Hello! -New to the board

leejj3 · February 2010

Hello lovely ladies! Just wanted to say a quick hello to the board. I am hawaii-born and a transplant to nashville, tn (left 6 years ago for school and haven't found my way back yet) Met my wonderful boy at school who is also a transplant (from FL)

We are attempting quite a feat having a pseudo-destination wedding (my family is still in hawaii but about half the guests will be traveling in). We decided on Nov 27, 2010 the saturday after thanksgiving to give guests a few built in vacation days. Am still in the planning stages of everything but am excited!

Ultimately, I just want everyone to enjoy hawaii and our wedding without making it overly touristy since I'm not truly a tourist to hawaii. The latest laws concerning beach weddings concern me though. Apparently, hawaii beaches now prohibit chairs, tables and archways on the sand. Anyone have the inside scoop on if these laws are sticking or enforced?

Jenn

MissP. · February 2010

HI Jenn! Welcome to the boards! You will find somuch helpful info on this board!
I didnt know about that new law.....I wonder why they would do that?

A.a.A. · February 2010

welcome and congratulations!!!

i became a transplant to Hawai'i (from CA), left again for school and am moving back there in April

FI is from there and never wants to leave, and after I've lived in the snow, I never want to leave hawaii again either!

I'm in the same boat - it's pseudo-destination, but only for my side of the family since his all live there and most of our friends. Yay!

Yes I've heard about the no structures on the beach law but I can't tell you how well it is enforced!

christie101010 · February 2010

Heya! Welcome to the board.
Yes, the have tightened the rules. Which sucks.
I think you are only allowed chairs for the eldery who arent able to stand for a duration of time, and you may be lucky just to get 1 table and a petal path only

These stupid rules, ruined my on the beach wedding dream setup and made me change locations to Paradise Cove, where I can have my dream setup on the grass infront of the cove.
Good Luck in whatever you decide

kaesha · February 2010

From my understanding, the rules are pretty strictly enforced - they've been in effect for about a year and a half now, so not entirely new. I can understand it - I always get pissed off when strangers take over my street's public beach up at my cottage. You've gotta make room for everyone, you know?

If you're totally set on having it on the beach, what about blankets and pillows on the sand could be a totally romantic vibe, ne?

Welcome to the board!

sandyhorne · February 2010

Welcome!!! We're doing a beach wedding and my coordinator told me they are strictly enforced. We're only having 25 people so we're doing it standing on the beach.

Good luck with your planning!!!

carrieoz_76 · February 2010

Yup, no structures, and you need to get a beach permit. There's a few places where you can get married in the grass or bluffs just above the sand, and if you did that you could have chairs, structures, etc. It just depends on what you want.

My understanding is they did it because they want to minimize any lasting environmental effects of having lots and lots of weddings on the beach. I'd also guess that a happy result of the law is that it reduces the size and length of beach weddings, which probably also reduces the environmental impact.

I'm cool with it - HI beaches are gorgeous because they look out for them. We're keeping our ceremony at 15 mins. and our guests will stand. I've stood for local weddings before and as long as they're not too long, I didn't mind. I also don't mind not having an arch - we have the ocean as our backdrop. I can take that.

pinkmochiball · February 2010

congrats and welcome to the board! I'm no help with beach weddings but happy planning!

HappyGoLuckyGal · February 2010

Congrats and welcome. Hope we can be helpful as you're planning.

leejj3 · February 2010

Thanks for all the replies! I'm hopefully going to try and find a grassy area that overlooks the beach in the kahala area. The kahala mandarin is an option but just so darn expensive. The country club where we're having the reception has a courtyard but my FI from florida really wants his toes in the sand so we might try to have all the guests in the courtyard like a gallery watching us on the beach. I don't know if that's just us being difficult and stubborn but i'm sure it will work out.

it just really surprised me that a simple concept such as chairs on a beach has a wrench thrown into it. Also, don't forget to watch the furlough schedules for getting a marriage license too! Silly hawaii departments...

REM2008 · February 2010

Welcome to the board! I'm having an intimate beach wedding. We don't need any structures or chairs. The only thing we will have is a small cake table.

Happy planning!

natalie115 · February 2010

Hi and welcome!

We had a beach wedding with about 30 guest and all but the grandmas stood. Our ceremony wasn't that long so it wasn't a big deal. We did have a petal path w/ maile leis as the border. If you have to have structures and chairs you might try looking for a rental house that over looks the ocean and see if the owner is okay with having a wedding on the property. I'm guessing you could probably save a lot of money since it would be lodging and the ceremony site all in one

NaluJS · February 2010

I was really bummed about that law as well. I really wanted toes in the sand ceremony. Since I couldn't do that, I chose the next best thing...Lanikuhonua. The view of the beach and the water in the background is gorgeous. I'm sure you'll find an awesome place. Congrats & happy planning!

Hello! -New to the board

Re: Hello! -New to the board

Choose Another Board

Search Boards