Hopeful Oahu bride of June 2012.

NikkiSheree · June 28, 2011

(I tried posting a thread before but it didn't seem to work so I am trying again)

My fiance and I have recently decided on a DW. After reading many forums I think Oahu seems to be the best choice for us because of the nightlife and cheaper cost. I am basically overwhelmed by the choices and websites out there.

We want a beach ceremony, on the sand or in a grassy area right near the water. I don't know if a resort is the way to go or a rental property. Or if we should stay at a hotel but have the ceremony totally seperate. I also don't know if I should hire a wedding planner or try to do it all myself to save money. We are also looking to go to a luau as our reception to cut costs.

We are looking at having about 40-50 people. I don't want to spend a ton. I think our total budget is 10-15k which will include hotel stay and flights.

Any suggestions on planners, places or anything I will appreciate it.

Thank you!

Tink5 · July 17, 2011

Hey there,

Congrats on your upcoming wedding. Hawaii is so amazing. We just had our wedding less than 2 weeks ago. It was incredible.

We had 42 guests come to Hawaii to share our day with us. We picked Paradise Cove for our ceremony. It is about 45 minutes outside of Waikiki. They have private grounds where you can get married. We chose The Point, as it was on the grass but right near the ocean. I didn't want to be walking in the sand for the ceremony. We stayed in Waikiki and had our reception back there at Tikis Grill and Bar. We rented The Coconut Club on the 21st floor for our event. It was incredible. Right on the beach with a stunning panoramic view of Waikiki. It is located in the Aston Waikiki Beach Hotel (we actually stayed at this hotel too and it was great!) We chose to have a buffet style dinner which saved us a lot of money and was SO DELICIOUS. We loved the food.

We didn't use a wedding planner. We organised everything ourselves and made sure we had contact with all vendors the week leading up to and day before the event. All of our vendors were fabulous. On time, professional and went above and beyond all our expectations. I was a little bit nervous about not having a planner. I had considered a "day of" planner but decided against it as it was an extra cost. And I am so glad we didn't get one, it would have been a waste of money (in our case) because it wasn't necessary.

Our budget was a little higher than yours, but we decided on a few extra things that were a little more expensive (eg. Ice cream sundae bar instead of wedding cake). But I totally believe you could do it by yourself for 15k.

Let me know if you have any questions!! Good luck with all your planning

Island Princess · August 23, 2011

I too had my wedding at Paradise Cove and Tiki's Grill & Bar and was just amazing! And it feel within your budget and was just beautiful!

lightningkpl · October 5, 2011

Hello Island princess!
We are looking at the coconut club and we are having a small wedding as well. But, we heard that we can't really have a DJ, and 60% of our guest are young adults and likes to party.

We love the view, and I like the space, and I heard the food is really good. But, I'm just not sure if people are going to have a good time.

Can you let me know your thoughts about the music part of your wedding?

Thanks,

lightningkpl

Island Princess · October 9, 2011

Heya, We didn't actually have ours at the Coconut Room we had ours in the "Ocean Room on the balcony. We just had dinner and chilled and was very relaxed so cant help you in the dancing compartment lol.