GETTING MARRIED IN HAWAII IS GETTING EXPENSIVE

Well, that’s not an honest title.  Scratch that!  Take Two!

Vacationing in Hawaii IS expensive!

I’ve been writing these articles about the cost of vacationing and getting married in Hawaii, for the last three years, and I’m sorry to report to you that the situation is still dire.  While wedding prices have not gone up, the price of everything else – has.  It’s an election year, and the narrative coming from the White House is that the economy is strong and inflation is under control.  It’s a lie.  At least from what I can see, and from what my pocketbook tells me, not to mention, what by clients report.  If our economy were strong, prices would start to come down due to price wars.

Why is everything still expensive?

Well, let’s be blunt.  It’s politics.  And it’s the fault of the Democrat party.

When President Biden took office, he immediately reversed every executive order President Trump signed into law.   Subsequently, drilling and exploring for oil on American soil became nearly impossible.   Biden also canceled the XL pipeline.  Upon completion, this pipeline would take oil created in Canada through the states, to the Gulf of Mexico, where it would then be transported via barge to Europe and Africa.  These two actions gave the power of the price of oil back to OPEC oligarchs and Russia.   The prices of gas began to rise immediately after Biden took office, and since EVERYTHING touches oil, the cost of doing business went up as well.

But it wasn’t all of Biden’s fault.   Local Democrats fell into line and started enacting other left-leaning policies.

Here in Hawaii, our government embraced green energy policies. We spent money on a $12 billion electric rail that no one used and that we couldn’t afford. Our local politicians then ignored our aging oil generators, which were older than our State, and focused our energy production on solar and wind, both of which are becoming failing investments.  That raised our energy prices even higher.  Consequently -households, on average, have electricity bills of $500 plus.   And, made our energy grid here on Oahu incredibly unstable.  The Democrats here, like all Democrats, are just looking to tax, regulate, tax, regulate, and tax more – because apparently, they know better than all of us.

They tacked on a “Hawaii Transient Accommodations Tax” of 10.25%.  The revenues of this tax are supposed to help market Hawaii, but that doesn’t happen.   Then there’s the “Oahu Transient Accomation’s Tax,” of 3% which is another tax added to vacationers for who knows what.  And on top of that, you’ll pay a 4.75% tax.  Now, here’s the kicker.   With every tax, there’s a subtotal, and that new total gets taxed.  And then you get a new subtotal, and that’s taxed.   So each tax – actually taxes tax.    So you won’t just end up paying a total of 19.75% of taxes, you’ll probably end up paying 25% more!

Where is all of this money going?  Well, our politicians did give themselves a 60% pay raise.  They surely are not spending money on our roads, government buildings, or getting the homeless off the streets.  They did spend money trying to sue Trump a while back, though.  And they are trying to kick them off the ballot here as well.   See what I mean by trying to be in the Democrat Cool Kids club?

Oh, what else are they doing now?  A lot of State Parks that were free to use.   Well, they want to charge tourists to use them – because of – you guessed it – Climate Change.

It won’t surprise me if local Democrats start pushing for $20 minimum wage.  They already raised it a year earlier, which resulted in a handful of restaurants going under.   Outback and Buca De Beppo said they are closing due to the high operating cost in Hawaii.

Sticker shock from most of my brides

Just a few weeks ago, a client of mine who’s having their wedding later this year, finally booked their hotel.  They paid close to $7000 for a week-long stay.  It was around $600 a night.  Then, with taxes and the car rental, it came out to a whopping 7k.   And this wasn’t for an oceanfront suit.  This was a mountain view regular room.

Why did this happen?

The hotels just settled a strike with their unions (who the politicians back).  Consequently, the hotel’s operating costs shot up, and vacationers were stuck with the bill.   It didn’t help that our politicians destroyed the vacation rental industry, with pressure from the hotel lobby/donor class.  Less competition from the vacation rentals meant hotels could jack up their prices.

Pre-COVID, hotel rooms in Waikiki were only $150 a night. Now, they’re close to $600 a night.

So, what’s the solution?

If possible, book a vacation rental that is considered “grandfathered” so it is unaffected by the instead of 3-month vacation rental booking law.  Yes, vacation rentals that are not “grandfathered” or not in the resort area, can only take accept 3-month long reservations.   It’s unconstitutional and communist, in my opinion.  After all, that vacation rental is private property.   How can the government tell you who you could rent your property to, and how long?   Anyway, back to business.   My favorite vacation rentals are the ones available on Team Real Estate’s Website.  For one week, you can book a 2 bedroom 2 bath A-frame house on the ocean for $630 (w/o taxes).  Here’s the kicker.  It sleeps eight, so this bill can be split.  Per person, it’s $78.75 per night.   Per couple, it’s $157.50 per night.

Do I think things will get better?  Only if this dude gets into office

Honestly, even if Trump gets elected and our gas prices go down, our local government will still continue to tax and regulate us to death here.   Unless we can get smart politicians in our local government, who are moral and creative, paradise will continue to be affordable to only the wealthy. Trump’s win will definitely bring the cost of oil down, but things here in Hawaii will still be expensive with the Democrats in power.   I can only pray that his policies make us all richer to overcome liberal policies that continue to make Hawaii unaffordable – for everyone.  If you’re richer, you can say, “$600 a night is a drop in the bucket.”

