Laakea Ocean Wedding Reviews

Our day was awesome. Elias was extremely responsive and made my ideas come to life! There were a few hiccups but he took care of everything and made sure it was a time to remember. I ended up using a few of his vendors and a few I found on my own. His vendor recommendations were priced very reasonable comparatively and were also reliable! We did our own catering with Ed Kuoha and it was incredible. Elias was super easy to communicate with and on top of communicating to outside vendors too. We had specialty cocktails, lights, homemade signs amongst other decorations and did things a little untraditional which he was super on board for! He takes care of a lot on wedding day and even ran an extra few errands for me. Overall success. Our day and stay was beautiful.

My husband & I decided to have a destination wedding. We live in California and had our weeding in Hawaii. We couldn’t have asked for a better coordinator & reception everything came out beautiful better than we expect. Elias made everything run smoothly and made sure everything was done just how we had envisioned ! Living in another state and planning a destination wedding is very stressful, but Elias made sure that we were all set for our special day. Definitely recommend 10 out of 10. He’s a 20!

We are so happy to have chosen Laakea Ocean Wedding to take care of our needs for the venue of our wedding in the beautiful island of Hawaii! Elias was responsive and attentive to our every need. Elias made us feel like we are family. Our wedding day was memorable although there were slight changes/alterations to it (the weather is unpredictable and always have a plan B, C, D, etc.). Elias made us aware of other options and openly communicated with us. The venue is a perfect spot for an intimate wedding or event. The location is intimate, warm, and the views of the beach is amazing. Gorgeous surroundings and sunrise/sunset views. Thank you, Elias for making my dream wedding a dream come true!

If you are looking for an ocean front wedding, look no further! The house and cottage were exactly as describe, everything was provided on time and everything was done efficiently. Elias and his team were always available when needed and made sure we had everything we wanted for our special day. We felt so welcomed and knew that our wedding ceremony and reception was in great hands.Elias treated us all like family. I would recommend Laakea Ocean Weddings to anyone!

Elias was wonderful in helping coordinate everything - very nice and accommodating. The venue was beautiful! the house is GREAT - the air conditioning worked well. Bedrooms were beautifully decorated. Plenty of space. View is terrific! Was a totally memorable 4 days. Would love to go back for a family reunion. That side of the island is so less touristy that the Honolulu area. Only issue was mosquitos - bring bug spray.

Elias took care of everything from the start and made the planning so painless. So grateful for a beautiful ocean front wedding… magical setting, food, and John the Officiant brought to us by Elias was so talented and made this Hawaiian wedding the best it could have been. Me and my Wife are so pleased with the service that Elias has provided I would recommend to anyone.

Easiest and most thoughtful experience in a crunch. An answer to prayer!

A huge Thank You to Elias and his team! They helped make our wedding day even more than I could ever imagine. Every vendor Elias recommended was excellent! Flowers, food, entertainment, and cake all exceeded our expectations! If you are questioning spending the money...im here to tell you its worth every penny! Elias and his team helped out with every little detail that allowed us both to be in the moment. We would definitely go with Laakea Ocean Weddings over and over again! ☺️🥰
Sincerely,
Mr & Mrs Perry Boughton

 

Elias handled everything so gracefully and professionally, and as a bride, I couldn’t have asked for anything more! His commitment to helping me through the most stressful time and the care that he offered to me and my family was amazing. The warmth that Elias showed me, my family, and all of our guests made the atmosphere so fun and full of love! He gained my trust through his organization, but he maintained it through his gracefulness, positive attitude, and persistent composure. I would recommend Elias to absolutely everyone. He will not only be your saving grace for your event, but also, become your true friend. Thank you for everything!

I met Elias through our photographer who helped us find a location for our engagements photos since the beaches were all closed. Elias manages the property that allowed us to take our photos and ultimately host our small intimate wedding (because we had to cancel our big wedding due to COVID and Elias we so great and accommodating, we were happy to have our wedding at his beautiful rental property!). Although I planned majority of the details of our wedding (we had a bunch of family friends who were our vendors), Elias was ready with a list of preferred vendors if we needed it. We also bought a package that came with the tables, chairs, linens, arch, lighting etc. so that we did not need any type of rental vendor at all. Transactions and communication was always seamless and Elias was so great at making sure the wedding I envisioned was the wedding that he would help produce. Him and his team worked to set up and breakdown everything that was needed for the day. The house we stayed at accommodated us all easily with plenty of room to spare. He and his team were very professional and made me feel special and comfortable leading up to and on our wedding day. I would definitely recommend Elias and his team for any intimate wedding near the beach!

I was very happy to have a relaxed wedding. Because I didn't need worry about table decoration, time schedule, setting up at all. Hiromi and Elias who is wedding planner were very helpful.
The decoration was also very nice. Many guests also said It was best weeding.
I am very grateful for the hospitality of the staff.
It was a wonderful wedding that was truly memorable.

