Help! Maui transportation

littlechilds · January 2012

Sorry for the wordy details.

We have a wedding on Saturday in May in Maui (Kapalua). Our accommodations are 10 miles from the ceremony/reception (honua Kai). We are having our wedding at a private estate. The ceremony is at 2:30 and we are told it will only take 15 minutes. After that, our photos with the wedding party will be taken off site for a few hrs.

The problem...

We need to transport our guests from our hotel (65 of them) to the site for the ceremony. After that, we have just under 3 hrs till reception (5:45)....soooo we either need to take everyone back to the hotel for drinks, or have everyone stay at the estate till reception. We are worried it will be boring, hot, and exhausting if people stay. We would also have to pay for music, drinks, and so forth.
We will also need to transport people back to their hotels at night around 10:30-11pm.
We can only find 25 passenger buses for $160/hr with a minimum 2 hr rental. Cabs look to be really expensive ($22 each way for 5 passengers).

Any ideas or recommendations on this? This is a huge portion of our wedding planning and needs to be confirmed soon. Our wedding planner recommends ordering shuttles several times, but they seem to always go the more expensive route (hence our budget is already $4000 over haha).

Thanks for any responses:)

kimmykupcakes · January 2012

With that many ppl, I'd look into renting a bus. They are much cheaper and can fit a lot of ppl. We rent them here in Portland for the whole night for about $700. It will most likely cost more on Maui, but should still be much cheaper than the options you've been looking into. Find out what company Maui public schools uses to transport their children and give them a call about renting one of their buses. Yes, they come with a driver. Good luck!

Tanq&Tonic · January 2012

Is there any way to shorten your 3 hour gap? I think 3 hours is really long and inconsiderate. As a guest, I never know what to do. Not enough time in between to change and do other things, but too much time ot just sit around. My suggestions would be:

1) Consider doing a first look and all portraits before the ceremony, and move the ceremony later. Take photos of you with family, groomsmen & bridesmaides only if you don't want FI to see you before the ceremony. This lets you push your ceremony to 4:45pm, end at 5pm, and get everyone to the reception for 5:45. The light at 4:45 is generally much more forgiving than at 12:30, btw.

2) Shorten the gap to 1 hour (90 min max) and provide food & drinks. Host this at the same spot as the dinner reception, so you only have to provide transport once and everyone is in the right spot. This still leaves you some time for some amazing photos post-ceremony.

3) How big is your guest list? Can you just pair your guests together and let them carpoool? This lets people come & go as they see fit.

4) What hotel is your reception at? Some hotels have courtesy shuttles -- maybe you could hire them to shuttle your guests back & forth?

Also, why do you need to transport your guests back to their respective hotels? I would say, if the shuttle runs from your hotel to the ceremony & back, guests can provide their own transport to your hotel.

$160/hr isn't that bad for those 25-person shuttles. Our WC had quoted $180/hr so I guess that was her uplift. I believe there are also 40 or 50 person shuttles on island, but they often have trouble turning around in certain locations.

Good luck!

rmontpas · January 2012

Congratulations on your upcoming wedding. I am getting married in Maui next month but I am eloping so don't have the problems you are describing. I have to agree with the PP though that the 3 hour lag time between the ceremony and reception is too long. Is there any way to shorten it.
We were told that mid day was the worst time for a wedding for a variety of reasons but we are marrying on the beach so on an estate you may not have all the same concerns regarding crowds but heat and lighting should still be a concern.
I hope whatever you decide you have a beautiful wedding.

littlechilds · January 2012

The easiest answer to the most obvious solution is we are a bit traditional. We dont want to see each other till the reception, hence no photos before ceremony....maybe we could get a few out of the way with family.

second, photographers are one of the most expensive parts of a wedding (well in our case), so we need to take the time to take these photos. Its maui, so its high priority. Maybe we might be forced to only take them locally (no need for the limo I guess lol)
Ceremony time is locked in due to pastor. Reception...could be moved I suppose...would miss sunset, but thats a small detail.

guest list = 68
accomm = Honua Kai (condo resort)

Tanq&Tonic · January 2012

You can definitely do all of your family photos, and photos with bridal party, and your personal portraits done before the ceremony. You need, at most, 45-60 minutes with DH for a very extensive portrait session. If your ceremony venue is as stunning as I know most waterfront Maui properties to be, you should be able to get plenty of stunning pictures right there on site. We didn't leave the private estate for our portrait session, but I was still really happy with it (ceremony & reception at the same place). That will definitely allow you to cut the gap a bit. This way, you can also do more of a brunch reception which can help you save money. I think you could do this:

Before ceremony, all pics except those with Groom
12:30: ceremony
1:00: shuttles leave ceremony
1:45/2: brunch starts
5:30: end of brunch & reception, everyone go outside to watch the sunset, with a few gorgeous sunset / exit photos

You can still afterparty if you want the festivities to continue!

Does your ceremony location require transportation because there isn't enough guest parking? I'm pretty sure there were 40/50/60 person shuttle options when I looked a year ago. Definitely check the school bus route that Kimmy mentioned.

I would suggest providing transport from Honua Kai to the ceremony, and back. But let your guests get themselves to the reception venue for initial pickup, and home.

littlechilds · January 2012

Thanks for the help, very appreciated!

We are having a supper reception, and we are closing everything down 10pm-11pm.

Our site is Paradis Point.

I think maybe we will consider moving our ceremony to 4pm (if pastor is available). Its that or maybe moving the reception/cocktails from 5:45pm to 4ish? This way we save big on transportation and limo (both not needed for that 3 hr gap).

Again thanks...got the wheels turning

Help! Maui transportation

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