We are planning a destination wedding ceremony at the end of February 2007. Our destination is Maui. Any thoughts on the perfect place for a private ceremony and place to honeymoon for a few days?

You haven't mentioned what the budget for this might be, but if you are looking to go deluxe, check out the Grand Wailea, they even have a wedding chapel on site. Feb could put you in the middle of winter break though ....with tons of kids. You might want to stay at the Four Seasons instead! Most of the hotels have someone who can help you coordinate the details for an on site wedding.

I wholeheartedly recommend the message boards at theknot.com. There is an entire section devoted to destination weddings and the women there are very knowledgable. You will be floored at the amount of information available!

I used The Knot message boards, among others, extensively while planning my own wedding and don't think I could have pulled it off without the help!

Congratulations on your upcoming vows and good luck!

I think the major thing about planning a Hawaiian wedding (or any wedding, really) is budget. Set down a budget and work within it. Actually, it might be easier in Hawaii, as the scenery and flowers are so spectacular that one needs little more than a beach, a preacher, and rings. I stayed at the Maui Prince Hotel and saw many beautiful weddings of all sizes at their site, and on the beach. I think a honeymoon at the Hotel Hana Maui with one of the rooms with the hottubs would be soooo lovely.

I went to a lovely wedding at the 4 Seasons. I think about 40-50 people attended. It was on cliff overlooking the bluff. Its so close to other hotels so guests don't have to stay at the 4Seasons.

I'm getting married in Maui this summer (August 1st) at Makena Cove, south of Wailea. We hired a planner to arrange the musicians, minister, flowers, photography, etc. but the beach location is gorgeous and FREE!

The biggest drawback to this location is the limit to the number of guests you can have. They encourage you to keep the number to under 15, which is fine for us because it's just our closest family and friends coming. However, there are lots of public beaches that allow for larger "audiences."

I was in Wailea a few years ago and stayed at the Kea Lani. I knew we were looking at Maui for our wedding and researched the cost, and was shocked to discover how expensive it is to get married at one of these resorts! My personal feelings are that if you're getting married in Hawaii, why not do it on the most beautiful beaches in the world? We are saving a ton on the location and are, in turn, using that money to book a wonderful package at the Four Seasons.

Just my two cents....I think you will be happy with whatever you choose!! Have fun!

I thought the Ritz Carlton was the Maui luxury hotel on the bluff? Either way, 4 Seasons or the Ritz should be perfect for a Maui wedding/ honeymoon. I would not choose the Wailea b/c of the kid factor (but I really don't like kids, so that's just me).

We were married this past September on Maui. It was fantastic! We had 14 guests. I also recommend theknot.com message boards. There is a "hawaii" board there. You can get all your questions answered by the "hawaii knotties". We were married at The Seawatch, in Wailea. There are so many places to marry on Maui. We did not use a coordinator, and it was very easy to plan. We stayed at the Hyatt in Kaanapali and enjoyed every second. If you have any questions feel free to email me @ [email protected]

I got married at the Westin Maui which is on Kaanapali Beach and had a great experience. Determining your budget in advance is definitely key to getting married in Hawaii. If I had unlimited funds to work with I would have chosen the Four Seasons but the Westin was more affordable yet still very nice. They really took care of everything. All we had to do was make a few decisions and write a check. The grounds were lovely for a wedding and my pictures turned out beautiful. I did a lot of research prior to the event (10 months of planning) and felt that I made a great choice for my price range. They are very up front about the costs if you request info from the wedding dept which is also very responsive (at least they were when I got married there a couple of years ago).

Also, most if not all the beaches are public beaches so anyone can walk up at any time. If you try to get married at a spot that isn't at a resort, you might have difficulty getting some privacy but if you have the ceremony at one of the resorts, they have enough people to coordinate the event that they can help prevent gawkers from hanging around.