Hawaii

Reasonable budget for Maui wedding for approx 100 guests?

Aloha!

I am new to this board AND to wedding planning and am feeling a bit overwhelmed about where to start.  My fiance and I are planning on having our wedding on Maui next fall and are really interested in a location that is right on the beach but is private (something like Olowalu or Sugarman Estate).  We are planning to have approximately 100 guests.  We want to have a wedding coordinator but haven't been able to decide on one yet.  Does anyone have any ideas about what a reasonable budget would be for a nice, catered wedding for approx 100 guests on Maui?  Also, any recommendations as to location, wedding planner, and/or caterer?  Any other tips? 

Thanks so much!!

Re: Reasonable budget for Maui wedding for approx 100 guests?

  • So we are in the same boat. I don't want a beach wedding or to get married at a resort. We were looking into getting the Kaanapali coffee estate but my budget is somewhere in the 10k region and we probably can't do it without going way over. I have been doing some research and I've estimated it to be 15-20k. I hope this helps a little for you :)
  • I LOVE my wedding planner. I'm using Kara from Your Aloha Wedding and she's fantastic. She'll be able to help you figure out what you can afford and a budget  based on your wants and guest estimates. 
  • Private estate weddings get very expensive.  You have to rent the venue, and then pay for everything like chairs, tents, tables, linens, decor, etc.  The venues are $3-5k.  Chairs are about $7 each ($14 if you get chiavari), tents are about $1k -- you might need 2 with 100 people.  I didn't see caterers for much less than $50/pp (and that was not good food).  Hotel banquets generally come out financially attractive since everything is always included.

    It depends on your definition of "nice", but with 100 people, I think $15-20k will be reasonable but not lavish by any means.  It also depends if you count your dress, rings, hair/makeup, flights, etc in your budget, or just the day of events.  You could easly spend $40-60k if you have 'higher end' expectations.
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  • I'll have my wedding at Olowalu. I'll probably have 40 guests. I'm trying my best to save the money for decorations, but the cost for just the day (NOT including attire, any transportation, etc.) will be definitely more than $17k. 

    re: hotel, one of the reasons that I didn't want to do it in a hotel was because a few of heavy drinking guests could easily make me going into bankruptcy. (I don't think it's nice to ask the guests to pay for their own drinks...)  

  • I agree that private venues can get expensive.  I am having my wedding at Olowalu, for 50 guests, and my budget is $15K, but right now I am probably spending a little bit more than that.  This does not include dress, rings, lodging, travel, and my decorations/decor is very simple and limited (but that is ok because Maui is beautiful as it is!)  I am using Sandra Wagner of A Maui Wedding Day, you can check out her site, she has a lot of different options for private venues that aren't generally talked about on this site.  Also, try talking to a few coordinators.  It might help lead you in the right direction, and all the ones I talked to before I chose mine were super nice. 

    Maybe you can describe more what you consider a "nice" wedding and we can help you determine the approximate price a little better.
  • We just booked Merriman's Restaurant Kapalua for our wedding in May.  They have a beautiful deck for the ceremony.  I also did not want to get married on the beach or at a hotel either, but I wanted to be near the water.  We are planning for 70 guests and my budget is 15k.  This only for the venue, food/beverage, photographer, music, & flowers.
  • I just had my wedding at Olowalu with 68 guests. I had the chiavari chairs, dining canopies and extra entertainment of dancers and other stuff. My wedding cost about 37k. This also included shuttles and fantastic food and photography. My wedding planner was Lori Lawrence from tropical Maui weddings. She helped me stay on budget of 20k. And then I started added extras, and that's how my budget exploded. Really, I could have had a beautiful wedding for the 68 people for 20k, but then I went overboard. PM me if you have specific questions.
  • edited September 2012
    I've got Merriman's as well in 4 days. 26 people total and guessing total including a brewery tour and bbq, 16 to 17k. I did a lot but I also did a lot of extras including a candy buffet and OOT sand buckets. This doesn't include airfare. I work for an airline and about 85 do as well. I thought initially 10k would work...Not.
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