Intro and Kona or Maui Questions! (Longish!)

JCWhitey

Hello!  I'm Janine and my other half is Cody.  We are technically not engaged yet but are buying a house (closing in two months!) and had a conversation during this process that we should probably get married sooner rather than later for legal purposes.  He's promised to do something a little more romantic for an official proposal though, so now I'm just waiting for that.  And waiting, and waiting.  But while I wait we've been tossing around ideas for a wedding.

Originally we were planning Mexico but the resort I love is in Acapulco and we won't be going there anymore given the recent travel alerts for that area.  Hawaii was brought up a few times by FMIL but I always shrugged it off as being "too expensive".  We started planning a wedding at the house we're buying, but recently I had a dream I was back in Hawaii and it has me itching to go back and not caring if it's "too expensive!".

So now, my questions!

My Godparents own a coffee shop (Kope Lani on Ali'i Drive) in Kona so obviously I want to get married in Kona.  The Big Island is the only island I've ever visited, but I love it.  I fell in love with snorkeling there and just think the island is gorgeous.  However, the resort I fell in love with- Kona Village- is currently closed due to damage it sustained during the tsunami.  I honestly can't find anywhere else in Kona that I like nearly as much.  We're really wanting to have an eco-friendly wedding (or as eco-friendly as a DW can be) so a sustainable resort would be ideal.  Does anyone know of one besides Kona Village that I can look in to or have a suggestion for a smaller hotel/resort?  We'd probably take an extrended honeymoon at my Godparent's timeshare so really we just need a wedding location.

FMIL is pushing for Maui.  The family owns a time share there so if we got married there we could use their time share for the honeymoon as well and they could use it to make coming to the wedding more affordable for them.  I opposed this initially since I can't imagine going anywhere in Hawaii that's not near where my family lives, but I'm guessing Maui will have more resources for us.  So I've decided that whichever island can offer us the most eco-friendly option, we'll go with that one.  So does anyone have a suggestion for a hotel/resort in Maui?  I know nothing about that area so I'm not set on a location at all like I would be in Kona.

I figure for a honeymoon we'd do Kona and Maui since we can take advantage of both time shares, so now we just have to decide where to have the wedding.  Thank you for listening to my extremely long-winded question and intro. 

Tanq&Tonic

WELCOME!!  Sounds like you have lots of exciting milestones coming up.  How fantastic!

I don't even know where to start with recommendations for Maui because there are *so many options*.  You can check out jackcody's Maui planning site for all sorts of great information:
http://mauiweddingplanning.weebly.com/

If you can describe more of what you are looking for in terms of lodging, ceremony venue, reception venue, I'm sure the ladies on the forum will have plenty of great suggestions -- Kona, Maui, or otherwise

JCWhitey

We'd love a smaller hotel/resort.  Maybe one with a capacity of 25-30 so we can rent out the entire thing.  That's what we were going to do with the resort in Mexico.  I like the idea of having a very intimate wedding.

On the beach doesn't really matter as much as it being a small, intimate resort.  I'd also prefer a resort that doesn't really do a lot of weddings.  We don't want a traditional ceremony and don't want to be one of 5-6 wedding in a given day.  This is actually my second wedding and my first one was at a resort that had 6 weddings in one day and I didn't like that.  Going for something different this time!

We probably won't be doing a dancing reception or anything like that, just a nice dinner.  This wedding is mostly for family and very close friends (20-25 guests).  We'll party it up in Vegas after for our extended group of friends.

AKWinterBride

Hmmm, I don't really know of any small resorts unless you want to really go up in $$.  The resort in Hana is more eco-friendly, they have no TV's or radios in their rooms, but they are pretty expensive and you have to worry about the long drive and having room for your guests. 

Hopefully someone else can help you out on this as I can't really think of any place in Maui that would meeet your eco-friendly small resort needs.  That is so awful that your original resort had damage, I was watching the news all night I was so scared for everyone in Hawaii!! 

