Hello All!

I used this site lots when I worked for an airline and traveled all the time...now I'm asking for help for a very special occasion.

My fiance and I want to get married in Maui in Oct. 2008. Between the two of use, we've been to Hawaii about 15 times. It is a very special place for us and our families, and we know it will be the best choice.

With that said...I'm overwhelmed!

I prefer south Maui (Wailea/Kihei) better than Lahaina, so we'd like to get married in that area. We want a luau "rehearsal dinner", simple beach ceremony and reception/dinner at a great restaurant (we're open to suggestions). After talking to family and close friends, we anticipate approx. 30 people, and would prefer to keep the wedding budget around $10K.

So, my questions...has anyone out there gotten married in Maui and could recommend a good wedding coordinator? Best luau in Maui?Ceremony site? Hotel or restaurant for reception?
Or any other words of wisdome you can pass along...
Thanks!

sorry about my typos

I recommend you look at the Maui Prince Hotel. Gorgeous and quiet beach for weddings and photographs. Lovely setting with palm trees.

ttt

Maui Prince is a great hotel. Also the Seawatch at the golf course close by is lovely and reasonaly priced for weddings. Very pretty.

Got married there Feb 1998 -- coming up on our 10th anniversary!!! We used A White Orchid Wedding for the planning although it was just a very small affair. Arabelle was wonderful. I also hired a photog prior to selecting a coordinator. Her name was Kathryn Regier (I think that was the spelling) & she helped steer me away from some of wedding coordinators that she was not familiar with or knew to be less than ideal. When I mention AWOW she was very pleased because she was familiar with them & had worked with them before. We were married at Makena Beach Cove and it was magical. Good luck.

I got married in Maui in 2005. I used Precious Maui Weddings, Deanne is wonderful! I couldn't have asked for better service which was so important to me since I wasn't there to plan anything in person. She was recommended to me by my friend's coworker and since I got married there, two people I know have used her as well and had positive experiences. Excluding the condo/airfare and rehearsal dinner, I would say that we spent about $5-6k on everything (site fee, dinner & drinks & cake, photographer, minister, flowers, solo guitarist, hair/makeup, wedding clothes, and the coordinator fee).
http://www.preciousmauiweddings.com/

I got married at the Seawatch (restaurant at the Wailea Golf Course). There are 4 different lawns to choose from, mine overlooked Molikini. Nice thing about Seawatch is that you can have your reception there and your guests don't have to drive anywhere and if by chance it rains, there is a covered area that can be used. We did drive across the street to get sunset beach pictures (which turned out to be overcast sky beach pictures, luckily it didn't rain!).

We chose Seawatch over a beach for two reasons, we had 25 guests (including 3 small children who like to run around, we thought it was better if they had seats to sit in) and it's a little more private. I've walked across many beach weddings and I didn't really want a bunch of strangers peering in on my special day.

The food at the Seawatch is excellent. Their baby brie appetizer with pineapple macnut chutney is probably the best appetizer I've ever had. My husband and I went there two times this last Nov just for that!

Feel free to ask more questions.

Check out www.kimberlycurtisphotography.com. She is a fabulous photographer and will even act as your wedding coordinator for no additional fee. We got married in 2003 at South Makena Beach and Kimberly set up the whole thing and took fabulous pictures. We get so many compliments on our pictures and Kimberly made it such a memorable, stress-free occasion.

The Maui Prince is a great hotel at the end of the road in Makena. There will be lots of activities for your guests, including golf and beach activities. The hotel offers a free shuttle to destinations throughout the Wailea resort area, including the shopping center and golf courses.

As others have suggested the Sea Watch at the Wailea Golf course is a great restaurant with wonderful ocean views. Here are some websites for your review:

http://www.princeresortshawaii.com/m...ince-hotel.php

http://www.seawatchrestaurant.com

I have a friend who has a great site that should help you:

http://www.mauihawaii.org/wedding-ho...i-weddings.htm

Best of luck to you, alooooha!

All good suggestions! South Maui is a good bet. You're pretty safe in knowing the weather will be good. As far as location, do it on the beach. Makena Cove is beautiful, but as of late, has become oversaturated in weddings. Even during the week, you'll likely have to compete with another wedding. It's too small of an area to have that going on.

Wedding Coordinators: http://www.specialtweddings.com did a friend of mines wedding. Tamera was her coordinator.

Wedding Photographers:
http://mauiphotographers.org/wedding-photographers.php Theres a couple good options here.

Rehearsal Dinner:
A luau could be fun, but impersonnal if done at the big ones. I would go to a restaurant. For 10,000, you can go to a decent place. Seawatch is good, but I think for the price, you'll be left with little to work with. I would see if Cafe O'Lei will cater something offsite for you. You may be able to rent a nice house on the beach for the day for not too much, then you'll save a fortune by buying your own booze. You can also stay the night at the house and save more money on your wedding night.

Hope this all helps.

Hello!

I was just wondering Fly_Widget, what did you finally decide on the plans for your wedding? I recently got engaged, and I live in New York City. I've never been to Hawaii, and my fiance and I are seriously considering getting married in Maui. I'm a little overwhelmed, as I've never been there, but it sounds like a wonderful place to wed. So I was just curious, as you are going through the same thing, what you ended up deciding! Thanks!

kgholtz (in case you're still checking this out)

wow...I haven't checked this in a while.

After lots of research and talking to different wedding planners, restaurant, etc. we did make our decisions. We are now less than 3 months away from the big day...

I choose Precious Maui Weddings (from a suggestion). The packages seemed more in-tune with what we wanted and very good prices.

For the ceremony/reception, I wanted one location (not driving between two) and it HAD to be oceanfront (personal wish). We choose the Five Palms Restaurant. They have a small lawn area steps from the beach. Since we are having the reception there, we can use their property for the ceremony for no cost. And, they are even providing the chairs.

They have a great web site with slide show.

My parents didn't trust my internet planning, so they took a trip out in May and checked out our condo location and restaurant. They came back with nothing but praise at my choices.

Feel free to e-mail me if you have any specific questions. [email protected]

ttt

We had a beach wedding and it was lovely, but, it never crossed my mind that the wind would be blowing my hair into my face throughout the ceremony! I still laugh whe I see the wedding photos. Put your hair up or pin it back and have a wonderful wedding.

Best wishes,
Saige

There are some very good wedding coordinators and then there are some totally inexperienced. Tropical Maui weddings is a very reputable wedding coordinating company along with A White Orchid Wedding already mentioned here. Avoid the ones that are "jack of all trades" (the ones that do the officiating, sing, take your photos, buy your flowers, etc.) Get one that hires professional vendors--the professional photographer, minister, a florist, etc. The south side of Maui is definitely a gtood choice for location. There are lots of popular locations in Makena such as the beach fronting the Prince hotel.

If you are staying at one of the hotels, you may want to check with their wedding services. Most hotels will charge a fee to use their grounds. Seawatch is popular for receptions.

Most important is your photographer who will capture the entire event for your memories. There are dozens of inexperienced photographers out there, especially with the digital camera revolution. Make sure you get one that is experienced. John Henry Photography, Reflections Photography, Gerry Grigory Photography are a few that have been doing weddings on Maui a long time. Also look at their credentials, not just their few, hand-picked images on their website.