Unsurprisingly, many couples dream of getting married in Hawaii as the beauty and serenity of the island state create the perfect setting for you to begin a new chapter in your one-of-a-kind love story. Unfortunately, some soon-to-be-weds opt out of the experience, thinking that planning a wedding is already complicated enough, let alone a destination one. As a result, they compromise and end up with a celebration that’s not even remotely close to the one they have always desired to have. In the end, you’re left wondering – how can I get married in Hawaii?
As a Hawaii wedding officiant, we beg to differ! Yes, the process of getting married in Hawaii can be challenging and tedious only if you don’t have enough insight and the right team by your side. So let’s take care of both of those things! To ensure you get the wedding you’ve always desired, we’ve prepared a step-by-step guide for a spectacular marriage on the Island State!
Getting Married in Hawaii – 6-Step Guide
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Envision The Aesthetic Of Your Hawaii Wedding
Before you dive headfirst into the wedding planning pool, give yourself plenty of time to daydream. Namely, the first step of getting married in Hawaii is to envision what your celebration will look like. Typically, most couples go for a beach wedding as the state is abundant with them, but it’s not a standard, meaning you have many options. That said, if you desire a grand celebration adorned in refined luxuries or an elegantly intimate affair with just your closest ones, know that everything is possible!
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Start Looking At Wedding Venues/Locations
After the mood board is all drawn up, you should start looking into places to get married in Hawaii. This process can get quite lengthy, so we advise you to narrow down your search. For instance, small weddings give you an array of options since most venues or locations can easily accommodate up to 50 people. In fact, the islands exude intimacy and are incredibly romantic, so having a not-so-extravagant celebration of love is ideal. Now that we mention it, this is why most of our all-inclusive wedding packages in Hawaii are tailored for a maximum of 20 guests. However, this is your special day, and it should be done the way you want it to be! That is, if you want to go for lavishness and grandeur with a 100-person guest list, nothing is stopping you!
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Come Up With The Guestlist
As previously mentioned, the size of the guest list will determine how big of a venue you need, so it’s recommended you draw up a draft. Of course, this doesn’t need to be the final version since the list is prone to changes, but it will give you a rough estimate of your capacity. After you’ve set your heart on a certain place to get married in Hawaii and have a clear image of how many guests it can accommodate, only then can you finalize your guest list. If you’re hosting a lavish celebration, go all out with your invitations! Alternatively, an intimate affair requires your list to be quite compact, so only invite the people you cherish the most.
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Get Some Help
It’s true that destination weddings are more challenging to plan than their “traditional” counterpart, which is why you need all the help you can get. Wedding planners are usually the go-to option for getting married in Hawaii since they already have a lot of experience and can provide a helping hand throughout the entire process. But you should also be aware that this is not your only choice!
In addition to being more challenging to plan, Hawaii destination weddings can be costly. If you start crunching up the numbers, the amount of money you’ll spend for each vendor might make your head spin, so it’s important to be efficient. The best way you can do that is to see whether any vendors offer all-around services instead of only one. Take us for example – apart from being Hawaii marriage officiants, we can also help you out with finding the location for your celebration, and some of our all-inclusive wedding packages in Hawaii also include photography services! For that reason, if you choose to hire us, we’ll be hitting three birds with one stone, resulting in more money for a dreamy honeymoon!
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Set The Date
After you’ve acquired all the vendors you need for your marriage in Hawaii, it’s time to set a date for your celebration, though there’s one thing you need to keep in mind. As soon as you find a venue that piques your interest, it’s advised to give them a call to get informed about their availability. Once you get the info, ask your vendors whether they’ll be available for the selected date, and if they are, set the date immediately. Like you, countless couples dream of getting married in Hawaii, and bookings are flying fast, so ensure you secure yours on time.
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Get A Marriage License
No matter if you’re hosting a grand celebration or a micro-sized elopement, you’ll need a license to get married in Hawaii. This should be done 30 days prior to your ceremony, or a Hawaii marriage officiant can do it directly on the spot. Speaking of, you’ll also need to validate it once the festivities are all over, but typically, the officiant does that for you. If you need some more details about the process, you can check out our FAQ page, where you’ll find answers to all your questions.
After completing all the steps mentioned above, the wedding bells can officially start tolling! As you can see, getting married in Hawaii is pretty easy if you have the right people by your side, so ensure that you’re seeing eye-to-eye with everyone involved in the celebration. Yes, there will be some overwhelming moments throughout the entire process, but know it’s completely worth it!
Check out our page if you want to know the places to get married in Hawaii, as well as our personalized all-inclusive wedding packages! In the meantime, read the rest of our blogs!
