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It’s decided, you are going to do a destination wedding in Hawaii. Woo Hoo – You! You’re starting to get excited about it and even tell a few friends. But then you start researching, and the more you ‘Google’ the more you get overwhelmed. Overwhelmed with options, with ideas, with all the unforeseen possible costs.

Totally normal.

Having a general idea of what a small Hawaii wedding will cost is the first step to deciding if a destination wedding is worth doing. Will it be cheaper? Will it be easier? Will it be more fun?

Yes. Yes and Yes!

But, what does a small wedding in Hawaii cost?

Well, this will totally depend on your vision. How small is small? How fancy do you want it?

Every couple’s wedding fairytale is totally different – so one of the first things we do is get to know our couples a bit better and get a good feel for what their vision is.

A small wedding of 50 or less guests, in Hawaii, will on average cost between $8,000 and $25,000 USD and this total will vary significantly depending on the guest count, the wedding venue, the vendors you’re looking at including and the couples vision.

Do you want an elaborate floral set up? Do you want videography and drone footage? Do you want to do a full custom private dinner after the ceremony? How about a string quartet or some kind of live musician? A custom 4 tier wedding cake? A Dj & dance floor?

All of these things will vary (significantly) based on your individual vision. Some couples really do just want to keep things simple, and the simpler you keep it, the more money you’ll save – but others have a more elaborate vision which could cost a bit more.

The largest cost items will be the guest count, the venue fee, and the post ceremony reception. After that, the little things will start to add up. So, it’s a good plan to have an idea of what you want to spend (in total) and know what items you’d like to include and before committing to any of them, you should do a basic analysis of what everything will cost. This will help you to create a budget that you’re comfortable with upfront and stick to it.

Now, lets talk how to bring costs down and what a small wedding in Hawaii could actually cost.

You can bring the wedding cost down in lots of different ways but one of the easiest ways is to have the dinner reception in a public restaurant or at a Hawaiian luau (instead of doing a fully custom private reception dinner at a private venue). This could cut the cost more than half and one of the main reasons we offer packages based around this very idea.

But what do venues, photography, wedding planning, flowers, officiants actually cost? This of course will vary from state to state, but I’ve been doing weddings in Hawaii for over a decade now and have a pretty good grasp on costs here in Hawaii so, let’s get into it …

Sample Costs of a Small Hawaii Wedding:
$17,500 – 40 guests, private oceanfront venue, photography, officiant, flowers, planner to set it all up, then take guests to a nice restaurant afterwards or a luau. Do a full private custom dinner (with a dj & dancing) at a private venue and this cost will double or triple.

Why? Because you’ll be paying for a private chef, servers, dinnerware, tables, linens, a private venue for a longer period of time, a bartender and bar staff, sound system, etc. etc. There are a ton of added costs when you do a full custom ceremony and reception.

Now, if you stuck with the idea of a public restaurant or luau for dinner, and you cut the guest count down to 10-15 guests instead, the total costs could drop to under $10,000.

Here is a breakdown general wedding pricing in Hawaii:

$100 – $15,000 Venue Fee (averaging about $6,000)
$700 – $6,000 Photography (cost will vary depending on the number of hours you have the photographer and the actual photographer you choose)
$250 – $500 Officiant
$200 – $450 Bridal Bouquet
$75 – $200 Bridesmaids Bouquets
$1,000-$1,500 Custom Floral Altar with setup
$300 White Orchid Aisle
$800 – $6,000 Videography
$850 String Quartet (one hour)
$450 Live Ukulele Musician (one hour)
$8.50 / chair (chairs for guests) plus setup and delivery fees
$2,500+ Planning
$2,500-$6,000 DJ & Emcee
$100-$3,00 Custom Cake (a smaller cake 6 or 8″ custom cake could cost around $500)

If you’re feeling overwhelmed with all of this. Don’t worry. All you need is a general idea of about what you’re comfortable spending and be really clear on your vision. Where do you want to get married, in a hotel venue or a private outdoor venue? Beach, botanical garden, waterfall, oceanfront? About how many guests are you expecting? That’s it.

Take that info. and talk to a professional wedding planner and get their feed back on costs. Tell them all the details. The more the better. We do custom budget breakdowns for couples all the time, so if you don’t have a planner yet and aren’t sure about costs but would like some honest feedback about what your Hawaii destination wedding will cost – just reach out!

Destination weddings don’t have to be stressful, with the right team behind you. One of my favorite things to do is to help our couples figure out how to bring their Hawaii dream wedding to life and we work with couples of all budgets. We make planning easy, taking all the ‘google’ work out, and guiding you so in a way that makes your Hawaii destination wedding fun again!

Email me to learn more, or to get a custom breakdown on pricing for your wedding –

bestdayeverhawaii@gmail.com

See Ya in Hawaii 🌴
Nicole