I’m not sure if you can see the volume on that groom’s hair, but I am jealous
ELOPING ON OAHU
Hey, thanks for clicking on this article! So, a quick shameless plug on my own site here. If you are looking for my Oahu Wedding Packages, click here. It’ll scoot you on over real fast to my package page, so you can see my prices and you can start planning. If you want to read more about what it’s like to tie the knot on Oahu, and maybe need a little nudging, keep scrolling.
WHY OAHU?
I guess now’s the time for me to advertise the Island I live on. You should get married on Oahu if you want to tie the knot on the beach. Out of all the islands, Oahu has the most white sand beaches. Odds are if you walk in one direction you’re bound to walk into a white sand beach. When it comes to white sand beaches on the other islands, most of them are tiny, rocky, and combined with red dirt or lava rock. The reason I guess we have so many white-sand beaches is that we’re just eroding away the fastest out of all the islands. But don’t worry, we won’t wash away too fast, even if climate change is real. I think we got 12 years according to AOC?
Oahu is also a great place to do stuff. There are just so many things to do, that I don’t get bored living here. And you don’t have to drive very far to do it. I can literally go to the best beach, best hike, best shopping mall, and watch so-so fireworks (not the best), and not drive more than 15 miles. The above video pretty much sums up the opportunities you have when you travel here, and he’s only listing 10 of them.
Full disclosure, there is no arguing the fact that Oahu is a large city. Here’s an article I wrote explaining that. And with every large city, we have problems. The traffic here is bad. We also have a bad homeless problem (I’m not even exaggerating here) Crime here, especially when it comes to car break-ins, it’s high, but it’s high on the neighbor islands as well. But still, with all that being, Oahu is still a very fun island to stay on. I do recommend maybe spending a few days on The Big Island or Maui. And also heading out to the North Shore of Oahu to get away from the busy city of Oahu.
LET’S TALK ABOUT STRESS
When I first started in the wedding industry 20 years ago, I focused mainly on gala weddings. These were weddings where the guest count was around 100 at least, and on the top end, around 1000 or so. At every one of these huge weddings, the bride and groom were stressed. Most handled the stress rather well, put on a smile for the crowed, and tried to make the best of their day. But in the back of their mind, they were wondering “what to do next” or “did this or that vendor show up on-time?”
Couples would routinely tell me, “Steve, today is great but I can’t wait for it to be over.”
I knew what they were talking about. I had the same feeling. It was a long day. My day started when the bride and groom got ready at 4 am. My day would end at 11 pm when the reception transition into a dance party. I couldn’t wait for it to be over too.
It wasn’t till I met a few other guys on Oahu who specialized in small weddings when I decided to change my tune. They planned a lot of weddings, yet they didn’t dread doing them. And their couples – they were always happy. Much more happy than my couples who had just spent their life savings, and then some, in one day.
The moral of the story is this – if you didn’t get it already.
Eloping, or planning a small wedding – It’s probably 10000 times less stressful than planning a big one. For a big wedding, the planning is stressful, the day is stressful. Eloping, it’s laid back and fun.
You shouldn’t be thinking on your wedding day, “I can’t wait for this day to be over.”
If you want to enjoy this awesome turning point in your life, eloping should be up there on your “consideration list.”
FINDING THE RIGHT COMPANY
I’ll be blunt here. I think my company does a pretty darn good job at small weddings. The team I assembled, are all top-notch. And I think I’m one of the few companies where the person who answers the phone will actually be planning, taking pictures, and possibly videoing your wedding. I have the personal touch – not in a Joe Biden way.
So, let’s say you don’t book with my company, what should you look for?
- 100% raw transparency – Companies should be upfront and tell you who they are, and not vague. What’s their prices, and what their experience is with weddings. Don’t buy into this “combined experience” bullcrap. Their website should tell you who they exactly are and how long they’ve been doing this. And, to be honest, experience doesn’t count for much. There are companies that have been in this business for 50 years and suck, and some that have been in business for one week, who are great.
- great customer service – you would think answering emails or even their freaking phone would be a given, right? But so many of my competitors take forever to reply to emails. And getting on the phone can sometimes require an act of god. And then, some of them, just disappear – ghost you, for no reason. As long as service is reasonably prompt, you’re in good hands.
- you get to talk to your actual planner – I think this is a biggie. Too many companies get too big and they just lose that personal touch of a small business. You don’t want to plan your wedding with an office manager or a secretary, then have someone else, a stranger, show up at your wedding. It just doesn’t work that way, or it shouldn’t.
