Cascara's reviews

While we didn't have our wedding at the Westin, we stayed in one of the Westin's luxury suites during our DW in Maui. It was absolutely stunning! Our suite had 4 balconies, the biggest master bath I had ever seen (and a smaller half bath by the entryway so people didn't have to walk through our bedroom), a dining area, workstation with desk and internet connection for your laptop, bar, living room with entertainment system, 2 flatscreen TVs (one in living room and bedroom)...it was so much more than we imagined!

We had two people help us with setting up our reservation and room block for our guests. Shawna Crozier in sales was our main contact...but very difficult to get a hold of most of the time. Instead we ended up communicating a lot with Patricia Ramsey, the "Conference Services Manager" at the Westin. Honestly, I wish Patricia was our wedding coordinator. Patricia was always on top of things. She responded very quickly to all of our emails and phone calls and helped us above and beyond just our room reservations. She arranged for dry cleaning services for my dress and hubby's wedding clothes and helped with getting us reservations at the Tropica restaurant for our rehearsal dinner, etc etc. She was a pleasure to work with, and all of the hotel staff were very friendly and accommodating during our stay.

There are 5 different pools, and the beach is literally just steps away from the hotel. And the beach wasn't crowded at all during the entire time we were there. Everywhere you turn there's waterfalls, palm trees, and even parrots chilling by the flamingos and koi fish. Their workout room is available 24 hours a day, and there are plenty of cardio machines (each with their own TV screens) to go around. And if you get the chance, definitely get a massage at their spa. Sooo relaxing.

The Westin can be quite expensive, but you definitely get the best quality while you're there. (To save money on food you can just walk to the mall next door and eat at one of their restaurants or at the food court instead of eating at the hotel places, which are quite pricey.) We don't normal spend so much on lodging, but since it was our wedding/honeymoon we splurged. And it was worth every penny.

Me, my MOH, and my fiance went here the day before the wedding for mani/pedis. Fiance went along to get his nails buffed so they would look good for pictures. The massage chairs were heavenly. We were offered free water/soda while we were there. The owner of the salon, Steve, is really nice. He's got the whole mellow, peace is love philosophical thing going on. The girls that work there were super friendly and did a great job with the nail art on my big toes. It was a nice, relaxing way to spend the morning.

Rev. Tino was perfect for our wedding. His voice was very calming and his words seemed so genuine and sincere. I know he's married a lot of couples, but our ceremony didn't seem like a routine to him. He wore a long black robe with an island looking sash and kukui nut lei. He signaled the beginning of the ceremony by blowing the conch shell once, and signaled my bridal processional by blowing the conch shell three times in a row. (My husband tells me that the shell was quite loud standing right next to him. lol) We asked him to include a short prayer at the end of our ceremony in Hawaiian, and also asked if we can do a short lei ceremony with our parents before we exchanged vows. He was awesome. Rev. Tino is Rev. Vance's brother (hence the same last names.) I would definitely recommend Rev. Tino to anyone getting married on Maui.

Cafe O Lei was our caterer for the passed hors d'oeuvres during the cocktail hour and our plated dinner during the reception. They've got a wide variety of choices available on their catering menu (including buffet options). For passed hors d'oeuvres we had the crab cakes (yum!) potstickers (yum!) and the veggie summer rolls (just okay). We also had a veggie display with dips, but I didn't get a chance to try it (too busy taking pictures). For dinner we didn't like any of their salad options so we asked them to make prepare a custom salad (which they did) of mixed greens, feta cheese, watermelon cubes, and balsamic vinaigrette. Very yummy! Dinner options included mahi mahi with gilled shrimp, filet of beef tenderloin, chicken piccata, and a veggie option (mixed grilled veggies I think it was). They also provided a kids meal of chicken tenders, french fries, corn on the cob, and fresh fruit. I had the mahi mahi, and it was just wonderful - the sauce was amazing! I heard mixed reviews on the beef. But in all honesty, it seemed everywhere on Maui where we ordered a steak it wasn't all that great. Also, when we ordered burgers anywhere they wouldn't cook it less than medium/medium well. I just don't think they know how to cook beef on the island.

