Plan Your Kauai Wedding | Helpful Information & FAQs

Normal turnaround time for your web stream is 24-48 hours, or 1-2 weeks for your fully edited wedding video. You will recieve an email notifying you that your web stream is up online and ready for viewing. If you need your full cinematic video sooner than 2 weeks max, we offer RUSH processing at a fee. 3 Day RUSH turnaround can be added for $299. Call us if you need your video quicker. 808-822-5381

This depends on yor chosen video package. Web Stream video will be up and ready for viewing within 24-48 hours of your event...a link will be emailed you from our office. Cinematic Music Videos take a little longer as extensive editing is required, and normally these are delivered by digital download. We have many video options...ask our office staff for assistance if you don't know which option would best fit your needs and budget.

It's going to be sunny, with occasional showers - Every Day. The weather in Kauai is incredibly consistent most of the time, and that’s because we’re a little island surrounded by 2,700 miles of ocean in any direction, that keeps us temperate. The trade winds that blow across the Tropic of Cancer keep us cool and our average daily temperature of 82°F keeps us warm. You’ll be grateful for the trade winds cooling breeze as you stand in the sun during the 20 minutes of ceremony and hour of photography, it will keep you cooler. But if your hair is longer you will have to think of ways to control it to avoid looking like "Wolf Girl" (Wolf guy as well, if that fits). Many Brides visit a hairdresser and have their hair put up with white flowers inlaid. Others pin their hair back or choose a Haku lei which tends to control longer hair you you don't want to wear your hair up. Others still will use a Cymbidium Orchid hairpiece to control one side and pin back the other. And remember, don’t pack too many clothes, most people get by with shorts and tops because it’s so beautiful and casual here. A lot of people arrive with three suitcases and go home with two that they haven't opened.

Yes, Kauai is a tropical island and it rains a lot, but rain tends to be very localized. It might rain on the North Shore, while the South Shore is completely unaffected, and bright and sunny. It may rain for just a couple of minutes, after which the clouds open up to beautiful blue skies. Rain in Hawaii is different from anywhere else on the mainland. Even Mark Twain has been heard saying "If you don't like the weather on Kauai, wait a few minutes", and it's so true!

Here's what we normally offer in the very rare occasion of rain infringing on your wedding:

1. We can move the time of your wedding, to when the weather forecast predicts the least chance of rain on that day.

2. We can move your location. The North Shore tends to get the most rain, so if it turns out to be a problem we can move your wedding to the South Shore instead.

3. In the most rarest of possibilities, should there be a storm front affecting the whole island we are happy to accommodate your wedding on another day. (In our 15 years of operations this has only happened a couple of times, so it's extremely unlikely.)

Our team of minister & photographer will meet you at the beach, or other chosen venue. Your event will start with your wedding ceremony followed by photography and/or videography if you have ordered a video. If you have family & friends with you we'll normally do your group pictures first, followed by romantic shots of the bride & groom. Depending on your chosen package your wedding should either take about 1 hour, or up to 2 hours maximum. For more information check out our dedicated "Your Event Unfolds" page for more details.

Ninety One Miles of beaches. How do we choose? Yes, there are ninety one miles of beautiful beaches in Kauai, not all of them are easily accessible, nor desirable for a wedding. What most people want is a deserted beach that’s wide and sunny with small waves and great colors. So where do we find these beaches? Well first you should know that there are some beaches that we can’t get to or that are prohibited from use for Weddings. Many beaches have Hawaiian ancestors buried close to the beach, and for obvious reasons these beaches are sacrosanct. Other beaches can only be approached by hiking some distance, maybe down cliffs or through undergrowth, neither of which is advisable in a Wedding Dress and, or high heels. Still other beaches belong to County jurisdiction and cannot be permitted for any kind of commercial events. The same is true for waterfalls and cliffs both of which involve some hiking and may not be able to be permitted. We’ve taken great lengths to choose the locations which we feel work best depending upon the number of people in the wedding party, their accommodation location, the time of the year, the weather, and the ease of permitting. Our favorite wedding locations are Shipwreck's Beach on the South Shore, and Hanalei Bay on the North Shore because they offer a variety of different props and scenic back drops.

A small deposit of $200 reserves your wedding date, with the balance being authorized to your credit card a few days prior to your event. The $200 deposit is non-refundable should you cancel your wedding more than 60 days before your scheduled event. For wedding cancellations within 60 days of your planned event date please read our complete "Terms of Service" agreement.

We accept Visa, MasterCard and American Express as payment options.

You can easily make additional payment towards your final bill online at the following link.

Why do I need a Permit and a Wedding License? Do we really need them? Well the answer is YES, you need both.

