Maui Destination Wedding Help, Please!

[Harleigh]

Hi Everyone,

I have so many things to ask advice on that I no longer know where to begin, so I thought I''d throw out my first few and see if you had any help or advice to send my way!

We are planning a destination wedding in Maui next July, probably during the last 2 weeks to avoid all of the 4th of July holiday travelers. We are limited in our time frame as I go back to work the first week of August...not sure why school is starting a week earlier than this year, but there you have it! We do not care what day of the week we get married, but we plan to go about 3-4 days early to take care of the license, last-minute details, etc... We will then spend about 2 days after with guests who came to Maui to celebrate with us, then leave on a cruise of the islands for about a week.

Has anyone else done a destination wedding in Maui? I know I am going to need to find a planner there to get everything organized, but there is so much information and so many to choose from online that I am at a loss.

I am also uncertain as to how to notify people of our intent to go to Hawaii (which we are aware that many will not be able to attend for logistical and/or monetary issues) as well as have a reception about 3 weeks after we return home, which will be held in my FI''s hometown about an hour and a half away from where most of our friends are, but we have a hall there that we will have free for the entire day, so that''s just too good of a price to pass up, IMO!!!

I would love hearing about your Destination Wedding and how you got everything organized, whether it was in Hawaii or not, as well as help with wording a Save the Date to indicate that there is also the option of the separate reception when we come home.

Thank you in advance for any and all advice you have! YOU ARE ALL THE BEST!!!

 

[firebirdgold]

We got married this March in Hawaii and it was AMAZING!!

To make life easier we decided to get married at a resort with a wedding coordinator. Our final two choices were Kona Village on the Big Island and Hotel Hana-Maui on Maui. We picked Kona Village and it was just so amazingly easy as they had a wedding license person on site and lots of experience planning weddings. The day before our wedding we stopped at the front office covered in sand and dripping from snorkeling and filled out our license! The planner took care of everything, and with the all-inclusive packages all we had to do was pick the colors of our flowers.

Hotel Hana-Maui is pretty remote, so it might not be your cup of tea. (we were looking for something unplugged so work couldn't reach him). What I'd suggest is to look on Trip advisor for the most recommended resorts and check out their wedding packages.

I also strongly recommend the book "The Best of Hawai'i Wedding Book: A Guide to Maui, Lanai, and Kauai - Top Locations, Services, and Resources for Your Destination Wedding". A really great book (for those not getting married on the Big Island!)

Oh, and we decided that inviting flocks of friends and family was just too stressful, so it was just our parents, siblings, and siblings-in-law. However my sister got married in Italy and issued a general invitation (had about 20 people), plus she had a large party afterwards in D.C that everyone attended. Having a very small DW and then a large party afterwards is very standard for long distance DW's.


Good LUCK!

ETA: I'm very grateful that we had such a low stress wedding as I was seriously freaked out by the time I walked out on the sand in my wedding dress. The whole ceremony is a total blur and I'm told we had a very good guitarist.

If I had had a normal wedding I would have totally lost it. I have great respect for women who do the whole shebang including bm's and stuff, but I just don't know how they manage!

 

[Harleigh]

Thank you, thank you Indie!

Your advice is very valuable and I so appreciate you sharing your experience with me!

May I ask, did you go to Hawaii beforehand to scout things out, or did you just go by word of mouth, referrals, etc...

Congratulations on your recent nuptials!

 

[firebirdgold]

We''d never been to Hawaii before. I just did some exhaustive research last summer! We picked the big island because it is quieter and has a greater diversity of ecosystems and things to do. After all, we figured it would probably be the only time we''d go and we wanted to see lava at least once in our lives, not to mention a rain-forest, and tropical fish!
Of course, that was a pretty silly attitude. Apparently once you go to Hawaii, you''ve lost your heart forever so I anticipate near-yearly visits.

As soon as we got home DH started looking for job opportunities there.

Thank you

and congratulations on your upcoming nuptials!

