Destination wedding ? Hawaii

[xoxo]

Hello I would like to know if any of you who are having there wedding in Hawaii Oahu or Maui or the other Islands how much is the average coast. If you dont mind me asking. Or does any one know where I could inquire for that. The guest would be no more than 50. Thanks in advance

 

[Dreamgirl]

Hawaii would be soooo dreamy for a destination wedding! I''m sure you will get some responses here shortly xoxo...

 

[xoxo]

Thanks Dream, thats where we''ve been wanting to get married at and this weekend well saturday night we discussed that maybe we should start canvassing for quotes for prices to get an idea. So yeah hopefully somebody could chime in with any info. Thanks.

 

[musey]

There have been quite a few PSers to get married in Hawaii, but I don''t recall them sharing budget info... of course it will depend on a LOT, like where in Hawaii (not only what island, but location - outdoors/beach? church? reception hall? resort?), what kind of celebration you''re envisioning (lavish upscale affair, low-key beach and luau, etc.), etc... and probably no info you get on here will be helpful to you for that reason.

I''d imagine Hawaii is just like most other places - you can do a wedding there on most any budget. What kind of wedding(s) is/are an option depends on the budget that you set. The thing about Hawaii, and why it tends to be popular for destination weddings, is that it lends itself well to one of the cheaper budgetary options (outdoor/beach weddings) due to the natural beauty you find there.

 

[Inanna]

Date: 2/18/2009 4:23:36 PM
Author:xoxo
Hello I would like to know if any of you who are having there wedding in Hawaii Oahu or Maui or the other Islands how much is the average coast. If you dont mind me asking. Or does any one know where I could inquire for that. The guest would be no more than 50. Thanks in advance

Are you asking what the total average cost of a destination wedding in Hawaii is?

Just like any destination wedding, the cost will depend on what route you decide to go. If you plan to have it at a large exclusive hotel/resort, your costs will be high, but you''ll have less planning to do. Most resorts have an on-site wedding coordinator to help and require you use their catering and bar services, which definitely have inflated prices in most cases. Some resort "packages" include a photographer, even flowers. Start looking at the major resorts in Maui and Oahu - all of them will have wedding pages and some will include pricing, others will require you request that information. Also keep in mind that with a resort, you will usually pay a substantial "site fee" plus resort priced lodging (although some give you free lodging in a suite on your wedding night).

You could also get a nice beach vacation rental - a large house that will accomodate you, your FI, and your/perhaps even his immediate family and double as your "venue." This is the route I''m going, because to me it feels more private and luxurious (however, my wedding is in the FL Keys, not Hawaii) . Also, we''re saving A LOT of money doing this, but its is still expensive, and it requires MUCH more organization - you have to plan every single aspect yourself (catering, bars, chairs, tables, flatware, linens, officiant, photographer, music, room block for guests at a separate hotel, etc.) or hire a wedding planner. Google "maui/oahu vacation rentals" or go to VRBO (Vacation Rentals by Owner) to start searching properties and get a feel for what options are out there - warning though, many properties flat out don''t allow weddings and others charge a "wedding fee," usually $1-2k additional. Also, if you go this route, get wedding insurance(!!!) incase of extreme weather or if one of your vendors flakes out!

Panda08 is also in the process of planning a Hawaii destination wedding, so hopefully she''ll chime in on her experience.

 

[xoxo]

oh Thank you so much Inanna you have shared a lot of great information and tips. The reason I ask was to get an idea of what other brides did on there destination wedding to Hawaii. For example if they did the low key by the beach or the upscale type like at the hotels. Or any other way. Maybe this way I could learn and get a good idea of how we plan ours. We dont have a definite budget yet. But any info will be greatly appreciated to be able to help us plan. I love the idea of a beach vacation rental, I''m sure your wedding will be great and beautiful Inanna. Florida keys is lovely.

 

[BeachRunner]

Date: 2/18/2009 5:17:09 PM
Author: Inanna

Date: 2/18/2009 4:23:36 PM

Author:xoxo

Hello I would like to know if any of you who are having there wedding in Hawaii Oahu or Maui or the other Islands how much is the average coast. If you dont mind me asking. Or does any one know where I could inquire for that. The guest would be no more than 50. Thanks in advance

Are you asking what the total average cost of a destination wedding in Hawaii is?