In addition to dinner Cafe O Lei also provided the chocolate fountain we had with our cake for dessert. Big hit! I wish I had more time to spend with that chocolate fountain. :)

All of our guests loved our venue. The ceremony and reception both took place on a huge lawn that is only a few feet from the ocean. The beach that's right below the lawn has a lot of rocks, so I wouldn't recommend it for barefoot-on-the-beach pics. But the ocean views are unmatched. The palm trees create a gorgeous "postcard picture" against the ocean for the perfect tropical backdrop. I absolutely loved the palm trees! It was really convenient to have the ceremony and reception all in one place. There are 2 back bedrooms where people can change and get ready in for the wedding. The walk from the house to the ceremony site is pretty long, so it makes for a very dramatic entrance (with ample time for people to get pictures of you walking down the aisle). Loved this venue!

We didn't use Alan as our DJ. I wanted to, but he was already booked the day of our wedding.

But his company (Maui Tunes) also rents out digital photobooths. (Which aren't really booths at all, just a camera and monitor set up that takes and prints out 4x6 digital prints on the spot.) The photobooth was EASILY the BIGGEST HIT of our reception. We originally booked the photobooth for 3 hours, but Marc (Alan's son who ran the photobooth for our event) stayed longer because our guests weren't finished having fun with the photo booth!

Speaking with Alan over the phone, he is very friendly and easy to work with. He's got some great wedding stories (he's been in the wedding business a long time and has seen it all). I thoroughly enjoyed working with Alan and his son. Maui Tunes provides a ton of different services for weddings - DJ, photobooth, uplighting, slideshow monitors, etc etc. I wish I would've found Alan earlier in my wedding planning process - I'm sure I would have booked him for a lot more services than just the photobooth! I would highly recommend him to anyone planning an event on Maui.

We booked the Maui Ocean Center as the venue for our wedding Welcome Luncheon the day before our wedding. It was incredible!!! My mother-in-law made the reservations so I can't comment on how easy/difficult it was to work with the reservations staff, but from a guest's perspective it was a fantastic event. The food at their Seascape Ma’alaea Restaurant was absolutely amazing. We had a group of about 55 guests and had a bunch of tables on the outside (shaded) patio, so we had a view of Maalaea Harbor. In addition to lunch we also treated our group to a guided audio tour of the aquarium. (Included as part of the package we booked with the Center.) Everyone seemed to enjoy it, and it was quite informative too. I would highly recommend this venue for a group event.

We booked DJ Dan for 4 hours to be our MC and DJ for the reception. We had given him a short list of songs we liked, and he played them all, and he inserted additional songs that seemed to work well. He was great as an MC - we didn't give him any directions on that (since half the time we didn't know what was going on either), but working with our coordinator he was able to direct all our guests' attention where they needed to be, introduce us for our first dance, etc etc. Very nice guy to work with.

I've only been to one other luau before, and in comparison this was a very classy luau. There was no cheesy Don-Ho-like MC for the evening. The dancing was absolutely fantastic. The food was delish, with lots available for seconds, and the drinks just kept on coming. Highly recommended.

We booked Jamie for one hour to begin playing while guests waited for the ceremony to start, throughout the ceremony, and for the beginning part of the cocktail hour. I originally ordered his CDs after reading very positive reviews online, and I immediately knew we needed to book him for our wedding. My brother-in-law said his voice was smooth like butter. I specifically asked him to play "Maunaleo" for when I walked down the aisle, and during the ceremony (I didn't know that this was going to happen) the minister paused the ceremony to say that Jamie had a special love song to play for the occasion. Jamie played "The Road That Never Ends" (look up the lyrics!!!) and it was absolutely perfect. Just the perfect song for a wedding. I could hear the guests sniffling and everyone said they loved it.