Elias at Laakea Weddings is absolutely wonderful. He walked through so many details for my wedding with me so that on the day of the event, I was not stressed at all. He’s kind, professional, easy to talk with, has lots of recommendations (but isn’t pushy), and works with a network of people in the wedding industry to make sure everything is flawless. He’s also very reasonably priced and considers your budget when helping you plan the day. I hired him about a year before I got married and he spoke with me several times on the phone and visited the beach house a few times to go over the reception and ceremony layout. One thing to keep in mind though, Elias is not going to keep on you to do things by a certain date. He will give you the knowledge that you need, help you come up with a schedule, and answer all your questions, but if you need someone who’s going to do it all for you or a lot of hand holding, you may want to go with someone else. He was perfect for me and I can’t recommend him enough. Thank you, Elias!

Laakea Ocean Wedding helped us our dream wedding came true. Since most of our guests are from out of town, we wanted to have Hawaiian theme wedding. By their arrangement, we had fun Hawaiian dancers and musician, beautiful tropical flower all over the venue and tasty local meal. I highly recommend them for your special day!!!

Elias is absolutely the best! He made everything so much easier. I couldn’t have done it without him. I was a stress free bride. Usually bride stress out so much on their wedding but having Elias as my wedding coodinator is a blessing! He assured me that everything is being taken care of. Thank you so much for everything. We appreciate all your hard work.

I can’t express how happy we are with the services provided by Elias and Laakea Ocean Wedding. He exceeded all of our expectations. Elias went above and beyond what we needed him to do for our wedding. He was always available to answer any questions we had. He was always responsive, even with the time difference from Washington DC to Hawaii. He helped with getting flowers ordered for the wedding which looked and smelled amazing. He helped us find our caterer (Chef Angelina) who was awesome. Everyone raves about the food.
On the weekend of the wedding, he came to the location the day before to do a rehearsal with us and to talk about all the details for the big day. The weather called for rain on our wedding day so he worked out a plan b which we ended up having to use and it still looked amazing. He worked with all the vendors to make sure they had what they needed and made sure they were in place on time. He and his team set up all the decorations, tables, chairs and served during dinner and cocktail hour. They were amazing and everything looked amazing.
I would recommend Elias and Laakea Ocean Wedding to anyone looking for a wedding coordinator who is attentive, caring and genuinely loves what they do. He is worth every penny he charges which in my opinion is not enough for everything he does. Elias is much more than just a wedding coordinator. He gets to know you, your spouse and your vision for your day to make sure you have the best day of your life. I can’t imagine our wedding without him.
Thank you so much Elias for making this our dream come true.

Elias Gonzalez is the utmost professional; his attention to detail is unsurpassed. My daughter's wedding was absolutely amazing and it was all due to Elias...couldn't have done it without him!. I would recommend Elias to anyone looking for a wedding coordinator; HE'S THE BEST AT WHAT HE DOES!!!!!.

Elias and his team were the best on our wedding day! Planning was made so fun and simple with Elias' help and input. Their day of set up was seamless and amazing. He pulled off exactly what I had envisioned, all while being so sweet to our families and friends. When the bartender was in a car accident on the way, Elias changed and jumped in to help tend bar for our night. Again, above and beyond. We loved having you as a part of our day Elias and team! XO

First off, Elias isn’t like most wedding coordinators . He sees what he does as a passion and the bride(s) and/or groom(s) as family who deserve the very best. He will be as involved or uninvolved as you want. I personally picked-out and worked directly with the photographer, hair/make-up, and bakery but utilized his expertise when it came to catering, flowers, and a bartender (use “his guy”, he was great!).

He is very protective of his brides and is not afraid to have “difficult conversations” with folks to ensure “her” big day is as perfect. Several times he went above and beyond to ensure my day was exactly how I wanted. For example, he demand that the property owner of the estate where we married hire people to clean up the beach behind the property. He also called multiple hawaiian islands looking for someone who could supply the Plumerias I absoutely HAD to have. He even went to the airport to pick up the plumerias and delivered them to the florist. Talk about going above and beyond! Oh, and he offered to go to Costco to pick up alcohol for us so we didn’t have to “waste” our time doing errands.

He also a stash of “goodies” you can utilize like tables and chairs (a HUGE cost savings), glasses, archways, centerpiece pieces. If you are needing assistance with a vision – he can help. If you already have a vision – he will execute what you want. He has staff that shows up the day of the wedding and is absoutely amazing. Overall, very impessed. You will make a wise choice choosing Elias.

Our impression of the work of this company was overwhelmingly positive. We contracted with them to provide day-of coordination of a beach wedding on the North Shore of Oahu. Elias suggested very creative approaches to pacing and where to stage various aspects of the event. He suggested an exciting “reveal” of the beachfront ceremony seating area after gathering guests in another part of the property. He brought polite and well-dressed wait help and coordinated food service with the caterer exactly according to our schedule. Lots of small design touches by Elias enhanced the decor of the event. This company is a FIND for anyone planning a wedding on the island of Oahu. They are pros with design flair and we are happy to recommend them without reservation.