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Steve Young

THE BIG MAN at Dream Weddings Hawaii

I pretty much do everything around here, from photography and video production, to the organization of all of my weddings. As you can see, I'm also the head writer too! If for some reason you can't reach me at my direct line, or my toll free number, feel free to hit me up on my company cell at (808) 479-0685. Call anytime...well, almost anytime. Don't call on Super Bowl Sunday or when the Philadelphia Eagles are playing!

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Yeah, I had a bit too much fun with the AI feature in Photoshop

YOUR HAWAII WEDDING AND AI

“What’s possible?  What’s happening?”

Back when I was younger, we had a movie called Terminator, and it was all about AI. (I don’t care how old you are, you should have seen this movie!)  But just in case you didn’t see this movie, it answered the question, “What if we turned over our military system to an AI?”  Well, the answer was simple: The human race would be nuked because, according to the AI, we pose the greatest threat to the planet and to the human race.  And, of course, the only way to save the human race from advanced robots is to time travel back into the past, impregnate a stranger, so that stranger would give birth to the leader who would save mankind.  Wouldn’t it have been easier to just go back in time and kill the dude who invented AI tech?  But anyway… it was a great movie.

So, here we are in 2024, and AI has arrived.   And it kinda feels that we are living in the 1st Act of Terminator.  And AI is coming into our lives.  First it’s McDonalds, then you’re wedding, and hopefully never – the military.

Chat GTP is learning how to tell fictional stories, construct poems, and to write research papers – in seconds.   The computer brain has yet to develop a voice for itself, or how to create memorable characters, but its getting close.  It’s only a matter of time till it LEARNS, and that’s the scary thing about all of this.   AI is not a computer program.  It’s artificial intelligence.  It doesn’t need to be programmed.  It learns.  And it’s gettng smarter, and smarter, and smarter – faster than I can type this out.  And it’s only a matter of time till it can write an interesting novel – in seconds.  It’s only a matter of time till it can learn the law – in seconds.

What’s next can be rather scary.

A month ago I created a box for a hair dye company.  I wanted a girl looking at a waterfall, and a friend of mine who is great in AI, created the photo I needed.   I could have snapped this shot in real life, and it could have turned out better.  There’s a waterfall not too far from my house.  I could have hired a model.  We all could have hiked up to the location, battled the elements, and got it done.   But that would have taken hours and a lot of money.  By using the AI, I saved money and time.  Is it perfect?  Nope.  But it’s usable.

AI’s text-to-photo features are getting better every second. This really changes the landscape of the entire photography industry, some for the better, a lot for the worse. A lot of models are going to find themselves unemployed. Stock photography libraries—well, there won’t be any use for them in the near future.

And don’t get me started on SORA, the video-to-text AI that is still in its infancy.

In my early 20s, I was a professional screenwriter, and my imagination was limited by a budget.

The red-faced bosses waved their hands,”Don’t get too fancy! No animation! No explosions!” In other words, no fun stuff.  Fast-forward to the present and near future, and it looks our imagination won’t be limited by a budget anymore.  If you have a good idea for a movie, I have a feeling AI can create a movie out your notes.

SORA will change the landscape of filmmaking

So, finally,  what does this mean for your Hawaii wedding, especially if you book with me?

Well, for video stuff – nothing.  I can’t employ AI tech in videos just yet.  But maybe in the near future.

But, for photo stuff – it makes everything a bit easier for me.   Removing tourists becomes a lot easier.  Strands of hair – easier.   Footprints in the sand – easier.   Can the AI make anyone skinnier?  The answer is no.  That has to be done manually.   Can it fix a pimple?  Yes, but I can do that manually just as fast, or maybe faster.  What it can do, that I love, is expand your photo convincingly.

The original

The extended background via AI.  

Can AI exposure and color correct my photos?  Yes, but not very well.  I’m hoping that one day it can, that would really speed up my post-production process.

The original shot

I tried to extend the background to the left, right, and below, in this photo using AI – big fail.

AI can’t get everything right, but if used in the right situation, it can do things I couldn’t do manually.

The original.

The hair on the face was fixed, and the bench was removed.

Unfortunately, this doesn’t speed up post-production.  AI tech is still a bit slow.  So, this doesn’t mean you’ll be getting your photos faster.   That will change in the future, though.  This may sound scary, but technology doesn’t have to improve.  The AI just has to learn faster – and it will.  There will come a day when AI has the ability to fix photos with a click of the button.  I’m hoping it won’t learn how to plan a wedding.  If it does – oh boy, I think we’re all in trouble.

Yup, I’m a Trump supporter!  Here’s something I just created using the AI.  I think I’ll put this on a shirt.

Author information

Steve Young

THE BIG MAN at Dream Weddings Hawaii

I pretty much do everything around here, from photography and video production, to the organization of all of my weddings. As you can see, I'm also the head writer too! If for some reason you can't reach me at my direct line, or my toll free number, feel free to hit me up on my company cell at (808) 479-0685. Call anytime...well, almost anytime. Don't call on Super Bowl Sunday or when the Philadelphia Eagles are playing!

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To watch, use the password: love

OAHU HELICOPTER WEDDINGS

This is the second chopper wedding that I planned on Oahu.   I have to say, they are freaking awesome.  It is also my first time riding in a chopper.  And yes, it was an incredible experience.   Would I do it, again?  Hell yeah!  If I had a choice, I’d do a million and one of these!