 

[fleur-de-lis]

Hi Harleigh-- I think Indie Jones gave excellent advice about going through a resort; from what I have heard from my friends who have been married there, it was by far the solution with the least hassle.

I just came back from a trip to Kauai, and while in the airport there I was suprised to see how many Hawaii-specific wedding magazines were stocked in the airport newsstand-- and they were filled with ads for wedding planners/services! Perhaps you could scout out some magazines at an international newsstand by you or online? Some of the titles I recalled seeing were Pacific Weddings, Hawaiian Bride, and Hawaiian Weddings.

Oh, and for the issue of letting people know about DW and local reception-- have you thought about setting up a website with the info on it?

 

[Harleigh]

Thanks again, Indie...would you mind sharing what company you went through? I believe many of them have services on all of the islands and am trying to narrow down my search a bit.

Hi fleur! Thanks for your help, too! I don''t know where I might find those magazines around here, but I will definitely check for them online.

I also plan to create a website, but I feel the need to let our guests know they have options, meaning Hawaii or a reception nearby at a later date, which they might not be aware of if we don''t include it in the initial Save the Date.

Thanks you, ladies!!!

 

[sk8rjen]

I just got married on Maui in April and used "merrymauiweddings.com" I worked with Vincent and his wife, who run it together, and had say in everything, including where we had the ceremony (we finalized which beach we were on the day before the ceremony --- they're all public beaches there, but some are more private than others, or more convenient, less windy -- you name it. We got married on a rather busy beach at my mom's resort but except for a few stragglers, most people were off the beach by 5. The rest were really respectful, even though they can be seen in some of the pics. There are many private bluffs and such that would nicely accomodate guests and still overlook the ocean (there was one above us at this place, actually). Anyway, Vincent gave us a list of good beaches to use and directions, was always available to answer questions and never made us wait.

He also let us pick a minister we wanted to use (we ended up choosing Kenneth Ho'Opai --- he was SOOOOO happy and smiley and did a beautiful Hawaiian ceremony plus sang for us and played the ukelele. South Maui is less windy than North/West, BTW. We stayed in Kihei and were able to easily get to everything from there. Got married 8 minutes south at Makena Beach at the Maui Prince (just a teensy bit south of Wailea)

I spent so much time going through all of the companies and am so pleased with who we used. Once I talked to Vincent on the phone, I knew we'd use them. He also was helpful in telling us which places were great to stay (location, pricewise, etc...plus they can book it for you if you want). Here's a link (I hope I can do it right) to my wedding pics..

https://www.pricescope.com/community/threads/were-back-hawaiin-wedding-pics.60983/

(or I guess you can just copy and paste this since apparently I have no clue how to make it a link -- thought I did!!)

Good luck with your planning --- you'll absolutely LOVE it!

Re: guests, we had a reception when we got back, too, and only my mom was at the ceremony in Hawaii. Sorry I can't be of any help there! If you have any more questions, wedding related or not, I'll be more than happy to answer -- I loved it and want to go back!!

 

[Harleigh]

Hi Jen,

Thanks so much for sharing! Merrymauiweddings was actually one I had bookmarked to look into further. I love your pictures...they are just gorgeous!

I suppose one of my major problems is that many of the packages available are for up to 15 people...we may have anywhere from 20-40 people, just depending upon who is willing to make the trek! I may just call the places in Hawaii and see who 1) can accommodate that size of group, and 2) hopefully find a resort that is nearby to wherever we decide to get married. I guess I really need to find an "all-inclusive" kind of package that may be able to incorporate guests, a wedding, activities, etc...

I am sure I will have more questions for those of you who have offered advice...I have to go out of town for a bbq today and then get to hit my first Bridal Expo tomorrow, so maybe I will learn some better questions to ask after I get some ideas.

Thank you again!

 

[Harleigh]

Hi MARA and ASSCHER GIRL...

If you''re reading this, I would appreciate any advice you have from your Hawaiian wedding experiences!

THANK YOU!!!

 

[asscher_girl]

Hi Harleigh,

I think Mara''s out of town but I''ll give you the info I have.

