August vs January wedding

h1jung · November 2011

I'm a complete newbie and need to decide between an August 2012 wedding and a January 2013 wedding. We'll probably have 60+ guest over at a private estate in South Maui/ Makena area. I want to do my best to keep travel cost down for our guest and flights are showing up as a lot cheaper in January vs August, but see there's more chance of rain in January.

Any thoughts on which time of year is better, would be much appreciated!

breaness · November 2011

Even though there's a higher chance of rain in january, you're looking at the south side where there's very little rain anyway. It doesn't make that much of a difference. That being said, we chose the "dry season" just to be safe. Makena is beautiful. You will love it. Aside from Hana, Makena is my favorite.

Tanq&Tonic · November 2011

Welcome & congrats!!

Flights to Hawaii definitely can be cheaper in January because most people don't travel then. The holidays are a popular time to Hawaii so January is often low season for airfare and resorts. However, the reason it's low is also because most people spent a lot of money and vacation time on the holidays, so travelling in January can also be difficult for many. We went with March, and well, that overlapped with Spring Break, so no matter what you do, you will run into some hiccups.

It also depends what you want from your wedding. If everything is hosted inside the private estate, rain shouldn't really affect you. If you are set on an outdoor wedding, you'll definitely need a tent as a backup plan (but I would encourage that regardless of January or August).

9 months is more than enough time to plan a wedding in Hawaii, and airfare fluctuates so much who knows what it will actually be when your guests are finally ready to book. We signed up with Alaska & Hawaiian airlines to offer a discount rate to our guests -- you could consider something similar to help give some additional discount.

AKWinterBride · November 2011

I would go for August, but I got married in July so I may be biased. Truth is, the summer there is amazing. There's not a lot of people on island, the weather is perfect, and you won't get the winter crowd. I know there are a lot of folks from up here and Canada who travel there in the winter just to get away from the cold - my parents were there last week actually and they said it's the most crowded they have ever seen Maui, as we usually travel in there in the summer.

Honestly, no matter what time of year you go to Maui it will be perfect, but I prefer less people so we go during the summer.

And, besides the long wait, I think it took me a total of 3 weeks to plan our wedding and it was perfect!

kaesha · November 2011

I'm a big summer fan too. We got married August 18th, which worked out really well because most hotels and flights are cheaper post August 15th (school is back in session then).

kimmykupcakes · November 2011

My vote is for August, too. I'm also a Maui summer bride. All the reasons listed above are the same I have for not selecting January. That being said, no matter when you decide to have you wedding, you will be happy having it on Maui.

rmontpas · November 2011

Hi,

I am from northern BC and I am getting married the first week of February (edited - sorry!). We are part of that group of people who are trying to escape the cold. We are eloping so we have no one to worry about except ourselves so you can't really go by us. That being said I am sure whenever you chose your wedding will be amazing. Good luck and congratulations!

jtoly · November 2011

Congrats! I'm a May bride so I guess I'm in between, but I'd pick August for above reasons and to celebrate your anniversaries in the summer!

moonbunnie · November 2011

I'm getting married in January, but on Oahu. We have stayed on Oahu in January for the past 3 years, and when it has rained, it has been short. Like, maybe it rains for 20 minutes and then there are rainbows! I'm not worried about the rain for my wedding, and we chose January for the reason metioned by some, that we are from northern Illinois/southern Wisconsin, and in January here it is 10 degrees with 2 feet of snow, while it is 80 and sunny in January in Hawaii

WinstonsGirl · November 2011

I'm for January as well, but coming from Canada, it's crazy cold here, and to get away to somewhere warm with no snow is an amazing break from winter. I do find August cheaper from here though, as it's also hot here, so beachy vacation spots aren't as popular. But I can't think January will be too bad with school in session. Out of school times seem to be when prices jump.

h1jung · November 2011

Thank you all so much for your postings/ advice! It's nice going into things knowing what to expect. I'm leaning towards August to play it a bit safer, although it seems you can't lose either way. Also I'm eager for this to happen and August will be less of a wait than January.

jennayo · November 2011

also from Wisconsin and getting married in Maui in January 2013. Also agree with short rains on maui, and being there in the past the showers are more like sprinkles. We also want to escape the cold, and financially all the guests will have to have the rooms, flights etc booked well before the holidays so it wont be as much of an issue as you'd expect.

We figure this way January anniversary gives us a good month for warm destination anniversary trips.

August vs January wedding

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