hawaii simple beach wedding FAQ’s
What will our wedding day timeline look like?
Every timeline is completely personalized to your wedding specifically. We will put together a custom preliminary timeline for you once you choose your beach location and ceremony time. This timeline will be emailed to you and all your vendors as they are booked. The timeline will get more and more through and complete as we finalize all vendor bookings. A final timeline will be sent to you a few weeks before your wedding day. Once you approve it, we will also send it to each of your vendors.
We want to take our guests to lunch or dinner after the ceremony - any suggestions?
Yes, tons! But it depends on a lot of factors, the type of food you like, how many guests you have, where you are staying, etc. Your planner can send you a custom outline of lunch or dinner options - you just need to reach out to her and request it.
Are their restrooms at the beach?
Most public beaches that we hold wedding ceremonies at do not have restrooms. A few however, do. It will depend on the beach you pick and you can figure out if there are restrooms there by looking through the beach options here. The ceremony is only 30m and then you’ll spend an additional 30m after the ceremony doing photos. It is not a very long time and if there is not a restroom at the beach location you will just need to make sure to go before and after the beach ceremony.
How likely is it to rain on my wedding day? What happens if it does rain?
On the morning of your wedding we check the weather report and radar and watch the rain carefully. If it is pouring all morning (this is really rare), then we'll call you and discuss options with you. 95% of the time even on a very rainy day there are patches of sunshine. Usually we wait out the passing showers and will do a ceremony in between showers. The skies usually clear and the most beautiful right after a shower, so even if it is raining, try not to worry. We will most likely still go for it and wait out the rain. We do have umbrellas just incase and will watch the radar report to try to time out the rain showers. There are almost always small patches of clear skies on rainy days at the beach.
Also, remember that in Hawaii we consider rain showers to be extra blessings so don't be afraid of rain. So far we haven't had a wedding get completely rained out and even rainy days here end up being pretty. We have even had weddings go off without a hitch on hurricane/tsunami days. We always carry 10 umbrellas on hand (just incase) but if you have a larger group and it is a rainy day having extra umbrellas on hand may be helpful.
We don't like your photographer and want to hire someone else can we do this?
We really think you'll be quite pleased with our photographers but if you're sure that you would like to bring in another photographer then we can credit you $250. Our main concern is that you are happy with how your wedding day turns out.
My friend is going to officiate, is that ok?
Yes, most definitely! You just need to make sure that your friend is ordained and that he or she is registered with the State of Hawaii to do the wedding. This must be done a few weeks prior to your wedding. Click here for more information. There are no pkg. discounts if you decide to bring your own officiant.
Do we need to do a wedding rehearsal?
We do not do rehearsals for our Simple Beach Weddings because the ceremonies are generally pretty, you guessed it, pretty simple. We will have a basic outline of the bridal party processional and will send this to you along with your timeline a week or two prior to your wedding day. You should go over the order of how your bridal party will walk down the aisle with everyone involved ahead of time. On the day of the wedding we will line everyone up and let them know when to walk, where to walk and how to stand. It is a simple process and we will guide you through all of it.
Any tips on how to make our wedding more personalized?
Check our our CEREMONY DECORATION page - adding some simple florals like a bridal bouquet, aisle flowers and a boutonniere, is an easy way to make a simple wedding feel a lot more special. Also, little touches like pretty hand-held paper fans, parasols or sunglasses for guests and bright bouquets / boutonnieres for the bridal party can go a long way.
Bright colors always look amazing against the white sand and ocean backdrop. Colored parasols look great in photos and provide good shade for guests too (order on Etsy or Amazon).
I also love the idea of honoring everyone who flew all the way down for your wedding with a lei. You can present everyone with an orchid lei at the end of the ceremony, it's a nice touch and doesn't cost too much money. You could also honor parents with a parent lei ceremony (where you'll present your mom and dad with a lei honoring and thanking them for all they've done for you).
The one thing we cannot do is have any altars or arches. Nothing can be staked into the ground and no structures are allowed legally on any Hawaii beaches. Additionally chairs and tables are not allowed. The only type of set up we can do in the sand is the natural vine aisle or a flower circle. All guests will need to stand for the ceremony.
Any tips on how to personalize a vow renewal?
Yes! For most of our vow renewals, we will do the lei exchange ceremony. Leis are included in your wedding pkg. and the giving and receiving of leis symbolizes you re-choosing each other for the next decade and on. Your officiant may also may guide you through a re-blessing of the rings with Hawaiian sea water and she may ask you to think back on or express memories of when you first met, first kissed, and first said “I do”. Your officiant will have lots of ideas for you and will guide you through all of it so don’t worry too much about what to do and when to do it. If there are specific ideas you have please feel free to reach out to your officiant directly to discuss them.
We want to get married in front of the ocean but not be in the sand, any suggestions?
There is one beach that has grassy areas overlooking the ocean as well as smaller sandy patches, this is Kahala Beach. If you do not want to be in the sand at all this is probably your best option.
ARE THERE RESTROOMS AT ALL BEACHES?
No, only some of the public beaches have restrooms nearby. We have outlined these options on the beach location map.
When should we send out our invites?
Destination weddings involve a lot of travel planning and often taking vacation time. We suggest sending out a Save the Date as soon as you have your date set. You can send out an official invite 4-6 months prior.
we found another beach not on your map that we want to have our wedding at, can we have it there?
We have purposely chosen the best beaches and narrowed down the options to a select few. These beaches have been picked not only because of the way they look but also for the overall experience the offer (ample safe parking, short walk to the beach, less crowded spots, not too windy, etc.). If you have found another beach you’d like to have your wedding at that is not on our list, you can always reach out to us and let us know but it is very likely we haven’t listed this spot for a reason. Beach locations found online are not always the best spots for ceremonies and we want to ensure that you not only get good photos but also have an amazing wedding experience overall so a lot of thought was put into choosing these specific locations. If there is a beach not on our list you are curious about let us know and we can give you our feedback on it. There is probably a good reason why we haven’t added that beach to our list and we are happy to discuss this option in detail. If after hearing our feedback, you still want to have the ceremony there, we can definitely look into it further and possibly make an exception. For more on the beach options check out our beach location map.
Can we do a Champagne Toast and wedding cake after the ceremony?
We are legally not allowed to serve alcohol at any public beaches :( Also we have found that wedding cakes are best saved for the lunch or dinner reception. If you would like to do a wedding cake, special request one from the restaurant. Or you can have one made from a specialty cake company and delivered that day. If you need cake company recommendations, check out our Preferred Vendor Page.
Got more questions? send your planner an email and we'll get back to you as soon as we can :)
~ Nicole & the Best Day Ever team