Ko Olina Weddings

[TA Dina]

If you are looking for an awesome location for a Hawaiian wedding check out the Ko Olina area of Oahu. Not only do you get the convenience of just flying everyone into Honolulu (no extra flights to outer islands), but this western part of the island is secluded and private, giving the feel of being on one of the other islands.

 

The Ko Olina resort area consists of several locations offering accomodations mixed in with a small residential area. It is built around 7 private lagoons. They've got accomodations ranging from the JW Marriott Ihilani (my 2nd fave resort on the entire island), to 2-3 bedroom villas at the Beach Villas (a brand new high-rise), to the Marriott timeshares and soon to be Disney Resort Hawaii. Right now 2 of the 4 timeshare buildings are open & accepting guests, the Beach Villas are operating (gorgeous) in addition to the JW. Disney won't be complete until 2011-2012.

 

The weddings in this area are handled by Ko Olina Weddings (koolinaweddings.com). They are a newer company (as is this entire resort area) & I've personally met the manager & was very impressed with what they offer. They can arrange ceremonies from simple to elaborate. They can provide vendors for all aspects of the wedding (many of the photographers used are mentioned on here in other threads...top of the line). And they even offer a small section of the beach where you can have the infamous "beach wedding" in Hawaii w/o any issues (altho its small & honestly I wouldn't recommend it...the beachfront lawn is to die for). You do not have to use them for your hotel/villa packages. We work with them so you can still take advantage of our specials/offers & use them for the actual wedding planning.

 

Roy's Restaurant is right on the golf course & offers a small private room for small receptions or rehearsal dinners as well as a larger banquet room for larger parties. The JW also has catering services as well. So plenty to choose from.

 

So check out this area. You won't be disappointed. All the privacy & beauty of the outer islands with the benefit of being a quick 30 min drive to Waikiki. If anyone wants details on any of their packages please let me know.

[vlynnw]

I'm not getting married in Hawaii, but this information is really going to be helpful to a lot of brides. Welcome to BDW!

[mexbride83]

I know this thread is kind of old, but I just wanted to also give a recommendation for Ko Olina. My fiance's grandmother lives in Ko Olina and we went to visit her there on our last trip. It is SUCH a great area! As TA Dina said above, it has several hotels (with a Disney hotel being built that looks like it will be an incredible place for families!), and Roy's restaurant... which is easily one of our favorite restaurants in Hawaii. It also has a top-rated golf course. What I love most though is the three lagoons on the resort. They are each small and very quiet, perfect places for wedding pictures. My fiance and I are getting married in Mexico, but we are moving to Hawaii after the wedding (he's Army) and we are planning to do TTD pictures in Ko Olina!

 

Another good thing to know is that Paradise Cove Luaus, hands-down the BEST luau on Oahu (and we've been to several), are held in Ko Olina. This would be such a great welcome or reception dinner idea as well!

 

The last and best thing about Ko Olina that I'll say is that part of the island NEVER sees rain! Granted, that means it is a little more dry looking over there, but it also means that there is little to no chance of it raining on your big day. If you know Hawaii, you know rain comes and goes pretty frequently, so I think this is a very key part of Ko Olina for weddings! We actually went to Ko Olina a couple days of our last 2 week trip because it was raining so much in the other parts of the island (we were there in July), and this was the only dry spot on all of Oahu!

[orionandmari072510]

i would have loved to have a hawaiian wedding but glad we chose something more affordable in cancun. But cheers to those who press forward with hawaii

[Lallo]

Has anyone gotten married here? Looks like no one has posted on this thread for a while but maybe it's because Ko Olina is kind of new.

[Island Princess]

We didnt personally get married at Ko Olina however we were married right next door at Paradise Cove. Just beautiful

[Lallo]

My fiancee just mentioned paradise cove.  Could you provide some info for me.  Basically it's just going to be me, my fiancee, and two of our siblings at the wedding so we are not looking to spend a lot of money.  What are the pros and cons?  Did you hire a wedding coordinator?  Is it private?  Thank you so much in advance.

[BeachBound2011]

 

 

Originally Posted by Lallo 

 

My fiancee just mentioned paradise cove.  Could you provide some info for me.  Basically it's just going to be me, my fiancee, and two of our siblings at the wedding so we are not looking to spend a lot of money.  What are the pros and cons?  Did you hire a wedding coordinator?  Is it private?  Thank you so much in advance.

 

 

We just booked Paradise Cove for June 9th wedding.  The website says $750 for their cheapest package, but when we got the contract it was $862 plus tax - that's the "tentative" 2011 prices.  If they decide not to go up, we'll get the $750 price, otherwise it's $112 more then is listed.

 

If you have seen Island Princesses photos, it's beautiful, but you could probably get a lot cheaper for only 4 people.  Kualoa Ranch's secret garden is $400/hour and it's right on the beach.  Robyn, the lady I was speaking with there, is fantastic!   http://www.kualoa.com/  If you are intersted, PM me your email and I can send you all the stuff she sent me.  This would have been my number one choice, but my FI liked the looked of Parasidse Cove better so "it doesn't look just like my twin brother's ceremony" (he just got married on the beach in Jamaica).

[Ireece11]

I just got married at Paradise Cove on October 2nd and our wedding was delayed by 30 minutes due to the columns didn't get assembled before our 3:30 wedding start and the power outlet didn't get turned on until 4:00.  Our wedding started at 4, and it was sad because we had a guitarist that we paid premium money for but was only able to play 3 songs.  They say they have an airconed room for the bride to stay in while the guest arrive etc...not I, I stood in the parking lot not knowing what was going on.  They just told me there was a delay on a few things in the contract.  The staff finalled offered me a chair after standing for 20 minutes.  Good thing it wasn't that hot that day or else my whole makeup would have been ruined.  We spoke to the sales person that we've been working with and apologized for the columns and offered to give us a discount for the columns.  The staff didn't even tell them about the power outlet and she called us back saying that she spoke to the staff and said that the power outlet has been on the whole time.  As if we would lie about such a thing...such a sad experience. 

 

Also if you get the pre-packaged deal, make sure you read the fine print, if you stay outside of KoOlina or Waikiki the limo won't pick you up. You basically forfeit the limo and you can't exchange it for anything else.

 

My advice, get married in KoOlina because that area is beautiful and it's away from all the tourist but just stay away from Paradise Cove.  Their package deal might be cheap but I'd save the headache and pay a little extra to get married elsewhere.

[andy4832h]

Hi everyone, we are thinking about having our wedding in Oahu (paradise cove crystal chapel) and interested in using best bridal Hawaii service. Anyone mind sharing their experience about this specific chapel? We are also wondering if anyone has been working with photographers that are contracted with best bridal hawaii? We are considering to get the package that includes photographer, but not sure about the quality of them. Unfortunately we are not allowed to know their names before we sign the contract with best bridal Hawaii, so we’d like to know more about it before making final decisions. Any input will be greatly appreciated! Thanks a lot!