Help planning a small, intimate wedding in Hawaii

[anitract]

My beautiful fiancé and I are planning on getting married in Feb.''07 somewhere in Hawaii. We are not sneaking off to do this (elope); however, it will be just the two of us.

We''ve just started the planning stage and are feeling slightly overwhelmed. Basically, we''d like some friendly advice from those of you who have been to Hawaii (or better yet gotten married there). Any ideas/suggestions/recommendations for the following areas would be most appreciated:

1. Location. Kauai looks like the most romantic, as it seems to be more secluded, but we''re open to other suggestions.
2. Local wedding planner / agency. There are so many to choose from. Who''s highly recommended?
3. Honeymoon resort / get-away. We most-likely want to stay on the island we get married at. A private beach cove, hot tub, or pool would be a great touch.

That said, we can picture the ceremony itself being very intimate, yet simple - perhaps on the beach or near a waterfall.

We would love to hear any advice or comments. Thanks!

Jason

 

[njc]

Congratulations on you rengagement Anitract! I believe there are several posters on here that have gotten married in Hawaii, Mara is one that comes to mind. If you do a quick search of Hawaii, several threads come up that may be useful to you if no one else jumps in here to respond.

We honeymooned in Hawaii and Kauai is beautiful... we stayed on the south shore, which was nice, but I think you should look into the North Shore. There are several NICE resorts up there and some of the best/coolest beaches. Check out "Hawaii Revealed: The Ultimate Guide book"... they were great! There is one for each island and gave us lots of tips on where to stay and what to see.

HTH!

 

[anitract]

Hey njc, thanks for replying! I was actually looking into Hanalei Colony Resort (http://www.hcr.com/), which is located on the North Shore. It looks like they can provide wedding services and the rooms look pretty nice. Ever heard of them?

Oh, what resort/lodging did you stay at? And did you like it?

-Jason

 

[njc]

We stayed at the Sheraton at Pui’pu Beach. It was nice, but lots of people which just wasnt what we wanted on our honeymoon. We were able to stay at some REALLY nice hotels on Maui and Hawaii, so we may have just been a little spoiled. Lots of families and a huge tour group of Senior Citizens. Nothing really special.

Be sure to let everyone know its your wedding/honeymoon… we got champagne at each hotel upon arrival and even got breakfast everyone morning for free at one hotel!

WOW! Hanalei Resort looks FAN-TAS-TIC! Princeville is another place you may like to look into. I was just so much more impressed with the North Shore vs. the South. Less touristy and more natural Hawaii.

Here is a picture of Hanalei Bay...

And near the Queen''s Bath in Princeville...

And you DEFINATELY need to hike Waimea Canyon... it was by far one of the coolest things we did. It took about 3-4 hours, but wow... the views were just incredible!!!

 

[anitract]

Those are some great shots! Looks like you had a great time. My fiance and I were talking over things last night and are getting so excited. I thought 7 months would be a short engagement, but...we can hardly wait!

Does Mara still post here? I can''t seem to figure out how to PM her! Is the PM button disabled until you get a certain number of posts?

Anyway, as far as honeymoon location goes, here is what we are considering as of right now:

Waimea Plantation Cottages - http://waimea-plantation.com/
This is on the West part of the island, which Mara had tons of positive things to say about. The cottages look pretty nice and seem to be priced fairly. We will definitely consider them.

Hanalei Colony Resort - http://www.hcr.com/
This one might be a little nicer than the Waimea, but that''s hard to say based on just pictures. It also seems to be very private and they have some great places for a ceremony.

Outrigger Kiahuna Plantation - http://www.outrigger.com/hotels_detail.aspx?hotel=22
This one seems fairly nice. No A/C...but people say that''s not a problem since nights provide a nice breeze. Actually is no A/C a common thing?

Now, on a different note, I know that Kauai is known for its lush and beautiful gardens, but I am curious about other non-nature activities. Are there many interesting "tourist towns"? You know, unique stores to shop at and whatnot? Also, what about places to eat? My fiance and I are trying to determine how much time to spend at this island of 59,000 people vs. the Big Island. We are not party people by any means, but it''s nice to have a small variety of things to do.

 

[njc]

Mara does still post here, but I dont know that she frequents this section much. I know she has provided lost of info on her Hawaiian wedding in other threads. There is no PM on here any more, so if you really want to talk to her I suggest going to another section (maybe diamond hangout) and ask for her by the thread name.

There are several little towns/villages in Kuaui most only a few blocks long. Kuaui really is all about the nature and there are several golf courses. The largest shopping area I saw was Kapaa (?) between Lihue and Princeville. Kona is nice on the big island as well as Lahina in Maui. Honolulu is the only city city.

Hope I have been of some help.

 

[sk8rjen]

I don''t want to hijack the thread, but would like some of the same info!! Only difference is that we are planning an April wedding and are looking at Maui instead. Thanks in advance for sharing your info! Anitract, I''d love to hear about your plans! Sounds like we have a similar thing in mind....
jen