Destination wedding help

I would rethink this plan. There are one or two circumstances I can think of where a destination wedding is not an excessive burden to one's guests, but I don't think this is one of them. It's inconsiderate and not cool to pass on the costs of your destination wedding to your guests in order to save yourselves money.

If Hawaii is the priority then I'd do something simple and inexpensive locally and honeymoon in HI.

Many people would dream of achieving a wedding ceremony and reception at $10,000. The idea of the Hawaiian one makes me wonder how many people are able to work out a trip like that. As conveyed by CM, the overall cost of saving you some money could be pretty high.

TBH, $10,000 for a wedding is incredibly low! I don’t foresee you being able to spend less than this to get married in Hawaii. Flights alone are thousands of dollars. Food is also very expensive in Hawaii. You will likely spend just as much on food/booze for your guests there (for a fraction of the amount of guests), as you would have spent here. Not to mention, when you have a destination wedding more is expected of you as the host. You are expected to host a welcome dinner for your guests (which, again, will likely be very expensive as restaurants over there are quite pricey). And many people who host destination weddings do extras, such as put together welcome bags for their guests, host farewell brunches, or pay for a group activity for everyone, as a means of thanking their guests for taking so much time out of their schedules and spending such a considerable amount of money to attend their wedding. Add to all of that the fact that you are going to have to pay for a hotel and food for your entire stay, plus any activities you might want to do while there. I would be shocked if you could do all of this for under $10k. People spend nearly that just to vacation in Hawaii.

By trying to save yourself money, you are making your guests pay $$$ for the most expensive locale within the US? Even food is imported into Hawaii. I would reconsider this idea because rarely do destination weddings cost less for the couple and requires more hosting (see Cece's comment above). I also think your friends will give you bad looks if you told them you chose HI to "save money". P.S. A 10k wedding is a dream for most.

To do a destination on a budget I would suggest you just elope. Hawaii has tons of elopement packages, a couple thousand and you get your officiant, witnesses, and photographers. I think some may have a few extra things like a Lei and some more traditional Hawaiian wedding things.


There is not a way to have a cheap destination Hawaiian wedding without someone having to fork over 'a lot' of money.

I agree with Alyssa on eloping, or maybe just invite your parents and siblings. My friend had a small (bride, groom, and immediate family) wedding in Hawaii, and they were able to get a great package. She’s been married for a long time now, so I very highly doubt this is still the rate, but her photographer was $250 and took care of lining up an officiant and both their leis. She told her then-fiancé that they might be getting scammed, but luckily it wasn’t! There’s no way that price is still valid, but if it’s just your parents and siblings, you can probably get away with having a meal at an affordable restaurant as the reception and not worry as much about extra events, catering, DJ, etc. If you’re asking friends and distant relatives to pay out substantial money, time, and time off work, then you’ll also be expected to host more activities to thank them and make it worth their while.