Maui Vow Renewals - Hawaii Vow Renewals

Lately we have been performing a lot of Maui vow renewal ceremonies. In fact, we just did one last night and another is scheduled for tonight. Because we've seen so much activity with married couples wanting to come here and renew their vows, we thought it might be wise to put together a separate page on our Maui Me (R) website that is dedicated just to Maui vow renewals. So that's what we've done.

Maui Vow Renewals is where you'll find our latest information about having a vow renewal in Hawaii. We have even added a "no frills" Special where a couple can get a vow renewal ceremony, two leis (for a lei exchange) and one roll of photos taken -- all for just $395.

Off of the Hawaii Vow Renewal page John has also put links to four of his vow renewal ceremonies. These links are as follows:

The Maui Spiritual Vow Renewal Ceremony.

The Maui Christian Vow Renewal Ceremony.

The Maui Contemporary Vow Renewal Ceremony.

The Maui Spirtual Legacy Vow Renewal Ceremony.

In addition to these new updates on the Maui Vow Renewal page, John has added all of these links to the Maui Me (R) Site Map page.

And he has also updated the Maui Wedding Packages page. All of our regular packages can be used for a Maui vow renewal. Some couples want to have a more extravagant ceremony (like we did two years ago), while others are on a tighter budget. Either way, we can give you what you want.

Maui Garden Weddings

We just performed a Maui wedding for a young couple at Maui Tropical Gardens (we've entitled it Iao Gardens on our web page link). The site is a nicely laid out three acre botanical gardens located at the beginning of the Iao Valley with a lot of great photo opportunities.

Brian and Lisa had choosen our Ohana Package (you can find out more about this package on our Maui Wedding Packages page), which includes a musician (they choose a guitarist) a video and a larger photo package. This morning they came and picked up their photography just an hour ago and are now off on the road to Hana.

We always like to ask our couples how they met. I thought their story was interesting, and asked them for permission to blog about it. Lisa went to a concert to see a band which her friend's husband played in and it was there that she noticed Brian for the first time. He was this tall good looking guy standing towards the back. She said "hi" and he nice, buying her a couple of beers over the course of the evening, and at the end of the concert Lisa felt warm enough for him to write down her phone number on a piece of paper.

But Lisa was disappointed when he didn't call. She figured they had a good time together and couldn't understand why he hadn't made contact. What she didn't know was that she that Brian HAD called, but it was the wrong number. Brian figured it was somehow a mistake, because he hadn't asked for the number, she had volunteered it. So he tried everything thing he could think of in order to figure out how to find her again. He eventually decided to go to the band's next concert, hoping she might be there.

Fortunately for them both, Lisa did attend that next concert. When she saw Brian, she walked up to him and said, "Thanks for not calling me!" And he responded with, "Thanks for giving me the wrong number!" When they compared notes, she realized that she had transposed two of the numbers on the piece of paper. That was the beginning of their relationship and their romance which bloomed and led them to Maui where they tied the knot just three days ago.

It is so enjoyable to be able to help people fulfill their romantic dreams here in Maui. I just love my job!

Maui Weddings in Lahaina

Many couples stay on the west side of Maui in Lahaina, up in Ka'anapali, Napili or Kapalua, and they often ask us to coordinate their weddings in one of those areas. Lately, it seems, we've done far more weddings on the west side (then we normally do) and what has been a little frustrating for us -- is the traffic. Getting in and out of Maui's west side can be a chore.

There is one two lane road (Highway 30) that circles around the west Maui mountains coming from the central valley. While the road does go all the way around the mountains, when it gets to the northern side, it is very steep and treacherous (one car only at a time). Often, if there is an accident on Highway 30, the authorities will close up the northern road part of Hwy 30 (which is changed to Highway 340 as it continues around the mountain) to keep people too many people from trying to escape the west side in that direction.

Even if there are no problems, we've driven that way, thinking it would say us time. No. It is extremely slow going and you don't save any time at all. The road just seems to go on and on.

So that leaves that one two-lane highway to (Hwy 30) to handle all of the traffic in and out of the west side. And for three weddings in a row, we needed about two and a half hours of driving time to get to our wedding site.

In the case of the vow renewal John did the other night, the couple couldn't get out to come down to the sound side of the island. He had to drive up and meet them. They were in bumper-to-bumper traffic and were about an hour and a half behind schedule because of it. In the time it took John to drive from Kihei around the west Maui mountains, they had traveled only two or three miles coming south. By then, the sunset was only 20 minutes away, so John took them to a beach nearby and had their vow renewal on the west side.

