Oahu Bride - Started Planning

Redsoxflygirl

I am new to the board but so far I am finding a lot of useful information.  My fiance and I are planning a June 22, 2011 wedding on Oahu.  We would like it to be a beach ceremony but we are very open to different reception ideas.  We are on a pretty small budget for Hawaii standards so the really high-end hotels and such are pretty much out.  We would like to stay on the east, south-east side of the island to keep the transportation times to a reasonable amount.  Any ideas on good places or even places to avoid would be great!   

I have also started looking at coordinators and have a few in mind.  Wondering if anyone has used a coordinator on Oahu and how your experience was.  
Thanks!

Oaklay18

I used Honolulu Wedding Consultants and they were great. Made great suggestions for much of what I needed on the island.

http://gopackandtravel.blogspot.com/

55pawsh

Welcome!  Have you considered beachfront rental homes?  I'm not sure what your budget is, but a beachfront rental could double as your accomodations and ceremony/reception site if you're not having too many people.  We were originally looking at this option, but our guest list was too large.  VRBO (http://www.vrbo.com/) is a great site, you can sort by price range and location.  HTH!!

leejj3

If you have any friends/relatives in the military, the Halekoa is a pretty realistically cheap waikiki wedding option. As far as beachfront, it might be best to get out of waikiki. I'm having a wedding at waialae country club which is about 5 miles east of waikiki. How many are expecting?

hotdognbuns

We're on a relatively small budget too, but are using Halekulani Hau Terrace because they don't nickel and dime you. No extra charges for this and that.  Most of all the standard stuff is actually included providing you hit the food minimums.  For us on a Saturday evening, it's $6k. They throw in your suite, waive the ceremony site fee, reception room site fee, and give you a wedding cake large enough to feed all of your guests, plus they offer free valet or self parking and are known for THE most fabulous cuisine and service standards. I'm excited about it. Hau Terrace is a small venue.  There are other venues at Halekulani but naturally, they have varying revenue limits.

destiny1108

Congratulations and welcome the board!     Venue depends alot on your guest count and they don't allow set-ups on the beach anymore (not sure if that is important to you).  I can check with our WC from Hawaii Weddings and Events they were great!
www.hawaiiweddingsandevents.com

Redsoxflygirl

Thanks for some great new ideas that I hadn't found in my research.  We are inviting about 40 people but because they are coming from all over the mainland, we'll see how many actually can make it.  I have been calling all over the place trying to get prices and finding out that it works a little different in Hawaii.  My fiance and his family have lived there for over 20 years and they all warned me that it might not be as speedy as I am used to.  It is all true!  They are definitely on Hawaiian time!
@55pawsh I noticed you have Kualoa Ranch at the bottom of your post.  I am looking into them too.  I am trying to get info. on prices for their beach ceremony area and then maybe have the reseption in one of the gardens.  Where are you having yours?