Mark and Liana were so fun to plan with for their very unique wedding. I was eager to make this wedding happen for them, so I assumed some extra responsibilities, like renting the 15 passenger van and driving the couple and their guests to and from the crater, snacks and waters included, of course!
To personalize the ceremony, Mark and Liana’s friend officiated their ceremony at sunrise. To make it legal, I signed and processed the license (Yep, I am a wedding coordinator who is also licensed by the state to officiate if necessary, but I really like to leave that to the pros who SHOULD be doing that. BUT, I do offer to sign and process the license for clients whose officiants are from out of town or not licensed.). Every guest received a personalized blanket to keep them warm, as it is pretty chilly up at 10,000 feet above sea level, even on Maui. It was a good thing this bride wore her adorable DIY personalized boots with her dress.
Before leaving this magical place on Maui, the couple surprised Liana’s parents for their 30th wedding anniversary with a vow renewal ceremony on the crater, along with new rings they had prepared. Passports were stamped and away we went for the delicious breakfast awaiting us all. Photographer Jessica Pearl was happy to stop several times along the way to Charley’s in Paia so the newlyweds could get some fun photo ops. Everyone was ready for a nap before attending a luau that night, so we packed up in the van and talked story all the way back to the Westin. What a fun and fabulous way to celebrate a marriage and spend quality time with such a great couple!
(see more photos and information on Jessica’s blog http://pearlweddingphoto.com/the-haleakala-bride-liana-and-mark/)
The couple’s review of us on the Knot: “My fiance and I decided to get married on Maui at the top of Haleakala at sunrise. Totally crazy, but that is us. We brought our parents and siblings with us. I knew I wanted to use a wedding planner to make the whole experience easier, so the hotel wedding service referred us to Tori. [They themselves could not take care of the planning for us because the wedding was not being held on their property.]
I e-mailed Tori about what we wanted. We wanted a simple ceremony on the top of Haleakala followed by breakfast. Not knowing what to ultimately expect, she gave me peace of mind as she turned a crazy idea into the wedding of our dreams!
She recommended Jessica Pearl for photography (who was also incredible!), helped us to get the marriage license and also was able to sign off on the marriage license as our officiant. She took care of getting the permits for Haleakala. She made suggestions on places to eat and made breakfast reservations. All of this through just a few e-mails.
She clearly is on top of her game and loves what she does. She asked questions about things I had never thought of. For example, on the ride up to the crater would you like snack bags for your guests? Water? Would you like to cut cake or toast at the crater after the ceremony? None of these things had crossed my mind, and yes, I would love snacks for the guests!
We ran into a snag when trying to coordinate transportation – the prices were outrageous to hire a car company to take us all to the top – but Tori came to the rescue! She rented a large van that fit all of us and our photographer and drove it to the top stocked with snacks and provisions. It made life so much easier, especially at that time of the morning (or do you still consider it night?).
Day-of, she and her assistant managed to keep everyone calm and happy (despite the freezing temperatures) and made our day easy and perfect. Every single one of our guests commented to me how great she was. For the amount of expertise and service she provided her fee is ridiculously inexpensive. She was well within the budget we set-up at the start. Her cost included the planning, transportation, officiant fees and snacks.
I highly recommend her and wish that I could give her more than 5 stars!”
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