wedding - Hawaii (Hawi: renting, hairstylist, house)

[moenle]

Hello,

my boyfriend and myself would like to get married on one of the Hawaii islands next April/May. We have plenty of islands and also wedding planners on the different islands but my question is, can you recommend any?

Thanks and best regards,
Simone

[hotzcatz]

Keep it simple, find a preacher, a couple of friends and throw a nice picnic in a nice spot and get married as part of the picnic. With all the money you save you will be able to put it down on a house to live in afterwards.

Throwing out a lot of money for an hour's event doesn't make starting married life any easier. Most of it is in the stories afterwards, too, and just by saying "we were married in Hawaii" already puts so much "story" in folks' minds that you don't have to provide many of the actual details in real life.

[hothulamaui]

yep, just saying married in hawaii sure does bring romance to mind and beautiful scenery. I woud check on ine I al sure there are a ton to pick from.

[leavingcali]

My husband and I were married at Mama's Fish House beach on Maui in 2003. We were barefoot on the sand and had two beautiful rainbows over our heads. It was the most magical, beautiful, romantic wedding I have ever been to, and was even more amazing than I had dreamed it could be. Also, despite common opinion, it was quite inexpensive to get married on a beautiful island instead of staying at home and having to pay to create an ambiance that doesn't remotely compare. If you are trying to reduce your costs, all you have to pay for is the trip, a license, and someone to marry you. The island provides all of the flowers and decorations that you require.

More information:

I didn't use a wedding planner, but did get a videographer (I think the company name was A Moment in Time?) whose wife was a wedding planner and recommened both a wonderful hairstylist and florist even though I wasn't using her services. The videographer did an awesome job too.

I'm not sure that I would recommend getting married at Mama's now because the beach has really changed in the past 5/6 years--the sand doesn't gently slope to the water anymore--there's a steep decline, but I would definitely recommned having your reception there. One thing to note is that all Hawiian beaches are public which means you can get married on any of them without special permission and without having to pay any fees. Also, the Grand Wailea has beautiful beachfront property and wedding services there too.

Our officiant was Jesse Nakooka who is Hawaiian. He did an incredible job--he was so moving and used Hawaiian prayers (in the Hawaiian language) in our ceremony. I can't say enough good things about him.

Definitely go for it!!!! I can assure you that you won't regret it. Any Hawaiian island will be a beautiful backdrop for your wedding. I think Kauai is probably one of the more popular islands to get married on. I will be living in Oahu sometime between March and May, so if you need some help from that island, I'm happy to do some research for you once I move. Also, I'll be on Kauai for a vacation in December. If I see any amazing wedding sites, I'll be happy to let you know. (I'm sure they're every where).

Congratulations!!!!

[Waianaegirl]

We got married on Maui. We hired a wedding planner Arabelle, Maui Wedding Planning, Maui Wedding Coordinator everything turned out better than we ever thought it would. She was awesome. We recommened her to some friends of ours that used her 2 years later, and they loved her as well.

[VlyRoadKid]

Not to be a wet blanket, but Hawaii is often seen by young people who live there as a trite place for a wedding (so says my future daughter-in-law, who grew up on Oahu). The last place she & my son want a wedding is in some place she's looked at for years, no matter how beautiful.

Tho' the wedding is (hopefully) in the FAR future, I'd suggest some other, closer (to us anyway) tropical spots: Barbados is fantastic, and it's East coast looks like Big Sur.

IF you have tons of people coming, think of the expense of their travel! If they don't live there, you might want to pick someplace closer to home. One of the most beautiful and memorable weddings I attended was that of two old college friends, in their back yard, on a misty, October day, with full foliage, in their huge, grassy, back yard at the foot of the Berkshires! There was a gigantic cookout, lots of music and outdoor games like Ultimate Frisbee. Very low-key but tons of fun!

[cats307]

We just got back from our daughters wedding in Maui. It was beautiful on the beach at sunset with family & friends. Then had dinner @ a local restaurant, renting the back room. Was private and enjoyable, then the whole wedding party headed out to party at the bars. Everyone had lots of fun and felt it was a more laid back wedding experience then they have ever had and that is what she wanted. We hired a wedding planner but really you can do it yourself. All they did was hire the minister and get the permits for the beach. It came with 24 pictures from a professional but with all the pictures we all took she didnt get any better pictures. Didn't think it was worth the $850 price tag..have fun and keep it simple!