Marriage Hawaii

How does a destination wedding in Hawaii work?

My fiance and myself are thinking about getting married in Hawaii, but we're confused on how it would work. Would we pay for the plane ticket and hotel? or would the guests pay for it? It would be a small wedding with a small reception afterwards, i know we would take care of the food and drinks but the rest i am not sure of. Has anyone had a destination wedding or know about them? Any help would be great. Thanks!!

Public Comments

1. You should probalby pay for the ppl that are going to be in wedding for those who attend it they should pay for it beacuse they want to be there to see youor wedding. If the person has trouble paying for it and you really want them to be there try to assist them in paying for it. The hotel you usually DONT pay for it but really it matters with what kinda of budget you have. Also make sure you are able to transport your wedding dress to hawaii and all the wedding details. try finding a place that can help with flowers and decorations. My sister is getting married at a destination and we are paying for a trip there and our hotel room but she is payiung for the 2 ppl in her wedding. Really manage your budget well its your choice. Congrats!
2. Guests pay for there own tickets and own food outside of the wedding. Often the bride will book the hotel for the guests so they can all get a discount rate. Typically the bride and groom pay for whomever will be IN the wedding with them.
3. I think most of your questions will be answered here: http://www.theknot.com/ch_article.html?Object=A40420163810 I think usually guests pay for the flight and hotel. But if it is someone important to you (say the MOH or your parents) and they cannot afford it . . . then yes, you may want to help out financially. Looks like it would be easy to arrange. Plenty of packages available: http://www.hawaiiweddings.net/packages.cfm http://www.theweddingexperience.com/package-hawaii.html License info here: http://www.hawaiiweddings.net/licensing.cfm
4. It really depends on how well healed your family and guests are. Generally, if you want people to attend an event away from home, travel and hotel should be your responsibility. How would you react to a wedding invitation that automatically incurred thousands of dollars out of pocket to attend? For those who are 'comfortable' money is irrelevent but for young average income people the expense is prohibitive and exclusive. If you risk offending friends or family by excluding them, it might be better to consider a wedding at home and a honeymoon in Hawaii.
5. I had a destination wedding in 2003 in Key West FL on a cruise ship. We did not pay for our attendants or our guests because we couldn't afford to. When we asked our attendants to be in the wedding party, we told them if they could not afford to make it, then we would understand. We reserved group rate on Carnival Crusie lines, and we had a group rate on American Airlines as well. We paid for the wedding, the flowers, the DJ, and all the costs involved with the reception. We had 4 attendants in our wedding party and 40 guests travel with us from accross the country. However, it depends on your budget. If your budget allows you should offer to pay for your wedding party to attend your event. You do not need to pay for your guests, unless your budget allows. As far as the hotel is concerned, you can reserve a block of rooms for your event. Within your invitations you can include information that you have rooms blocked off at "X" and "Y" hotels and to use (the hotel will assign you a code) the code when they book to get a discount.
6. talk to your travel agent.
7. Being that destination weddings are so new and quickly becoming the hottest way to wed, many are confused about what is expected of whom. Destination wedding etiquette states that the couple is responsible for at least 2 nights lodging for the bridal party (bride's maids and groom's men) and any day-of costs the guests would incur. For instance, if you're getting married at an all-inclusive, guests not staying at the resort would be charged a day-fee to spend time at the resort. The couple would be responsible for this fee. Guests should never have to pay a fee to attend your wedding (i.e. parking, etc). Anything else is the responsibility of the guests and attendants. Typically, however, it is expected that the bride and groom will invite all out-of-town guests (no matter where the wedding takes place) to the rehearsal dinner and morning-after brunch. Be careful to make sure that those involved are aware of these obligations (tastefully, of course), so that there are no hurt feelings stemming from mis-guided expectations. Good luck!
8. Usually with destination wedding you tell the guest ahead of time so they can plan to pay for it. Look into cruiseship weddings. You can have the honeymoon and get married when it port. And all your guest can have a vacation too. Also Hawaii is pretty expensive. Look into St. Thomas, USVI....it's the hottest place in the Caribbean to get married and it's beautiful to boot