This chopper-aspiring couple found me on the internet, after finding my article about my 1st chopper wedding.  Planning the second chopper wedding was a lot easier than the first, but there were still a bit of logistical challenges that needed to be addressed.  My bride of the day planned a picnic at Kawela Bay and unfortunately, finding a place to land was a bit challenging.  The closest landing pad was at Turtle Bay, and they wanted an arm and a leg for us to touch down.  Booking a limo was too expensive, for a location that was literally a ten-minute drive away from the chopper.  The cheapest solution was to use my company van to shuttle them down the mountain, and to the beach, and then back, and that’s what we did.

Over at Magic Island, at the end of the day

So, how did the day go?

Well, it started rather early with Beauty Spell Hawaii arriving in the morning for hair and and make-up.   I also showed up to photograph and video everything, along with the actual first look.  Yes, that first look is the actual first look you see in the video.  Not a fake one that is rehearsed and made to look real.  And from that moment, I was on their hip.  After the 1st look, it was off to the chopper, where my couple was briefed on safety protocols, and the flight plan.   We took off, toured a bit of West Oahu, and then landed in Waimea for the ceremony. The wedding was performed by an ordained officiant provided by Trident Adventures.  Then, we were off to the beach for the picnic, in my company van.  We stayed at the beach as long as we could.   The couple picnicked (if that’s a word), then took pictures at the beach and the banyan trees.   Unfortunately, we couldn’t stay too long as we had to land at Kualoa Ridge at a certain time.  After Kualoa Ridge, Trident took us on a tour of Oahu through the east shore, then landed back in Honolulu.  A limo then took my couple to Magic Island right after, where we took a handful of photos.   And they finished off the day at Michels.

3000 plus feet above Sea Level

But their adventure wasn’t over.

The next day, they jumped out of the chopper and went scuba diving with Trident Adventures, and retired Navy Seal Steve Kaplan.  He’s the handsome bearded man in the video.   All of my chopper couples, I know I’ve only had two, literally kicked off their new chapter in their life by literally taking a plunge.   Or, as I would like to say, jumping out of a perfect working helicopter.  I think this is an awesome tradition, and it makes it stand out from all the other boring chopper weddings in the world.  So, with that being said, if you plan to book a chopper wedding with me, make plans to jump out of it afterward, haha.

These chopper weddings are not for everyone.  They are expensive.  But they are not more expensive than gala weddings.  And, this is a fact, they are a lot more fun than gala weddings.

Let me know if you want one!

Author information

Steve Young

THE BIG MAN at Dream Weddings Hawaii

I pretty much do everything around here, from photography and video production, to the organization of all of my weddings. As you can see, I'm also the head writer too! If for some reason you can't reach me at my direct line, or my toll free number, feel free to hit me up on my company cell at (808) 479-0685. Call anytime...well, almost anytime. Don't call on Super Bowl Sunday or when the Philadelphia Eagles are playing!

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DOES EXPERIENCE MATTER?  

I began my wedding industry career in my early 20s.  I’m not sure what year it was, but it was right after I returned home to Hawaii, from California.  I was fighting to create a “glamourous” screenwriting career in LA, decided to throw in the towel, and decided to give it a go at home.  I started a production company here in Hawaii called Canoe Girl Productions, and I hit the ground running.  In a few short years, we produced three TV shows in Japan, promoted concerts, and produced about 50% of all those cheesy in-room hotel commercials.   At the same time, we started offering photography and video services to wedding couples.

Then 9-11 happened, and everything changed overnight.   Suddenly, all of the advertising revenue my company relied on dried up, and the only thing paying the bills was the wedding industry.  And wedding couples really weren’t spending as much money as they were before, so I decided to focus on small weddings.  Months passed, and business didn’t get better for Canoe Girl Productions.  9-11 was pretty much like COVID for Hawaii.  The hotels were closed for a bit, and the tourists were gone.  And when tourists did come back, they did so – slowly.  So eventually, I decided to break apart the wedding portion of Canoe Girl Productions, and focus on small weddings.   And thus – Dream Weddings Hawaii was born.

As I tap out this article, I’m 46 and have been knee-deep in the wedding industry for over 20 years.  I’ve planned over 10,000 weddings, both large and small.   And for most of those weddings, I have also functioned as both the photographer and videographer.

I have a lot of experience in this industry.   And that can be a double-edged sword.

On the positive side, I can plan a wedding, photograph, and video it, with no hitch in my step.  And the quality and service that I deliver, is top-notch.  No matter how small or large a project is, every client always gets 1000% of my attention.  And I’m very careful on everything I do, because I’m scared of screwing up.

The negative side to having a lot of experience – well, one’s mind can start getting lazy, and it can start getting too comfortable, and stop fearing weddings.

Now, I know what you’re thinking – fear weddings?  That’s a kinda strange term.  But it is 100% true.

See, for weddings, I fear screwing up.  There’s a bunch of things to be fearful of, and too many to list.  It can be as simple as not having a vendor show up on time, rain, or not having my batteries charged, to rush hour traffic, etc..etc…  So when I have all of these fears, which almost teeters right to the edge of paranoia, I make sure these fears don’t manifest themselves into something real by double, sometimes triple-checking that everything is right.  And my mind is always racing with these fears, or concerns, all the time.  Even during the wedding, while I’m smiling, joking, and laughing with couples.