We pretty much knew we were getting married on Maui before we even got engaged. My parents have had a time share there for 30 years and it''s always been a big part of our lives. And luckily my FI loved the idea. I def. think his parents were a little shocked however. A lot of the recent weddings on his side have been huge and we aren''t having that, so it took some time to get use to.

We are getting married on the grounds of my parents timeshare property (its a condo complex in Kihei). Then we are having our reception at a restaurant 2 buildings over (we will be walking there).

We did end up going w/ a wedding planner. It actually wasn''t going to cost us much more and she was going to organize everything. Her fees were very reasonable for flowers and decor. We went over there this past April to meet her and discuss details. And she brought over the cake tasting for us. We didn''t go to a bakery to do that.

The photographer she uses - and I had already checked him out and really liked his work, is George Wolf.

W/ the wedding planner we had to do the "a la carte" option since I didn''t like her already put together packages. But that was fine w/ us.
Her name is Leah Robb and you can find her info at www.islandweddingmemories.com

And she already sent us a package w/ all of the contracts, pricing, and documents we need (like marriage license info). She makes an appointment for us when we get on island to actually get the lic.

She also coordinates the Wedding Officient too.

We are overall happy with her, I wish she got back to us quicker than she has on emails, but other than that, she''s great.

Oh and we are having 40 people at our wedding.

If you have a really small DW then you may want to have your reception at a restaurant. Ours was big enough to do a catered event on site but our property has this "quiet time" rule at 9pm so we thought that might be a problem. I''m sure during that week we are going to break that rule a couple of times, LOL.

We also are getting married on a Tuesday but we are arriving on the Sat before and staying at that place (where all the fam will be as well) till the folllowing Sat. We will then leave for our honeymoon. We haven''t made those plans yet but we are probably going over to Kauai. We wanted to stay for the week w/ the wedding because that is the main reason we are having a DW - to spend time w/ the people that are really important in our lives.

Oh and how to tell people.... well.... LOL..... that was fun. I think a lot of people were shocked that they weren''t invited, but it''s up to us right? We sent out invites VERY early. We wanted people to have plenty of time to save. Since all but 3 people are coming from the East coast or Midwest (and 2 from abroad) that can get very expensive. We sent them out about 15 months prior and had the rsvp date for 12 months prior. This also helped to answer anyone''s question, "Am I invited?"

We will also send out Engagement announcements stating that we are having a private ceremony on such and such a date in HI. Those will be sent to the people who weren''t invited.

Overall though, it hasn''t been too big of a deal. I think everyone now understands that we wanted an intimate ceremony.

I hope I answered some of your questions, it''s still really early here and I''m sure my spelling isn''t perfect this morning.

If you have any other questions, feel free to ask. Happy Planning!!!

 

[Harleigh]

Hi asscher girl,

Thank you so much for the info! I will definitely look into some of the people you are using. You are SO fortunate to be able to use your parent''s timeshare! That is just awesome!

How soon are you getting married and are you doing a reception/celebration when you return to CA?

We were wondering if there would be any problem getting married midweek, so that''s good to know you chose a Tuesday. We are also planning to go a few days early to finalize plans, then stay about 3 days after with our friends and family. After that, we plan to take a 7-day cruise around the islands for our honeymoon. It will be a very quick turnaround time as I start teaching a week earlier next year, so we really need to get this planning underway soon!

Thanks again for responding...I have been searching through thread after thread and thought it might just be easier to try to talk with you and Mara. I appreciate your help!

 

[asscher_girl]

Hi Harleigh,

No problem, anytime

We are getting married next April.

