bonniebroad

Did you (will you) wear a traditional wedding gown, as you would have in a church/synagogue at home, or did you wear a traditional Hawaiian-style wedding dress that you bought there? And were you married in a chapel, or down on the sand, by the water, totally open-air?

(And speaking of brides/dresses, I noticed the most surprising thing in the Raleigh newspaper photos yesterday...... almost EVERY bride was wearing a strapless gown, a very sleek, clean look! Not long ago, you saw every style of neckline/gown, but I believe 80 percent of these brides wore strapless! Interesting........ how styles change.)

JohnD

Well at the risk of drawing further insults (because we were not married in a church, etc.), my bride and I were married on the beach by Princeville Hotel. She wore a traditional white dress/gown and the service also included a Hawaiian ceremony and provided us with a few lei's, one of which my wife wore around her Ohead during the ceremony.

bonniebroad

JohnD, personally, I think you couldn't get any closer to your Maker than standing by the ocean in Paradise! I love the circle of flowers the brides wear on their heads...... so beautiful!

kamahinaohoku

bonniebroad - the circle of flowers people wear on their heads is called a Haku lei.

bonniebroad

Thank you, Kamahinaohoku! I had read that before, but could not remember the name of the lei......... Love them!

alvarki

Hi - I wore a traditional wedding gown (without a train)...and it was strapless! We were married on Wailea beach (bare foot) in front of the Four Seasons Hotel. Our guests received traditional leis to wear. Then we had our dinner reception up at the Four Seasons. We put shoes on then! I had two separate wedding coordinators - one for the actual ceremony and one for the reception/hotel things. We stayed at the Four Seasons...but they would only plan the actual wedding if you were married on their grounds (for which there is a fee). We wanted to be married on the actual beach - which no one owns, so it is free - that is why I had a separate (non-hotel) wedding coordinator for that part. Let me know if I can answer any other questions for you!

MelissaHI

I see a lot of brides wearing white dresses on the beaches here--not necessarily "traditional" wedding dresses, but a variation on it. Usually cooler fabrics with little or no sleeves. I guess they do this so that they don't sweat buckets while they exchange vows on the beach (it is still quite warm at sunset).

Depending on the coordinator you hire, you can even have a musician playing ukulele and singing during the intro.

bobludlow

Traditional Hawaiian style dress? Do you mean a muu muu? I hope not. Trust me, find the prettiest most flattering dress you can find (either traditional or modern) that suits warm slightly humid weather and bring it with you. Don't expect to wait until you get to Hawaii and find something "authentic" there. Hawaiian brides shop at Macy's too.

bonniebroad

Bobludlow, by Hawaiian wedding dress, I'm talking about the kinds of dresses you'll find in the photos in this link:

http://hawaiianweddingshop.com/brideandgroom.html

travelinandgolfin

If you can, try getting married at the Lodge at Koele on the island of Lanai. We did and it was great! They have a wedding planner. A couple ministers in town you can choose from. The scenery is amazing! They upgraded us to a suite for free. When we went back for our 1 year anniversary, they remembered us and put us back in the same suite along with a bottle of cider and a card wishing us a happy anniversary.

Just a great place!

janeq

I wore a wedding dress with spaghetti straps, a small train, and no veil.(Glad I decided against the veil-- the breeze would have had its way with it).The strapless look is definitely"in", even though I told sales ladies I did not want strapless, they would still sneak one into the pile!I also wore flip flops not regular shoes. We married on a lawn by the beach at Paradise Cove and had our "reception" at the luau. Everyone had a great time. The surf was really up on that part of the island that day, and when I remember our ceremony, I will always remember the "background music" of the waves pounding the shore. Awesome!

Connie

A friend's daughter married in Hawaii this past May. She rented a large house with several bedrooms on the beach. The whole wedding party stayed several days in the house and they had the wedding on the beach. They highly recommended it. All this was done with a wedding planner.

My daughter is getting married this year and of course, is looking at strapless gowns. I don't care for them (I'm old fashion) but it's what all the girls her age want.

didi

My husband and I got married 5 years ago at the Orchid on the Big Island. I wore a long wedding dress but very simple and straight lined, with cap sleeves. My husband rented a tux on the Big Island. We got married on the beach under the palm trees at sunset. It was truly the most AMAZING thing we ever did and we felt like royalty!!
And the best was that we were the only couple getting married that day. The Orchid did a wonderful job and gave us a day we will never forget!

myst

Planning wedding next March on Maui looking at a grassy knoll above the sea open air. As for dress, I am shopping for a lightweight traditional dress. Not strapless and without a train. Something pretty for the photos with that great scenery.....

cmcfong

I got married on a beautiful crescent beach with gorgeous palms at the Royal Waikaloan Hotel (has a new name now, I believe) on the Big Island. The hotel handled everything (quite well!). I bought my dress on the Big Island after spending four days looking for one in Oahu. It was a Victorian styled white dress with a floral design in white on it. I got my dress about an hour before the wedding and learned this lesson the hard way. Buy what you think looks great on you and works for the beach and take it with you. You can make yourself nuts trying to do it there! Oh, my husband and I both wore maile leaf leas which we keep in a small box on our bureau...a wonderful momento.

SAdamsrec

Our wedding was intimate, just the two of us and the Hawaian minister. I found a dress that was mostly white but had some blue, green and yellow in it that just felt like Hawaii. It had an irregular hem that just seemed like the beach to me. My husband had a Tommy Bahama shirt that complemented my dress. The coordinator provided beautiful leis. Our setting was overlooking the beach and was perfect. My biggest challenge was dealing with hair that just curls in humid weather but humid sea breeze is just what Hawaii is all about. It was wonderful. Afterwards we took our champagne and walked along the sea wall. A couple stopped to tell us that we looked like an advertisement for Hawaii magazine. Thats how we felt!

bonniebroad

What beautiful pictures you Hawaii brides are painting in my mind! I can just see you by the seawall, SAdamsrec...... Thank you all for sharing! Aloha.......