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Hawaii

Maui Thanksgiving Weekend 2011Wedding!

Hello,
Reading through past posts, I am extremely late in joining the board! I have been a super low key wedding planner, and now that the big day is so close, I have a couple of questions that I am hoping someone out there has input on.

I am getting married over Thanksgiving weekend in Maui. I didn't hire a coordinator since it will be just our families (15 people total). My fiance's brother is marrying us, he just got his Minister title through the Universal Life Church and got a ONE WEDDING license from the state of Hawaii to marry us. We are going to get married on the beach (probably Kapalua Beach, but are open to suggestions. Would like to keep it on the west side). Through research we figured out that we don't need a permit since all we are paying for is the photographer. We have a letter from the state saying we don't need a permit in case we get stopped. Does anyone know if there is a way to check for other weddings happening at the same day/time/beach we are? Since we are skipping the permitting system, this is the only downside I can think of.

I scheduled an appointment with a marriage license agent in Lahaina for the first monday that we are on the island. My biggest question is this - how does our Minister file our paperwork? In person? Can he mail it? He obviously has never done this before, so I just want to make sure that we don't have any hiccups. I read through all of the paperwork that he ws provided and it isn't exactly clear.

Has anyone else done this before? Any and all advice/insights are greatly appreciated!

Thanks, Emily

Re: Maui Thanksgiving Weekend 2011Wedding!

  • AKWinterBrideAKWinterBride member
    Knottie Warrior 1000 Comments Combo Breaker
    edited December 2011
    Our minister took our wedding license and mailed it in with the pre-addressed envelope that came with the license.  When you get the license, you all just have to sign it along with your witnesses, and the minister, and then you just mail it in.  Since your friend is your minister I would also suggest making a photocopy of it before you submit it.  Some places will let you change your name with just a copy so you can get started with that whole process a little earlier. 

    Good luck!
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  • dianalynmdianalynm member
    500 Comments Second Anniversary
    edited December 2011
    Congrats!! Less than a month to go! :)

    I can't answer the questions about filing your marriage license, but I'm sure somebody on the board will have some insight!
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  • edited December 2011
    We handed our offiicant the marriage certificate earlier in the week.  The night of our wedding, our officiant pulled us aside, has us sign the doc, and she mailed it off.  She's my best friend who got approved for a one-day license as well.

    As for knowing which other weddings are taking place -- we haven't heard of any central repository or anything that captures these.  You just have to take your chances and be a little flexible if there's a crowd!  Most ceremonies are short anyway, and there's no shortage of beaches :)
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  • tiggy5555tiggy5555 member
    Tenth Anniversary 100 Comments
    edited December 2011
    I can only really address the issue of how many weddings...

    We were at Kapalua on a Friday and Sat. Friday there were 8 sunset weddings on the beach and 1 wedding on the actual walking path. Sat. there were 4 sunset weddings and two were a bit large...over 20 people. Each night there were also at least 2-3 vow renewals with just the couple and a minister....then there were a few couples like us taking engagement photos. Sunset there is popular, I'm not sure what time you are planning for. Also the popular spots for photos (like near the lava rocks) tend to get busy and there was a "line" to have photos in those areas.

    It's not a huge beach but its beautiful! I have tons of pics. I personally found it a bit too crowded for a wedding BUT for engagement photos it didn't bother me... Another thing is like every few minutes you would hear a conch shell blowing to signal the begining or end of a ceremony. It was a bit distracting and if you had video it would be picked up by the mic.

    Bottom line: It could be crazy crowded or you could get really lucky and have a little corner to yourself. If you don't mind other people close to you then you should have no problem. Just be mentally prepared for lots of holiday vacationers and if the beach ends up empty then woooohoooo for you :)

    Congrats and the upcoming wedding!!!!!
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  • edited December 2011
    WOW - all of you are so incredibly helpful! Thank you! We are going to get married at 3pm so that we can all head to the Old Lahaina Luau afterwards for our reception. We might beat the sunset crowds due to our timeframe...? 

    Thanks again! If I have any other questions, this will be my first stop! 
  • FSForeverFSForever member
    500 Comments
    edited December 2011
    Welcome and Congrats!  Please stop back by and post reviews pics
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