October Small Beach Destination Wedding HELP! :)

aandm12

Hi All!

My fiancee and I got engaged in the Caribbean and we want a beach destinatino wedding but SOON! We'd love to have it on our 2nd anniversary, Oct 2, 2012 but most places are already booked so we are looking at other dates now. We were looking at the Four Seasons in Maui but they don't allow music at their outdoor venues. We have a wish list but I can't seem to make it happen. We started our search in Los Angeles, but it seems even more restrictive than Hawaii.  Any suggestions?

Here is our wish list:
October wedding (preferably Oct 2 but at least in the beginning of the month)
Ceremony ON the beach with our toes in the sand (everyone standing is ok & I 'think' I'm ok with a hand held chuppah...we know that Maui as some restrictions on chairs)
Reception outside and NEXT to/near the beach
DJ for dancing

We are thinking of inviting about 50 people but since we are in NY we know so many won't come that far so we're guessing about 10-20 will actually show up. So it will be a small intimate wedding.

Any recommendaitons/suggetsions?

Thanks you so much and Congrast to you ALL!

FSForever

Congrats and Welcome!

You don't mention which Island you are interested in? Oct 2nd would be pushing it as you would only have 4 and half months but it is completely possible to pull off. It is hard to believe that your date would be booked up as it is a mid week and not near any major holidays. 

There are many places on Maui that you can marry on the beach and then have a reception nearby. 

We are having our ceremony on the beach and then driving up the hill, 5 minutes, to Gannon's Restaruant for our reception. Gannon's has many reception options that are affordable on most levels and they include dancing. 

There is also Merriman's, Mama's Fish House, Five Palms. I would first pick an Island and then focus on the area of that island that you want to marry.  Good luck, HTH.

racholas

I planned my wedding in 4.5 months.  It's doable.  Hard, and even harder if you've dreamed of every detail you might want, but doable.  That said, only a couple of my non-relative East Coast invitees attended (invited 200+, had 50+ attendees).  It's simply a HUGE trip and you're not giving them a lot of time to plan.  Most people will have run out of vacation days, not budgeted for it, etc.  I don't know how old you are but all of my friends have kids, so that made them less likely to travel so far.  It's also a fairly expensive destination, though it doesn't have to be.

Depending on what is most important to you (will you be heartbroken if you feel like *none* of your friends went) I might consider getting married somewhere slightly closer to home (< 5 hour flight vs 10+ hour trip) if most of your guests are on the East Coast.

You could also bascially do an elopement and then an At Home Reception.  We didn't go that route, but a lot of people do.

reneeohau

Aloha -

I am getting married next year but planned my wedding a year in advance. I have the best wedding planner. She has become family to us. She has the best quality vendors. She can do a beach wedding for you and then the reception at an estate. She has different size estates and very charming.  She mostly services Oahu. There are beautiful beaches and estates on Oahu.  For the size of your wedding party she might recommend Beach Front Oasis on Oahu which is right on the beach and very secluded.  I know that she is waving her 2 hour consultation fee for the month of May, because she waived mine.  If you are flexible and don't mind changing to Oahu check her out. She is amazing and so are her venues.  You won't have to worry about a thing.  I know she can find an available date for you in October because she has so many venues and options.  Tell her what you want and she has a vendor for every thing, there is no need to look around. She has it all...You will email you or skype you daily and you are never out of the loop.  She even has her own make up artist vendors... Everything! I love her! Goodluck!

www.zenjuweddingsnevents.com

Renee Oahu:)

aandm12

Hi All!

Thank you SO much for all of your awesome suggestions!

To answer some of your questions:

It's my 2nd wedding so I'm not so 'detailed' oriented as I was the first time around!
We are not inviting any kids
We are open to Oahu so I'll look into that!
We are also open to Los Angeles (although all my research seems like it's difficult to have a beach wedding there - so many rules in the U.S.!)
We are also thinking of 'maybe' just having the wedding where we plan to honeymoon - french polynesia (Tahiti/Bora Bora/Moorea)  but can't seem to find any places on the main land of Tahiti (most suggest Bora Bora which is ANOTHER flight for our guests...I think that woudl just be too much)

I think we both feel we'd rather get married sooner than later so if people can't attend, they can't attend (which I totally understand that it's on the last minute side....)