Good luck hun!

maui2011

Congrats Janine!!!!  For an eco friendly more rustic look i was thinking the Hana Hotel as well.  In terms of resorts and this is no way an eco friendly resort but the Four Seasons Maui is beautiful and they only do one wedding a day.  There are private estates such as the Olowalu Plantation House and Sugarman.  The Royal Lahaina Resort does weddings.  I know Carrie...carrieoz_76...stayed at a bed and breakfast called the Pineapple Inn I believe...she got married on a beach but she and her group stayed at the inn and she cannot recommend it enough...not sure what the view is like and if the allow weddings but i would think it is worth a looks see.  Another resort which Keasha...knottie name....usually stays does weddings....it is in Kahana....i believe it is called the Kahana Village.  Lastly, i would randomly call wedding coordinators on Maui and ask them for recommendations. HTH! J. :-)

JCWhitey

Thanks!  That helps a ton.  Going off the research these places now. 

LSOrchid2011

It sounds like you know Kona better than I do, but have you thought about Hualoa Inn?  It has stunning views and the eco-chic look that it sounds like you are going for. 

Other options might be the Parker Ranch, Kona Beach House...

Good luck with your planning!

carrieoz_76

Hi there!  I can't believe someone else remembers where we stayed.    Not sure if it would fit your needs, but the Pineapple Inn has 4 separate guestrooms and a cottage on-site that's basically a small two-bedroom house (full kitchen).  We stayed there for four days along with our wedding party.  

As was mentioned, we got married on the beach, had a reception dinner at the 5 Palms, then went back to the Pineapple Inn for our an after-party (or continued reception, whatever you want to call it).  Pics and reviews in bio.

I'd do everything the way we did it all over again.  Not sure if it's quite what you're looking for, but it was fantastic for us!

As for the Hotel Hana, I'm not sure I'd go with that.  First, it's expensive - not just for you but for your guests, and there are few other options in or near Hana (one condo bldg that rents out rooms, and that's pretty much it).  It's really remote there - no grocery store, only a general store.  And that's the wet side of the island, so it rains.  A lot.

You might check out the Inn at Mama's Fishhouse. It's also spendy (as is Mama's Fishhouse, the restaurant it's affiliated with and situated just behind), but we stayed there and loved it - both the inn and the restaurant (which is world-class)!  It's not so far away that your guests would have to stay there with you, though, if they couldn't afford it or didn't want to stay there.  It's just outside of Pa'ia, a really small and charming former hippie town that has another inn - Pa'ia Inn Hotel, and your guests could also stay in Kahului (~10 mins. away) or even Kihei (~40 mins. away), if they wanted.  I think one of the Maui brides is getting married at Mama's Fishhouse, which would be a gorgeous setting, IMO, if you could afford the dinner.

maui2011

Thanks Carrie...totally forgot about Mama's Fishhouse...I totally agree that it would be a beautiful locale...it also looks a tad rustic.  Hope all is well with Kimmy. J. :-)

JCWhitey

You guys rock!  Thank you so much for your recommendations.  I'm bookmarking this so I can refer back when we get a better idea of the when and where!  But so far I am LOVING Mama's Fishhouse and Holualoa Inn.

Thanks, again.  You guys make planning easier for sure!

sharkbitemiller

Hey there!
I'm getting married in Kona at St. Peter's Church. And instead of everyone finding hotel rooms on their own, we rented two villas in Kona Plantation Estates (right above Costco) and that is where we are going to have a very casual bbq reception. No dancing for us either...just eating and drinking I know there are a few B&B's in that area as well or you can check out www.vrbo.com and see if you can rent out a private estate (like we are).
As for timeshares...everyone in my family owns a timeshare and I'm very familiar how it works. Just because they "own" on one island doesn't mean that they have to stick to that location. They can "exchange" their time to go somewhere else. So don't feel like you are obligated to have your wedding in Maui just because FMIL has a timeshare there. They can trade their week.

AKWinterBride

I second Mama's - it's really, really fantastic!  It just feels and looks the way you expect Hawaii to look!

kimmykupcakes

Welcome to the Hawaii Board!