A Day in the Life of a Fill-in-Wedding Planner Day 2 and 3

Sorry for the time lag in the blog posts, but the wedding took up the whole entire trip and a lot of late nights! I'm finally back in the Bay Area and I have to say, it was a WONDERFUL experience and a BEAUTIFUL and FUN wedding! I do give my hats off to wedding planners and designers because I could not do this as a profession. I was honored that Cheryl of Orchid Isle Weddings and Events asked me to fill in for her while she's preparing for her 2nd child, but boy was it a lot of work. Friday started out with my on-site visit with the SeaWatch Restaurant as I got a tour of the restaurant and ceremony location, followed by meeting with the florist Leah Robb. From there I trekked my way up to Ka'anapali to see if Honolulu Cookie Company could provide me with 612 cookies since the bride's custom chocolates were delivered to her fiance's office and not to the hotel! So I managed to get some time to shop at my favorite stores while I waited for the cookie order to be filled! From there I rushed back to drop off the items and get back to the ceremony location to do the rehearsal. The rehearsal went really well and then it was a quick trip to Kihei to get take out and head back to the hotel to do all the prep work for Saturday. Here's a picture too of their custom OOT welcome bags. Each guest received a bag filled with a 5 day itinerary of things to do, a local Maui guide, 2 beach towels embroidered with their logo, beach hats and beach mats and a custom CD designed by the bride using my logo from the wedding invitation! What a nice arrival gift for all their guests.
I didn't spend much time getting to see the grounds of the Grand Wailea Resort. I spent my time running errands or doing prep work in my room. So the only shot I took was this one of the lobby. What a beautiful resort, but I guess I'll have to visit it next time to really enjoy it!I realized when putting the favors together that I did not print 3 of the guest names so I was in a panic, but had a plan, I had 2 hours in the morning where I could figure out what I could do to make sure I had the 3 names and 3 favors done. I needed one lauhala box and cardstock. I had to drive up to Kahului to get it which is a half hour away. I got a little lost, but managed to get back by 10:45 a.m. Met with the bride to pick up the marriage license her 2nd pair of shoes and headed to the ceremony/reception location to set up. I was responsible for setting up the welcome tables with the favor box/placecards, get the guestbook/picture table set and put the lanterns, programs and fans out for the guests. Needless to say for one person to do is a lot, but I just kept moving. It was non-stop moving and so my 1 hour of sun was not spent on the beach, but at the Molokini Lookout setting up. LOL...The vendors I had the opportunity to work with were AWESOME. I am so excited to see the professional photos from Amity Mason Photography. She's an amazing photographer and so down to earth. After she gets back from her trip to South Africa and Egypt, she'll be sending out photos (January)! Can't wait. :) Derick Sebastian and his musical talents filled the ceremony location with beautiful Hawaiian music. He also sang as a duo during the cocktail reception. Very professional and on-time. I highly recommend him if you're looking for local talent for your event. Reverend Al Terry was AMAZING... He was so cute how he asked the bride and groom to kiss each other after exchanging the leis. His ceremony was beautiful and he also added a touch of humor. Although our ceremony started late and he had another wedding just after Alyssa and Daniel's he did a great job and did not rush it. A true professional! Tihati Productions also provided us with a great conch shell blower and Brandon did a fabulous job!From there I rushed down in my golf cart back to the reception to make sure all was set up according to Alyssa's instructions and the SeaWatch Restaurant and Leah Robb's team at Maui Elegance Floral Design did a great job. These are some shots before the tables were lit. DJ Dan did a great job keeping the guests entertained. He is truly a great entertainer and he had the house rocking. Even the SeaWatch general manager said it was the most high-energy/fun wedding they have had there to date!
All in all, it was a fabulous day and Alyssa and Daniel clearly had a great time. She was gorgeous in her Vera Wang vintage inspired gown and Daniel in his ivory Tommy Bahama long sleeved shirt and khaki colored slacks, accented by a beautiful maile lei intertwined with blue hyacinth. Alyssa's bouquet was a mixture of white roses, stephanotis with pearl centers, cattelya orchids with the striking purple center with white dendrobium orchids cascading down. Her bridesmaids had orange bouquets with mango callas, pin cushion proteas and orange roses.
The whole trip I was sick and it made it more difficult to really be on my "A" game, but I ignored being sick so that I could provide Alyssa and Daniel the best day-of wedding coordination possible and I think I did the best job possible and hope that the bride and groom had a memorable and fun-filled wedding day! Thank you to all the vendors who helped make their day the most special day in their lives.

Now, it's back to DK Designs orders. I really enjoyed the opportunity to coordinate the wedding for my clients who ordered my printed items. It was nice to finally see the fruits of my labor!

Alyssa and Daniel appropriately picked "Because Love Should be Celebrated" as their theme of their wedding and their love was definitely celebrated on that day!