Help with EVERYTHING!!

[trophywife]

Okay so DF and I are getting married in Hawaii and I'm so lost. When I google, "Hawaiian Weddings" all these places come up that will marry you and have the ceremony.. Great, but what about the reception?? Can we have the reception there also?? Do we drive ourselves there?? And I want a Luau, do I have a private one for just my wedding guest (50)?? But my BIL told me that I go to some place like the Polynesian Culture Center and have it there?? (But with all those strangers?? Eeeek!! I mean I don't want to share my big day with strangers, I want my own first dance and such. I'm sooo confused!! Any insight would be great!! What are you doing/have you done?? Thanks!!

[ACDCDCAC]

i would advise contacting the WC for the ceremony that you decide on and see if they have any good advice for you as far as the reception goes. or just read thru all the hawaii forums on bdw for some great ideas of what other girls have done.

[boven]

Wedding Coordinators in the area should be able to point you in the right direction in terms of finding a reception venue with all of the entertainment options you want. Have you started contacting WC companies in Hawaii?

[Macphail]

Congrats on planning your Hawaiian wedding! Such a beautiful location. If you're not familiar with the islands, finding a WC from Hawaii to help with the plans is probably a good idea. There are a lot of great places that will do both your ceremony and reception. If you're hoping for Luau there are a bunch that will hold your ceremony earlier in the day and then offer the luau for the reception. I'm not sure which ones are completely private luau's or not, but with 50 guests you'll take up a good amount of space.

 

We're heading there again in just a few weeks and we can hardly wait for a few days of R&R while we're there. Best of luck with the plans!

[princessina]

Things can be very overwhelming in the beginning but once you get a good WC and you have an idea of what you want and the vicinity of where you want it you'll feel a lot better. The good thing for you is that you have tons of time to plan, although I will warn you that it will fly by.

 

I started early and actually meet my WC at a local bridal fair. I like to plan ahead and I'm pretty much on auto pilot...well as much as I can be. I wanted to start early because as it get closer to the wedding date I don't have much time available. Theses last few months I spend working, going to school, and planning here and there.

 

I choose the north shore as my location because I still wanted an intimate setting and didn't want my wedding in the middle of a tourist gathering. This will depend on what you want but is a great start to narrowing it down. Once I decided I wanted it on the north shore...it just took some narrowing down to what I liked and what fit my budget.

 

I looked into Turtle Bay but it was more than my budget allotted me. I ultimately decided to go with renting a private estate that allowed me to host about 100 people and stay within my budget. The one thing you'll definitely need is a great WC and one that will work for you. There are tons of good ones out there but you'll have to make sure that they work for you and what you want.

 

Anyways...good luck and I wish you the best in your planning journey.