Just like any destination wedding, the cost will depend on what route you decide to go. If you plan to have it at a large exclusive hotel/resort, your costs will be high, but you''ll have less planning to do. Most resorts have an on-site wedding coordinator to help and require you use their catering and bar services, which definitely have inflated prices in most cases. Some resort ''packages'' include a photographer, even flowers. Start looking at the major resorts in Maui and Oahu - all of them will have wedding pages and some will include pricing, others will require you request that information. Also keep in mind that with a resort, you will usually pay a substantial ''site fee'' plus resort priced lodging (although some give you free lodging in a suite on your wedding night).


You could also get a nice beach vacation rental - a large house that will accomodate you, your FI, and your/perhaps even his immediate family and double as your ''venue.'' This is the route I''m going, because to me it feels more private and luxurious (however, my wedding is in the FL Keys, not Hawaii) . Also, we''re saving A LOT of money doing this, but its is still expensive, and it requires MUCH more organization - you have to plan every single aspect yourself (catering, bars, chairs, tables, flatware, linens, officiant, photographer, music, room block for guests at a separate hotel, etc.) or hire a wedding planner. Google ''maui/oahu vacation rentals'' or go to VRBO (Vacation Rentals by Owner) to start searching properties and get a feel for what options are out there - warning though, many properties flat out don''t allow weddings and others charge a ''wedding fee,'' usually $1-2k additional. Also, if you go this route, get wedding insurance(!!!) incase of extreme weather or if one of your vendors flakes out!


Panda08 is also in the process of planning a Hawaii destination wedding, so hopefully she''ll chime in on her experience.

I totally second using VRBO.com. My FI and I have used that site for vacation homes in the OBX and ski houses at local resorts, and we have NEVER been disappointed!

Like everyone else said, your budget could surely range from minimal to maxed out. Flights may be a little pricey to fly to Hawaii, but if you have a low budget, I''m sure you could make something work. FI and I are working on a USVI destination wedding and are working with a budget of only $7500. It IS possible, but its a challenge for sure.

Maybe if you give us some more information, we can give you further suggestions.

 

[Inanna]

xoxo, keep in mind that with a vacation rental you can go upscale if thats what you want... like seriously "celebrity style" upscale! Look at this place: http://www.vrbo.com/208821. WOW!

There is every single type of vacation rental you can imagine - you just have to look for the right fit. I looked at rental that ranged in price from $2,000 - $20,000 per week (and all would''ve been lovely I''m sure). Sometimes it can be a pain negotiating with owners/real estate agents. Just start looking early and give yourself plenty of time to plan.

Also, I''m sure there are lots of gorgeous public parks and beaches that allow weddings - this could be an incredibly affordable option.

 

[xoxo]

Thanks beachrunner. We actually dont have any budget yet, SO wanted to know how much. But maybe we should set that first then work around it? I could tell him that.

 

[BeachRunner]

xoxo I would highly recommend obtaining a budget before you started planning. You don''t want to get your heart on something then come to find out it''s out of your price range.

But, if I was going to Hawaii, I''d want to get married right on the beach! And if it''s a public beach or national park, that means no charge. But, keep in mind tourists may come and peek in on your ceremony

 

[xoxo]

oh wow yes thats so beautiful. Thank you so much for sharing all this info Inanna for sure I will forward all this info to him so when he has time he could also start browsing around. It would be smart like what you said to start scoping it early. We would like more of a laid back feeling not to fancy but who knows right maybe once were already in the process it could be a little bit of both.

 

[xoxo]

Date: 2/18/2009 6:20:17 PM
Author: BeachRunner
xoxo I would highly recommend obtaining a budget before you started planning. You don''t want to get your heart on something then come to find out it''s out of your price range.


But, if I was going to Hawaii, I''d want to get married right on the beach! And if it''s a public beach or national park, that means no charge. But, keep in mind tourists may come and peek in on your ceremony

yeah that''s what I would like also on the beach and I did mention to SO that there will be for sure people around but I guess theres nothing I could do about that for sure. Just think the more the merrier

"visitors" lol. Oh Thanks ladies for giving me pointers

 

[NewEnglandLady]

Our original plan was to do a destination wedding in Hawaii--rent a beach front house (VRBO) for a week, have our immediate family come and stay, get married in a simple ceremony on the beach and then rent a private room in a restaurant for a low-key reception. The house rental was going to run about $12,000 (give or take a couple thousand), the reception was going to be about $4,000 (for 15 - 20 people) and we were setting aside another $9k for the dress, rings, plane tickets, officiant, hair/makeup, miscellaneous expenses, etc.--the total was going to be around $25k, but that did include lodging for our families for the week, which is nice.