There’s a lot of fears when it comes to weddings, such as “Don’t get too close to the edge!”

I’m sorry to report that for most of my competitors, that fear has left them.   And what’s left is a shell of a company that simply doesn’t care.  And that is one of the biggest downfalls of experience.   Companies just get too overconfident in themselves and think that everything just falls into line, and a customer is just a customer.

Biggest fear here.   Making sure family members show up on time!

Experience, overall, is more of a blessing than a curse.   I just have to make sure to always keep my head on a swivel, because things are always bound to wrong, one way or another.

I do have one pet peeve when it comes to experience, though.    It’s when companies get cute with the term experience, and use it as major marketing tool.  I know several wedding companies that brag about their”combined experience.”  What the hell does that mean?   Well, it means that if I have 10 vendors with each having 2 years in the wedding industry, I suddenly have 20 years of combined experience.  WTF?  It’s technically correct, but really – WTF?

Then there are companies that brag, that they were founded in the 1970s.   Again, it’s technically correct, but that company has changed ownership 3 or 4 times, and the people performing weddings for them usually have 2 years of experience.   So, the only thing that has 50-plus years of experience is their name.  It’s like McDonald’s bragging about their experience, when the kid making your burger is too young to know that Michael Jackson was black.

What it really comes down to, is that while experience gets gold stars – experience – is the last thing you should be worried about when it comes to picking your vendor, or wedding company, or any business that you choose to spend your money on.   There are two ingredients you need to look for: quality of customer service, and quality of product, and weigh that against price.

Hope this helps :)

Author information

Steve Young

THE BIG MAN at Dream Weddings Hawaii

I pretty much do everything around here, from photography and video production, to the organization of all of my weddings. As you can see, I'm also the head writer too! If for some reason you can't reach me at my direct line, or my toll free number, feel free to hit me up on my company cell at (808) 479-0685. Call anytime...well, almost anytime. Don't call on Super Bowl Sunday or when the Philadelphia Eagles are playing!

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Well, hello there everyone.  It’s your friendly neighborhood, and should I add now, penny-pinching, wedding guy!  To be honest, things have not gotten much better since COVID stopped.   Now, instead of worrying about the government closing down my business, I have to worry about hyperinflation.  A year ago, our dear President said that inflation was “transitory” and “Trump’s fault.”  All I can say is that Biden lies – a lot.  Inflation is still here, uglier than ever!  I’m really getting tired of paying close to $5 a gallon for gas!

So, unfortunately, because living in Hawaii has gotten more expensive, I had to raise my prices a bit.  And, I had to start charging for services I usually didn’t charge for before.   What’s new?

• COORDINATION FEE FOR SMALL WEDDINGS – For small weddings, I am now adding a $165 coordination fee.  For the longest time, I coordinated weddings for no charge, and made the majority of my money off of photography and video services.  Now, I need a bit more help money-wise, and here I am charging for planning.
• HAWAIIAN SERVICE –  If you want to add a little Hawaiian flare to your wedding, it is now $50 more.   That Hawaiian “flare” includes an Aloha ceremony, a lei exchange, sharing of breath (He’alo He’alo),  Hawaiian blessing, in addition to our usual traditional ceremony.
• QUICK MUSIC SERVICE – Our minister happens to also be a professional vocalist and guitarist.  So if you pick this option, he can sing you walking in, walking out, and he can sing a Hawaiian song that you can dance to on the beach!  This is $150.  If you want a separate singer for one hour, it’s $250

The price of flowers and transportation went up.  The price of limousine services is really high these days.  If you are interested in a price for a limo, please call me and I can get you a quote.   But with the price of gas going up, up, and up, it doesn’t look like these prices will go down, until Brandon gets out of office.  Flowers too, those prices are going up.  I raised my prices last year and won’t have to do it again – yet.

INFLATION, LET’S BE REALLY HONEST

If you’re living and breathing, and not some rich spoiled brat who has never worked for a penny in your life, you’re probably feeling the pinch right now.  Everything is more expensive, especially food.  Don’t expect caterers to honor their prices as they once did.   When the price of an egg omelet doubles in a matter of a month, you can’t expect caterers to offer locked-in prices.  I’m starting a BBQ joint, by the way, and we will be offering catering services.  When I started smoking meat, a brisket was $2.29 a pound a three years ago.  It got up to $5.99 a pound last year, and is now $3.99.   At our current price, that’s still a 74% increase.  Inflation is not at just 6%, don’t believe the feds.  Prices are out of control.  Do you think gas, housing, meat, travel, has gone up only 6%?

Now, the great news, is that you can still get married on a budget, if you want.

I wrote an article addressing inflation and Hawaii weddings  CLICK HERE TO READ IT!!

WILL PRICES EVER GO BACK DOWN?

Yes, once the economy gets healthy again.   Don’t forget, a healthy economy is one where companies will compete for your business, and part of healthy competition includes price wars.  Limo prices will go down as they have to compete with each other, and uber.   The only reason why companies are raising prices, is because the cost of doing business, and the cost of living, has skyrocketed – especially in Hawaii.  Once oil prices plunge, everything will come down.

Author information

Steve Young

THE BIG MAN at Dream Weddings Hawaii

I pretty much do everything around here, from photography and video production, to the organization of all of my weddings. As you can see, I'm also the head writer too! If for some reason you can't reach me at my direct line, or my toll free number, feel free to hit me up on my company cell at (808) 479-0685. Call anytime...well, almost anytime. Don't call on Super Bowl Sunday or when the Philadelphia Eagles are playing!

