Hawaii

Anyone doing a destination wedding near Kona, Hawaii?

I am getting married November 2014, so I still have some time, but I am trying to figure out my options in the Kona area. My budget is $10,000 for day-of and we'll only have about 35 people there. I'm looking at the Four Seasons Hualalai. Is anyone planning a destination wedding near Kona -- and, if so, do you have suggestions for places that might work for my budget, especially considering it'll be a small guest list?

Re: Anyone doing a destination wedding near Kona, Hawaii?

  • There are a few of us getting married in Kona. Our wedding is July 10, 2013 at the Royal Kona Resort. Im looking at about $10k for about 30 guests, including limited flowers, dinner and open bar, but no DJ. Factor in photography, and the cost goes up to about $12-13k. We picked the RKR because it was within our "budget" but I had originally planned on spending much less. Oh Reality!
  • UndertheEiffel we are planning our wedding as well in royal kona, its a destination wedding...did you get their wedding package?..where is your reception? Pls give me an idea...thanks
  • In Response to <a href="http://forums.theknot.com/Sites/theknot/Pages/Main.aspx/local-wedding-boards_hawaii_anyone-doing-a-destination-wedding-near-kona-hawaii?plckFindPostKey=Cat:Local%20Wedding%20BoardsForum:73Discussion:44345bdc-2f08-4573-ac7a-39a103e23e03Post:ae28840f-b227-47e6-b3fc-2dff7e8d7320">Re:Anyone doing a destination wedding near Kona, Hawaii?</a>:
    [QUOTE]UndertheEiffel we are planning our wedding as well in royal kona, its a destination wedding...did you get their wedding package?..where is your reception? Pls give me an idea...thanks
    Posted by Azagian[/QUOTE]

    We bought their Hibiscus Package, I think. We are having the ceremoy at Nohea Point, and our reception at Sunset Cove on the sand. Im in the process right now of planning all of the details. When is your date?
    ~Tiffany
  • Hi Tiffany, We dont have specific date yet but we are thinking about 2nd week of february 2014. are you guys doing a buffet or by plate. Is it more economical if we go by their ceremony and reception package?are you staying at RKR or you are staying in another hotel? Im sorry for so much questions. I am still in the process of conceptualizing our wedding.
  • In Response to <a href="http://forums.theknot.com/Sites/theknot/Pages/Main.aspx/local-wedding-boards_hawaii_anyone-doing-a-destination-wedding-near-kona-hawaii?plckFindPostKey=Cat:Local%20Wedding%20BoardsForum:73Discussion:44345bdc-2f08-4573-ac7a-39a103e23e03Post:a263397e-864a-4929-92ba-d3d7e8925205">Re:Anyone doing a destination wedding near Kona, Hawaii?</a>:
    [QUOTE]Hi Tiffany, We dont have specific date yet but we are thinking about 2nd week of february 2014. are you guys doing a buffet or by plate. Is it more economical if we go by their ceremony and reception package?are you staying at RKR or you are staying in another hotel? Im sorry for so much questions. I am still in the process of conceptualizing our wedding.
    Posted by Azagian[/QUOTE]

    We are staying at a condo nearby, but I did ask about a group rate discount for the hotel and they dont do that sort of thing. boo.
    We are doing the cymbidium plated dinner, we didnt want a buffet. Keep in mind you can change your mind up to about 30 days before, when you sign the contract. In our experience, we invited about 45 people, and really only about 20 are coming. (Turns out not everyone is as adventurous and loves traveling as much as we do!) But this is good cause we were able to upgrade a few things because we are having less guests.

    It seems to be more economical to buy at least the ceremony package. We didnt look at the other packages too much cause we were staying elsewhere.

