Tips on Hawaii Weddings - weather, guests, parking

THE BIG DAY

Get a good night's rest before the day of your wedding. Plan your day so that the hour before you leave for the wedding site is relaxed and calm. The last thing you want is to be rushed and out-of-sorts. Remember to bring everything you will need for the ceremony including your marriage license and rings. Be on time. Unless pre-arranged, all AlohaForever weddings are scheduled for one hour.

GETTING TO THE WEDDING SITE

Most couples opt for a limo. However, if you are planning to drive, please allow extra time. We provide good maps but Honolulu's roads and signs can be confusing. If you are catching a cab, please let us know. We will fax a map and directions for you to give the driver to be sure the driver knows exactly where the location is. Cab drivers have been known to drop couples off at the wrong site. If you have guests coming on their own, please ask them to be on time.

PARKING

All of the venues we offer include adequate parking except for Diamond Head Beach Park. Diamond Head Road is a crowded, two-lane, winding street. It is illegal to park or even load and unload at the park’s entrance. Parking is limited and located a good city block's walk up a hill from the park

GUESTS

Many of the weddings we celebrate consist of only the bride and groom. However, the ceremonies often do include any number of guests whose presence bless and enhance the celebration. We only ask that guests be appropriately dressed and sober and that children be accompanied by responsible adults. There is no seating at any of the outdoor venues.

WEATHER

Hawaii is world-famous for its beautiful climate where a wedding on a picturesque beach is a natural. However, its lush landscapes do require a certain amount of rainfall. Most days are sunny and clear with Hawaii’s amazing intermittent, rainbow-producing, “good-luck, cooling mist wafting down from the Koolau Mountain. But there is the occasional tropical storm which can blow through at almost any time of the year. Although we have never had a wedding rained-out, that is not to say it cannot happen. We do not provide a “rain option". However, in the rare event of inclement weather, you may choose to move your wedding to the sanctuary of the First Christian Church of Honolulu at a special rate available only through AlohaForever weddings. Please note: Honolulu is located on the drier Leeward or south side of the island of Oahu. The Windward or north side where the Moli'i Gardens at Kualoa Ranch is located, receives quite a bit more rainfall than the rest of the island. Most days, Hawaii is blessed with the wonderful “air-conditioning of its tradewinds but sometimes a particularly windy day may present a challenge to hair-dos and wedding veils. Depending on the location, we do our best to hold the ceremony out of the wind but being out-of-doors, it’s really Mother Nature’s call.

A WORD TO THE WISE

If possible, plan to be in Hawaii at least twenty-four hours before your wedding. Once you are here, be liberal with a high-factor sunscreen. The cooling tradewinds are wonderful but the Hawaiian sun is the most intense of the fifty states. Hawaii is a paradise but it is not innocent. Be careful for your personal belongings and valuables. Locked cars and car trunks will not adequately protect your things. Enjoy yourself but keep your stuff with you.

GRATUITIES

Here in Hawai'i, "tipping" is an expression of Aloha (appreciation, honor, love) rather than obligation. We and all of our vendors (limo drivers, photo-videographers, musicians) endeavor to offer the best services at the most reasonable prices possible simply because that is what Aloha does. We all have chosen relatively modest life-styles so that we can continue to do this in spite of Hawai'i's tight economy. Any blessing you wish to extend to any of us is never expected but always appreciated and gratefully received.