Anyone have a Wishes wedding at Aulani?

[orion2185]

Hello fellow DIS brides & grooms

wondering if anyone out there has had a Wishes wedding at Disney Aulani resort in Hawaii.
Having no luck finding out any information- other than Disney's very basic wedding website info.

we started off think we would have the wedding at WDW- and spent many months look into this. We have compiled allot of information and pricing for this.

But we had some friends just come back from Hawaii...and we feel in love with their photos/video

does not seam to be too much information out there.
nor any helpful websites with pricing or old pricing information.

Any help anyone can give would be AMAZING!
We did try searching these forms...and did not find anything. Or, if we did it was not a wishes event. They are a couple renewals journals here.

thanks

 

[lurkyloo]

I did an interview with an Aulani Wishes bride HERE that you might find helpful.

I also have shots of all the Wishes wedding and reception venues HERE, to give you an idea of your choices. You should know that the only ceremony sites with a view of the ocean are either the patio directly below AMA AMA restaurant or the sand of the public beach. There are no private ocean-view sites.

You may have seen it on Disney's site already, but the way pricing works, you have to spend $4,000 for the ceremony and then $75/$100/$125 per person for reception food and beverage. There is no venue fee for the reception. Everything you want to add is a la carte (like flowers, decor, upgrading linens). Disney will give you the names of vendors you can work with on these, and those people will give you quotes. For example, I found that bridal bouquets from Disney's recommended vendors ranged from $200-$500, depending on the type of bouquet and flowers you wanted.

It's a lot like planning a wedding at any other hotel and far less involved than a WDW wedding.

Even though you're not interested in the Memories Collection, you might find my Aulani trip report helpful.

 

[orion2185]

Hello


Thanks for your reply

Yes, we have huge fans of your podcast,website,and book.
We have listened to all your podcast...as they are very helpful

The wedding location site photos...are they older?
As we have found what appears to be other locations used. Or, this might just be the beach location...now that it is constructed.

We sort of figured its a ala cart style event.
Bit can't find any pricing or past brides budget or final cost. We find this very helpful...since we can see what they did and sort of get a feel for pricing.

I guess it's like any wedding today...it cost what you want it to cost.

Of course, there is a ton of this sort of information, pricing, PDFs from Disney for a WDW wedding. Just can't find anything about Hawaii.

Mostly all we can dig up are people's wedding videos. But not planing journals or anything like that.

This is kind of why we are moving away from a WDW wedding...as Disney is very reluctant to give out any information unless you paid your deposits. We assume that everyone who does a WDW wedding...must be dead set on this is where they want their wedding and just work from there.



Do you happen to know the wedding discount they offer for guest?
As the resort can be a bit costly to stay at. And trying to figure out what we can offer guest to help out.

Also we have been trying to find menus with pricing for the resorts Restaurants and can't find any.
The dis podcast have a couple episodes talkin g about this resort and give some price. Again it's on the higher side

Also since we would be doing the wedding with Disney fairytale events...we would still be allowed to do a MK bridal Portrait session at WDW?
As we are looking into going to WDW after Hawaii

I know we have many more questions. But the above is a great start.

 

[orion2185]

sorry future bride to be had some more questions.

can you give a breakdown of what you get with a Wishes wedding in Hawaii?

do they offer the 2 WDW year passes for bride & groom?
or, is this only for WDW weddings?

she read somewhere that photos are included using a disney photo person.
is this true?

I know allot of people prefer to hire their own photo & video people.
do they charge a fee like WDW now does to bring in your own people?

what are their rules for shipping items to the resort for your event?
I know WDW was VERY strict on how much you could send.


thanks!
ps...after writing this I'm now out of the dog house LOL

 

[lurkyloo]

Glad you've enjoyed the podcast, book, etc.!

The wedding location site photos...are they older?
As we have found what appears to be other locations used. Or, this might just be the beach location...now that it is constructed.

Actually, they are newer. Aulani lost its prime ocean-view Wedding Garden when Disney decided to expand the pool area, and they changed some of their other locations. The ones in that post are the only sites being offered right now.

I guess it's like any wedding today...it cost what you want it to cost.

Yeah, unfortunately that's kind of the deal. But it is actually a little easier to control costs at Aulani because you don't have an overall minimum expenditure of $12,000 or $15,000 or $20,000 like at WDW. So if you can find cheap vendors for all the elements you want (or DIY, which is not allowed in some places at WDW but IS at Aulani) you can keep your budget reasonable.

Of course, there is a ton of this sort of information, pricing, PDFs from Disney for a WDW wedding. Just can't find anything about Hawaii.

Mostly all we can dig up are people's wedding videos. But not planing journals or anything like that.

It's just that they do so few weddings in Hawaii. It's something like 10 a month right now, compared to the 2,000/year done at WDW and DL and DCL (combined). Fewer people means less chance that you'll get the kind of uber documentarians like you find on this site!