    Keep in mind you will be spending extra money on alcohol, on flowers, and on any extras like a DJ, or hula, or guitarist. Dont forget to look at the whole picture.
  • edited March 2013
    I really do appreciate your quick reply Tiffany..its a stress reliever on my part everytime you are giving me ideas. We havent been to big island, and obviously i havent seen the RKR yet. Pls be patient with me cause for sure i will ask you more. Thank you soooo much..have you been to RKR?..
  • In Response to <a href="http://forums.theknot.com/Sites/theknot/Pages/Main.aspx/local-wedding-boards_hawaii_anyone-doing-a-destination-wedding-near-kona-hawaii?plckFindPostKey=Cat:Local%20Wedding%20BoardsForum:73Discussion:44345bdc-2f08-4573-ac7a-39a103e23e03Post:e7e3c5e1-c9d5-4189-9b28-c2b64cc6a1ac">Re:Anyone doing a destination wedding near Kona, Hawaii?</a>:
    [QUOTE]I really do appreciate your quick reply Tiffany..its a stress reliever on my part everytime you are giving me ideas. We havent been to big island, and obviously i havent seen the RKR yet. Pls be patient with me cause for sure i will ask you more. Thank you soooo much..have you been to RKR?..
    Posted by Azagian[/QUOTE]

    No, I have not been there yet... I have however, been stalking the internet for photos. If you have facebook, check out EmotionGalleries. She does a lot of photography there, so they have some good shots to give you an idea of the property.
  • I will surely check that out on fb..thank you so much tiffany;
  • Hi Tiffany, Since you are doing the plated dinner, is there any extra fee for tables,chairs,linens, center pieces?
  • yes. if you have your reception there the fee is $375 for set up and clean up of everything. there are extra fees if you want sashes ($3 each i think) and extra fees for centerpieces (seem to be $60-100, depending on what you want).

    You should contact their wedding coordination department and start shooting them your questions... along with photos of things you like. They are really helpful.
  • In Response to Re: Anyone doing a destination wedding near Kona, Hawaii?:
    [QUOTE]yes. if you have your reception there the fee is $375 for set up and clean up of everything. there are extra fees if you want sashes ($3 each i think) and extra fees for centerpieces (seem to be $60-100, depending on what you want). You should contact their wedding coordination department and start shooting them your questions... along with photos of things you like. They are really helpful.
    Posted by UnderTheEiffel[/QUOTE]

    Thanks everyone for the information. We are pretty set about having our wedding near Kona at this point. Right now we are planning to rent out some houses (or even one small condo complex if we can find one with just 15-20 rooms). And then just have the reception on the beach and piecemail together the food, music, drinks, etc. Anyone have a great experience with a local wedding planner who doesn't charge a fortune?  
  • I am doing a destination wedding this August in Kona and we are getting married at the Ohana Retreat at the Kona Plantation.  It's perfect for a group your size and has two 8 bedroom houses.  Definataely check it out!  Also check out Karen Loudin if you need a photographer. 
  • Hey all,

    I thought I would update this thread in case anyone in the future stumbles upon it. I ended up deciding on the Mauna Lani for a number of reasons. Working with them, I've been able to figure out how to do the reception for $3,000-$4,000, which will leave us with $6,000 for air fare, hotel, etc. to honeymoon around Hawaii for a few weeks after the wedding. 

    The coordinators are extremely helpful and flexible, so they've been willing to work with me and my small budget. Other places had too many requirements, but Mauna Lani has been easy to meet my criteria instead of their own. We're going to do a super simple ceremony and then have a party on the beach with dinner, open bar (incl. mai tais), and music and dancing into the night. They have a beautiful pool-side spot for our reception that I just love (simple white tables and chairs and then white lanterns -- I'll incorporate some simple flowers and decor, but since it's right on the beach I think the simple white setting is elegant and I won't have to add much).

    They also have a reasonable room rate for our guests, which was important to me, and it's nice grounds, rooms, location, beach -- everything we need. Plus, they have townhomes on the resort, so those who will be traveling as a family can do a townhome instead of a hotel room if they want the kitchen and space.

    -Jasmine
  • I'm getting married on a beach in Kona on December 21st.  I hired a wedding planner, Vintage & Lace, initially to help with day of coordination, but I'll just work with her for the whole thing now.  Less headache for me.  I checked out  *in person" the Royal Kona, Marriott and Hilton, but having it at a resort just wasn't our style, so that's why I went with an independent planner.  Me and FI knew we wanted to have our ceremony on a beach, but then for our dinner, we're having it at a gorgeous restaurant in the heart of Kona Coffee country.  The restaurant is amazing and quaint and will also be my backup location in the event of rain.

    I think the Royal Kona Resort really is a nice property and they are super flexible.  It's also a great bang for your buck.
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