowers for their events, the best way to do it is to select the color scheme and not the specific type of flowers. We are on an island and a lot of the flowers have to be flown in from California, Holland, New Zealand, Ecuador...etc., and therefore, might not always be available. However, the more flexible you are, the better chances that you will end up having the flowers (or at least the colors) that you want. But of course, all of our florists and floral designers will do the best they can to fulfill your dream and vision!

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!

Edwardson and Judith's Wedding

Congratulations, Edwardson and Judith! Edwardson is a very good friend of mine whom I have known for a long, long time! He and Judith have been through thick and thin and I am so excited that they finally tied the knot on Saturday, July 8, 2006 at the Eagle Ridge Golf Club in Lakewood, New Jersey. I had been waiting for that day to come for a long while.

In fact, they got engaged on May 28, 2005 during our wedding week in Honolulu! So we were able to celebrate their engagement as well. All of our closest friends were at their wedding and I think my hubby and I were the only ones who traveled the furthest for this joyous occasion - over 5,000 miles!

Kathy and Jonathan's Wedding

Congratulations Jonathan and Kathy! Jonathan is my hubby's cousin, and he got married just a month after we did on Sunday, July 24, 2005. Both their ceremony and reception were in Santa Clara, but we were only able to attend the ceremony because we just moved to Mau`i a month before that and my hubby just started his new job and didn't have any vacation time accrued yet.

So we took a red-eye flight on Saturday evening, arrived in the San Francisco bay area early Sunday morning, went to the ceremony at 2:00 pm and had to head back to the airport to fly back to Mau`i right afterwards. It was the shortest transpacific trip we had ever taken, but we were able to see the family for a few hours and it was a beautiful ceremony. Wish we could have stayed for dinner though!

MY Wedding!

Photo Credit: Eugene Kam Photography

After planning and attending so many beautiful weddings, it was finally my turn to have my own destination wedding on Thursday, June 2, 2005 at the Moana Surfrider on O`ahu!

We had such an awesome day but being the planner that I am, it was really hard for me to let go of all the details on the day of. I was setting up the wedding favors while my maid of honor was getting her hair and makeup done in our bridal suite! All of our family who was helping out literally had to kick me out of the ballroom because they just wanted me to enjoy the day.

A hundred of our closest family and friends were with us to share this very special day. They were from all over the world - Hong Kong, Singapore, Australia, Canada, U.S. (New York, Boston, San Francisco, Los Angeles)... We were so blessed to be surrounded by loved ones and it truly was an amazing wedding week. A huge mahalo to everyone who helped make this day possible. We love you all!

Juliet and Daryl's Wedding

Congratulations to Juliet and Daryl. I used to work with both the bride and groom at this dot-com in San Francisco. We remained friends even after the whole dot-com fiasco, but it was fun while it lasted.

Juliet and Daryl got married at the Brazilian Room in Tilden Regional Park in Berkeley, California on April 30, 2005, just a few weeks before my own wedding. Unfortunately, I missed the entire outdoor "Western" ceremony at 4:00 pm because I was finishing my class for the Wedding Consultation Program in Oakland, but luckily I was able to join in the traditional Korean "Paebek" ceremony at 5:00 pm and the reception afterwards.

Juliet is Korean and to honor her heritage, Juliet wore the traditional Wonsom while Daryl wore the Cheogori (coat) and paji (baggy pants) with the moja (black hat). The ceremony started out with the Gyobaerye (Bowing). With the aid of her helpers, the bride bowed twice to the groom. And with the aid of his helpers, the groom bowed back once to the bride. The bride then bowed two more times to the groom, who bowed back once more. They finished by kneeling down and facing each other. The bowing represented the promise of commitment to each other.

Then it was the Hapgeunrye (Drinking) portion. First, one of the helpers poured alcohol into a small cup for the groom, who then drank it. Another helper poured for the bride who sipped it or only pretended to drink. The groom's helper then poured into the cup again (or used the gourd in the other variation) and the groom drank again. The bride's helper poured again, with the bride sipping or pretending to drink again. Finally, the groom and bride joined together and bowed three times: once to their parents, once to their ancestors, and once to the guests.

Followed by the P'yebaek (Bowing to Husband's Parents). Immediately after the wedding, the bride met with her new parents-in-law. This ceremony took place in an area of the main room sectioned off with a folding screen. The groom's father sat in the east side, while the groom's mother sat in the west. The bride bowed to them four times, showing her respect to her husband's family and ancestors and expressing her loyalty. She often presented them with a small gift of food.

It was my first time attending a Korean ceremony and it was just fascinating. I love ethnic weddings and learning about all the different cultures. Juliet and Daryl changed back to their western wedding attire for the reception. It was a great day!

Muthoni and Mel's Wedding

Congratulations to Muthoni and Mel! Muthoni and I have been friends since we were working together at the former Wells Fargo Funds Management Group. Their wedding was held at the Officer's Club in the Presidio of San Francisco on Sunday, December 5, 2004. Muthoni's family is from Kenya, Africa. So it was really nice that we were able to witness some of the African wedding traditions where the bride and groom jumped over the broom, which represented the wife's commitment or willingness to clean the courtyard of the new home she had joined.

Muthoni wore a simple white gown and Mel looked sharp in his tuxedo. The cocktail reception and buffet dinner were lovely and the chocolate cake was just amazing! Everyone had such a great time.