seeking Hawaii or other island DW advice

[dazzling]

Hi there,

My fiance and I are trying to plan a DW... right now we are thinking Kauai or the Big Island... but we are also going to research the Virgin Islands, as my family is on the east coast. (my FI and I are in the bay area, CA)

We think we would have around 30 guests or less, and we are more into the marriage part than the wedding part, so we are trying to avoid spending a ridiculous amount of money on the wedding/reception itself. Hopefully a ceremony near the water, and a nice dinner after. We are so disgusted by the wedding industry as a whole, yet our families would not be happy if we eloped, so that isn''t an option.

We are looking for a location that has something for everyone, as my family is more into sight-seeing than snorkeling/lying on the beach... (that is why we lean towards BI over Kauai...) Most who will come are excited to have a vacation.

Time of year would probably be between t''giving and xmas of this year... but we have some flexibility.

My questions:

1) Am I being delusional in thinking we can spend less in Hawaii than in the bay area?
2) Has anyone compared costs of weddings on HI vs. Bahamas or Virgin Islands? (not including travel of course)
3) Has anyone ever rented a gorgeous house overlooking the water, and had the wedding at the house? If so, is this less costly than a hotel?

We are considering a research trip to Hawaii in May, but if we get married at the end of the year, I worry that this might be pushing it.

Any advice or experience is appreciated- even if it is unrelated to the 3 questions!

Thanks

Debra

 

[cpster]

Where are most of your guests coming from? If they are also on the east coast, I would say go for the Carribean instead of Hawaii. I think in general you get more for your money in the Carribean than in Hawaii, especially in terms of hotels.

I think you can spend less for a wedding in Hawaii instead of the Bay Area, but that''s normally because the wedding is so much smaller. I think many of the major resorts in Hawaii even have wedding "packages". I once looked into a few like the Four Seasons. It just depends on what your budget is. You can get married on a beach for $150 or go all out and have one at a resort location or private estate.

I love Hawaii and all of its islands. You''ll get more in the Carribean, but I think the most important factor is where your guests are coming from since that will determine the airfare costs. East coast to Hawaii can be quite expensive.

 

[dazzling]

Thanks for your input, I will definitely do some more research on the carribean. The majority of us will be coming from CA. My family (5 people) are the only east coasters, but they are also the most likely to complain abt the travel, if you know what I mean. My fiance''s family and our friends are all up for a vacation anytime, anywhere, which is fantastic. I have already learned it is useless to try to please everyone, so we are hoping to get the most for our money.

 

[cpster]

Hi Dazzling,

Oh, that''s good that most of your guests are on the West Coast. I would go for Hawaii then!

Do you know about how you can register with most airlines to get discounts on flights? I think the discount is 5-10%. I am most familiar with Oahu so feel free to ask me questions about that Island. My husband and I actually secretly eloped on Oahu before our wedding in California.
Pleasant Holidays, Suntrips, and ATA have pretty good package deals out of the Bay Area and the L.A. area.

Good luck!

 

[coda72]

I would definitely get married in Hawaii as opposed to the Caribbean. I haven''t been to the Virgin Islands, but nothing I''ve seen in the Caribbean as of yet has compared to Hawaii in terms of beauty. Admittedly, the flight is absolutely horrible coming from the East Coast, since that''s where I live, but it''s worth it in the end. Since you live in the Bay Area, maybe your family could stop over for a night before continuing on. I think if you split up the flight, it may not be as bad.

Both Kauai and the BI have many sights, so you don''t have to worry about being on the beach at all if you don''t want. The 3 times I''ve been to Hawaii, I''ve spent a total of 3 hours on the beach. The BI may have a few more sights, and it is huge compared to Kauai. I think both are equally beautiful in their different ways. I would probably get married on the BI, just because I love it the best of the islands that I''ve seen. In fact the hubby and I are in the midst of trying to buy a property on the BI.

Sorry, I don''t have any advice about weddings in Hawaii since I didn''t get married there. I hope this helps a little bit.

 

[chrisam143]

We are thinking about getting married in Hawaii on the Big Island. Partly because my parents now live there (they moved there a few years ago) and also becuase we found a beuatiful spot(A-Bay), and a great photographer. Check out his website, which has pics of A-Bay, this is a link to his blog and on the left is a link to his actual website: http://www.xanga.com/home.aspx?user=krisanderson

I am also from California and we are planning on having just family, like 20 there. Then when we get back have a casual party in CA.

Hawaiian airlines has a special for weddings: http://hawaiianair.com/groups/quote_wed.asp

Here is a link about weddings on the Big Island: http://www.gohawaii.com/bigisland/wedding/Default.aspx

Good Luck!

 

[dazzling]

Thanks for your ideas Chrisam143...