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VACATION RENTALS ARE “ALMOST” DEAD ON OAHU

Making money in the State of Hawaii is hard enough, and the City and Council of Honolulu just made it more difficult, by voting to ban “short-term” vacation rentals outside of resort areas.   It’s officially called Bill 41, but it should be called the Hotel Lobby Bill, because it was created to push tourists back into overpriced hotels.  Bill 41 states “rentals in residential areas allowed if stays are 90 days or more.”  Previously, 30-day rentals were only allowed (yes, 30-days was considered short term).   And before that, vacation rentals were not allowed at all, but the law was not enforced for 50 plus years.

What changed everything?   Well, the hotel lobby, which is very strong on Oahu, began losing market share to vacation rentals once Airbnb became popular.  The hotel lobby felt the squeeze, so together, the unions  and politicians made up a lie, telling their loyalists, “The reason why the cost of living was so high in Hawaii, was because vacation rentals were destroying the local rental market.”  The truth is, the vast majority of the vacation rental market, consisted of multi-million dollar homes on the beach, whose monthly rental charge was well over $50,000 per month, and no starter family, with a reasonable brain, would rent out those homes.  So, these vacation rentals had the opportunity to rent to tourists day-to-day, and vacationing in a multi-million dollar mansion on the beach, got a lot more affordable.  For example, if a group of 10 friends wanted to rent out that same $50,000 a month mansion for the week, it would just cost them $160 a day (per person), which was half the price of a hotel (per person).  And that vacationer would get a much better experience.  They would still get their own room, own bathroom, but now, they could party in that mansion as though they were stuck in an episode of The Real World.

Everyone – from wedding couples, surfers, and celebrities, to families benefited from the vacation rental market; including retirees.

There were some residents, I know of a few, who rented out their extra bedrooms to tourists.   It help put food on the table and pay the taxes to the over-inflated real estate market.  Wanna hear something crazy.  You have nice retired old folks living in homes they bought for thousands of dollars, which are now worth millions.  Well, those residents rented out their rooms to tourists, which help pay for the huge property taxes.  It also gave those old folks, a nice retirement, a cool way to meet people, and so forth.   Now, what do they do?

Politicians blamed the cost of living in Hawaii on the vacation rental market, but it’s really all a big lie.  Vacation rentals exist on other islands, other continents, other countries, and other States, and it doesn’t affect their rental market.  By the way, it’s important to note here that there are vacation rentals that are grandfathered in, and are not affected by any legislative law.   Many of those grandfathered in properties, are owned by politicians.

If you’re curious, one of the main reasons why real estate is so expensive here is that foreign investors and corporations are buying up homes and condos, then trading them like penny stocks.  Investors want these investments ready to flip, so the vast majority of these properties are empty.  Just last week, I sat in the park at Ala Moana and soaked in the panoramic scenery of expensive condos across the street.  95% of the building’s lights were off because no one lived there.  What local would want to live in a small studio for one million dollars, right?

The regular rental market was always alive, robust, and fair.  My family has two homes here on Oahu which we rent out to locals.  We can’t rent them out to tourists because our association doesn’t allow it, and we would much rather get a good long-term tenant in our properties because it’s much less of a pain to manage.  One of the risks, when you rent to tourists, is that you don’t know to who you’ll be renting your property to.  You really don’t want to rent your house to college kids who will throw parties all night long (and that rarely happened).

It is becoming very expensive to live here in Hawaii, which is why many locals are moving to the mainland.   The jobs pay better on the mainland.  And the real estate, and cost of living, is so much cheaper.  I’m not sure what to make our State, because our politicians are passing every law to make it more difficult to turn a profit.   Think about how communist this bill is?   The City and County have ruled that you can’t do what you want, with the property you own, because it’ll hurt the hotels, or it’ll hurt the people who may want to rent your house.

Ugh….

What does this mean for your Hawaii Wedding?  Unfortunately, we may see a lot of non-hotel wedding venues disappear.

As of right now, the bill has yet to be signed into law by the Mayor.  We will see what he does…  But let’s just wait and see what happens.

Author information

Steve Young

THE BIG MAN at Dream Weddings Hawaii

I pretty much do everything around here, from photography and video production, to the organization of all of my weddings. As you can see, I'm also the head writer too! If for some reason you can't reach me at my direct line, or my toll free number, feel free to hit me up on my company cell at (808) 479-0685. Call anytime...well, almost anytime. Don't call on Super Bowl Sunday or when the Philadelphia Eagles are playing!

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Now here’s the pickle you’re in.  You want to get married in Hawaii, but you don’t know where to start, and you got this COVID-crap lurking in the background.   So, here are five tips that you should take into consideration, as you plan your wedding in Hawaii.

#1 KEEP YOUR WEDDING SMALL AS POSSIBLE

Small weddings, in my opinion, are always the ideal way to get married.  And this is an opinion that I held pre-covid.  They are cheaper, less stressful, and a lot more romantic.  Any excuse to leave your mother-in-law at home, is a good one.  Gala weddings are events, and events are often so stressful, sometimes it’s hard to feel the magic that a wedding day should bring.  Oh, you want to feel the love that day; the caterer is late, Uncle John doesn’t want to sit next to his ex, and little Jeremy just ran off of the gift box.  If only you kept your weddings small…like Wedding Guy Steve said.