In the end, we decided to have a similar wedding here on the East Coast (Hawaii ended up being too expensive and far for our families to travel, plus we wanted our dog in the wedding) for about half the cost. I really think Hawaii is such a beautiful setting, though, and I'm sure you can do it without breaking the bank. We actually loved the "rent a house for the week" thing so much that my family is doing it again this summer (sans the wedding!)

ETA: Inanna is right about the organization required for doing everything yourself--we ended up having a catered clam bake for our wedding and it required a lot of "extra" steps (renting all of he silverware, tables, getting the alcohol, etc.), which was fine. This is why we originally planned to go the private-room-in-restaurant route for Hawaii--having something catered into the house was just too hard to plan from the East Coast.

 

[Zola]

Like the other''s have responded, it''s hard to tell you the cost of a wedding in HI because it depends on how low key or extravagant you want it. Plus you have to consider if you are going to pay for the 50 guests. For us, we got married in September 2008 on the island of Molokai. It was a private ceremony with just my husband to be, the officiant and the photographer. We picked Molokai because it was remote and not as touristy. I would recommend it if you want to get away from the hustle but not if you''re big on shopping and gourmet food. Maybe one of the smaller islands might be cheaper, like Lanai. We rented a beach house right on the beach and we got a package deal with the officant and her husband who is also the photographer. Keep in mind this was 6 months ago, but the cost of 10 nights at the beach house was $2,750. The Officiant was $350, photographer $400. Rental for a car for the 10 days at Economy was $595. We purchased the airfare January 2008 so it was cheaper which is why we only paid $1,150 total. Here are some helpful links to get you started. One of them has tabs of each island to give you an idea of what each island is like.

http://www.molokaivacation.com/

http://www.molokai-tropical-weddings.com/molokaiweddingphotos.html

http://www.gohawaii.com/listing?id=6692

http://www.megaportal.us/newsd/duly.php?ArticleID=O1uQ2X1s1a2h1B2f1dI373C2

http://www.mauihawaii.org/wedding-honeymoon/hawaii-weddings.htm

 

[musey]

VRBO is the best!!

 

[Dreamgirl]

Date: 2/18/2009 5:02:56 PM
Author: xoxo
Thanks Dream, thats where we''ve been wanting to get married at and this weekend well saturday night we discussed that maybe we should start canvassing for quotes for prices to get an idea. So yeah hopefully somebody could chime in with any info. Thanks.

Oh gosh how exciting!!!

 

[xoxo]

Newenglandlady Thank you for the breakdown of the items it does really help to see how much everything costs now and I''m glad that everything worked out for you in the eastcoast. I see your dog on your avatar and the first thing I thought how cool that your dog was part of your wedding. Oh I would also like to add most of our guest have said they will pay for their plane ticket. The only reason I found out was because our family and close friends keep asking when are we getting married and I said just be ready its in Hawaii so they said ok. They said they will take care of the plane ticket. Thats a big help for us. Have lots of fun in your upcoming vacation to Hawaii.

 

[xoxo]

I agree musey

 

[xoxo]

Zola Thank you so much for all those links it is very helpful and also for sharing your experience. I will also look at the smaller Islands to be able to compare prices and also when it comes to how many people would be at the beach. Like if we decide it to be more intimate.

 

[rockin11]

XOXO, We got married in Hawaii in 05. We got there a few days early and stayed in Waikiki(lots going on in the area) at the Marriott there and then for our wedding we moved a day prior to the JW Marriott Ihilani. The JW is maybe 20-30 min. from Waikiki. It is by Turtle Bay if you have heard of that one..its a super popular hotel too. I liked the JW b/c it was out of the way and somewhat secluded compared to when we were downtown. The JW has many weddings all the time and at every budget. It was just us when we got married and I think it was maybe 1500?? We added on a few things. They have people at the hotel that help plan your wedding with you(most all hotels have this as well) We contracted out for our photog..HIGHLY recommend!!!! I would NEVER use anyone else! He was absolutely amazing in so many ways. Super friendly and he ended up being my unofficial wedding planner. He got me my hair/makeup artist as well as a few other odds and ends. He has many resources for everything. DH and I both agree that he made our wedding..he was the highlight of the day! Actually, I keep up w/ him and he is even better than when we got married! (I think he travels to other Islands as well)
I enjoyed getting away for our wedding!! I hope this helps. LMK if I can help in anyway if you have any more questions. Have fun planning!

