Having a destination wedding in Hawaii can be intimate, romantic and most of all - fun! Adding in unique favors like sunglasses, flower leis for your guests and haku leis for your bridesmaids can be an easy and beautiful way to design and customize your beach wedding. Check out our full list of “Tips for Styling your Hawaii Beach Wedding” below.

Fun Ideas + Easy ways to Style your Beach Wedding

sunglasses as guest favors

Hand out sunglasses to guests as they arrive at the ceremony, or place the sunglasses on the guest seats. You can do all one color, or a mix of bright colors to create a fun beachy vibe that will look awesome in your photos. Guests old and young will all wear them and seeing everyone together there to celebrate YOU in their shades, will just make you smile ~ what’s better than that? 😎

2. Add in a first dance at the end of the ceremony

This isn’t exactly a tip on styling but a suggestion I make to all my beach brides. Add in a little first dance at the end of the wedding ceremony. Have music on a speaker (or a live musician) ready to play your favorite song and ask guests to gather around in a circle as you dance. It’s a special and intimate moment - one you’ll treasure forever!

3. hawaiian leis for everyone

When in Hawaii - everyone should get a lei! Parents should get a special lei (like an ginger lei for mothers or cigar lei for dads), and guests can either be presented with a Kukui nut lei (shown below), or a white orchid lei. We often incorporate a lei presentation ceremony at the start of the wedding where the bride and groom present their friends and family with leis thanking them for being a part of this special day. It’s a Hawaiian gesture that shows your favorite people how much you love them.

4. haku leis for bridesmaids 🌺

Haku leis are handmade head leis that have a mix of beautiful flowers. You can have your florist create the haku leis to match the girls bouquet. They have a beautiful fit and make every bridesmaids feel amazing. I love haku leis for bridesmaids because it pulls together a boho-yet-classy look that adds instant style to any beach wedding.

5. Use greenery to create a natural vine aisle

Natural vine aisles are ah-mazing. We usually hand-pick vines the morning of the wedding and burry them ever so slightly in the sand so that the wind won’t blow them. You can add as many vines as you want to achieve a specific thickness while curving the aisle slightly to create a beautiful natural walkway. Having a marked aisle not only looks really pretty but also helps your bridal party know where to walk at the start of the ceremony.

6. a Flower ARch

There is nothing more beautiful than a well-crafted, beautifully designed flower arch. In Hawaii we have amazingly talented florists who use local flowers to create beautiful archways accented with sheer flowing fabric. A flower arch is usually on a wooden arch that is made on-site and hammered into the sand with metal stakes. They actually take quite a bit of work and are quite difficult to set up so be sure to get a professional to handle this. Also - make sure that you’re at a private venue which allows arches as most public beaches in Hawaii do not allow arches in the sand.

Hope you enjoyed the photos and ideas! There are so many way to make a simple beach wedding more fun and it doesn’t have to cost an arm and a leg. Be creative, make your wedding unique and have your ceremony reflect your personal style. Use colors you love and add in little ways to get the guests involved. Easy peasy 😊

Featured wedding photos were from weddings planned by Best Day Ever.

Photography by Frank Amodo / Crystal Chanel / Ashley Goodwin.
Planning + Design by Best Day Ever Events.
Florals by Kristen at Marie Blooms and Jeff at Creative Concepts by Jeff

To learn more about our all Beach Wedding and Custom Planning packages - get in touch today!

Cheers to all our Blushing Brides ~ Happy Planning 💕

Nicole

Nicole Salmoiraghi is the author and owner of Best Day Ever Hawaii Events + Weddings, where she helps brides + grooms bring their dream weddings to life. She is an expert planner and has over 10 years of planning experience. Follow her on Instagram, on Facebook and on Pinterest for more wedding inspiration, and Hawaii wedding insider tips.

6 Ways to Style your Hawaii Beach Wedding