December is not a typical wedding month. Here in Hawaii it’s fabulous. The weather has been divine. We had a rainy period early in the month but now the days are 80 degrees and the lowest i have seen all month is 60 degrees. The sunsets have been terrific too. So anyone wanting a destination wedding should consider December as a good choice. As we say in the Islands…Mele Kalikimaka from Maui’d Forever.

The wedding business in Hawaii is quite substantial. 20,000 plus weddings per year is the number. With that many weddings there are quite a number of wedding vendors. So why then should you hire a wedding planner for your Hawaii destination wedding? You certainly don’t have to. You could hire your own minister, photographer, videographer and florist. You might save a little money that way.

But there are things to consider; Are the vendors you selected any good? What about choosing a location for your wedding, can you do that yourself before coming to the Islands. Your vendors will need to know where to show up! What time of day is best? What if a rain event happens and you need to move the ceremony? Do you want to be the one handling these details or would you be better off relaxing before the big event? Won’t there be enough stress just getting ready for the big event?

If saving money is paramount to your situation there are plenty of wedding planners that do their service for a reasonable rate. The best place to start is to search for independent wedding planners. There are local associations and one of the best sources is the Hawaii Visitors Bureau. The places to avoid if you are wanting to save money: Resort Hotels! Yyou will spend 3 to 5 times as much for the very same services using the very same vendors that the big resort hotels use.

One such wedding vendor that offers superior service and well priced packages is Maui’d Forever. They operate on all the major Islands; Maui, Oahu, Kauai and the Big Island of Hawaii. See their packages.

What a beautiful night on Maui. We did 4 weddings with 3 of them in Makena. These 3 all started at the same time (6pm, an hour before sunset). The fact is that Makena offers miles of beaches and even with many weddings going on simultaneously has a sense of beauty and tranquility that other places on Maui can’t match.

Heading south, Makena offers Paluea, Secret Beach, Poolenelena, Makena Surf, Makena Landing, South and North Maluaka and the ever popular Makena Cove. We let our client choose the beach where they want to marry and many wait till they get on Island and check it out for themselves. However a good place to preview these sites is to visit the South Maui Wedding Locations page. Many good pictures of these locations can be seen. And if you need to know more about these location, call the expert, Bill Armstrong at 1-800-395-7807.

Literally having witnessed thousands of beach weddings I am still amazed at the different types of light generated near sunset. This light also changes, sometimes minute by minute. Setting up a wedding shoot and getting it “right” is a matter of experience. Our wedding photographers shoot many hundreds of these “sunset” weddings each year. The Maui’d Forever website is a perfect place to see 12 different photographers takes on these weddings. Each is available in a Maui’d Forever wedding package. We encourage our clients to preview the photographers work and let us know who they prefer for their wedding.

See these photographers and the respective wedding packages where they are available.

You may have got tired about hearing all the hoopla on July 7, 2007 weddings. I thought you all might like to hear more about the results. Maui’d Forever has successfully hosted 15 7-7-07 weddings on Maui, Kauai and the Big Island. Good weather was had on all 3 islands. We sure kept our vendors busy too. Our first wedding started at 7am with a large group at Makena Surf beach. See some great pictures of this beach by clicking this link.

Most of the weddings were quite simple affairs with a minister, photographer and a few flowers. However, some where our “Extravaganza” wedding which includes a private dinner on the beach, catered by a gourmet chef. See our wedding packages.

Be sure to call us early if interested in 8-8-08. We already have bookings and plenty of inquiries. Call the pro’s at 1-800-871-2758.