Reception Considerations:

Below you'll find a few suggestions we've put together about wedding receptions. Our initial services do not include reception planning and coordination. For the great majority of the weddings we provide services for and because of the general nature of destination weddings, this is not necessary i.e. most of our clients just have simple dinners versus the elaborate affairs they may have at home. Additionally, we do not reserve or book reception venues as they require contracts and payment made directly by the client to the venue and understandably, we don't sign those contract nor do we give them our credit card number to hold... for obvious reasons :) We can help you with your plan your reception and can provide on-site coordination if required. The starting fee for this service is $500. If you need additional suggestions, let us know and what you want.

Luau receptions:

  • Luau dinner shows are perfect for groups of any size.

  • Many of our clients with a lost of guests (30 or more) have gotten get married at one of our free beach locations like Waimanalo Beach of Makapuu Beach and then gone out to Paradise Cove for a luau. We have also had clients who have also got married at the luau facility with us providing all of their wedding ceremony services. The only down-side this is that there are additional travel fees for our vendors but, when it's all totalled up, you're spending far less than paying the minimum expenditure required for a hotel banquet facility.

  • There are a variety of luau shows available on a regular basis in Waikiki. You can check our “Resources” page to check for direct links to these websites or just do a Google search. Reservations must be made you.

    - The Royal Hawaiian Hotel in Waikiki has a dinner show on Mondays.
    - The Halekoa Hotel in Waikiki has a dinner show on Mondays and Thursdays.
    - Paradise Cove and Germaine’s out in West Oahu has dinner shows every day of the week.

  • If you are going to one of the luau dinner shows outside of Waikiki like Paradise Cove, you'll want your wedding in the early afternoon, say about 2:00 and to end by 3:00 so you can make it to the bus transport departure locations. There are pick-up points around Waikiki for transport to these locations, usually a 4:00 departure. We can also provide a minibus holding up to 27 passengers or limousines to take you directly to the luau facility and do this often for our clients.

  • Waimea Falls, while not a luau facility, is also a site where you can have both your ceremony and reception. We have done many of these and have also provided Hawaii luau style entertainment. The best thing is that it's private versus a luau show open to everyone. The only negative is that it's on the North Shore and quite far from Waikiki/Honolulu. FYI: Unlike hotels, we handle all the reservations for Waimea Falls and payments are made through us.

Hotel receptions:

  • If you are having enough guests to make a hotel reception appropriate or are having so many guests that a hotel reception is your only choice (for either, that would be 40 or more guests), there are a hand full of hotels which are available and they can be quite nice. With that said, you'll want to be mindful of what we say below. If you are still wanting a hotel reception, let us know and we'll send you some recommendations.

  • Many of the hotels also offer “all inclusive” wedding packages with minister, flowers, photos, etc.. Hotel packages may suit some people because they are easy though, many hotels mark-up their services excessively or charge "kick-backs" to the vendors, which is eventually passed on to you in the form of higher prices. Booking a hotel package and/or using their "preferred vendors" referral list may seem like the easiest solution but, you'll end up paying more for less, and possibly lesser quality vendors. Currently, the trend among hotels is to 1). Charge you a flat fee upwards of $1000 or more if you do not use the vendors on their "kickback" list or 2). Charge you a fee of upwards of 20% of whatever the independent non-hotel vendor is charging you as an additional penalty fee for not using the vendors they tell you too. Yes, it really sucks!

  • Here’s what one of our clients emailed us regarding her reception: "We are getting an impression from the hotel's catering office that they are trying to squeeze out as much as they possibly can from us, which we feel is a bit intimidating.  We now think that it was a great decision for us to book the venders thru you, you were very honest and up-front with all fees from the start. Well, just letting you know. Cheers from Misha".

Restaurant receptions:

  • Restaurant reservations are best made by the person whose name the reservation will be for and many usually, will require a credit card for large groups. In other words, we'll give you suggestions but, we don't make reservations for you.

  • Suggested for groups of 30 or less guests. As an alternative to a hotel banquet reception, there some very good restaurants which can handle 25-80 guests. Our "Hawaii Resources" page has a list of restaurants (out of the hundreds) which we believe are wedding reception appropriate.

  • If your wedding is on a weekend or it's during a holiday, you'll want to make reservations ASAP.

Private Estate receptions:

  • PE receptions can be as casual or as exquisite as your pocketbook can afford i.e. generally it's going to be more expensive than a hotel or luau facility because everything has to be catering and the entire set-up brought in and then taken away. See our "Hawaii Resources" page for links to caterers or do a Google search.

  • FYI: Private estates, some of which are actually private homes in residential areas, will have restrictions about what you can do regarding a party. If you are thinking such a location (that's not on our list), check with the rental agent first. Wedding receptions are generally a no-no.