Oahu- welcome dinner, farewell breakfast, etc...

Sp2012

Hi Ladies,

We are headed to Oahu next week to check out venues and photographers.  We're looking at a Summer 2012 wedding, date depending on availability of the site we want.  I'm an estimating 100 or less for the wedding, but I come from a big family and it'll be summer vacation so it's hard to guess at who may or may not come.

Assuming we go with a location in or near Waikiki, do you guys have suggestions for welcome dinner, farewell breakfast, and what other activities did you plan for?  How much more did these activities add to your budget?

destiny1108

Tikis Grill and Bar has been used by quite a few of the girls here, more casual, drinks, mini buffet, etc. but overlooking ocean, estimate about $30 a person.   Princess Kaiulani for breakfast, kind of pricey, but could accommodate everyone

kaesha

We hosted a welcome bbq at our condo - it was great! Low key, casual and it gave everyone a chance to mingle. Plus, it was way cheaper than doing it at a restaurant!

Two days after the wedding, we invited guests to join us on a kayak/snorkel tour and at a luau, though we didn't host the events (we made it clear that they were strictly optional). We set it up as a "hey, here's where we're going to be, and if you want to join us, we got some great group rates going on" kinda deal.

Then, the next night we had good-bye cocktails at our condo that we just invited the younger crowd to partake in. It was informal and impromptu, but gave everyone who was leaving the next day a great chance to drink up the rest of their booze!

fabutan

We also hosted a BBQ at my parent's condo two days before the wedding, as a chance for guests from all over the world to convene and get to know each other.  As kaesha said, it's low cost, informal, and a fun way to get ppl together.

We did a luau for the rehearsal dinner, but only covered costs for immediate family and the bridal party.  Other guests were invited to join, but had to cover their own costs.

We did a farewell brunch the day after the wedding.  This added a cost of about $30 per person, which added a significant chunk to our budget.  We felt it was well-worth it before we headed off for our honeymoon and all of our guests appreciated it.  

Due to the added activities/events, we found a destination wedding didn't save us much and would've cost about the same as having one at home.  The wedding itself was probably cheaper, but extra activities do make costs add up....  It's a personal choice how many activities to include, but guests do appreciate it!  HTH!  

sparklegirl84

We are having our welcome dinner at tiki's bar and grill in waikiki. My future mother in law is so sweet and paying for it all, it's about $30 a person and we have 30 people. The day after the wedding we're doing a casual (free) day at a beach where people can chill, snorkel and recover if they're hungover and then a bbq/potluck at our rental house (where we're having the wedding) later that evening since we'll still have the rental chairs and tables and it will give us a chance to finish off any leftover booze/cake/food. 

Sp2012

Thank you for all your responses.  It's so helpful to hear from you all.  I've actually been to 3 weddings in Waikiki in the past few years and have those friends/family to ask as well, but I'm trying to not use all the same venues/restaurants as they did.

I'll look into Tiki's while we are there, and appreciate any suggestions for other locations as well.

I haven't even thought about where we'll stay when go out for the wedding. If we do a condo or house rental, BBQ sounds like a great idea.  But it does sound like a lot of work to do all the buying groceries & cooking if we do end up with ~100 guests!

kaesha

100 is big, but doable if you're organized and know when to ask for help and make use of premade products! We made liberal use of Costco. We just did bugers and a bunch of different salads, some fruit and bought brownies and ice cream for dessert.

Really, the prep was pretty minimal (salads). My Mum and I did a lot of stuff the night before and we got my Dad, brother and some other family members to do all the cooking the day of. It was the smoothest party I've cooked for in ages! It was cool to have this group of guys doing the bbqing - it seemed that all the men migrated over there to discuss the best ways to burn meat. They totally bonded.

maui2011

We're doing our welcome dinner at our condo as well, except we will be getting it catered from Da Kictchen...we may buy paper plates or they may even supply them or we may rent plates and glasses depending on the cost. If you cannot fit everyone in your hotel room or condo then maybe they will have an outside area for you to use or you can go to a beach park. HTH! J. :-)

MYUKWG

Just wondering....These "condo's" that everyone is talking about where they stayed...can I possibly find out which ones?  I'm in the middle of sourcing accomodations and would love to hear about these condos that Kaesha & Fabutan stayed   In Oahu

tweetymontana

Me too, I am planning to fly over to Oahu next year and don't have a clue.

I never been to Hawaii before and can use all the help.#

Is Tiki's Grill and bar decent enough place for me to have me having dinner in my wedding dress plus cutting cake with 15 guest?

Or any suggestion of a cheap low budget restaurant?

Advice is much appreciated.