The Perfect Wedding

The Perfect Wedding Destination
By Mimi Kmet
Hawaii offers many unique venues for couples to tie the knot
Stretches of beach, tropical gardens, manicured lawns, quaint courtyards and other euphoric locales throughout Hawaii make the islands an ideal place to tie the knot. Though most hotels offer at least one of those types of venues, or have access to them, other unique venues—such as historic plantations, waterfalls and even underwater—are plentiful as well. Clients can book these sites through resorts or through professional wedding planners. Here are some examples.

At an aquarium. The Maui Ocean Center (808-270-7081, www.mauioceancenter.com) offers a full range of options, including a ceremony in a 54-foot acrylic tunnel that runs through the 750,000-gallon Open Ocean exhibit, where the wedding party is surrounded by stingrays and sharks. If the bride and groom are certified divers, the Maui Ocean Center can customize an underwater wedding. The couple holds “I do” signs, and the rings are kept in a clamshell holder until the vows are exchanged.

At a historic estate. Among the historic estates in the islands where couples can wed is the Bayer Estate on Oahu (808-377-9359, www.bayerestate.com), an oceanfront home from 1936 with a classic garden, located 10 minutes from Waikiki.

Overlooking an ancient Hawaiian fishpond. Hawaiians of long ago developed a way to catch fish for the ali’i (royalty): by trapping them in natural or man-made fishponds along the shores. At the Waikoloa Beach Marriott Resort & Spa (808-886-6789, www.marriott.com) on the Big Island, nuptials can take place on The King’s Knoll, which looks across a fishpond onto Anaeho’omalu Bay.

On a lava rock. At the Sheraton Keauhou Bay Resort & Spa (888-488-3535, www.sheratonkeauhou.com) on the Big Island, couples can celebrate “love on the lava” when they wed on a lava rock fronting the ocean. The Big Island’s Kona Village Resort (800-367-5290, www.konavillage.com) also offers weddings on a lava rock promontory.

At a planetarium. The ‘Imiloa Astronomy Center of Hawaii (808-969-9704, www.imiloahawaii.org) on the Big Island is a full-service venue, home to the 2,400-square-foot Moanahoku (Ocean of Stars) Hall; the Sky Garden Restaurant, with floor-to-ceiling glass walls (available Mondays); and outdoor gardens. Couples can also rent the 120-seat planetarium and have their names and images projected onto the 3-D dome screen.

At a plantation. Set on a historic, 27-acre sugar plantation and fronting a black-sand beach, Aston’s Waimea Plantation Cottages (866-774-2924, www.waimea-plantation.com) on Kauai features a restored turn-of-the-20th-century manor that was the plantation manager’s home during the heyday of sugar cane. Also on Kauai, the Kilohana Plantation (808-245-5608, www.kilohanakauai.com) offers a mansion built in 1936 by a sugar baron. The house offers a main salon and a courtyard, where receptions are catered by the onsite Gaylord’s restaurant.

On a ranch. Hawaii is full of ranches, including the Parker Ranch (808-885-5898, www.parkerranch.com) , which was built in 1847 and covers thousands of acres on the Big Island. This working ranch offers several wedding locations, including the 7,000-sqaure-foot Historic Home Puuopelu, Puuopelu Gardens and Mana Hale, the founder’s original home. Oahu’s Kualoa Ranch (808 237-7321, www.kualoa.com) is situated on green cliffs on the northeastern shore, 45 minutes from Waikiki. Amid the ranch’s 4,000 acres are several wedding locations, including a secluded beach and Paliku Gardens at the base of the Kualoa cliffs.

At sea. Hawaii offers plenty of options on the water, including catamarans and luxury yachts. At the Waikoloa Beach Marriott, couples can charter an Ocean Sports Catamaran (888-724-5924 ext. 103, www.hawaiioceansports.com). Trilogy Excursions (888-225-6284, www.sailtrilogy.com), which operates catamaran cruises from Maui and Lanai, offers the “Romantic Catamaran Sunset Sail,” which is ideal for wedding receptions. For a more upscale, intimate experience, contact the Honolulu Sailing Company (800-829-0114, www.honsail.com), which offers private luxury yachts in two locales on Oahu: Kaneohe Bay and Honolulu Harbor.

Next to a waterfall. There are several spots throughout the islands here couples can wed next to one of Hawaii’s storied waterfalls. On Kauai, for example, Waterfall Weddings & Events (info@kauaiwaterfallweddings.com, www.kauaiwaterfallweddings.com) takes wedding parties to a 40-foot waterfall with a banyan tree canopy, a lava rock wall and tropical flora on the North Shore.
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Source: Vacation Agent Magazine - November 2009 / © 2009 Performance Media Group