We had a beautiful ceremony and our guests were blown away by how special Dean made them feel. He made it very easy to be in the moment with a beautiful blend of talk story and blessings in Hawaiian, which he translated as well. Dean was really easy to work with and was a very special part of the big day. He put us at ease and made sure our ceremony was everything we wanted it to be. Many of our guests commented on how wonderful they thought Dean was and how lucky they felt to have experienced his guidance with us. We had a unique ceremony with dual-officiants as we had a long time friend perform the duties as well. They worked beautifully together to create the perfect blend.

What can we say about Dean Kauka, our wedding officiant. He is a friend, spiritual leader, and an angel. Not only did Dean take the time to learn all 7 of our children's names and in the order of their birth, he took the time during our wedding ceremony to personalize our story, our love for each other, our family who had passed but who was with us for this ceremony. Our hearts will be forever grateful to Dean for marrying us and for being that special someone whom we will never forget. If you are looking for a personal, loving and spiritual ceremony, look no further, as Dean is your man!

Dean Kauka Has to be the best officiant and one of the kindest persons we’ve met. My daughter’s recent wedding was a dream come true. Dean’s sincere interest in my daughter and son-in-law’s story, coupled with the diverse traditions we wanted to include was beyond our expectations! Our guests commented that Dean made everyone feel comfortable and happy. Love his spirit, humor, and heart!

Kahu Dean Kauka was amazing! He helped make our wedding far beyond PERFECT!!! We had well over 100 guest who attended our wedding Ceremony on October 26, 2013 and each and every one of them came up to us and said what a beautiful Ceremony it was. They raved about Kahu Dean Kauka and how we made every one involved in the ceremony and most of them stated that it was the best ceremony they have ever attended. He was definitely a key part to our perfect wedding! Thank you Kahu Dean Kauka for making our wedding everything we have ever dreamed of!!!
Mahalo Nui Loa,
Lowen and Kristine Luta

Dean was instrumental in making our wedding ceremony so special. His approach made everyone in attendance feel at home and everyone remarked afterwards about how his words made a special day even more special. Thank you Dean for making an unforgettable day truly special.

We were very impressed with Dean! He showed up on time, was very pleasant, and incorporated everything we requested. We did not want any religion or readings and Dean was cool with whatever we wanted. He told a cute Hawaiian legend about a flower - honestly I was distracted, though, because a very rude couple walked right behind him during our ceremony! Everyone else remarked that the story was great. He was very easy to hear which was important because our ceremony was on the beach. I would recommend Dean to any couple getting married in Hawaii - he was very flexible and will work with you.

I feel compelled to share my experience with Dean and Kandi
It was a last minute decision that saw us change our wedding venue to Hawaii.
With just over two weeks to go before our big day, I did some research online into Big Island officiants. I stumbled across a couple's blog, with pictures of their wedding, and saw that the Bride and guests had raved about Dean. He certainly looked the part! I then made an enquiry on Dean and Kandi's website. I received a lovely reply from Kandi, explaining that even though they had a number of other weddings and commitments that weekend, she could not refuse to help us!
At that point I did not fully appreciate that Dean and Kandi ran a full service wedding company. It was only some time later, when we became dissatisfied with the service provided by our chosen caterer, that I came to understand the extent of their brilliance.
With little over a week to go before our wedding, and the stress I was feeling as a result of the time wasted dealing with the caterer, Kandi expressed that she wanted to "Malama" our wedding. Which is the Hawaiian word for 'care for'. She then went on to organise flowers, catering, waitstaff (including mai tai making bar staff), musicians and hula dancer. I was very particular with what I wanted and was not disappointed with anything on the night. In fact, Kandi went beyond my expectations in a number of areas, and was incredibly cost effective with it all. She was always available to take my calls, and quick with thorough responses to all my emails.
In the days leading up to the wedding, I was relaxed and confident that Kandi would deliver for us.
My friends who were present have told me they have never seen me so happy in my entire life.
I know this is to be expected of a bride on her wedding day, and I feel so blessed that it was the case for me, and I feel indebted to Dean and Kandi for delivering a perfectly happy, relaxed and intimate celebration for us!

I just love Dean! He made our ceremony so meaningful and touching. He makes you feel like family and incorporates details from discussions prior to the ceremony to add many personal touches to make you feel like he has been apart of your lives for many years. He incorporated many of the Hawaiian traditions we requested and had suggestions for some we didn't think about. He provided an unofficial marriage certificate for us along with a copy of our vows and prayers used in the ceremony. He made our ceremony special and an event that we will never forget!

We were very pleased with Kahu Dean! He incorporated a great deal of Hawaiian culture into our ceremony, including blessings, blowing the conch to open and close the ceremony, etc. I have a lot of respect for him--he made the ceremony so enjoyable and really took our tastes into account. My inlaws are deaf and we had toyed with the idea of hiring a professional translator for the ceremony. Kahu Dean offered his lovely wife's services, as she is apparently fluent in ASL. While they were both very warm and made wonderful efforts on our behalf, I do wish we'd hired a pro. In most cases, she was not able to fully convey Kahu Dean's eloquent, beautiful sentiments, and so much was lost on our parents, unfortunately. That being said, it really isn't part of his regular services, but they totally came through for us, in a pinch. It did take some time to get replies via e-mail, and we weren't provided a copy of the ceremony wording in advance (although we asked, he stressed that his officiating is loose, free-flowing, which it was). It would have been nice to know what we'd actually be saying to each other, and since he did provide us with a nice keepsake transcript of the ceremony, I thought it would have been nice to have that beforehand.

Dean was recommended by the fairmont orchid. Although he could be hard to get hold of at times (computer problems) he did a fantastic job at the ceremony. He incorporated Hawaiian elements that we had asked for, and a nice surprise we hadn't. He also included personal elements about the two of us that we had shared during our meetings. He may seem a little distracted in person or on the phone, don't let that fool you, he is paying lots of attention! After the ceremony he gave us the wedding certificate and a copy of the vows, as well as the naupaka flower of Hawaiian significance. The vows were perfect , moving , touching and personal. He made our ceremony perfect!