Elias was the PERFECT person to help plan our wedding. We are from Texas so we weren’t familiar with the area and needed lots of help with vendors. Elias made it so simple for us and really brought everything together for the best wedding I could have imagined. He is super fun and completely understood the laid back atmosphere we wanted. I’m so glad we had him to help with everything!

Elias at Laakea Ocean Wedding was absolutely amazing! He went above and beyond in making our wedding day go smooth and a beautiful day we will never forget! We showed up to a bad situation (the house I booked was not as expected and I was in shock and tears) and he reassurred us we would still have the perfect day. I couldn't imagine that at the time because it was pretty bad upon arrival. But he did it, he somehow made it all better and pulled it all together to give us the perfect wedding. My guests would've never known how the place looked days prior. On top of that, he is one of the nicest people too! Always smiling that great smile which is exactly what we needed. Lastly, this girl is all about a budget and being frugal. At first I thought I'm spending too much, do I really need a planner? The best investment was hiring him... especially planning a wedding from another state. He knows the right people, vendors and I'm sure I would've paid a lot more without him.
We're so very thankful for all his hard work!

I researched a lot before choosing a wedding planner. When I visited Laakea Ocean Weddings' website, I just loved their pictures and what they offer. I message them, and 3 other vendors. Eli responded right away to let me know that he received the message and set up a time to talk. His eagerness and excitement on the phone was so contagious that I knew I didn't need to look any further. When I met him, I felt reassure that I made the right decision, that Eli and his team will make my dream beach wedding come true. And so they did! Eli and his team put everything together beautifully. Always available, he listened to my wants, and he carried through my vision. As I walked down the aisle, I couldn’t stop smiling, everything was so beautiful, gorgeous! I completely and honestly recommend Laakea Ocean Wedding to be trusted with whatever wedding dream you might have, they definitely made mine (ours) a special one.
Nori

Elias and his team were so amazing to work with and we would recommend them to anyone! His enthusiasm and confidence made us feel comfortable and really helped ease some of the wedding stress. They went above and beyond to negotiate with our vendors when there were some hiccups along the way and played a huge role in making sure our wedding day exceeded our expectations! Thank you Laakea Ocean Weddings for helping to make our special day so unforgettable!

We started planning our wedding with just over 3 months until the big day - and my then-fiance was deployed overseas. Elias was incredible during the entire process. He walked us through each step of the way, making recommendations and even decisions when we were not able to do so. He took care of all the minute details that I would have surely forgotten. We were on a tight budget, so he worked with us to come up with a plan that worked for us. He even provided us with a speaker for my iPad to play our reception music! He was wonderful to work with - once my husband returned to Hawaii a month before the wedding, we went to the North Shore to view the venue, both extremely nervous. Within minutes of sitting and talking with Elias, all of our stresses disappeared. He had the same calming "I got this" nature on the wedding day, and took care of all issues promptly and with a smile. We wish we could plan another wedding so we can work with this great team again! (Just kidding - one wedding is enough. But they were awesome!!)
Love,
Nikki and Blaze

We literally fell in love with Elias. Our communication started almost a year ago and we kept postponing our wedding due to paperwork and formalities. But this professional wedding planner never let us down. He kept the estate for us and for the dates that were convenient for all our families. We cannot express all the gratitude for the marvelous wedding and beautiful memories that Elias prepared and implemented. His friendly and open personality, excellent organizational skills, extensive connections and CHARM captured our hearts forever!
Estate - huge, clean house; spacious bridal suite; bedrooms for guests and a separate cottage with bunkbeds perfect for kids (we had 13 kids and 11 adults); lovely backyard with a gorgeous mountain view; quiet location; 5 min walk to the beach, was always empty - so it's all yours!
Catering - AWESOME job with providing chefs who cooked dinners for us. Food was always fresh and mouthwatering! Elias even made sure that everything was gluten free as some of us are allergic.
Flowers and decor - We discussed it with Elias and he promised me I'll get what I want. He kept his promise – the arch was like a replica of my dream! The bouquets, leis, flower petals for the girls - all were gorgeous and classy.
Photography - Mark surprised us with the settings. We just told him that we want pix on the beach. And he took us to a couple breathtaking places. We are looking forward to seeing them soon!
Transportation - a white convertible with 'Just Married' sign on the back! We jumped with excitement when we saw it.
Elias, THANK YOU for the wedding of my life and for becoming our friend!
PS. Did you know that this incredible guy even provided the perfect weather?! It was raining nonstop when we came. It drizzled on the wedding day but when the ceremony began, the sky opened wide blue and the sun spilled all the goodness and love on us that moment! :)