The $65 wedding license is required by the State and the Federal government to validate that you were really married in Hawaii. To obtain a license in Hawaii you must both fill in your wedding license application online, and both appear before a State License Agent with a picture ID. You don’t need blood tests, there are no waiting periods, nor do you need witnesses. You can obtain a license on any Island in the State of Hawaii, and there are several options on Kauai. There’s a list here. The Beach Use Permit is completely different from the license: it gives the permission to use a part of the public beach for a Wedding Ceremony for a given time and for a given number of people. It cannot be applied for by anyone other than the company who will marry you. It must be obtained before the wedding and states the site and the time, limited to two hours at that location. The photography is separate and is covered under another license which we hold from the Hawaii Film Commission.

Getting married in Hawaii is legal everywhere in the World: Canada, Australia, the UK, Germany, Austria, Switzerland, Holland, Italy, all Eastern European Counties, Asia and everywhere else. We have married many couples from these countries over the years. German & English are spoken. Some countries, like Germany (and other EU countries), require an additional document to be issued by the Department of Health of the State of Hawaii. Ask us about it, we'll file it for you for a small fee!

Most wedding planners will meet with you upon your arrival to Kauai to go over all the details for your big day if you request so. If you are planning a wedding where you'll have a group of people attending, a few bride's maids, groom's men, large flower order and reception venue to go over, it's a good idea. We also offer a rehearsal service for larger groups at an additional cost. However, if your wedding is small or even just the two of you, it may not be necessary. Most couples will just meet the minister & photographer at the beach at the specified time of your wedding.

Once you have booked with Kauai Island Weddings we'll send you a link to create your personal online wedding planner. This is a wonderful tool to keep track of all your wedding related tasks and allows you to make changes on the go, as it's mobile friendly.

This Online Planner will create a unique URL just for you, and any time you'll make a change, it'll send YOU and US an email so we can update your details. Should you have misplaced or forgotten your Personal Online Planner URL, please email hans@kauaiislandweddings.com and we'll send you an email with your unique link.

Most wedding planners will meet you for a rehearsal of your wedding if you have a larger group, and if you are paying a coordination fee to cover the extra time. Some companies automatically add a coordination fee for any size group, which normally covers extra time spend arranging your bridal flowers, coordination a variety of vendors and/or your reception dinner, and of course meeting you on the beach for a rehearsal. Other's will do a rehearsal upon request only and will charge you a nominal fee just for the rehearsal. Because weddings on the beach tend to be much less formal and structured, a rehearsal is not always necessary. It depends on the couple and how relaxed or spontaneous they are, or alternatively, how formal they would like their destination wedding to be. If you wanted to arrange for a rehearsal you'll find more info here.

Yes. However, all other venues in Kauai are subject to site fees because they'll be on private land, be it a hotel, private home, or waterfall. Knowing this, there is that cost consideration. Beach weddings only require a Beach Use Permit which will cost you $75 and up (depending on the size of your group), while site fees for private venues can be $500 to $5000 or higher. There are tropical garden weddings with or without a wedding gazebo, waterfall weddings on private land, getting married on horseback, in a small airplane, on a riverboat, or at the famous Fern Grotto. Additional compliments can include Hawaiian touches like a Hawaiian musician and/or Hula dancer. Couples have a variety of choices and a wedding in Kauai can be as fancy or low key as the couple desire.

Check out our offerings here.

" I’ll have lots of people there and they’ll all have cameras. I know I’ll get all their pictures, so why do I need to hire a Professional?" You’re correct,there will be lots of cameras present and, more likely than not, they will be the small "point and click kind". These cameras are fine for snap shots, to capture beaches and mountains for their personal memories, but they’re not good enough if you miss a lifetime of precious memories ... Our professional photographers (yes there’s two at each wedding!) have thousands of dollars of equipment and have honed their skills over hundreds of Weddings to perfect our style as you see on our website. We know the "set up shots" that show the Bride and the Groom in their best light, we know the difference between backdrops that look good and those which look great. We have the experience to arrange the larger groups at a wedding, and pose the many set ups necessary to capture the intimacy and romance of your Kauai Wedding. Have everybody take photos, it will make them happy, but don’t rely on amateurs to deliver your priceless Wedding Memories - it’s not like you’ll get married every day and can retake the photos. Can you really afford to miss the best chance to get really great images that people will cry over?

Kauai, and the whole State of Hawaii is blessed with exceptionally good weather year round. Summer months tend to be a bit hotter, and winter temperatures are in the comfortable mid 70's range. It's sunny, with fluffy white clouds and comfortable warm breezes. Mark Twain when visiting Kauai said: "If you don't like the weather in Kauai, wait 10 minutes!". No really, that's how quickly it changes! Hawaii is a sub-tropical paradise and any time of the year will be perfect to tie the knot, Hawaiian style.