We are not having a recep in CA as we don''t know too many people here. I have some fam in southern CA but not my close family. We just moved to CA in January from the East coast. A lot of my fam from the Boston area are coming to HI however. My Fi''s fam mainly lives in the midwest so his parents want to throw us a recep party there (Ohio) . We will probably do that in Aug or Sept next year. It will probably just be something simple. I am not planning that, it''s all up to them

We aren''t really worried about having a mid week wedding. We figured people would fly out on Sat and stay till Sat. If we had the wedding on a Saturday then people would have to take off part of one week and part of the following week off. I think it makes it easier. And when your on island time it really doesn''t matter what day you get married on

Our recep is going to be pretty low key. No dancing really. The restaurant will have music playing in the background so if we have enough to drink we may dance, who knows. But the recep will probably only last 3 hrs max so after we may all go out to one of the hotels in Waliea and hit on of the lounges or something, and I''m not changing my dress either if we go. I think it would be fun to show up at a lounge in my wedding dress, LOL.

Let me know if you have any other questions. I think it is going to be an awesome experience to get married on Maui. I can''t wait!

 

[Kissmark]

Hi I think on the knot there is a Hawaii board, and probably you can get a lot of good advices from there. I agree with the previous post about doing it at a resort though. It''ll save you a lot of headache.

 

[Harleigh]

Date: 8/6/2007 9:40:01 PM
Author: asscher_girl
Hi Harleigh,

No problem, anytime

We are getting married next April.

We are not having a recep in CA as we don''t know too many people here. I have some fam in southern CA but not my close family. We just moved to CA in January from the East coast. A lot of my fam from the Boston area are coming to HI however. My Fi''s fam mainly lives in the midwest so his parents want to throw us a recep party there (Ohio) . We will probably do that in Aug or Sept next year. It will probably just be something simple. I am not planning that, it''s all up to them

We aren''t really worried about having a mid week wedding. We figured people would fly out on Sat and stay till Sat. If we had the wedding on a Saturday then people would have to take off part of one week and part of the following week off. I think it makes it easier. And when your on island time it really doesn''t matter what day you get married on

Our recep is going to be pretty low key. No dancing really. The restaurant will have music playing in the background so if we have enough to drink we may dance, who knows. But the recep will probably only last 3 hrs max so after we may all go out to one of the hotels in Waliea and hit on of the lounges or something, and I''m not changing my dress either if we go. I think it would be fun to show up at a lounge in my wedding dress, LOL.

Let me know if you have any other questions. I think it is going to be an awesome experience to get married on Maui. I can''t wait!

Thanks again, asscher girl...you will be a huge asset, I think. I ran into a gal who will be teaching in the classroom next to me this next school year, and it turns out she & her B/F are planning their wedding on Maui next July, as well! It''s funny as her B/F used to be a firefighter with my FI''s fire dept., and they know one another, so maybe we could have double-duty guests...lol!! Apparently, even though they are not yet engaged, they have at least 50-80 people planning to attend, which to me is just CRAZY!!! I mentioned that we best not plan on the same resort as there may not be enough room for all of us in one place! Told my FI how many people they were going to have and he said, "Well, I think we may be up to about 50 or so, too!" I was like, ARE YOU KIDDING ME??? Arghh...so much for a small, intimate affair, huh?

I will get back to you as questions arise, so thank you in advance for putting up with me!

 

[Harleigh]

Date: 8/6/2007 10:03:28 PM
Author: Kissmark
Hi I think on the knot there is a Hawaii board, and probably you can get a lot of good advices from there. I agree with the previous post about doing it at a resort though. It''ll save you a lot of headache.

Thank you, Kissmark! I have checked some of those boards out and haven''t had much luck, but I will definitely keep researching!

 

[BigDiamonds]

My boss got married in Maui a few years ago, and his wife raves about it. I think they did a package deal with the Ritz. Probably not the cheapest, but she said it couldn''t have been easier. We have looked into packages for our wedding, and even though most of them say that they provide food/bev for up to X number of people, you can usually add additional people for a relatively low price per head.

But my real addition here is the communication issue. A friend is getting married locally, but most of her and her FI''s friends/family live across the country. It''s basically a destination wedding for everyone but them. They sent standard Save the Date magnets, but they also included an informal letter with all the relevant details in it, including airport info, where to stay, travel times, etc. This would be a great way to inform people of travel options, as well as the reception if they are unable to attend. We found it incredibly useful, and we actually live here!

Good luck with everything! Sounds like it''s going to be great!

