Do you want to say your vows on a Hawaiian sunset beach?
A lot of people dream about destination weddings. These types of weddings create great memories, yet take up more time and effort to prepare.
In this guide, we discuss planning destination weddings in Hawaii. We’ll also add tips on how to plan a great Hawaiian wedding. Keep reading to learn how to get married in Hawaii and what you need before you plan your dream wedding.
1. Research
If you want to plan your marriage ceremonies in Hawaii, you need to know enough about getting wed in the state. Google is your top and most useful tool here. Google can tell you everything from the beach wedding locations to wedding trends.
Getting married in Hawaii is ideal, and there are a lot of great beaches to hold a wedding. Keep researching on which island holds the perfect ambiance for you. Learning about the islands is a great starting point for your wedding research.
If you have a resort brand in mind, you can play the royalty card to get great offers. You only need to look at the websites of the various resorts to see if they have properties in Hawaii. If they do, they likely have offers on destination weddings.
If you can, research everything on Hawaiian weddings and culture.
Where do they draw the limits of crazy weddings in Hawaii? What cultural wedding practices or beliefs might clash with yours? How do you get a marriage license?
Because it’s a popular wedding destination, Hawaii is open to people from all backgrounds. You have to keep in mind that you also need to respect its culture if you want to visit the islands to get married.
2. Discuss Your Wedding Budget
While cheaper than traditional weddings, destination weddings can still be quite expensive. You must know where your financial limits are and how you can distribute it. The first step is to talk with your fiancé about how you want the wedding to go.
Discuss the details from the food to the dress, to the days you’ll stay for the ceremony. Don’t forget to listen to your partner’s wedding ideas. If you both disagree on something, make sure to discuss a middle ground before you proceed.
Once you have a good idea of the details of your wedding, talk about money. Who will pay for the wedding and how much can that person spend? Remember, it’s only proper wedding etiquette to make it clear who pays for what.
For example, talk about the bride’s side covering the cost of the reception and ceremony. Meanwhile, the groom’s family covers the rehearsal. Don’t forget to talk about how covers the expenses for grooming, meals, formal attire, and travel.
Talk about the estimated guest count. Since it’s a destination wedding, expect fewer guests to attend the ceremonies. Also, try to come up with a schedule for a three-day stay in Hawaii.
3. Start Planning Your Hawaiian Wedding
Once you have an idea of your budget, it’s time for one of the most stressful parts of the wedding. That is planning a wedding that’s thousands of miles away from home. Start planning with the resort where you’ll stay.
Most Hawaiian resorts have websites where they post wedding packages. You can also email them or call them to get more details about their offers. Some may even allow you to customize the wedding packages to your liking, but this is rare.
If you can afford it, hire a wedding planner for your Hawaiian wedding. The wedding planner can get you more personalized wedding plans. Getting one is ideal if you don’t see any wedding packages that fit your ideal Hawaii wedding.
Always be considerate to your guests since they’ll go out of their way to attend your wedding. When picking a hotel and resort, make sure it can fit your guest’s budgets as well. Offer other hotel options to your guests in case the hotel of your choice is too expensive for them.
The same applies when you’re scheduling your wedding. Remember that airline prices rise and fall by seasons. Note that in Hawaii, peak season begins in mid-December until March or mid-April.
This means the most expensive trips to Hawaii will be from that time. It’s better to plan a Hawaii wedding that doesn’t fall during Hawaii’s peak season. This way, you and your guests can get cheaper flights to and from the state.
4. What Are Your Priorities?
According to statistics, over 17,700 prenuptial weddings occurred in Hawaii from January 2019 to November 2019. Every Hawaiian wedding aimed to be unique. If you want the same, find out where your priorities are.
Is your ideal wedding set under a cloudless Hawaiian sunset? Remember that not all beaches face the west where the sun sinks into the sea. Are you fine with getting wed on a public beach where onlookers in bathing suits watch the ceremony?
No matter what, always ensure you have a back-up plan as well. If the weather turns sour during your visit, have an indoor venue ready. Better yet, avoid planning a wedding during hurricane season.
5. Pay a Visit to Hawaii First
Before you go to Hawaii for your wedding, you want to know the area first. Your wedding will be a big day and you don’t want to see the beautiful islands during such a busy time only. Also, it is better that you know a bit of the local culture to avoid making mistakes in wedding planning.
Go to Hawaii before the bulk of planning your wedding is underway. It’ll be a more relaxed time to look around the area and scout out venues. You can also visit various resorts and venues during your trip to use as a comparison for later.
Make Your Dream Wedding a Reality
Hawaii is a great place to visit for vacations and to get wed in. Because a lot of people share the Hawaiian wedding dream, it’s easier to plan a wedding there. Remember, it’s not too important to make it as unique as possible.
Your priority must still be on the memories you’ll make and everyone’s well-being.
That’s how to plan a wedding in Hawaii. Did you learn and enjoy reading this post on planning a Hawaiian wedding? If you want to see more content on great destinations and more, check out our other guides.
