Makena Weddings Reviews
Reviews
We're all about trust. Our community relies on honest reviews to help you make those big decisions with ease.
4.9 out of 5 rating
4.9 out of 5 rating
147 reviews
99% recommend it
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![Ana & Alexander]()
Ana C. Sent on 12/03/2019Olowalu Plantation House Fairytale wedding
My husband and I had hired Makena Weddings for our wedding planning. They did an amazing work. We planned everything from New York over phone and emails without seeing anything but the venue before the wedding day. They are very quick to respond to emails and happy to schedule calls as needed. They were very flexible to our requests and managed to keep us in budget while delivering amazing end results. It’s hard to find someone to fully trust for such an important event and plan over the phone but they worked their magic and made everything perfect to every little details. On our wedding day we also didn’t have to worry about anything, they helped coordinate everything for us and we just enjoyed our beyondddd perfect day. Highly recommend! -
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![Ryan]()
Ryan Sent on 11/09/2019Made our Wedding Day the Best Day Ever!
Cindy and Laurie of Makena Weddings made our wedding day the most amazing day ever. Communication was always easy, and there was not a single thing I had to worry about on the day of the wedding - can’t tell you how much I appreciate that! Our wedding day was more beautiful than we could have imagined, and it’s a day our families and ourselves will not stop talking about. Everyone was in awe of our special day! We are so happy with our memories of that day, and our communication with Makena Wedding in general, and would not change a single thing.
I’m a bit of a control freak when it comes to anything like this, so I’m always skeptical of getting help from others but the best decision I made was hiring Makena Weddings!!! We are beyond grateful for everything they did. Not only Cindy and Laurie, but Al put on an AMAZING ceremony for us that everyone absolutely loved. His words were so moving and unforgettable. We have nothing but PERFECT memories of our wedding day, and we have Makena Weddings to thank for that. You will not go wrong choosing them!!! -
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![Samantha]()
Samantha Sent on 07/28/2019Wedding of our dreams
Laurie and Cindy made our dream wedding come to life! We planned a destination wedding in Maui from California. I was a stress free bride, and they were always willing to jump on a call if I had any questions, or new ideas. Our wedding day was absolutely perfect, and we owe it all to Laurie and Cindy. Thank you times a million for helping to plan our wedding day. We would relive it over and over again!! -
![Katiie]()
Katiie Sent on 06/20/2019Best wedding ever!
What a perfect day! Laurie and Cindy at Makena Weddings are amazing -- they planned, coordinated and put together an absolutely stunning, super fun and super beautiful wedding that included all of our requests and was really tailored to us -- they made everything incredibly easy for us (we live in Australia, so they took care of ALL details locally, answered all our questions, and were always available to us), and made all our dreams come true. We had numerous guests tell us this was the best wedding they had ever been to. Couldn't be happier -- thank you so much Laurie and Cindy!! If you are thinking of getting married in Maui, absolutely book Makena Weddings. xx -
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![Denise]()
Denise Sent on 12/27/2018Very responsive, personable, and nailed everything we wanted!
When we began to plan and contact wedding planners, it became pretty overwhelming and stressful, but as soon as we found Makena Weddings, a ton of weight lifted off our shoulders and they are a true gem.
From the first contact with Makena Weddings, they were very informative with recommendations of venues and catering. Cindy and Laurie created such a personalized solution based on our vision and made it so very simple for us. Cindy and Laurie were on it with creating our detailed, broken down quotes and did a fantastic job keeping in touch with us all the way up until and after our Wedding Day. I had many questions leading up to the day and they were by my side the entire way. I had initially had certain vendors in mind, and when I had concerns, Cindy and Laurie were there to reassure me. The most important thing to us during the planning was to have someone respond to us in a timely manner and Makena Weddings took the cake!!
Cindy was our main point of contact and she was always so calm and pleasant to work with. Day of wedding, she did not seem frantic at all, and everything ran so smoothly. The Ceremony, Cocktail hour, and Reception were perfect! The details were so beautiful and it really was everything beyond our imagination. She also was able to incorporate the little personalized touches we wanted.
Rev. Al Terry. Oh my gosh! He is a hoot and so gentle. Until this day, our friends and family talk about how light his spirit is and how fun he kept the Ceremony, which by the way, made for great photos!
We highly, highly recommend Makena Weddings. We are so grateful for them and we could not imagine working with anyone else. We hope you choose Makena Weddings as your planner. They are such beautiful souls and spirits and they really are the dream-makers!