Now, fast-forward to the present, planning a tiny wedding has become extremely advantageous for other reasons.   Currently, you don’t have to fear shutdowns anymore.  The State of Hawaii has figured out that if they shut businesses down, once again, that would be the end of our local economy.   But if covid hits the fan, the first mandates to come out, usually restrict the size of gatherings.  During the height of COVID, weddings were limited to six attendants.  That’s not a lot of people, but luckily, since many of my couples eloped, it didn’t really affect them.   How small do I think your wedding should be?   Well, to be quite honest, as small as possible, and as comfortable as it is for you.  The smaller it is, the less likely your wedding will have to be modified, if mandates are put into place.

#2 BE FLEXIBLE, SO YOU CAN BE CREATIVE

All of these covid restrictions don’t make any sense to me.   You may disagree with me, but hear me out.  As of now, if you want to get married in Hawaii, everyone at your wedding party needs to be vaccinated.  But, if everyone there gathers for anything else other than a wedding, you don’t.  Does that make any sense at all?  Now, you can always fight these stupid mandates, or you can find creative ways to roll with it.   So, when the government starts to act the fool, you need to outsmart them.  In other words, even though you have a set plan, you need to bend, and you need to think out of the box – and you need to do it with a smile.

For example, in 2021, one of our wedding couples planned to get married with a guest list of about 30 people.  In the days leading up to their wedding our government threw us a curveball and limited weddings to 15 guests per ceremony.  The solution?  Well, we had two back-to-back ceremonies, and then afterward, all 30 guests got together at Paradise Cove beacuse that was legal.  Again, do any of these rules make any sense.

Creativity saved the day, and the couple’s flexibility kept them sane and happy.

#3 KNOW THE MANDATES AS BEST AS YOU CAN

From what I can tell, we may actually be at the end of this pandemic.   There is growing evidence that Omicron will provide us with herd immunity for all present and future covid variants.  So, that could mean that all of these mandates (which are not laws) will disappear.  But it’s not a guarantee.  And who knows what the government will do.  It’s an election season, and call me paranoid, but I think they may throw yet another curveball our way.

It’s impossible to know what mandates are here in Hawaii.  Maybe you’re okay with them, maybe you’re not.   I wish I could supply you with a website with all of their mandates, but they change their mandates so often, their own website is outdated.  And our mandates are different for every island.   Are they enforced?  Not really.  But there are still nutty people out there calling the cops on anyone who doesn’t wear a mask in their store.

As hard as it is, know the mandates as best as you can, because it flows into the next tip.

#4 KNOW YOUR VENDOR’S INSANITY LEVEL

Not all vendors are cut from the same cloth, especially when it comes to enforcing these mandates.  Some follow the mandates, some don’t.  Currently, wedding planners are instructed to ask for your vaccination status before proceeding with your ceremony.  There are some photographers who will require you to wear a mask outdoors, sometimes even during the shoot.  I once saw a videographer yell at kids who distance themselves from his crew.  Do I think this is insane?  Hell yeah, I do.  I felt as though I had to remind these vendors that we’re not living in Nazi Germany.

Now, maybe you’re a person who loves these mandates…and you want to book a Nazi enforcer.  Then all the power to you.   This rule applies to all vendors, including restaurants and caterers.  Just to let you know, most vendors are not insane, just a handful.

#5 STAY POSITIVE

No matter what happens during this pandemic, always try your best to live in the present, because that’s what you can control.  If Covid hits the fan, take a step back, tell a few good jokes, and slowly figure out a plan.  Don’t point the finger, play the blame game, and get into a huge fight with anyone.  The glass is always full, even if the news and politicians are telling you it’s empty, because in the end you have each other, and that’s what counts.  Stay positive.  It’s going to be okay.

If you’re wondering I stand on this whole pandemic.  Well, COVID is real, but this is a virus that was never dangerous to the majority of us.  And it looks as though this virus is getting less dangerous as it gets more contagious.   I don’t fear COVID at all.  Statistically, I have a better chance of getting struck by lightning twice, than end up dying of COVID.  I’m through with these mandates because they don’t make any sense.  I’m through seeing politicians implement strict mandates, just to see them breaking it.  I’m through hearing “We’re in it all together” from politicians, when they were still allowed to work, and earn, while I wasn’t.  All of this, for a virus that I had a 99.998% chance of surviving.

Here are some other articles that may interest you:

FIVE TIPS TO HAVING THE PERFECT BEACH WEDDING IN HAWAII

FOUR ESSENTIAL INGREDIENTS TO THE PERFECT HAWAII BEACH WEDDING

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Steve Young

THE BIG MAN at Dream Weddings Hawaii

I pretty much do everything around here, from photography and video production, to the organization of all of my weddings. As you can see, I'm also the head writer too! If for some reason you can't reach me at my direct line, or my toll free number, feel free to hit me up on my company cell at (808) 479-0685. Call anytime...well, almost anytime. Don't call on Super Bowl Sunday or when the Philadelphia Eagles are playing!