 

[Harleigh]

Date: 8/7/2007 12:42:05 AM
Author: BigDiamonds
My boss got married in Maui a few years ago, and his wife raves about it. I think they did a package deal with the Ritz. Probably not the cheapest, but she said it couldn''t have been easier. We have looked into packages for our wedding, and even though most of them say that they provide food/bev for up to X number of people, you can usually add additional people for a relatively low price per head.

But my real addition here is the communication issue. A friend is getting married locally, but most of her and her FI''s friends/family live across the country. It''s basically a destination wedding for everyone but them. They sent standard Save the Date magnets, but they also included an informal letter with all the relevant details in it, including airport info, where to stay, travel times, etc. This would be a great way to inform people of travel options, as well as the reception if they are unable to attend. We found it incredibly useful, and we actually live here!

Good luck with everything! Sounds like it''s going to be great!

Thank you, BigDiamonds!

My FI actually got the number of someone who got married on Maui last year, so I am definitely hoping to get some plans in action one day soon! I''ll keep you posted on my plans, and thank you so very much for the well wishes!

 

[Mara]

hi Harleigh, i was out of town when you posted...and i do have some old posts that had a lot of information about our wedding which i'm not sure if you found yet...but here is kind of the 'jist'...!

we decided to get married in Kauai after scouting around here locally in N. CA for a while and being really unimpressed with what we found for the cost. one of my friends jokingly said we should get married in Hawaii after finding a big house that a bunch of us and friends could rent for a vacation and the light bulb went off. Greg was game to check it out because we had never been there before and he is not from here so it wasn't important to him to get married here locally where we live, his family was going to travel anyway to see us, why not come a bit further to Hawaii.

we started scoping around kauai and the more i researched online the more feasible it seemed. i asked the people most important to us if we got married destination would they come? we had so much positive response that we decided to check it out even further. we took one scouting trip out there because there was no way i wanted to get married without meeting the people involved first....and the trip was not that expensive overall...and we got so much done it was fabulous. basically while on our trip we met every one of our vendors and i came home going 'okay i'm 99% done'. it was great. the research i did beforehand was mostly on theknot in the destination Hawaii section. i know a lot of people have problems with theknot but that area was super helpful for vendors and recommendations. one bonus for us was that Kauai is small so there are not THAT many vendors to use. it really makes things easier for you. i know i would have been way more 'anal' about things if i was getting married locally. i felt like more of it was out of my control in Hawaii so i had to be more mellow. when we came back we had deposits down and a date (a wednesday, during the week is not a big deal at all or out of the ordinary for destinations, aka we did wed so that people could come in on monday or sunday, stay til friday or saturday and get vacation time in as well as our wedding) and we were ready to go.

i did save the dates with custom flip flop magnets we found on our trip down there, printed cards, a bunch of filler wood excelsior, in a flat cardboard mailer. i did them about 7 months beforehand so that everyone had time to get the details down, included information on flights, the travel agent, where we'd be, suggested items etc.

in the end i corresponded with vendors via email and phone and we went out to Hawaii 5 days early so that we could wrap up any loose ends with any of the vendors. finalized the flowers, menu, etc etc...it was great. the wedding itself was wonderful, we had ~30 people come out for our wedding and it was an amazing time. it was pretty stressful though, because i felt a real responsibility to make sure that everyone was taken care of and having a good time. the whole 'everyone came to see us' so we felt like we had to be good host and hostess even while finishing the coordination of the wedding. the wedding itself was great and the reception was fab and no stress at all then or afterwards...but the few days leading up to it was a bit stressful. i didn't have a wedding coordinator to help me really, which was fine as i am very detail oriented and used to do events when i first started out in marketing many years ago, so i felt like i had everything covered, but it was more stress for me. i have a hard time letting things go to other people when they are important to me so i think it worked out the way it should personally for me....but i would recommend finding at least a good day-of coordinator to help you and keep everyone on schedule. i used friends at the wedding to do this for me which was super helpful.