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![Jamie]()
Jamie Sent on 12/14/2018I truly can't say enough about Makena Weddings
There are no words to describe Makena Weddings, (Laurie, Cindy, and Al) Our wedding planning process was completely stress-free from the day we picked our date until the end of the evening of our Wedding day. They went above and beyond in so many ways. Our day could not have been better and our guests even told us that it was the most beautiful wedding they have ever been to. Laurie made everyone in our bridal party so at ease and added some beautiful touches that we didn't even think of. Al's ceremony was so beautiful and personal. Laurie was there every step of the way to answer questions and help with coordinating with our vendors. (And I had A LOT of questions along the way) and even though we were so far away, I never felt like I couldn't call or email. Laurie was always so quick to get back to me every time. She has been in the business for so long and knew exactly who would work best with us. I really can't say enough about Makena Weddings. We are so grateful to them for helping to make our day so perfect. -
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![Katelyn]()
Katelyn Sent on 04/06/2017Laurie and Cindy are amazing! I booked them over a year out based on their reviews. I'm so glad I did! They are on it and really get a feel for who you are and what you want for your special day. Weddings are stressful and a destination wedding has not more but a different type of stress. These ladies put your mind at ease and really care about your day. They are professional, have great ideas and above all the rest are kind. They really know what they're doing and help you through the entire process. I highly recommend having a wedding coordinator. If you're getting Mauied, then these are your girls!! <3 -
![Lumarie]()
Lumarie Sent on 10/24/2015My husband and I planned a candlelight dinner the day after our Maui wedding in the Makena Surf Beach. It was a prefect evening to celebrate our new journey as husband and wife. From the beginning to the end it was prefect. From the service, location, and food was amazing. -
![Aris]()
Aris Sent on 12/30/2014Working with Laurie was great. She responded to my many emails quickly and didn't seem to get annoyed :) It was nice meeting with her and her husband the day before to answer my questions and to make us feel at ease. It was a beautiful ceremony and everything went perfectly well. It was a lot of fun. -
![Jackie and Dennis]()
Jackie Sent on 08/12/2014Our event wasn't a full wedding, but rather a vow renewal. Lauri and Al made it very very special for us. Al's ceremony was very personal and meaningful--you would have thought he knew us for a very long time. Lauri helped us manage other details such as the location, etc. She had a back-up plan in case of rain since it was in the forecast. Fortunately, we had the ceremony on the beach without bad weather and everything was just perfect. I couldn't have planned it by myself since I live thousands of miles from Maui, but with Al and Lauri it was a memorable experience. I hope to go back in several years to celebrate our 50th anniversary and bring along our children and grandchildren. We would hire Al and Lauri again!! -
![Lauralcp]()
Laura Sent on 05/29/2013I can't recommend Makena Weddings enough. Laurie not only made sure everything ran smoothly but she was also able to suggest things I hadn't even anticipated. She can arrange / recommend anything you might need while in Maui: a limo, a dress steamer, a great steak and cheese sub! Rev Al made it a truly beautiful ceremony - and such fun. And their vendors were top-notch. We were so pleased with hair / make-up, photos, video, flowers... Everything was perfect! I would not hesitate to recommend them to anyone. You will not be sorry. -
![David&Colleen]()
David&Colleen Sent on 02/02/2013Wedding was amazing and Laurie recommended some great vendors (especially the video guy) and also some good restaurants and activities (Laurie seems knows everyone in Town!). Would recommend her to all and Rev. Al touches our hearts. -
![Colleen]()
Colleen Sent on 08/03/2012We knew we wanted to be married on Maui and spent ages going through different hotels, resorts, planners etc online trying to make our choices of where to be married but nothing felt right. We went to a Wedding Show and spoke with a travel agency who referred us to Laurie. We contacted her and everything began to fall right into place. The best decision we made throughout the whole process was put our trust in Laurie.
Laurie put a nervous bride at ease and made the whole planning process an absolute joy. She answered every question we had, made wonderful suggestions and even went above and beyond in helping with an issue in getting wedding favors and making our beautiful centerpieces. It was as if she could see exactly what I pictured in my head.
We met with Laurie and Al – her husband and our Officiant – who is also amazing and was the epitome of perfection on our wedding day. They took us to see our Wedding Venue – “Honua Kai Lani Estates” (Sugarman’s) and we were blown away with the immense beauty of it all. We had seen pictures but nothing compares to being there.
On the wedding day, Laurie and all the vendors worked as a well-oiled machine. I was so calm and incredibly happy that entire day and Laurie took care of everything from start to finish.
She is the reason our wedding ran so smoothly and was entirely perfect and beautiful.