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HAWAII NEEDS TOURISM

So, there’s a lot of stupid nonsense circulating the internet regarding locals not wanting tourists here in Hawaii.  I can tell you, for a fact, that’s 10000% fake news. The vast majority of locals, especially those with a brain, realize that it is tourism that drives the economy here.  Tourism allows me to be a professional artist without working for the entertainment industry.    Tourism creates jobs and businesses.   A simple wedding can pour tens of thousands of dollars into our economy, especially a wedding that has a large guest list.  Every activity you choose to do, every tour you take, every luau you dine at, and every restaurant you sample, and so on,  all goes towards giving a local a good living.  Not just an average living…a good living.

During covid, we spent close to one year without any tourist industry, and our economy went into the dumpster.  Unemployment hit close to 50%, but I think was way worse.  The only people who had jobs were government workers.  And guess what?  Their paychecks were dependent on tax revenue generated from tourism. The only reason why they had jobs is that the Federal government bailed our state, who was in the hole.  Well, while those government workers had it good, for the vast majority of us depended on tourism, found ourselves in the bread line – literally.  Yup, I was waiting for food!

What a bunch of bullshit.

During the lockdowns, we saw what it was like without tourism.  Restaurants, retail stores, hotels, to hundreds of small businesses were on the verge of going out of business.  Now that we’re open, these dumbos want tourism to stay away?  I’m really scratching my head here.

What I expect is that there is a small, yet vocal crowd on social media, that are most likely still living off of unemployment, who are telling tourists to “stay home.”  It’s not the majority.

For the record, their mantra is stupid and inaccurate.

And for the record, a second time, their stance infuriates me because they apparently don’t what it’s like to go broke from not have tourists in Hawaii…

Let me make one thing clear.  If tourists cancel their trip to Hawaii, I literally won’t have a home to come home to because I can’t pay the bills.    If there are no tourists in Hawaii, what type of job do I get?

I’m a true local.  I have generations of family here.   I have a generation of friends here.  And I don’t know of one soul who wants tourists to stop traveling to Hawaii.  Not one.

If you’re thinking about having a wedding here, please, come on down.  Ignore the social media noise.  Trust me, you’ll be welcomed with open arms.

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Steve Young

THE BIG MAN at Dream Weddings Hawaii

I pretty much do everything around here, from photography and video production, to the organization of all of my weddings. As you can see, I'm also the head writer too! If for some reason you can't reach me at my direct line, or my toll free number, feel free to hit me up on my company cell at (808) 479-0685. Call anytime...well, almost anytime. Don't call on Super Bowl Sunday or when the Philadelphia Eagles are playing!

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That’s me, Steven Young, on the far right, walking into position

YOUR PLANNER SHOULD BE AT YOUR WEDDING

Take a look at that headline?  Isn’t that freaking common sense?  Shouldn’t the person, woman, dude, or whatever they want to be identified by these days, say “Attack Helicopter” shouldn’t they show up to your wedding to make sure everything runs perfect?  Guess what, it’s not a given.  In fact, most of the time, they don’t!  I’ve been hired directly from couples as a photographer, sometimes videographer, and I show up to their wedding, and their planner is usually a no show.  The planner – who was so friendly over the phone, booked all the vendors, so helpful, is not so helpful on their wedding day, but they didn’t show because they weren’t paid for day-of coordination.   In other words, no follow-through.

Well, that’s b.s.

What’s the result of having their planner absent from their wedding?   Chaos.  Flat out mayhem.  No one knows where to stand, who to talk too, and no vendor wants to make executive decisions.  The wedding runs late.  It’s horrible.

A wedding company has the responsibility to make sure their “deliverables” arrive and perform on-time, even if they didn’t book day-of-coordination services.

Most of the time, my company books packages with me that include photography, so I literally am a moving part within the wedding, so I have something to do the day of a wedding.  But sometimes, a couple may just book, for example, my wedding singer.  Well, I will still show up to make sure my wedding singer appears on-time, knows where to go, and where to stand.  I’ll also make sure my client is correctly identified, so my singer doesn’t show up to the wrong gig.   And I’ll stay there to make sure everything runs smoothly from our side.  That’s common sense customer service you get from me – that strangely, isn’t very common.

Showing up to work?  It’s not that hard.

So the moral of this rant is to make sure whomever you book with, and whomever you are talking to over the phone, is on-site, ready to stand behind the products and services they were hired to deliver.   That’s what it comes down to.

And if you hired “them” to work for you, they also better be working.   A lot of photographers and videographers only show their faces to their weddings but don’t work.  For example, say you hire a CRAPPY PHOTO DUDE  because you love his work.  Well, CRAPPY PHOTO DUDE hires out a college kid to shoot your wedding, but CRAPPY PHOTO DUDE will show up on your wedding day to congratulate you, but he won’t work.  He’ll show up just to fulfill his contract that says “he’ll show up.”   There’s a lot of CRAPPY PHOTO DUDES in the wedding industry and they all deserve a slap.

Just in case you haven’t figured it out yet, I show up to work.  So if you hire me, I’m arriving at your wedding with my wit and too-tight pants.

Author information

Steve Young

THE BIG MAN at Dream Weddings Hawaii

I pretty much do everything around here, from photography and video production, to the organization of all of my weddings. As you can see, I'm also the head writer too! If for some reason you can't reach me at my direct line, or my toll free number, feel free to hit me up on my company cell at (808) 479-0685. Call anytime...well, almost anytime. Don't call on Super Bowl Sunday or when the Philadelphia Eagles are playing!