Here is link to where I posted a few wed pics on here..
https://www.pricescope.com/community/threads/wedding-pics.107562/

Here is a link to photog website.
http://www.amodophoto.com/site/index.php

JW Marriott
http://www.ihilani.com/

Turtle Bay
http://www.turtlebayresort.com/

 

[xoxo]

Date: 2/18/2009 8:16:27 PM
Author: rockin11
XOXO, We got married in Hawaii in 05. We got there a few days early and stayed in Waikiki(lots going on in the area) at the Marriott there and then for our wedding we moved a day prior to the JW Marriott Ihilani. The JW is maybe 20-30 min. from Waikiki. It is by Turtle Bay if you have heard of that one..its a super popular hotel too. I liked the JW b/c it was out of the way and somewhat secluded compared to when we were downtown. The JW has many weddings all the time and at every budget. It was just us when we got married and I think it was maybe 1500?? We added on a few things. They have people at the hotel that help plan your wedding with you(most all hotels have this as well) We contracted out for our photog..HIGHLY recommend!!!! I would NEVER use anyone else! He was absolutely amazing in so many ways. Super friendly and he ended up being my unofficial wedding planner. He got me my hair/makeup artist as well as a few other odds and ends. He has many resources for everything. DH and I both agree that he made our wedding..he was the highlight of the day! Actually, I keep up w/ him and he is even better than when we got married! (I think he travels to other Islands as well)

I enjoyed getting away for our wedding!! I hope this helps. LMK if I can help in anyway if you have any more questions. Have fun planning!


Here is link to where I posted a few wed pics on here..

https://www.pricescope.com/community/threads/wedding-pics.107562/


Here is a link to photog website.

http://www.amodophoto.com/site/index.php


JW Marriott

http://www.ihilani.com/


Turtle Bay

http://www.turtlebayresort.com/

Thank you so so much rockin11, yes we actually heard of turtle bay we went to oahu 2 yrs ago and fell in love with waikiki. Thank you for the links, I''m so excited to check everything out

 

[ImpatientOne]

If you do a Google search, there are a ton of wedding planners in Hawaii and most of their websites list the costs. We originally did a beach wedding on Kauai, just the hubby and I, and are getting ready to do a vow renewal next month in the same spot, this time with my daughters present.

Have fun planning!

 

[xoxo]

Date: 2/18/2009 11:06:05 PM
Author: ImpatientOne
If you do a Google search, there are a ton of wedding planners in Hawaii and most of their websites list the costs. We originally did a beach wedding on Kauai, just the hubby and I, and are getting ready to do a vow renewal next month in the same spot, this time with my daughters present.


Have fun planning!

Congrats on your wedding

and very exciting for your renew for next mont. I will definitely google planners once we figure exactly where in the island we will be having everything. Thanks.

 

[shimmer]

I''m getting married in Maui on May 2. It will be a low-key beach wedding in the morning with a lunch reception at a popular restaurant. We are expecting 3 guests from my family and 9 from his, so a total of 14. I''ll break down the costs so far:

-Flights and Hotel (9 nights, from Canada, just for us): $1400+$2700= $4100 CDN
-Ceremony fee & License (A Paradise Dream Wedding): $450+$65= $515 USD
-Photographer for 11/2 hours, includes 200 photos, 50 retouched: $1395 USD
-Hair & Makeup: $250 USD
-Bouquet, Leis & Cake: $500 USD
-Lunch: $1,000 USD
-Dress, Veil, Alterations: $2,000 CDN
-Wedding Rings: $500 US
-Shoes, Undergarments: $300 CDN
-Groom''s attire: $300 CDN

And we might do a luau dinner that evening, which would add $1500 USD. We are also hoping to cover various activities (surfing, scuba, snorkling, golf) for our guests, about $1,500 USD. I would like to do a welcome gift basket as well, but will assemble them there, about $500 USD.