She is the reason the décor was breathtaking.
She is the one who made our dream wedding come true.
Thank you Laurie, for all you did. You exceeded our expectations. We would do it all over again and wouldn’t change a thing.
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Klarisa Sent on 04/29/2022
Dream Wedding at Olowalu Plantation House
We had our absolute DREAM wedding at Olowalu Plantation House, and in large part thanks to Makena Weddings and working with Cindy throughout the planning process and day of. She always comforted me and reminded me they are there to make it "stress free". From my initial inquiry with Makena Weddings I knew it was a perfect fit with me as they provided some sample excel sheets with preliminary budgets from venues I was interested in (I love excel sheets for planning!). From there everything came together so seamlessly, especially planning from California. On wedding day, I felt stress free and was absolutely stunned how everything exceeded our expectations. The venue looked amazing and included all the special details and touches I requested from my pinterest inspiration and even MORE! Thanks to Laurie for getting me prepped and ready for my walk down the aisle with my dad and special thanks to Al for his very special ceremony. The whole day was amazing and magical! Thank you Makena Weddings for everything!!! -
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Isabelle Sent on 04/30/2020
The best!
Where do we begin… Cindy and Laurie made our wedding more than anything we could’ve ever dreamed of. We got married February 2020 at Maria Lanakila Catholic Church and had the reception at Olowalu Plantation. Throughout the year leading up to our wedding we were mostly in contact with Cindy and she made the process of finding the perfect vendors within our budget simple. I voiced to her multiple times that I felt like I wasn’t “stressed” enough because she was handling the details and making it so easy for me. We were pretty much hands off with the majority of the wedding planning and trusted both Cindy and Laurie as well as the vendors to use their creative talents …… they blew our expectations out of the water. Our wedding was a fairytale and they handled every tiny detail so we could enjoy our day and soak up every special moment without having to worry. Laurie had my back during the rehearsal when I wanted the ceremony to flow differently than normally done at the church and ensured it would work out how I wanted.
The vendors they work with are exceptional.. Marvin Tevaga & hula dancers, Angela Nelson Photography, Aloha Bars, and Café O Lei catering. The star of the reception were the floral arrangements. We worked with Dellables and gave her a look we were hoping for and let her take it away with designing the floral arrangements and bouquets however she wanted. It was like we walked into a floral jungle and our guests still to this day cannot stop raving about how breathtaking it was. Pictures just do not do justice to how well the entire reception was executed. She also made personalized bouquets for my sisters/bridesmaids based on their individual dresses.
Our day was absolutely perfect from start to finish (even complete with whales jumping off shore and rainbows!). Laurie and Cindy are truly the best at what they do. Trust me, these two will make your dreams for your wedding turn into reality!! -
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Tracy Sent on 05/26/2019
Outstanding
Laurie & Cindy made our dreams come true. We could not have asked for more. Our day was perfect! Aloha and Mahalo, Joe & Tracy Tate -
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Brynn Sent on 09/28/2018If you are getting married in Maui, I HIGHLY recommend that you use Makena Weddings. Cindy and Laurie are AMAZING! True miracle workers! I started planning my wedding 15 months prior to the event date. Cindy and Laurie gave us really great vendors to choose from. Everyone from the florist to the photographer to the videographer to the bar service to the DJ was outstanding. As the date got closer, Cindy and Laurie were great about talking me through all the details and logistics and allowing me to be as involved or uninvolved in all of the decisions as I wanted. But the real miracle work came on wedding week. Let me tell you a little bit about the crazy week that was my wedding... it definitely did not go as expected. During our week in Maui we were faced with Hurricane Lane, followed by a fire, followed by a power outage. Dinners and events we had planned for months were canceled as were several of our guests’ flights taking us from a 40 person wedding down to 25. I scrambled to process my disappointment while also struggling to make last minute changes... all things you never plan to be doing on your wedding day. Then I found out that the musician we hired wouldn’t be able to make it either. Everything I planned was crumbling before my eyes. I arrived at my incredible outdoor wedding venue Olowalu Plantation House on the sunny afternoon of August 25 but about 30 minutes before guests arrived, the rain starting pouring down. Luckily for us, our wedding planners were absolute professionals, prepared for anything. Due to a power outage in Lahaina, we would not have had electricity (no lights, no mics, no DJ!) but luckily our planners brought generators so we had everything. They brought in a tent and quickly moved our entire ceremony set up underneath it. They also found a last-minute guitarist to play for us! Despite having one of the craziest wedding stories, everything day-of ran seamlessly as Makena Weddings helped us deal with each new change. THANK YOU!
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