What does it cost to get married in Hawaii?

We get asked this question a lot, and it’s a tough one to answer because it all depends on you! The good news? It's cheaper than most traditional weddings by far. 

Before writing this article, we did our research and came across an article by The Knot. While The Knot is a good website (we check it out ourselves), its cost breakdown is misleading.

The image below gives you a basic idea of what it'd cost to fly to Hawaii, stay six nights at a hotel in Waikiki, and get married with Weddings of Hawaii.

*Fights and hotel are not included in our packages. Hawaii wedding costs are examples based on our packages and research. (Prices based on 2020 packages and are subject to change.)  

The chart above is only an estimate, but we found that most of our couples spend between $4000-$6000 on their Hawaii wedding, flight, and hotel. 

• Average Hawaii destination wedding package cost: $1500 (Our packages range from $279 to $8450. Prices vary as there are many possible customizations.)
• Flight to Hawaii per person from the US mainland: $300-$800 (estimate and not included in packages)
• 7 nights hotel in Waikiki: $2000 (estimate and not included in packages)

We find that most couples can have a destination Hawaii wedding for around $5000, which includes the wedding, flight, and hotel, an enormous savings over the cost of a traditional wedding, which is currently over $30,000. 

NOTE: Hawaii wedding packages do not include flight and hotel, and Hawaii does not have all-inclusive resorts. Once you visit Hawaii, it's easy to see why you wouldn't want to spend all your time and eat all your meals at the same place. Hawaii has much more to offer than just your resort. Also, outer island weddings, such as a Maui wedding, are more expensive. Compare our packages for details.

Is the Knot's Cost Estimate Accurate?

Before you look at these numbers, please know their estimates look astronomically high to us. This is not to say they’re wrong, but these estimates must be for traditional weddings with high guest counts.

In comparison, most of our weddings are beach, park, or private venues with guest counts from 0-50. Very different.

You can see on our wedding packages page that we have seven packages running from $249 to $8,275, with our most popular package at $1,525 (we'll look more at that later). 

Let’s take a look at their cost estimates and then compare them to ours. As a spoiler, we estimate most our couples spend between $4,500 and $7,000 on their wedding package, flight, and hotel. We'll have our breakdown below.

When planning a destination wedding or vow renewal, it may seem stressful at first. Not only do you have to plan travel, you also have to plan the details of your day. Fortunately, we’re here to help as much as we can. We want to make the whole process as easy and stress free as possible, which is why we’re always happy to chat and answer all your questions.

To help even more, we’re always trying to improve the information we provide on our website, and we thought this week’s blog post would be a good chance to write out some of our most frequently asked questions.

For this article, we tried to think of the average flow of questions from the first time we speak to a couple up until their big day. While it’s impossible to cover all your questions, these are ones we think will be most useful to you.

1. Hawaii Wedding Packages

Can the wedding packages be customized?

Yes! We’re happy to customize your wedding package for you.

Introduction to Micro Weddings

Micro weddings are rising in popularity, and now more than ever is a great time to consider if it may be right for you. Here at Weddings of Hawaii, we’ve been specializing in destination weddings of all sizes for over 40 years.

Thousands of couples have benefitted from the happy-medium of a micro wedding, and we’d love to help you determine if you could be one of them!

Small, intimate beach weddings are the perfect kind of micro wedding.

What Is a Micro Wedding?

A micro wedding is a small wedding, usually with around 20 and no more than 50 guests. Generally, it is more streamlined but similar to a traditional wedding, with everything on a smaller scale. Aside from the guest count, the biggest difference is that the reception is more casual and less structured than a traditional wedding reception.

Beach weddings are in a class of their own when it comes to outdoor weddings. Gardens and wineries are beautiful, but there is something genuinely magical about an oceanfront ceremony. (Full disclosure, we have been doing Hawaii beach weddings since 1978, so we’re probably a little biased.)

A romantic seaside dream for many, but with so many venue options, it can be hard to decide if it's right for both of you. Here’s everything we could think of to help couples determine whether a beach wedding is a good fit for them.

Choosing the Right Beach for Your Wedding

For most couples, a beach wedding means a destination wedding, but for the lucky few who live near a beach, you’ll have a slightly different approach as you may have a larger guest count. You may need first to decide if you’ll be planning a destination wedding vs. a traditional wedding.

We've wanted to write a post like this for a while. There's no shortage of activity guides for Hawaii, and while those are great sources of information, we want to share some places we love.

You can trust us as your Hawaii wedding planners, and we think we know a thing or two about activities as well.

These recommendations are our personal favorites. We included a few of the popular attractions that many of you've heard of, but we did our best to go off the beaten trail and focus on the lesser-knowns that we feel make Oahu so special.

We broke our recommendations down into five categories: beaches, activies, hikes, Hawaiian foods, and shopping. 

Okay, let's get to it!

Oahu Beaches

Oahu's beaches are a great place to start. Not only are they one of the top reasons people visit Hawaii, but they're also free! Just as with weddings, we highly recommend weekdays (Monday-Friday) and non-holidays for the best beach experience and least crowds. If you are driving, never leave valuables visible in your car. Don't forget reef-safe sunscreen and towels!

Beach wedding dresses aren’t really different from other types of wedding dresses. Anything goes for a destination wedding, so what you wear is entirely up to you!

There are, however, certain dress styles and materials that work better for a beach wedding.

After planning Hawaii beach weddings for more than 40 years, we have seen what works and what doesn’t. We’ve put together all the information you need to pick out the beach wedding dress that’s right for you!