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The word Kalua Pua’a means “to cook undergound (in an imu)”  Kalua by itself means pit or sinkhole.   So, Kalua Pig, can mean “to cook a pig in the ground.”   But, Kalua Pig is rarely made underground, especially in restaurants or in local households.   And not to discredit the ancient method, but there’s nothing special about cooking in an imu.  Scientifically, cooking in an imu doesn’t add much smoke flavor.  There’s zero convection of smoke because food is tightly packed.  And to add, there’s not a stable source of smoke being created as it’s heated by river rocks – and there’s no smoke created by burning rock.  In most cases, liquid smoke is added to a salt brine to create the effect that it’s been smoked.  But if you look carefully at Kalua Pig, the shreds of pork have no pink in them, meaning there was no smoke ring, thus more than likely no smoke.

Cooking in an imu at Polynesian Cultural Center

So what’s the best way to make Kalua Pig?   Well, I have to say, my way, which isn’t really my way, but your standard bbq way of making pulled pork.

YOU’LL NEED:

• A smoker (preferably standard offset)
• A food thermometer
• Mesquite Wood (we have a Hawaiian Version called Kiawe)
• Pork Butt/Shoulder
• Heavy-Duty Tin Foil
• Kosher Salt
• Sea Salt
• Apple Cider Vinegar

The offset smoker is much better than an imu

DIRECTIONS:

Kalua Pig is nothing more than a good piece of smoked tender pulled pork, carefully seasoned with a brine made of sea salt.   If you know how to smoke a piece of Pork Butt/Shoulder, all you have to do is make a salt brine, and slowly season it to your preferred taste, teaspoon by teaspoon.   For those of you who don’t know how to smoke, I’ll quickly outline what to do:

1. Salt your Pork Butt/Shoulder with Kosher Salt. It’s okay to go a little liberal here as you are dealing with a very big piece of meat.
2. Throw it in your smoker.   By the way, the best way to get the most smoke in your meat is through a wood fire only standard offset smoker.  You can use any type of smoker (vault, komodo, reverse flow), but nothing compares to the old traditional standard offset.
   1. You can put a pan of water in here if to keep your smoke moist. This is equivalent to putting banana husk in an imu.
3. Cook at around 250 to 275 degrees until the internal temperature of your pork butt/shoulder reaches around 180 degrees.  Your meat should have a nice black bark on there, which by the way,  is not burnt meat.   If the bark starts getting too hard before 180, that means your fire was a bit too hot and you probably want to wrap your meat earlier
   1. After 3 hours, you should start spraying your pork butt with a mixture of apple cider vinegar and water every 30 to 45 minutes
   2. Do expect your pork to stall its temperature at around 150 and then at 160.  Be patient and keep cooking.  You will be cooking anywhere from 10 to 12 hours.
   3. Start checking your bark around 2 hours after your pork stalls.  If it gets too tough, then start to wrap.  I would suggest going as far as you can without wrapping so you can get the most smoke.
4. Wrap your pork butt/shoulder with aluminum foil at around 180 degrees, throw it into the oven at 275 degrees, and cook till it reaches 203 degrees. If your thermometer doesn’t poke into your pork like butter you may need to cook it longer.
5. Pull it out, and let the pork rest maybe 10 minutes.  It honestly doesn’t matter if you let it rest for a long time or not as we are most likely using the drippings.
6. Open your pork/butt making sure you dump it into a big bowl for you to shred.    Taste the drippings.  If the drippings are not bitter, throw it in the bowl.  If it’s bitter, throw it in the trash.
7. Shred your pork with two forks.  It should shred easily.
8. Create a very small amount of salt brine on the side using: water, just a splash of oil, and sea salt.  It should be a little salty to taste.   Slowly AND I MEAN REAL SLOW, teaspoon by teaspoon, flavor your pig…  Don’t go overboard or else you’ll ruin it rather quickly.

And that’s my kalua pig.  It’s very colorful!  You can see the pink shreds, which are from the smoke ring.  The black is from the tasty bark.
You won’t get that in an imu.

On a side note – for my family, my kalua pig is just another dish that I create from a huge piece of shredded pork shoulder/butt.  For me, I just throw my smoked pork into gallon zip lock bags and season them how I want throughout the week.  I can make a pull pork sandwich if I combine the pork with bbq sauce.  I can make a local favorite, roast pork plate, by combining it with store-bought brown gravy.   And if I want kalua pig, I just add salt.  Most of the time, I don’t even make a brine, I just add a few splashes of water, grind some rock salt over it, and throw it in the micro – and it tastes great.

So why is this version better than imu style Kalua pig?  Well, it’s a lot better looking, and it’s a lot more moist, naturally smokey, and tastier.  Plus you’re not adding liquid smoke, which seriously sucks to high heaven.  That stuff just taste awful.

Now, if you don’t have a smoker, you can steam your pork butt/shoulder until it reaches an internal temperature of 203 degrees, shred it and then brine with sea salt and some liquid smoke.  It’ll come out okay, but not as good as smoking it in an offset.

Author information

Steve Young

THE BIG MAN at Dream Weddings Hawaii

I pretty much do everything around here, from photography and video production, to the organization of all of my weddings. As you can see, I'm also the head writer too! If for some reason you can't reach me at my direct line, or my toll free number, feel free to hit me up on my company cell at (808) 479-0685. Call anytime...well, almost anytime. Don't call on Super Bowl Sunday or when the Philadelphia Eagles are playing!

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