Wedded Bliss in Maui

Shelby & Steven planned their dream wedding in Hawaii with the help of Hillary Ogle at Paradise Weddings and Travel. We sat down with the bride after she returned to hear about her experience at the Hyatt Regency Maui.  

What made you decide to do a destination wedding?

We attended a destination wedding in Mexico the month before we got engaged and had a BLAST. Shortly after getting engaged when we were just starting to plan our wedding, we both kind of mentioned how much fun we had at that destination wedding. With Steven being a farmer, it was going to be easier to plan a wedding in the winter when he wouldn't be in the fields. With winters in North Dakota not being the warmest, it was a pretty easy decision to invite our family and friends to travel somewhere warm with us and escape the cold. A wedding on Maui in February sounded perfect. 

What was your favorite part of your experience at the Hyatt Regency Maui?

Steven: The pool and the grotto bar. It was a lot fun to hangout with all of our guests around the pool and beach in the afternoons. The girls could lay out and chat while the guys were playing a game of basketball in the pool. The grotto bar was right there, you could even swim up to it, so you never had to go far to find a drink. 

Shelby: The staff was so great to work with. We were treated like royalty from the moment we stepped in the lobby. The resort wedding planners, Lyla and Maxine, were amazing. They made sure that we didn't have to take care of anything the day of the wedding besides having fun and enjoying our special day with all of our guests. 

Did you bring your own photographer to Hawaii?

We did. Steven's sister, Christine, is a photographer. She actually played double duty as a bridesmaid and photographer. She had a helper to take pictures when she was in them. Even though Lyla and Maxine were able to suggest awesome photographers that live in Hawaii, we decided to ask Christine. We wanted to be comfortable and have someone take our pictures that knew us better. Christine was really able to capture our personalities in our wedding pictures since she knows us so well. 

Hair & makeup, where did the girls get ready?

All of the girls got their hair done at the Marilyn Monroe Spa on property at the Hyatt Regency Maui. Two girls would get their hair done at a time and the other girls would do their own makeup while they waited. The spa booked the entire room for us so we were able to bring in brunch, not worry about getting too loud, and just have fun while we all got ready together. It was a very relaxing way to start the big day. 

Did you do any other special events during your wedding week?

With the wedding being on Sunday, we knew most people would be at the resort for the entire weekend. We wanted to have evening activities planned so we could all spend time together but that would also allow people to do their own thing during the day, like hiking or excursions. For Friday night, we invited everyone to attend the Drums of the Pacific Luau with us, held on property at the Hyatt Regency Maui. Again, the staff was awesome and sat us all together in our own elevated section in the back. We had our own waiters and they made special programs for our entire group. On Saturday night, we had the groom's supper after our wedding rehearsal. The groom's supper was a food truck at Airport Beach, just up the road from the resort, less than a 5 minute drive. The food truck, Jawz Fish Tacos, actually suggested Airport Beach to us because it had a nice pavilion with a lot of picnic tables. People got to visit, football was played, and a lot of tacos were eaten. 

How was your experience working with Hillary at Paradise Weddings and Travel?

Hillary was amazing to work with. I don't know how someone would plan a destination wedding without her. We first worked with Hillary as guests going to the destination wedding in Mexico, so we learned how her process worked and how easy it was to book travel with her. When we decided to look into having a destination wedding, Hillary was first person we called (after our parents, of course). She was able to give us real examples of what to expect at the resort and Hawaii in general because she had been there, which was so nice. Hillary helped answer so many questions that people had and gave great travel tips. It was also nice to know that if anything went wrong while traveling, she was only a phone call away. 

Would you recommend doing a destination wedding to a friend?

100%. A destination wedding was the perfect fit for us and we would highly recommend it to our friends.  

After your wedding you did a post-stay honeymoon. Was it adventurous or chill?

We decided to do both. After our wedding at the Hyatt Regency Maui, we decided we were going to need some chill and relaxing time so we hopped over to the Andaz Maui. The Andaz was exactly what we needed after hosting a big group of people for an entire week. We would highly suggest to couples to hop to a different resort after the wedding. When we were at the Hyatt Regency and saying "goodbye" to all of our guests as they were returning home, the resort started to feel almost empty because all of our friends and family had just been there and now we are there by ourselves. Hopping over to the second resort really gave us a new start and it felt more like a honeymoon. After a few days of relaxing at the Andaz Maui, we island hopped to Kauai for more adventure. We stayed at the Grand Hyatt on Kauai and had so much fun taking a helicopter tour, snorkeling excursion, hiking for waterfalls, and visiting the canyon. 

Travel Planner: Hillary Ogle, contact below for a free destination wedding consultation

Travel Agency: Paradise Weddings and Travel

Photography: Christine Schmaltz, christine.schmaltz@gmail.com, 2nd shooter Chris Schmaltz

Hotel/Wedding Planners: Hyatt Regency Maui

Flowers:  Country Bouquets Maui

Hair: Marilyn Monroe Spa

Video: All Time Media Maui

DJ: Vibe Entertainment, Jamie Ottmar