Thanks again!

flash8785

Look at Na' Aina Kai gardens on Kauai.  They are a massive tropical garden property that was initially created by the ex-wife of Charles Schultz (of "Peanuts"/Charlie Brown fame).  There are BEAUTIFUL gardens with lots of photo opportunities, as well as a private white sand beach.  You can hold a pretty tended reception for your group there.

We looked into this site seriously, but ended up booking a place on the South Shore.

Hope this helps!

http://naainakai.org/

Jkualani

In Response to <a href="http://forums.theknot.com/Sites/theknot/Pages/Main.aspx/local-wedding-boards_hawaii_october-small-beach-destination-wedding-hep?plckFindPostKey=Cat:Local%20Wedding%20BoardsForum:73Discussion:127b0009-5ced-4fbc-ba0c-0e2a5bb3dd96Post:20afcd9f-85e4-45be-a2a6-070a8e97aa1d">Re: October Small Beach Destination Wedding HELP! :)</a>:
[QUOTE]Hi All! Thank you SO much for all of your awesome suggestions! To answer some of your questions: It's my 2nd wedding so I'm not so 'detailed' oriented as I was the first time around! :) We are not inviting any kids We are open to Oahu so I'll look into that! We are also open to Los Angeles (although all my research seems like it's difficult to have a beach wedding there - so many rules in the U.S.!) We are also thinking of 'maybe' just having the wedding where we plan to honeymoon - french polynesia (Tahiti/Bora Bora/Moorea)  but can't seem to find any places on the main land of Tahiti (most suggest Bora Bora which is ANOTHER flight for our guests...I think that woudl just be too much) I think we both feel we'd rather get married sooner than later so if people can't attend, they can't attend (which I totally understand that it's on the last minute side....) Thanks again! :)
Posted by aandm12[/QUOTE]

Aloha -
Well,  I just asked me wedding planner and they have openings for the 2nd of October and two of the most beautiful estates on the beach in Hawaii Kai.  Go on her website and look at the venue links... She said if you call her before May 31st she will waive the consultation fee.... Goodluck!!!!!
Renee...

destiny1108

our WC Hawaii Weddings and Events does weddings all over the island of Oahu, so I'm sure she could help.    www.hawaiiweddingsandeventscom She did our wedding and is now doing my BFFs.    We loved that she also had rental items that saved us costs.

bumblevi

In Response to <a href="http://maui.weddings.com/Sites/Weddings/Pages/Main.aspx/local-wedding-boards_hawaii_october-small-beach-destination-wedding-hep?plckFindPostKey=Cat:Local%20Wedding%20BoardsForum:73Discussion:127b0009-5ced-4fbc-ba0c-0e2a5bb3dd96Post:91416d25-6542-46f6-822d-79908068b777">Re: October Small Beach Destination Wedding HELP! :)</a>:
[QUOTE]In Response to Re: October Small Beach Destination Wedding HELP! :) : Aloha - Well,  I just asked me wedding planner and they have openings for the 2nd of October and two of the most beautiful estates on the beach in Hawaii Kai.  Go on her website and look at the venue links... She said if you call her before May 31st she will waive the consultation fee.... Goodluck!!!!! Renee...
Posted by Jkualani[/QUOTE]

Hi! I just saw your post about your wedding planner and I checked out her website.  I really like how it seems like you are having a great experience w/ her so far and her packages look very attractive :) Just wondering, she lists a coordination fee for her packages...do you know if this includes the cost of the vendor? For example, her Ku 'u Lei Package has a coordination fee of $4000, but she has a whole list of vendors below....like the photographer.  Would the photographer be included in the $4000 price or does is there an extra fee on top of that.  Thanks for your help!  I would really love to hire a wedding planner, but not sure if it's in my budget.