That is great that your folks live on the BI so you can check out different places. Funny, I had emailed that photographer after finding him online. Did you happen to meet him or see his photos in person? His site is a bit odd- not your typical professional photographer site- but he obviously loves what he does, and gets great sunset shots! How did you find him?

Also, it sounds like you got to check out A-bay.... is it private? It looks lovely! I think we are hoping to find a grassy area with water view, since we might have people that don''t want to walk too far, and I don''t really want to get married in the sand. The problem is, we really don''t want a big hotel wedding where other guests can gawk at us! We are hoping to do a research trip in April.

Please let me know if you have any opinions on lodging on the BI... I realize you probably stay w/your parents, but maybe they have insight? The Prince and Fairmont Orchid sound really nice...

When is your date? We are looking into early December...

Best of Luck!
Debra

 

[LAJennifer]

Date: 2/21/2006 2:53:42 AM
Author: chrisam143
We are thinking about getting married in Hawaii on the Big Island. Partly because my parents now live there (they moved there a few years ago) and also becuase we found a beuatiful spot(A-Bay), and a great photographer. Check out his website, which has pics of A-Bay, this is a link to his blog and on the left is a link to his actual website: http://www.xanga.com/home.aspx?user=krisanderson

I second the recommendation for going with Photographer Kris Anderson and having your ceremony at A-Bay during sunset. I would also recommend using Dard Aller as your officiant (don''t know his website right off hand, but do a google search). Then you could have a reception at a local restaurant - Roy''s in the King''s Shops at Waikoloa (right near A-Bay), or any of the restaurants at the Hilton Waikoloa Village (also close to A-Bay).

I am getting married at the Hilton Waikoloa Village in September. We are getting married around noon in the chapel at the hilton and then having our reception there as well. We are using Toby Hoogs (www.tobyhoogs.com) as our photographer, but I would have chosen Kris Anderson if we were going to do a sunset wedding. His prices are very affordable and he does fabulous work. Let me know if you have any questions about the Big Island.

 

[Tybee]

I am getting married in the USVI, but mostly for sentimental reasons.

If most of your family is on the west coast, I''d go with Hawaii. I have one bridesmaid who is on the west coast, and she''s having trouble finding reasonable airfare to my wedding.

If you''re looking for inexpensive and simple, have you considered Mexico? I have spent some time on the destination wedding discussion board on theknot.com, it seems that Mexico is a beautiful and popular choice, and also on the less expenisve side.

 

[chrisam143]

Date: 2/28/2006 4:39:33 PM
Author: dazzling
Thanks for your ideas Chrisam143...

That is great that your folks live on the BI so you can check out different places. Funny, I had emailed that photographer after finding him online. Did you happen to meet him or see his photos in person? His site is a bit odd- not your typical professional photographer site- but he obviously loves what he does, and gets great sunset shots! How did you find him?

Also, it sounds like you got to check out A-bay.... is it private? It looks lovely! I think we are hoping to find a grassy area with water view, since we might have people that don''t want to walk too far, and I don''t really want to get married in the sand. The problem is, we really don''t want a big hotel wedding where other guests can gawk at us! We are hoping to do a research trip in April.

Please let me know if you have any opinions on lodging on the BI... I realize you probably stay w/your parents, but maybe they have insight? The Prince and Fairmont Orchid sound really nice...

When is your date? We are looking into early December...

Best of Luck!
Debra

Sorry I didn''t write back sooner, I haven''t been on this website for awhile.
To answer you questions, I have not yet met Kris. I found him through some Hawaii wedding search, don''t know which one. I really love his pictures and his experience. He is really honest in his posts.

My boyfriend and I were in Hawaii last year in April (his first time there) and we stayed in Waikola at a timeshare my parents own, so we did visit A-bay, we were told its the best place to see the sunset. we also went to a luau at the Waikola Marriot right near A-bay. So most likely we will go there the night before the wedding. There are many restaruants there and at the Hilton, and at the Kings Shops near by, so there are plenty of options for a dinner after the ceremony.

I went back there for Thanksgiving, and that was when I was reasearching locations and found Kris. I went to A-bay and although there were people on the beach, they were mostly at the first part of the beach, but the beach goes down like a mile and there is noone around there.

I really like the Hilton hotel there, they have the dolphins you can swim with (or watch others swim with!) and it is a beautiful hotel. You would do okay staying at any hotels in Waikola or surronding areas and then you are only 30 mins from Kona (the main town). Hapuna Beach is known as the best beach on the Island so the Hapuna Prince Resort would be a nice place to stay. I think when I was researching I saw on their website that they have a grass area to get married.

We are not offically engaged yet (any day now , but we are looking at October 2006, so only 6months away!

I don''t remember if you answered this yet, but are you going to have a chance to go visit and look at spots before deciding?

Good luck! Let me know if you have any questions, anytime!

Christine