- know your photographer/videographer – I think this is number two biggie. A lot of wedding companies hire great professional photographers for a few of their weddings, post their work on their website, then never hire that photographer again. I can vouch for this because it’s happened to me. My work is on other company sites, maybe three or four. They hired me once, and never again. But they use my shots to book weddings. Who shoots their weddings, I just don’t know? Sometimes I see these companies operating, and their photographers can range from mom’s with a camera, to college students, to professionals. I’ve even seen some wedding planners shoot their own weddings, just like me, but they’re not as awesome (as me – haha – but I’m not joking!) They honestly don’t know what they are doing behind the lens. I just shake my head every time I see them operate and feel bad for the couple. They are out of position, they are scared to use a flash, they have no idea how to find the right angles on a bride, ugh. If pictures are important to you, make sure you are booking the photographer whose work shows up on their site. For my company, you won’t have to worry about that. I do all the photos.
- consistent personal reviews – every company is not going to have shining reviews, including mine. Make sure complaints are legit, not ones that are left by crazy customers no one can satisfy. One thing that should be common is that reviews should be personal. My reviews, thank me directly, Steven Young, not Dream Weddings Hawaii. Look for common names to pop up consistently. It helps if that name popping up is the owner. Sometimes, at larger companies, where there are lots of employees, the great ones will always move on, maybe even start their own company. So Mary from acme wedding company may no longer be there, because she’s working at beta wedding company, that she opened.
PRICES, PRICES, PRICES
Price ranges are pretty much all over the place when it comes to weddings. I’m pretty much smack dab in the middle. There are companies that are cheaper than me, some that are more expensive. There are some companies, that are so cheap, I’m not sure how they honestly keep the lights on. I seriously have no idea who they are using, and how they are putting together packages that make a profit. At some point, quality costs money. For me, my company prices are the cheapest I can get them, so I can feed myself, pay for my mortgage, here in Hawaii, where the cost-of-living can be quite high.
Just make sure there are no hidden costs aka post-wedding upsells. One of the most famous upsells are done with photography. A photographer shoots more than needed, then upsells you on prints after the event. You see this at Disneyland when you get off the rides, and you’ll see this at weddings. And sometimes, the prices can be just as ridiculous. I know one company here in Hawaii that advertises free family photography, then sells each 8×10 for $50. There are many different techniques to upsell customers. For my company, I don’t do any of that shit. It’s not honest and doesn’t belong in business.
ALL-INCLUSIVE PACKAGES DON’T EXIST IN HAWAII
If you’re looking for one price for your wedding, hotel, travel, food, activities, and car rental, for your entire trip, that doesn’t exist. If it does, let me know. What you may find are travel packages that are grouped with your wedding, or a restaurant that is packaged with it. I wouldn’t take it. Know what you’re spending money on. Know how much your spending on your wedding, your restaurant, and travel.
There are travel agencies that offer to book your weddings, but don’t go with them. They just end up googling “Oahu Wedding Packages,” then call me and start playing the middle man when they really don’t need to. And they hike up my packages too! I knew one travel agent who made more money on my wedding package that I did because she marked it up 150%! I just hate travel agents who are aspiring wedding planners.
WHAT TO EXPECT
If you book with me, expect a lot of personal attention and easy accessibility. I carry a cell phone that’s dedicated to my wedding company and answer it all the time (except when I’m watching football).
By the way, if you want to use my company, you’ll have to put up with my sense of humor. If you’re a stuck up person that gets offended at everything, take a hike. I’m serious about that. The last thing I need in my life is some snotty uptight customer who wants to ruin me :)
Eloping doesn’t require that much planning. The only difference between an elopement and a small wedding would be the number of seats you need to reserve at a restaurant.
I can’t speak for other companies here, but if you book with me, I will handle everything except your hair and make-up booking, and your restaurant. I will refer which vendor to use, where to book, and have you work directly with those vendors. This way, nothing gets lost in translation.
As for travel to the wedding location. You can rent a limo, or I always just recommend renting a car and driving yourself there. Renting a car for one week costs just as much as renting a limo for a few hours.
You will need to get your marriage license. You can click here for an article on that.
The only thing you should have to worry about is not getting sunburned and getting to your wedding location on-time.
Well, wow – this article is way too long. If you made it this far, you were probably reading this on the toilet. In any case, if you want to inquire with me, I have a fancy form that I made myself that I’m going to post now because I’m so proud of it. Hope to talk to you soon
Steve Young
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