need some advice

Sklenaral · December 2011

I recently got engaged on Dec 22nd to my wonderful boyfriend of 11 years and we have talked about having a destination beach wedding in Hawaii. I was thinking hiring a coordinator would be the best option due to never been there and living in NE I thought it would be easier. Any advice on locations or planning tips??
*thanks

breaness · December 2011

First you want to set a budget. Then you can start looking at the other things. For us hawaii was a no brainier, but which island? After doing research and deciding to stay on one island for the wedding and honeymoon we picked Maui. Each island has a rainy side and a dry side. We got married on the south side of Maui where the weather was perfect every day. We went to the east side (Hana) for part of our honeymoon, and while it was beautiful (and our favorite part of the trip) it was awfully rainy and windy. Most people get married on the west/south side of Maui for this reason. Once you pick the island then you start looking at coordinators. You can do anything from a simple wedding on a beach like ours or an elegant, larger wedding at a venue like Tanq, AKWinterBride, or even Kimmy who is getting married at Mama's Fish House (the best restaurant on the island!) There are tons of coordinators, all equipped to do these types of weddings. The only thing I'd recommend doing separately is the photographer. Wedding photos will last a lifetime and you can almost always find a better photographer on your own than going with a "package deal." Good luck and congratulations on your engagement! Hawaii is incredible and I couldn't be happier with our Hawaiian wedding.

Tanq&Tonic · December 2011

Congrats and welcome! Brea pretty much covered the key bases. Definitely start with 1) budget, 2) vision, 3) must-have guests (eg, parents+siblings). Before you get too far down the destination planning path, you'll want to be sure you don't spend more than you can, and that your key guests can be there with you. Inevitably, not as many people will be able to make it as compared to a local wedding.

As for coordinators, they can help but aren't necessary. Some gals here have planned fancy weddings without one. Others have used a WC for 95% of the details and loved not having a single care on the day of. And others are mixed. We paid for a WC but only used her for about 10% of the things WCs normally do. Once you settle on an island, a vision, and a budget, we can definitely help recommend some popular coordinators.

Maui and Oahu are the 2 most popular islands for brides on this board. We also get a few Kauai and Big Island brides as well. If you start researching what you're looking for, we'll be happy to answer questions as we can!

Congrats again...so exciting!

jtoly · December 2011

Welcome and congrats!!! Brea and Tanq gave great advice! I also looked at getting married on Maui but decided on Oahu because like Brea, we wanted to stay on one island and I wanted to go to Hawaii so bad to see the Pearl Harbor memorial. I'm eloping so I don't have much planning but the Rev whom is marrying us is coordinating our photographer, flowers, etc. Good luck with your planning and keep us posted on where you decide to go!

AKWinterBride · December 2011

I second everything Brea said! I got married at Olowalu Plantation House in Maui and it was amazing and I would never want my wedding anywhere else! We hired a coordinator (who was flat rate, no hidden charges) so that we wouldn't have to worry about anything the day of our wedding. I was not interested in setting up decorations or anything, I just wanted to show up and be a bride. I have absolutely no regrets about our wedding, it was perfect - just as every bride deserves to feel about their wedding day!

If you have any questions, feel free to PM me!

Aaron&Tara · December 2011

I got engaged on the 23rd:) We are also looking at Hawaii. I am so overwhelmed with choices because I don't know much about it. I'm not even sure where to start. Because of work we won't be able to go check places out before the wedding. We are working on the budget now. Any advice, suggestions, recommendations are greatly appreciated.

WinstonsGirl · December 2011

Once you've figured out a budget, start searching this board and looking at bios to see where other people have gotten married and then start checking out their websites. Send a ton of e-mails as that helped us finally choose one that we felt fit our needs. But start here with planning bios and search venues on this board to get ideas of where to get married. The search buttons are at the bottom and you can search the current board so you won't end up with venues in say Texas. Hope that helps

Tanq&Tonic · December 2011

Welcome A&T! Don't get overwhelmed! Take a few days to enjoy your engagement and slowly figure out what appeals to you. As I mentioned in my post above, talk with your fiance about:

1) budget
2) vision - barefoot in the sand? lavish resort affair? restaurant reception?
3) must have guests - can you confirm everyone that MUST be there can come?

Once you have an idea of what you want, we can all help with suggestions. Oahu tends to be a popular island for larger groups, groups with lots of children, first time visitors, etc. You'll find the most variety in vendors, hotels, and restaurants, too. Maui is probably the most popular here on this board -- most of us really like that it's a little lesser traveled that Oahu, but still with plenty to offer in terms of type of activities accommodations, vendors, etc.

The thing about Hawaii is just like any other place in the world. You can have as swanky or as simple as a wedding as you desire. You just have to figure out what you desire :-)

destiny1108 · December 2011

Congratulations! You can try our WC from Hawaii Weddings and Events, they were great and helped streamline the process for us by giving us some "pros and cons" of different locations and weeding out those that were not what we envisioned or more than our budget.

flash8785 · December 2011

I'm getting married this July on Kauai.

At first, I was so stressed out. You should know that you're not alone! For me, I was deciding between Maui and Kauai. Kauai is my favorite island, but I've heard wonderful things about Maui as well. After looking at many wedding sites on both islands, and interviewing coordinators, we decided on Kauai. We're working with Kaye at Maile weddings and so far she's been wonderful! What I like best about Kaye is that she always responds in a timely manner to emails. It's very comforting since I'm far away. Our reception will be at a restaurant called Plantation Gardens. We picked this site for two reasons:

1. It's close to the part of the island where we'd like our guests to be.

2. It's a restaurant, but it feels like an old plantation home (because it is). There are beautiful gardens outside as well. We like that it's a restaurant because we don't need to rent tables, linins, plates, etc. We have a food/bev min. to meet instead. In the end we're spending the same as we would at a private estate; however, our money is going toward better quality food/drinks instead of table rentals.

Please feel free to let me know if you have any questions.

I will add, there was a coordinator on Maui who I LOVED, although we ended up not selecting her because we liked Kauai more. If you do your wedding on Maui, I'd suggest Kara Byrne with Your Aloha Weddings. In the month that I was messaging back and fourth with her, she was very professional and seemed like a great coordinator.

jodiejulybride · December 2011

Welcome and Congrats on your engagement! Definately do take the time to just breath and enjoy being engaged! As tempting as it is to jump right in with the wedding plans it won't hurt to take a few days to let it soak in! And don't be afraid to ask questions. We're all really helpful and are either going through the process, or have gone through the process of getting married in Hawaii so we love to talk weddings! I myself am planning my July 2012 wedding on Oahu. I'm a local bride and so if there is anything you have questions about feel free to ask me and I'll do my best! Aloha and best wishes!

need some advice

Re: need some advice

Choose Another Board

Search Boards