I''m sure there will be more unexpected costs, I just haven''t thought about them yet! All in all, I think the total will be about $15,000.

 

[xoxo]

Date: 2/19/2009 12:10:11 AM
Author: shimmer
I''m getting married in Maui on May 2. It will be a low-key beach wedding in the morning with a lunch reception at a popular restaurant. We are expecting 3 guests from my family and 9 from his, so a total of 14. I''ll break down the costs so far:


-Flights and Hotel (9 nights, from Canada, just for us): $1400+$2700= $4100 CDN

-Ceremony fee & License (A Paradise Dream Wedding): $450+$65= $515 USD

-Photographer for 11/2 hours, includes 200 photos, 50 retouched: $1395 USD

-Hair & Makeup: $250 USD

-Bouquet, Leis & Cake: $500 USD

-Lunch: $1,000 USD

-Dress, Veil, Alterations: $2,000 CDN

-Wedding Rings: $500 US

-Shoes, Undergarments: $300 CDN

-Groom''s attire: $300 CDN


And we might do a luau dinner that evening, which would add $1500 USD. We are also hoping to cover various activities (surfing, scuba, snorkling, golf) for our guests, about $1,500 USD. I would like to do a welcome gift basket as well, but will assemble them there, about $500 USD.


I''m sure there will be more unexpected costs, I just haven''t thought about them yet! All in all, I think the total will be about $15,000.

oh this is so exciting shimmer. Thank you so much for sharing I really appreciate it, Also if you don''t mind me asking for the wedding license you have to go to the city hall and apply for it right? so that''s the one for $65? and then the ceremony fee is the $450? BTW my family has been to maui and they love it, they say its more of a nature very beautiful view and atmosphere. Oh that''s why I love hawaii

 

[Structenggirl]

We are getting married in Kauai next month. We have about 16 people coming, including ourselves. We are renting a house for 5 nights for everyone to stay in and are renting a cottage on the property for ourselves. (After those 5 nights everyone else is going home and we're staying on another part of the island for another week). It's about $1500/night for both of those combined. Because we're renting the house/cottage, we are just going to have the ceremony on the property. When we go to the other side of the island we found our condo on VRBO.com and are paying a little less than $200/night.

Our flights - from San Francisco non-stop to Kauai - are $1350 for the both of us

I do believe that there are new laws in effect regarding getting married on the beach - I think you have to obtain a permit...any wedding coordinator should be able to help you with that. Hawaii is also much more laid back than other states. You don't go to City Hall to get your license. I know that some regular businesses are equipped to handle the licenses, for example. When we get there we actually go to a hair salon to get our license! FMIL was married in Kauai about 8 years ago and they went to someone's house to handle that detail. Again, your coordinator or officiant should be able to help with this.

I think our coordinator is about $700 and she's handling the officiant, flowers, making appointments, etc. I found a photographer on our own and that's about $700 for 1.5 hrs including all images on a disc. If we wanted an album (we'll just create our own) it would be a little more.

We are just going to dinner at a restaurant after the ceremony. I'm assuming that will be around $1500 for everyone.

Everything else is pretty much dependent on what you want - dress, rings, shoes, jewelery etc etc.

Have fun!! We can't wait to get to Kauai.

 

[shimmer]

My wedding coordinator set up an appointment to get our license (and we bring the $65 cash), I believe it is at the lady''s house! It is a residential address anyway.

The ceremony fee ($450) covers the officiant and coordinator (which will be at the ceremony). There is also a beach permit fee for $20 that I missed (thanks Structenggirl!).

 

[Inanna]

I'm not sure how much you've been looking online yet (there's so much information to take in when you're first researching), but I found a lot of really nice, laid-back but elegant houses on Sunset Beach (Oahu), ranging from $1750 (!) - $10k per week:

http://www.vrbo.com/4597 $6k
http://www.vrbo.com/182019 $10k
http://www.vrbo.com/39353 $7k
http://www.vrbo.com/109663 $5.5-6.5k
http://www.vrbo.com/217184 $1750

When we initally were thinking about rentals, we divided the number of bedrooms by the pro-rate cost per day for the rental (for us this was $7734/10 bedrooms/4 days). All in all, the cost for us was $193 (including tax and cleaning fees) per bedroom, per night... in the area where we're having our wedding, no hotel could beat that rate, especially when we considered all the benefits (private beach, 2 kitchens, 2 pools, decor, etc).

