Small Oahu Wedding- Need advice!

knockout7075

Aloha Ladies,

I am fairly new, although I have responded to a few posts but not yet posted anything about our wedding. I am stuck and need some advice!

My fiance and I are living in Oahu for the next year or so for his work. It is beautiful and I am willing to help anyone in any way that I can since I am physically here and have some local knowledge for you destination brides

We want to do a small and very simple wedding in early November. We have some family visiting from the mainland and thought it would make sense to just tie the knot whie everyone is here anyways. However, I'm having a hard time finding what I want and here is where y'all come in:

Ideally, my picture perfect wedding would be to rent a house for a weekend that is on the beach with a big grassy backyard. We would have our ceremony in the backyard and then would maybe go out for drinks or something and then come back to the house where we could have a catered or chef prepared meal. Including us there will be 10 people max.

But... Reality sets in and I am having a super hard time finding a house that you can rent for just a weekend. I would love to make a week out of it but the most time my man can get off of work is a weekend. Most of the houses have 5-7 night minimums and they are very very expensive.

I could settle for having a ceremony somewhere and a reception type dinner at a nice restaurant. I had considered this, but we are really private people and due to the lack of private beaches that we can access I'd rather not get married on a public beach.

I'm not really into the wedding packages that you can buy that have the officiant and photographer etc. all in one. I would rather hire everyone seperately so that I can have exactly what I want.

I don't mind doing things on my own as I have a good amount of time on my hands but I'm starting to get discouraged and overwhelmed. I feel like I have been to so many websites that they are all starting to blend together.

I appreciate any suggestions and help/advice from other Oahu brides
 
Mahalo! (Thank You)

jmgentz

Knockout I'm with you on the house rental thing. It's hard to find something that's nice, has a big yard, beachfront and has a low minimum nights stay. Have you checked out properties on vrbo.com? That is how I was able to find homes where I'm looking in Honolulu and the north shore. A lot of places can work for you since you have no more than 10 people. The lowest minimum nights stay I've been able to find is 3 nights. Some larger, nicer properties require a 5 night stay. FYIAlso, if your hosting a wedding on the property, you will have to pay a separate venue fee aside from your nightly rate. Hope this helps!

knockout7075

Thanks, jm!

I have checked vrbo, homeaway, craigslist, and ohana beach rentals. I think we are just going to settle for a 3 or 5 night rental. If you have found any homes that you think are nice and would mind sharing the vrbo property #, please do! I feel like I spend hours on that site trying to find somehing. 10 people is an overestimation, and I think only my then-husband and I will be the ones staying. It's more of to have a home base and a place to all gather as most of the guests will be coming back to Honolulu to stay.

Where did you find the info about the venue fee? Do you know if that's the case for all rentals? I was just hoping a quick ceremony in the backyard and a dinner that felt more like a gathering wasn't enough to draw attention to us but now I'm second guessing that!!

Thanks for the help

itravelsize

try the wesite homeaway.com i have found some good size homes there though i have been looking on the big Island. I'm sure they have listings on Oahu also dont be afraid to email them and ask questions i found not all places let you have an event on the property. Hope that info helps good luck 

jmgentz

Knockout - My WP informed me that not all properties are "legally" available for hosting events such as weddings, parties, etc.  Typically, if the property is listed on VRBO.com, they are good to go as long as the owner is ok with it.  Some of the properties I've looked at have specifically stated "No parties or weddings".  Your wedding plan sounds like a very small gathering and you might be able to get away with not paying a venue fee.  Perhaps, when inquiring about the properties, you can mention your plans and see what they say.  The last thing you want is neighbors tattling on you!  I think you will be fine as long as you don't have vendors coming to the venue--party rentals, tent rentals, caterer, etc.  Doesn't sound like you're having that type of wedding anyways.

I know the search can be exausting.  When I searched on VRBO, I searched by specific area of the island like "north" and "South" Oahu. Then i focused on the type of property i'm looking for (House, cottage, etc.) and location type (beachfront/oceanfront).  This REALLY helps narrow down stuff you don't want like condos and apartments!  Also, if you know the max you will pay per night, multiply that by a week and you can search for properties using a maximum of the weekly rate you are willing to pay (even if you aren't staying a week).   If I come across any properties that may work for you, I will PM you.   Hope this helps!

knockout7075

Thank you for the advice and info ladies! I'll be sure to check out homeaway and jm thanks for the info about the parties at certain rentals. I was getting paranoid there for a bit! It would be just our luck to have an issue on our wedding day. Hopefully we can find a place that works.

I have found a bunch of amazing houses that are perfect for weddings bigger than ours. Let me know if you haven't settled on a place yet and I'll send them to you!

destiny1108

Our WC also had forewarned us about making sure that any property we considered "allowed" events as she said many do not because of issues with neighbors.

You can try http://www.hawaiioceanfrontrentals.com/kma/index.php

knockout7075

Thanks for the tip destiny, I'll check into that website. Crossing my fingers that I will find a property that will allow a small gathering. I have found a few houses that are perfect for weddings but just too big for our needs.

NCraft2B

Hi! I am also having a small wedding here in late Oct. It is so nice to see someone in a similar situation! 

I looked at VRBO as well and didn't really see anything that suited me. I finally decided to have my wedding at Bellows at sunrise for a couple reasons.

1. The windward side is much cheaper than say Ko'olina.

2. The sunrise is amazing over there.

3. The only people on the beaches that early are photographers. 

4. It is SO much cheaper. 

I totally get how most of these websites look EXACTLY the same. I looked and looked for months! Since the permitting process is a little complicated, and and work 60+ hours a week, I hired a planner that doesn't MAKE you use their photographer and minister. There are actual choices. 

IDK. I know you are only looking at rentals, but just in case you change your mind......

aliciakh74

Hi,

I am getting married at Paradise Bay Resort in Kaneohe.  They have a nice garden venue area over looking Kaneohe Bay.  There is only a two night minimum required.  If there is only 10 of you might be nice.  www.paradisebayhawaii.com