For decades people have chosen the beautiful Hawaiian Island of Kauai for vacations and weddings. The scenery is unsurpassed and the Hawaiian culture adds such a magnificent touch to any event. Kauai Island Weddings is our family owned wedding business and we are the most experienced wedding planners on the Island of Kauai. As professional wedding planners, we have provided our clients with everything - location, honeymoon suites, photography, flowers, and so much more. We offer a variety of ocean front or garden weddings and vow renewal sites, as well as all the proper amenities. As long time wedding planners and Hawaiian residents, we understand that you are probably viewing this website from the States, so we have wedding specialists to guide you through the process of choosing the perfect location and wedding package to suit your needs. We offer Kauai's best wedding photography packages, giving you many more photos than any of our competitors offer. Our talented photographers on staff are published professional photographers, and we are a proud member of the Kauai Wedding Professionals Association. Plus, you get FREE joint copyright of all of your photos! Most other companies will charge you an extra fee for copyright use. Our office is located in Kapaa, and we are long time Kauai residents, so we can provide you with local input and solutions. Some companies, like Maui'd Forever, are not local to the islands but rather operate their business from the mainland, buying services from different local vendors.

We are right here in Kauai to help you.

* Kauai's most experienced wedding planners

* Best wedding photography packages

* Free joint copyright to all images

* You get your wedding photos fast: Within 7-10 days

* Wedding Deposit is only $200 with the balance due on your wedding day

* Many beautiful wedding locations to choose from

* All you have to do on your wedding day is show up - we'll take care of everything else!

Kauai is the most romantic of the Hawaiian Islands and is referred to as the Wedding Island of Kauai. It's oldest island, offering the most lush scenery & beauty and it distinguishes itself by having the most beaches of all of the Hawaiian Islands - a total of 90 miles. While the Big Island refers to lava rock as "the beach", and Maui's coastline is quite narrow, Kauai has it all: tropical beaches, white sandy beaches, a black sand beach, and beaches that are mostly deserted and empty. It's approximately the same size as Oahu, but while Oahu has over 1 Million residents, Kauai has only 60,000. This is where you'll find the Grand Canyon of the Pacific, and a breathtaking stretch of coastline called the Na Pali Coast.

* Kauai is called the Wedding Island of Kauai

* The Polynesian people consider Kauai "the heart of the planet"

* Has the most beaches of all of the Hawaiian islands - over 90 miles in total

* Most beaches are deserted

* Most beautiful of the Hawaiian Islands

* Only 60,000 residents (Oahu has over 1 Million and Maui 200,000)

* Small and quaint place, that feels like time has stood still

It's quite simple: Hawaii is part of the United States, where residents speak English, the currency is US dollar and you don't have to worry about drinking the water... This naturally makes wedding planning much easier, as you'll know what to expect. Communications with all vendors will be in the same language and there is much less room for error or confusion due to a language barrier. Plus, you'll find the same excellent standard of service, may it be in services rendered for your wedding or hotel accommodation, that you've come to be accustomed to living in the US. You'll greatly reduce the chance of a wedding fiasco going with a destination wedding in the United States.

Maybe I can save money by hiring different experts to work together, like an individual photographer, minister, videographer and musician. I may be able to save a few bucks if I coordinate the wedding myself. But is there a down side? You won’t save any money by hiring a group of individuals, and you might be heading for trouble, in a big way.Your Wedding needs to be properly coordinated, and that’s hard to do when a group of people haven’t worked together before. The Wedding must go smoothly and everything must run like a well oiled clock. Errors caused by people who don't work as a team are common, they can’t rely on each other and it makes everybody nervous. The photographer doesn't necessarily know the ceremony and when certain photo opportunities arise, and the musician may not know when to play. Just look at the wedding photos of most wedding companies. Why aren’t the bride and groom smiling, maybe things aren’t going well? Now look at all of our wedding photos, see the difference! There’s no time for a do-over, no second chances, either everything got captured or it got missed. Don’t leave things to chance, always book a company that has their own staff doing everything: from the minister to the photographer, to the videographer, editor and coordinator. Make sure you get the best you can afford, you don’t get a second chance at this special day.

With Trade Winds blowing in Kauai, what's the chance your hair will stay in place? Well, the answer is NONE! Your hair will blow around in front of you during the ceremony and the photography and turn you into "wolf girl", which is hardly the look we want for your wedding. There are many ways you can control your hair, including using a Haku Lei, pinning your hair back, have your hair styled professionally or having floral hairpieces put in place to hold your hair.