BTW - Can you tell I love VRBO?

I think I have the next 10 years of vacations planned already!

 

[Anaïs]

Date: 2/18/2009 8:16:27 PM
Author: rockin11
XOXO, We got married in Hawaii in 05. We got there a few days early and stayed in Waikiki(lots going on in the area) at the Marriott there and then for our wedding we moved a day prior to the JW Marriott Ihilani. The JW is maybe 20-30 min. from Waikiki. It is by Turtle Bay if you have heard of that one..its a super popular hotel too. I liked the JW b/c it was out of the way and somewhat secluded compared to when we were downtown. The JW has many weddings all the time and at every budget. It was just us when we got married and I think it was maybe 1500?? We added on a few things. They have people at the hotel that help plan your wedding with you(most all hotels have this as well) We contracted out for our photog..HIGHLY recommend!!!! I would NEVER use anyone else! He was absolutely amazing in so many ways. Super friendly and he ended up being my unofficial wedding planner. He got me my hair/makeup artist as well as a few other odds and ends. He has many resources for everything. DH and I both agree that he made our wedding..he was the highlight of the day! Actually, I keep up w/ him and he is even better than when we got married! (I think he travels to other Islands as well)

I enjoyed getting away for our wedding!! I hope this helps. LMK if I can help in anyway if you have any more questions. Have fun planning!


Here is link to where I posted a few wed pics on here..

https://www.pricescope.com/community/threads/wedding-pics.107562/


Here is a link to photog website.

http://www.amodophoto.com/site/index.php


JW Marriott

http://www.ihilani.com/


Turtle Bay

http://www.turtlebayresort.com/

Actually, Turtle Bay and Ko Olina (where the JW Ihilani is) are pretty much on opposite sides on the island. If I were to get married in Hawaii though, I would get married at Ko Olina too. Nice choice.

They also have a lovely chapel on the property if you are into that kind of thing... view from chapel

 

[xoxo]

Date: 2/19/2009 1:28:49 AM
Author: Structenggirl
We are getting married in Kauai next month. We have about 16 people coming, including ourselves. We are renting a house for 5 nights for everyone to stay in and are renting a cottage on the property for ourselves. (After those 5 nights everyone else is going home and we''re staying on another part of the island for another week). It''s about $1500/night for both of those combined. Because we''re renting the house/cottage, we are just going to have the ceremony on the property. When we go to the other side of the island we found our condo on VRBO.com and are paying a little less than $200/night.


Our flights - from San Francisco non-stop to Kauai - are $1350 for the both of us


I do believe that there are new laws in effect regarding getting married on the beach - I think you have to obtain a permit...any wedding coordinator should be able to help you with that. Hawaii is also much more laid back than other states. You don''t go to City Hall to get your license. I know that some regular businesses are equipped to handle the licenses, for example. When we get there we actually go to a hair salon to get our license! FMIL was married in Kauai about 8 years ago and they went to someone''s house to handle that detail. Again, your coordinator or officiant should be able to help with this.


I think our coordinator is about $700 and she''s handling the officiant, flowers, making appointments, etc. I found a photographer on our own and that''s about $700 for 1.5 hrs including all images on a disc. If we wanted an album (we''ll just create our own) it would be a little more.


We are just going to dinner at a restaurant after the ceremony. I''m assuming that will be around $1500 for everyone.


Everything else is pretty much dependent on what you want - dress, rings, shoes, jewelery etc etc.


Have fun!! We can''t wait to get to Kauai.

oh so exciting its next month!

very great idea to have the house rented for the guest. Also its so nice that you don''t have to go to the city hall, how cool just about anywhere its obtainable. Oh and your able to go island hopping to how great! I was also thinking about that and if it allows us to be in the budget it would be great. Thank you so so much for sharing this is all so exciting because I could somewhat calculate it and then also see how many guest maybe we could have if we rent a house which I think is the best way to go. Thank you very much for sharing. Also the VRBO.com is great it has different prices oh again Thank you very much.