Kauai Wedding on a budget

[CallieC328]

Hi I am looking to plan a July 2010 wedding in Kauai. I am on a 10,000.00 budget this budget must include My Fiance and I's plane tickets our stay on the island and my parents flights and stay's, also it must include everything necessary for a wedidng. I would like a private intimate beach wedding lots of flowers, photographer,reception for 20 people. Does anyone think this is possible?? Or am I just way over my head? Any suggestions would be greatly appreciated!

 

Thank's

[mich999]

I didn't get married is Kauai, but I honeymooned there. I'm sure the Hawaii forum can help, but the thing that strikes me is the cost of airfare to Hawaii for 4 - that alone could eat a lot of your budget unless you have miles you can use. I'm sure anything is possible, but depending on the types of accomodation you want, how long you plan to stay, etc., there are a lot of variables that make your question difficult to answer. I would start by pricing airfare and lodging and see how much you have left over for dress, flowers, photographer and reception - that should give you a better idea of whether your budget is possible.

[vlynnw]

I think it is definitely possible as long as you look into every option. The flight and stay alone may be your biggest costs so try shopping around for that to get an idea of how much it will run you. Then you can see what you will have left for the wedding itself. If it's not going to be enough remember to incorporate a lot of DIY wedding projects to cut the costs. I'm on an $8,000 budget of which I didn't originally think I was going to do much DIY and now I'm finding it is going to save my hundreds if I do!

[da.shmoopies]

I think airfare, hotel, car and food will eat up half of your budget for four people. My family is all staying in my folk's timeshare condos for one week, which helped us with the cost of staying. July is a high season for travel due to summer vacations so the prices might be higher.

 

We are having a small wedding of 30 people including us and it's costing just over 10K, including travel costs for two. 3K alone is being spent on flowers and the photographer. I'm not going over the top either with everything. I'm keeping it all very simple! I think you will have to decided which items are the most important to you and budget very carefully. Hardest part is trying not to go overboard with the details.

 

Check the Hawaii board here for other Islands too. There are plenty of brides who are getting married in Hawaii and they have similar budgets.

[FutureMrsSharpe]

A $10,000 budget sounds reseaonable.You just need to shop around. We are having our wedding on Kauai on May 2010 with 40 guests and ours is going to cost about $10,000, but I asked everyone I talked to if they had group rates. Another thing that you might want to look into is flying with Hawaiian airlines. We got our tickets for $405 roundtrip from San Jose Airport. I know that they also have a credit card that you can apply for that will reward you with 20,000 bonus miles after your first purchase. As far as I know, it's 20,000 bonus miles for one roundtrip ticket to Kauai, so that may pay for one ticket and you can try to add up more points to see if it will pay for more (or at least part).

 

Also, be sure to check the company website for their prices even after you've been quoted a group rate. I was quoted a group rate of $140 per night at a hotel and when I checked their website, their e-booking and weekly rates were $35 per night cheaper! We saved ourselves and our guests about $245 on accomodations by NOT doing the group rate.

 

If you're looking for a private location on the beach and a reception location at the same place you should check out Hukilau Lanai on the East Shore. Manda, the coordinator is really nice and I think they waive the fee for the ceremony location if you do the reception there. Hope some of this helps and just remember research, research, research!

[nicksbeauty]

You should check into airline and rental car discounts. I am getting married in Kauai in August 2010 and American Airlines offers a 5% discount on groups flights. It is not a huge amount but I will take all of the discounts I can get.

 

American Airlines was the only airlines that every one did not have to be on the same flight. You and your guest have a 7 day window to fly and they can come from any airport American flies out of.

 

Also when they send you your discount code they send you a code for Avis. The discount amounts vary by what type of car you rent but some can be as much as 60% off. That ended up being over hundreds of dollars that could be saved and used for something else!!

[chamlo]

Your budget isn't unreasonable; however, you may want to prioritize your list between musts (plane tickets for you, your fiance and your parents) and like to have (lots of flowers). For instance, if you choose the right location you may not need so many flowers. Also be ready to DIY for many things (DIY invitations saves hundreds of dollars).

 

Also WHERE you get married in Kauai may be a huge savings factor. We are planning our wedding/reception in Princeville which makes it very difficult for us to keep to budget; but if you have your wedding/reception in Kapa'a, you have so many choices of wedding locales/reception venues that could save you tons of money. Also your wedding party is small enough that you can order a la carte from a restaurant rather than being forced to do a price fixe menu.

 

Also you may want to look at hotel/flight packages to reduce costs (I don't know about the States, but in Canada, packaged travel saves hundreds of dollars.) You may want to try a travel agent that specializes in Hawaii travel (e.g., Pleasant Holidays) then do your own research on travel sites to see if they do get you the lowest price.

 

One thing you shouldn't skimp on is photography. We were depending on having a family member do the photography for us to save money, but a friend suggested having a local photographer who knows the good picture locations, environmental lighting etc. It is an extra $1,500 but for us but it is worth it.

 

Good luck and keep me posted.

[barcelo1162010]

Good luck; I think it will be tough to stay within that budget. But I think it's hard no matter how much you budget. Good luck with your planning!

[Meg323]

Hi Chamlo!  I'm considering to have my wedding in Kauai Princeville, since you mentioned below you also had your wedding there, I wanted to ask if a $20K budget was enough for about 30 people? 

[julie1]

Hey!
I too am doing a north shore Kauai wedding with a similar budget.  35-30 guests and we are all staying at Hanalei Bay Resort We wanted a simple wedding ceremony - preferably on the beach and a non traditional reception.  Kauai Ono was the first choice but may not work out now!  Any suggestions or ideas would be appreciated!