This is kind of why we are moving away from a WDW wedding...as Disney is very reluctant to give out any information unless you paid your deposits. We assume that everyone who does a WDW wedding...must be dead set on this is where they want their wedding and just work from there.

Aulani was way more forthcoming with pricing and info before we put down our deposit than WDW was. I suggest giving them a call.

Do you happen to know the wedding discount they offer for guest?
As the resort can be a bit costly to stay at. And trying to figure out what we can offer guest to help out.

The room block discount varies by season. When we looked into it, it still wasn't as good a discount as if you rented DVC points from a Disney Vacation Club Member, which is how we did our accommodations and our friends'. I think it was something like 25% or 30% off rack rate.

Also we have been trying to find menus with pricing for the resorts Restaurants and can't find any.

The menus on Disney's site have prices - scroll down to the bottom, where it says "Sample Menus":

http://resorts.disney.go.com/aulani-hawaii-resort/dining/table-service/ama-ama-beach-restaurant/

http://resorts.disney.go.com/aulani-hawaii-resort/dining/table-service/makahiki-buffet/

Also since we would be doing the wedding with Disney fairytale events...we would still be allowed to do a MK bridal Portrait session at WDW?
As we are looking into going to WDW after Hawaii

I know we have many more questions. But the above is a great start.

That is a really good question. Another bride I know was recently told that she couldn't do one at Disneyland even though she'd been married on the Disney Cruise Line, but I would reach out to Disney Event Photography in Florida to get the answer for your situation. I have a feeling they'd let you do it: 1-407-827-5099

 

[lurkyloo]

sorry future bride to be had some more questions.

can you give a breakdown of what you get with a Wishes wedding in Hawaii?

• Ceremony site
  
• Officiant
  
• Signature Aulani Wedding Arch Décor & White Garden Chairs
  
• Professional Photography for 2 hours including a high resolution disc of edited and color corrected images
  
• A website for you and your guests to view the images.
  
• Your choice of Ceremony Entertainment (Guitar, Ukulele or Harp)
  
• Amplification system with microphone for the Officiant & Groom
  
• Your choice of Personal Floral: A bouquet or Hawaiian lei for the Bride
  
• A Boutonniere or Hawaiian lei for the Groom
  
• Professional Fairy Tale Wedding Coordinator
  
• A personal wedding website via Facebook
  
• Aulani Commemorative Wedding Certificate
  
• Signature wedding gift for the Bride & Groom

do they offer the 2 WDW year passes for bride & groom?

No

she read somewhere that photos are included using a disney photo person.
is this true?

Yes, see above. It's an outside vendor who Disney contracts with.

I know allot of people prefer to hire their own photo & video people.
do they charge a fee like WDW now does to bring in your own people?

The Wishes bride I interviewed was told there would be a $1,000 fee. With our Memories event there was no mention of this fee. I don't know if it's cuz they discontinued it altogether or if it's a Wishes vs. Memories difference.

what are their rules for shipping items to the resort for your event?
I know WDW was VERY strict on how much you could send.

There are no rules. WDW has rules about how many tubs you can drop off at Franck's but no rules about how much you can ship to your resort. That's just because there's no room at WDW's DFTW offices to store a lot of stuff.

ps...after writing this I'm now out of the dog house LOL

Hooray!

 

[orion2185]

Glad you've enjoyed the podcast, book, etc.!




Actually, they are newer. Aulani lost its prime ocean-view Wedding Garden when Disney decided to expand the pool area, and they changed some of their other locations. The ones in that post are the only sites being offered right now.




-Ok that changes things a bit.

so did they remove the small "arch" type set up. As I have seen this in many of the videos for their weddings.

would this location now be the "beach" location?
do they set anything up for the the beach?
or, are you just standing on the beach?

I don't know how to post a photo.

this is the location/set up we were "sold" by
http://blog.cheapoair.com/image.axd?picture=2011/10/aulani_wedding.jpg

 

[lurkyloo]

Yeah, I'm sorry to say, that location is now a big dirt pit that's about to become the newest portion of Aulani's pool area.

The arch is still available and is included in the Wishes package. They'd just set it up in the sand down on the beach or on the lawn around back of the resort if you chose that spot.


Standing on the beach without the arch (and, presumably, the sporting equipment) looks like this:

 

[lurkyloo]

I just realized I hadn't updated those pages of Aulani wedding venues with the shots our photographers took during our vow renewal there. We went and stood in the "altar" area at each spot to give you an idea of how a wedding there would look.

You might want to check them out to see if any of the other venues appeal to you.

http://disneytravelbabble.com/disney-weddings/aulani-wedding-venue-photos/

 

[orion2185]

THANK YOU!
the updated photos are very helpful. At least we get a good idea of what it's like.

We would love to do a site visit- but I don't know if we will get the chance to.