we also spent a few thousand extra in the last few days just adding a few things that we didn't expect (aka extra flowers, fresh leis for everyone in the wedding party, greg paid for everyone's tux rentals, i paid for all my gals jewelry etc), but in the end it was worth it. but it was 'unexpected' so i would add that into your budget too, my girlfriend who just got married found the same thing, i kept warning her about how in the last few days things might come up where you just say 'yes' because you want it to be done right and later you are like darn that cost a lot haha.

we also did gift welcome bags with woven raffia handled bags which had sunscreen, personalized travel candle, bag of kauai coffee, flip flops, an itinerary/welcome card, filled them with fresh orchids and put them in everyone's cottages the days they arrived.

anyhow, hope that helps, if you have other specific questions let me know. really i used the internet for 99% of my research and correspondence with any vendors. the guest list at 30 was small enough to know everyone's plans and easily coordinate flights and all that. we invited 90ish people, everyone we would have if we did it local but we knew only the most important would come. it was the best thing we could have done, we spent about 1/2 of what we would have locally, was able to do so much MORE for the money and give more personal touches, and the memories are so much more amazing for us because of the exotic locale.

 

[Harleigh]

Hi Mara,

You''re just awesome! Thanks so much for getting back to me!

I just spoke with FI''s friend last night who supposedly got married there last year...um, it was 2001, but I guess to the hubby, it felt like yesterday! I swear that "guy" time is really, really skewed, so now I am back to making plans on my own!

I have found some hotels on Maui that look reasonable, and also found some that advertise their weddings, as well. My friend and I went to a bridal fair in Sacramento on Sunday, but unless you''re getting married locally, it''s kind of useless. I did meet a travel agent who said she has done weddings in Hawaii and felt comfortable with several vendors, so I may talk to her, as well.

The one wedding coordination agency that keeps coming up is of course the most expensive, so I am still looking for alternatives. I also am working on the STD''s...I found little Hawaiian shirt candles I thought would be cute, but haven''t had much luck with anything else yet.

For the welcome bags in Hawaii, I thought sunscreen, aloe vera gel, etc... I would also like to get maps of the area where we will be getting married, but of course can''t do that until we actually CHOOSE a place! My FI is of no use right now, so I guess it is all up to me, and since I go back to work tomorrow, I''m kind of losing my mind...no plans have been made, my classroom isn''t ready, I''m teaching a new grade level, etc... Guess I should start a vent topic, huh???

I really think that I just need to find a place that is reasonable for everyone, can accommodate a group of 30-50 and make a decision on an actual date, and then worry about the STD''s and what-not...easier said than done, of course!

Thank you again, Mara, for getting back to me...I hope you had a great time out of town! Welcome back! We''ve missed you!

 

[Mara]

Thanks Harleigh, our vacation was surely lots of fun....!!! But back to the grind now! At least we only have one workday before the wkd!

re: finding a place in Maui...my old roommate also got married in Hawaii, about 5 months before we did. They got married on Maui... I can''t remember where but it was some big old plantation on either north or south area of the island and they loved it. That is basically what we did too, found a big plantation with lots of cottages that people could rent (or in our case also we had groups of friends renting bigger cottages to stay together) and we got married on the premises...in front of the big house, facing the ocean. You might want to check something like that out. I am personally not a big fan of the whole Hyatt or branded hotels on the islands, to me there are so many fabulous more personal places especially for a wedding. So I would def check out those types of large plantations or similar on Maui as well for the wedding. My thing was that I wanted us all to be together on the same property but not too crowded/touristy kind of thing, and I liked the cottages because then people could room together and it was cheaper for our single friends as well, aka instead of spending 200 a night or something for a room where only 2 people wanted to stay in a hotel, they could get a 3 bedroom cottage and sleep 6-7 for like 350 a night. and then my family could be all together, instead of having to rent 2-3 rooms in a hotel for my parents, sisters, grandma etc they just got a big 5 bedroom house cottage on the property and they all stayed there and even had 2 extra rooms for one of greg''s friends and one of my friends to stay and it was so much cheaper for everyone that way. And everyone just came and went as they pleased. Our managers house was HUGE, maybe 3000 sq ft, and rambling. and we had 5 bedrooms so it was us and 3 of our friends who stayed with us and our house was the ''hub'' of the wedding activity as well.

