Hawaiian island wedding

It has been your dream to head off to a lush, tropical paradise for your wedding, and it has finally all fallen into place for you to have a destination wedding in the Hawaiian Islands. As important as it is to you to get married at your tropical locale, it may be difficult for the majority of your family and friends to travel with you to attend the event. How do you handle a wedding with a lack of family and friends in attendance?

The first thing you want to do is work with your local Hawaiian wedding planner to make sure none of the venues you are choosing will make your wedding seem small. Have them scope out intimate settings, or consider décor that will minimize a large locale so your guests “fill” the location.

Hawaiian island wedding with Krista and Charlie

Keep your expectations realistic. Your wedding is, of course, the biggest day of your life, but if your grandparents or the groom’s parents are elderly or not well, traveling may not be an option. Consider how you will all feel if someone important is unable to attend. Your lifelong dream may be to have your father walk you down the aisle, but if for some reason he is unable to travel, will it ruin your entire wedding?

An option many couples choose is to have their destination wedding with however many people can attend, and then plan for a larger celebration when they get home. This allows you to get married in the romantic location you dream about, but it also gives those people who are closest to you the chance to share in the joy of your wedding celebration. This is something that your wedding coordinator in Hawaii can help with as well. While they won’t be able to direct you to a venue in your area, they can aid you in choosing items from Hawaii that you can either bring back with you when you return to your hometown, or they can suggest items you might want to order so you can recreate your Hawaiian atmosphere in your party location.

Many couples are opting for destination weddings, and families and friends are usually understanding and appreciative of you fulfilling your wedding dreams. Don’t, however, forget the people left behind. Try to do something – even if it’s on a very small scale – to let them know you wanted them to share in on your paradise wedding.

brought to you by Hawaii wedding planners and Wedding dresses

Save the date wedding cards info

To begin with, a save the date card might be in order. If you are planning your wedding at a very popular wedding or event season (like June), if your wedding coincides with a holiday, or if you are planning a destination wedding, a save the date card will help your guests know to keep your date open so they can start planning to travel to your destination, or so they don’t accept an invitation from someone else.

Invitations come in all shapes, sizes and colors. Long gone are the days where you chose white or ivory with black lettering. You can have all different types of papers, various fonts, and a variety of colors for both the paper and the text. You could choose to have your enveloped lined with a satin or metallic looking liner that matches your invitations. Decide if you want your return address pre-printed on your envelopes. The post office requires the return address, and this will save you a lot of time.

Beyond invitations, you have to determine whether or not there is a need for a reception card and a response card. The most formal invitations beg for a formal reception card – a card upon which the guest will find your reception information. A less formal affair can get away with a footnote on your invitation with the necessary information.

A response card is the card enclosed with your invitation where your guests will indicate whether or not they can attend your wedding. For the most formal invitations, these cards are a must, and it is your obligation to put a stamp on the return envelope. If your invitations and your wedding are more casual, you can just include on the printed invitation a phone number or an email address where guests can give you their RSVP.

Many brides also opt to purchase thank you notes that match or at least coordinate with their wedding stationery. Another nice thing to have if you will be moving after your wedding is an “at home” card. This card can be added to your invitation mailing, or you can send it with your thank you notes or separately. It gives your friends and family the new address where you can be reached.

Work with your wedding planner to help you decide what of these items are necessary. What a fortunate time brides are in to have so many options for style and theme for their stationery!

More tips about weddings can be found at wedding ideas and Kauai wedding info

Hawaiian wedding reception photos for Steph and Matt

http://www.alohaislandweddings.com by wedding coordination

These photos are from the wedding guest throw away cameras on the table

Reception Location http://www.hiltonhawaiianvillage.com/

Wedding reception starts at 5:00pm @ the Rainbow tower

Stephanie Ann Harshman + Matthew Alexander Reed

more photos of their Hawaiian wedding ceremony

wedding date : Aug. 20th a Saturday in 2011

Wedding time 2:00pm

THe Newely wed couple after their in the water photo shoot at the beach of Waikiki kaimana holding sand dollar sea shells with the words ThankYou

reception table flowers by http://www.flowerhawaii.com

Wedding champagne toast is it really needed ?

When wedding expense seems to be spiraling out of control, it’s natural for engaged couples and their families to start looking for ways to reign in the spending. You may start thinking of some things you can do yourself, or look at choosing less expensive flowers or menu options.

So what about the champagne toast? This staple of many weddings can add a pretty penny to your wedding budget. Even moderately priced bottles of champagne can add a few hundred dollars to your budget, and in many cases, it’s not necessarily money well spent. To begin with, if you are not using a caterer that provides you with serving dishes and stemware, you’ll have to rent champagne glasses for everyone. Usually, the wait staff will pour the champagne in the back, and bring the filled glasses to each of your guests. In some cases, they will deliver the empty glasses to the tables, and then fill them individually. This takes the staff away from doing things like setting up your buffet or getting plates ready for your sit down dinner.

How much of the champagne is actually going to be consumed? Not everyone likes champagne, so while they might take a sip to be polite, you’ve probably noticed at weddings you have attended that quite a few guests leave nearly full glasses of champagne behind. Some people don’t like the taste, and there are others that don’t drink alcohol at all. For those people, you could offer a sparkling cider, but it may not even be necessary.



Just before your toasting begins, have your master of ceremonies invite your guests to the bar to choose a drink of their choice in order to toast the happy couple. This ensures that everyone gets what they want, and nothing is going to be wasted. If you want a special bottle of wine or champagne for the head table or the parents’ tables, splurge on something nice, but most people are going to be fine toasting you with a house white wine or a diet soda.Champagne is a really nice thought, and it does add an elegant feel to your wedding. It’s a terrible shame, though, to see money wasted on something your guests are not going to appreciate. Spend the money on an extra appetizer or another dessert option, and let the guests toast you with their choice of beverage or cocktail.

by Hawaii weddings

A little advise on a destination wedding in Hawaii, Jamaica or Florida

Another alternative would be a shuttle service. Many bus companies and even limousine services have large passenger vehicles that you can rent for the course of your event. They can be asked to go to one central pick up spot, if all of your guests are booked at the same hotel, or you can ask them to make multiple stops.

Some of these companies will only do one trip to your event, then one trip out, even if they do multiple stops. This will require you to advise your guests they need to be ready to board the shuttle at specific times. It does save your family and friends from having to worry about coordinating carpools.

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