Love that the arch is still used- sort of makes it more "official"

one assumes they would set up chairs on the beach for your guest?


we can't thank you enough for your help. And that goes back to your book and podcast. Your book was so helpful in so many ways- and made us fall in love with the Disney wedding concept. As you made it so easy to understand.

I will keep you posted on what we find out. So you can pass it along to others.

 

[lurkyloo]

I'm so glad you found the book helpful!

They do set up chairs for guests on at the Wishes locations. I can't wait to hear how your planning goes—you might consider starting a planning journal in the Planning Our Happily Ever After subforum to help others who are interested in doing a Wishes event at Aulani too!

 

[orion2185]

Just a FYI about Wedding Ceremony Locations at Aulani

There is NO longer any beach locations:

they are no offering only 2 locations:

Halawai Lawn

or

AMA AMA Patio (which offers Ocean Views)


from Aulani Wedding Planner :
"Correct that we did offer beach weddings in the past but due to the beach being a public location, the experience was not ideal.
Which is what we’re going for with all of our couples who celebrate with us at Aulani.

Resort expansion started about 8 months ago and is almost complete. Our beloved Makaloa Garden (the site I believe you are speaking of below) will be home to two new water features, additional pool space and one new restaurant come late September of 2013.

To be honest, I was heartbroken when they made the announcement (still am) but I have come to love our new venues as well.
The Halawai Lawn is very similar in set up to the old Makaloa Garden in the sense that it has a long traditional wedding aisle to walk down and is in a garden setting.
The Aulani Arch has also been moved to this location.

The `AMA`AMA Patio on the other hand has the Ocean view but not the traditional wedding aisle.

If privacy is important to you, or if you have a party larger than 60 attending your ceremony, I would recommend the Halawai Lawn.
If the ocean view is important, definitely go with the `AMA`AMA Patio!"


We will keep posting more information and if we go head with Aulani...we will do a planing journal. Right not we are trying to figure out if it's right for us.

Sad to see the beach locations gone...as this was a real "selling" point for us.
We are wondering if this has anything to do with the wedding chapel - that is close to Aulani

 

[lurkyloo]

That's exactly what it has to do with. When we were there, Disney was still wrangling with the owner of the three other chapels in Ko Olina over sight lines because brides at the chapel next door to Aulani were complaining about being able to see Disney brides on the beach. We even got yelled at by Ko Olina security for taking pictures out on the knoll you can see from Aulani, though our planner insisted there was no prohibition on it.

Looks like Disney lost the fight.

Here's the chapel next door...

 

[biggsworth]

Thanks for the info I am in the early planning stages of this and it's very helpful!!!

 

[WDW_Diane]

Thanks for the info I am in the early planning stages of this and it's very helpful!!!

We were at Ko Olina in June. There is another wedding pavilion next door to Aulani on the next lagoon with the Ko Olina Beach Villas. We saw, one Sunday, 6 or 7 wedding parties one right after the other out there for photos after their weddings. All of those wedding parties were Japanese. I don't know the name of the facility, but it might be worth looking into, price wise.

 

[Rhode Island Quahog]

We are doing a Wishes Wedding in Aulani on October 1, 2014 at the AMA AMA Patio at 5 PM. I have very little booked but the date, venue and reception but I'll be happy to help, if I can.

Valerie

 

[orion2185]

We were at Ko Olina in June. There is another wedding pavilion next door to Aulani on the next lagoon with the Ko Olina Beach Villas. We saw, one Sunday, 6 or 7 wedding parties one right after the other out there for photos after their weddings. All of those wedding parties were Japanese. I don't know the name of the facility, but it might be worth looking into, price wise.

Yes, there is an incredible Chappell next door to Aulani. This is a very popular place for Japanese people and weddings.
Don't have my computer with me at the moment. But we do have a great deal,of information from this Chappell. We can't recall the name off the top of our heads. It was rather difficult getting any information from them...again they cater to the Japanese. Really no English material nor did anyone seem interested in speaking with us.

We can tell you (can't recall the year) it was listed as the 4th most expensive place in the world for a wedding.

 

[Regan117]

I know this is an old thread, but we are having our reception and ceremony at 'Ama 'Ama Patio next month, and will share photos when we get back We previously had Kipuka Lawn, but decided to do a full reception and move everything to 'Ama 'Ama.

 

[Tiffany74]

I would love to see pictures of the 'Ama 'Ama wedding site and how you liked it! I'm in the beginning stages of planning and this is one I was interested in! Thanks

I know this is an old thread, but we are having our reception and ceremony at 'Ama 'Ama Patio next month, and will share photos when we get back We previously had Kipuka Lawn, but decided to do a full reception and move everything to 'Ama 'Ama.

 

[Regan117]

I would love to see pictures of the 'Ama 'Ama wedding site and how you liked it! I'm in the beginning stages of planning and this is one I was interested in! Thanks

Ours was just a vow renewal, but we wanted so much customization that we ended up doing a Wishes package. So we had 20 guests. Here's photos!