Call us to add our traveling hair and make-up stylist to your details, she will meet you in your hotel room, and make sure your hair and make-up are styled to hold up to tropical beach conditions. 808-822-5381

Whatever you choose, adding flowers in your hair can do nothing but improve your photos. Putting color around the Bride is never wrong and the more flowers around the Bride the better: the bridal bouquet, the Haku lei, the leis, the Orchid hair piece, and any flowers put in your hair really help set off the beauty of the Bride.

You’re on a Tropical Island getting married and you’re not sure if you need a Bouquet, or any additional Flowers? Well the answer is YES, you need flowers. The next question is always "Why"? and the answer is simple: they add a burst of color to the photos. Take a few moments to think about these photos that will be cherished for all time, they most often will show the Bride in a white dress, and the groom in a white shirt and neutral colored pants. And yes there’s color in the background of the shots, the Ocean, the sand, the sky but we need to make the couple ‘pop’ and the best way to do that is to add bright colorful flowers to the happy couple. Some set-up photos will suffer without a bouquet, for example the ring shots use the bouquet as a background to the hands, there are many other set ups that also use the flowers and not just the Bouquet; the Orchids in the hair set off the brides face against the flowers; the greens of the Maile lei worn by the Groom set off the shirt he’s wearing and the Haku (or head lei) worn by the bride do double duty controlling the Brides hair and adding color above the face. All in all, the beauty that the colorful flowers bring to the photos is without question, and even though they add to the cost, how much is it worth to make the photos more memorable?

Wait! Isn't a Wedding Cake and a Champagne Toast a central part of the wedding ceremony? Well again, the answer is YES, but the circumstances are somewhat different, so that changes what might be a better solution. In the case of the Champagne, it’s simple: the law states that no alcohol can be consumed on the beaches of Hawaii, nor on the adjacent county land either. That means that the Champagne is best saved for the wedding dinner that you will almost certainly be having. I can’t imagine any restaurant saying no to serving your Champagne as part of the meal. The Cake is different. There’s no legal objection to having a cake at the wedding on the beach in Kauai, however the DLNR law prohibits "furniture" on the beach which means you can't have a cake table. Bearing in mind that a cake on a beach in the hot sun undergoes structural changes (it melts) and that all insects within a 5 mile radius find it irresistible, it also is better saved for during your reception dinner. On many occasions the Hotel or Restaurant may have a Wedding Cake you can order when you reserve, or you can call any of the bakeries on Kauai.

Sometimes rescheduling your wedding date is necessary as life throws us a curve ball... a relative's illness, or an unexpected assignment at work that interferes with your event plans. Don't worry, we'll be happy to help you reschedule your Hawaiian wedding. A small additional deposit of $200 is required to change your wedding date if you're within 60 days of your event. This is not an extra charge, but rather is an additional deposit that goes towards your final bill. Outside of 60 days no additional deposit is required.

You may request to change the start time of your event, and we will be happy to accommodate your request if it doesn't conflict with other prior events in our schedule.

Read our complete "Terms of Service" here.

To reschedule your wedding please email here.

To request a change of the starting time of your event either use your Personal Online Wedding Planner, or email here.

FAQ about your Kauai Wedding

Can I customize my wedding package?

How long will it take to get our Wedding Pictures / Photos?

What format will our Photos be in?

How will I get my Photos?

How long does it take to get our Video?

How will I get my Video?

What will the Weather be like?

What will we do if it Rains?

How will our Wedding unfold?

Wedding Duration...how long will we be at the beach?

What's the best Location?

Wedding Deposit and Payments.

About the Wedding License & Beach Permit.

Is a wedding in Hawaii legal everywhere?

Foreign Couples / Non US couples.

Do we meet our Wedding Planner before the wedding?

Your Personal Online Wedding Planner - our exclusive planning tool.

I've lost my Personal Online Wedding Planner URL...what do I do?

Will we have a Rehearsal?

Do you offer Other Venues than the beach?

Do we really need a Professional Wedding Photographer?

What time of the year is best to get married in Hawaii?

Why choose Kauai Island Weddings?

Why you should get married in Kauai rather than Maui, Oahu, or the Big Island..."

Why choose Hawaii for your Destination Wedding, rather than the Caribbean, Mexico or the Bahamas?..."

Should I hire a Team or just a bunch of individuals?

What to do with my Hair?

The Importance of Flowers.

When will I get my Flowers?

Will we have Wedding Cake and Champagne on the beach?

What music will the Musician play?

Wedding Cancellations.

Rescheduling your Wedding.

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