This traffic can happen at any time of the day and on weekends. It can just get backed up so quickly. And if there is an accident, you can just forget about getting through for hours on end.

I share this with you if you are planning to stay on the west side when you come to Maui. You should add an extra hour to your commute every time you're leaving Lahaina just to be safe. The road may have sparse traffic, but it may also suddenly become bumper-to-bumper.

If you are planning to have your wedding on the west side, we have to add an extra hour to our schedule (to make sure we're not late) and the cost of the extra gas to what we would normally charge you for having your wedding on the south side.

Gas on Maui now runs close to $4.00 a gallon. It's definitely much higher than on the mainland.

All of these are little things, compared with the incredible landscape that you'll be in when you come to Maui for your wedding. But it is nice to know, in advance, that the west side is having the traffic problems (and it will get worse as time goes by because they have no immediate plans to widen the road) to avoid frustration.

Maui Wedding Planner: Quick Service

Yesterday I blogged about a bride from Canada who had called me. She read my blog and responded with this email after I sent her a travel quote the same day from our travel supplier. It was so kind, I thought I would just have to add it as well to "my memoirs" (by Maui Wedding Planner blog) and pass it along to you all -- so you can see what kind of service we give. ;>)

"Susan,

"What an amazing company you have! It is the day before your holiday and you still get out a (travel) quote to me on the same day I asked for it. Amazing.

"Very thorough quote and I am thrilled at how much less it is than I thought. Considering it is air, hotel, rental AND the wedding - I think it is very reasonable. My fiance and I are going to review it together and I promise to get back to you by the end of the week.

"Adding our conversation to your blog is so nice! Although I will let you judge the "sweet" part when you meet me (haha), I am thrilled to make it onto your memoirs. Rest assured, I am showing EVERYONE I know. Have a great Fourth of July! Take care, we'll chat soon."

I should mention that I always try to take care of my business (unless I'm snowed with work), because people appreciate prompt answers so much. This is part of our approach to business. We try to give our couples the kind of service we like to receive, and they are usually very happy with our service AND, they tell their friends. What more could you ask for?

Susan

Maui Wedding Minister

This morning I received a call from a sweet bride in Canada who had lots of nice things to say about our website. She loved the fact that it is so easy to navigate and that we give so much information on our site. She read my blog and really enjoyed our personal touch. And then she read John's ceremonies and ended up teary eyed. Which of course reminded me of John's article "Why Do So Many Brides Cry During My Maui Wedding Ceremony?" on his Maui Wedding Minister page.

I told her, this is blog material. If she is already getting moist just reading John's ceremony, wait until she comes here in September for her wedding. Then she'll smell the fresh aroma of the Hawaiian wedding flowers in her bouquet and her leis, she stand on the beach at sunset, a tropical island breeze blowing in her hair, listening to those words of commitment being spoken just for the two of them . . . what could be more romantic (and emotional) than that for any couple deeply in love??

John just performed a last second wedding for a couple from Holland who were so much in love. They just kept looking at each other during the ceremony and smiling and grinning all through it. They were dressed in their bathing suits, and when they were done, they hugged and kissed and then ran into the ocean. John picked up their camcorder (which they had placed on a rock, acting like a tripod) which had filmed the ceremony and caught them going out into the water. A big wave came in and they body-surfed back into the shore.

When they signed the license, the couple told John that they had been in an accident earlier in the day. They had been side-swiped by another driver, and their car had run up the side of the hill causing it to turn over. The next thing they knew, they were upside down, hooked in only by the seatbelts! They weren't hurt and got a new rental car and still ended up making it to their wedding!

The Canadian bride who called this morning said our in-room Bride's Hair and Make-up Service really appealed to her (I hear that a lot). This is so important on a beach where the wind can pick up and blow longer hair in front of your face, making photography harder. She also expressed excitement at having Dinner on the Beach. John and I did that two years ago at our anniversary. Talk about feeling pampered. And the food was soooo good.

We love the Internet and how it helps us meet so many fun couples from all over the world. Maui just happens to be the perfect destination wedding site for so many people. As John is fond of saying to our couples, "You can get married anywhere, but you can only get Maui'd here!" That's when he draws a heart in the sand and writes "Just Maui'd" in it, along with the couples bouquet and glasses.

Just think, soon, you'll be here too! That's why we say, "Will You Maui Me (R)?"



Susan