Anyway just some additional thoughts as you seek a place. I did my research online to find the place we thought we liked the best then went and stayed there for our scouting mission which just solidified it for us mentally...we loved the property. And there was a wedding coordinator onsite as well who helped a fair amount, I didn''t hire her for that day but probably should have hehee. Oh and I hear you on the FI not doing too much for the wedding, Greg was the same way but I actually preferred that, as I am the planner in our relationship and again as I have a really detail oriented mind, I thrive on planning and managing a bunch of things at once. He just had to show up with his tux!! Oh and write somem checks.

hehe.

Have fun planning and I love your 99 cent dress in your other thread. What a find...!

 

[Skippy123]

Harleigh,
Wow, I wish I would have done Hawaii for our wedding! How exciting! I read about your naturally curly hair response in your ebay wedding dress. Wow, that is funny you didn''t know until later; lucky girl! Glad you found out! Maybe sometime in my who''s who I will post a pic of me when I had a perm; I always wished for curly hair and still do but now embrace my straight hair. hehehe

Hubby and I love Hawaii; maybe for our 10 yr anni we can renew our vows there! Have fun planning your wedding.

 

[Harleigh]

Thank you again, Mara! I have been trying to look into the "plantation" kind of places, but most seem pretty far out, and I definitely am going to need some of the touristy things at least nearby for people to have things to do.

Is the place your friend got married a place called "White Orchid?" I have heard wonderful things about the place, but it is not available for lodging, just for weddings, and people need to be shuttled there and back as there is no parking. It sounds beautiful, but I don''t want to put my guests out too much!

Thanks for the wedding dress compliment! I love it and hope I can make it work!

 

[Harleigh]

Date: 8/10/2007 3:17:02 PM
Author: Skippy123
Harleigh,
Wow, I wish I would have done Hawaii for our wedding! How exciting! I read about your naturally curly hair response in your ebay wedding dress. Wow, that is funny you didn''t know until later; lucky girl! Glad you found out! Maybe sometime in my who''s who I will post a pic of me when I had a perm; I always wished for curly hair and still do but now embrace my straight hair. hehehe

Hubby and I love Hawaii; maybe for our 10 yr anni we can renew our vows there! Have fun planning your wedding.

Thanks Skippy!

Yup, the mop on my head is part of the package...some days are better than others, as I''m sure you can relate! Luckily I can still straighten it if I want to, but that takes forever and a day, so I don''t do it too often!

As for Hawaii, I think I am losing my mind...it just seems like nothing is coming together...I would really just like to find a place and at least set a date, but that is easier said than done. School starts again tomorrow and I''m teaching a new grade level after 10 1/2 years in first, and I am NOWHERE near ready and the kids come back Tuesday! Egads!!! I really wish this wedding would plan itself! J

 

[Mara]

hmm no i think she got married on a plantation style place that let you lodge there too. not positive though, her pictures were lovely.

have you considered another island? we really loved kauai and it was more romantic and quiet for us than the other islands. also, we got married at a plantation on the west end of the island but really you can drive around the islands in like an hour or something...so people left the plantation to go find touristy things to do almost every day...everyone just had cars and we carpooled. also we scheduled a few group things like ATV riding etc for those who wanted to join. also for those who wanted a more posh experience than our plantation, some stayed over in another area of the island which was like 15 min drive from where we were. so really i think you can make anything work, i wouldn't stress out too much about everyone else...do what is right for you and then give people leeway to make choices that are right for them.

 

[Harleigh]

Hi Mara,

Thanks for the ideas. I am completely open to other islands, but my FI seems to have his heart set on Maui for some reason. I suppose if he were doing some of the research, he might find out how difficult it really is! I will have to compile lists of pros and cons of what''s available and present it to him. Since he will be paying for the bulk of the wedding, I have been pretty open to just about anything!