All posts tagged Simple Maui Wedding

10 Reasons to Have Destination Hawaii Wedding

At some point before their big day, we want to help brides figure out the best-kept nuptial secret — A destination Hawaii wedding is an ideal and easy way to say I Do. Now we’re letting the secret out, and presenting you with 10 amazing and realistic reasons to choose a Hawaii Destination Wedding.

Hawaii wedding of bride and groom10.

The Chance to Say “I Do” in Paradise!

Who wouldn’t want to get married in paradise? Imagine sharing your vows under soft blue skies as the waves crash to shore and the palm trees sway in the wind. You’ve spent the time leading up to this sipping Mai Tai’s by the pool or snorkeling in crystal clear waters. You’re suntanned and stress-free. It may be the best place to start a marriage, especially if you carry some of that paradise spirit with you back home as you begin your life together.

9.

Less Wedding Stress!

If you’re already into the marriage planning process, take this time to close your eyes, take a deep breath, and clear your mind, as if there aren’t five million things to sort out before you walk down the aisle. Now imagine feeling that way the entire time leading up to your big day. This isn’t fantasy, it’s your reality when you decide on a Hawaii destination wedding. If you’ve left the details of the ceremony to a highly organized wedding coordinator like Simple Maui Wedding. You’ve been connected to a top-notch travel agent, and everything is taken care of. All you have to do is show up. Sure, the days leading up to your flight to Maui maybe a little nerve wracking — Did you pack your dress? Are you forgetting your groom? (make sure to pack your groom) But once your plane has left mainland ground, that’s it. You’re enjoying a paradise vacation, not sorting out a thousand last minute details! You have someone to take care of that for you.

8.

It’s All About You (both of you!)

If you stay at home for your wedding, you may find yourself accommodating a lot of people who you barely know. Maybe its the pressure of having the most impressive wedding. Maybe you have a hard time saying no and asserting what you want. Either way, you’ll end up making a lot of decisions based on what other people want, not what you want for you big day. Like when you order the cake flavor that’s a crowd pleaser instead of your favorite. Or the dress your mother-in-law liked instead of the one you felt most comfortable in. Or the venue your family prefers. Suddenly everything is out of your hands and it feels like your putting together somebody else’s wedding. If this starts happening, or you want to avoid it before it begins, it might be time to consider a destination wedding. Your Hawaii Wedding coordinator will make a point to ask you what YOU want — not your sister or your mom or your grandma. So choose dinner where you want, with the flavor of cake you like. Wear the dress you love. This is your day — treat it like it’s your own!

Hawaii wedding details7.

Let the Wedding Coordinator Do All the Work!

A Hawaii destination wedding is a great excuse to hire a wedding coordinator! If you don’t live on Maui, you might not know who is the most reliable vendors or how to time your ceremony perfectly. A wonderful coordinator like Simple Maui Wedding will plan your special day down to a T, and they’ll be there at the ceremony to make sure everything goes smoothly. No stressing to make sure everybody is at the right place and everything is on schedule — you have a fabulous coordinator doing all the work so you can actually enjoy your ceremony!

6.

It’s a HoneyWedding — or a WeddingMoon!

The honeymoon just might be the best thing about a wedding. If you honeymoon in paradise, why not get married there too? Not only does this minimize costs, it also reduces stress and allows for an unforgettable memory. Guests are totally optional on your honeymoon/wedding combo, which brings us to number five…

5.

No Unwanted Guests!

How do you keep that drama-loving cousin from showing up to your wedding a little drunk and a lotta crazy? How do you avoid inviting all your college buddies out of obligation? Make it as inconvenient as possible for them to get to your wedding! Enjoy time with your closest family and friends or don’t fool with any guests at all. Just book a romantic vacation with your fiancé and get married while you’re there. There’s no better way to have a simple, stress free wedding than not worrying about anyone except yourself and your soon-to-be spouse.

4.

Stand-out Photos!

Don’t worry, those guests you left behind will get to enjoy the phenomenal photos you have taken at the wedding. Karma Hill Photography will capture your Hawaii wedding day with style & class. So stand at the shoreline in front of the setting sun. Kiss your honey at the top of lava rock formation. Caress beneath the shade of a palm tree. Oh, don’t forget that priceless shot of your groom watching you walk toward him, grinning with the Hawaiian ocean and mountains behind him. If that’s not enough to make you want a wedding in Hawaii, how about…

Hawaii bride on the beach3.

Saving Money!

I know what you’re thinking… there’s no way you can save money by having a destination wedding. But if you already plan on paying for a honeymoon, you can simply include a small, stylish wedding in that trip. Weddings these days run $10,000 – $25,000 and up. Simple Maui Weddings start at $2250. That will cover everything you need to get married and have great photos. So maybe you spend a little extra on a dress. Maybe you don’t. It’s up to you, because a small destination wedding is all about you (see number 8)! It’s easier to stay within your budget for a Hawaii destination wedding, because you don’t have hundreds of guests influencing your purchase decisions, and you’re encountering lest “bumps in the road” thanks to your coordinator, who is also upfront about pricing and works with you to create a beautiful wedding within your budget!

2.

Great Weather!

The island of Maui is nestled in the middle of the Hawaii islands, so it’s the most guarded of all the islands from rain and storms coming in out of the pacific. Any rain usually goes away fast. This is great for a beach wedding, because if you show up to rain, you either wait it out a few minutes or take a short drive to a new, sunny wedding spot. You’ll also enjoy these ideal weather conditions throughout your wedding vacation!

Hawaii Weddings1.

Anything Goes!

Hawaii is a unique place filled with all kinds of people, and we welcome all couples to marry here! You’ve taken away all the worries of a big guest list and a bigger budget, now you get to make this wedding your own! You want to get married in a bikini? That’s fine. You want to wear a huge ball gown? There’s plenty of room on the beach for one of those! You want to hop in the ocean right after saying “I Do”? Go For It! You want all your guests to wear white and khaki? You want to say your own vows? You want your photos to be uniquely you? All of this is completely fine for a Maui Wedding! You’re keeping things simple by choosing a destination wedding, and you’re making it your very own!

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Hawaii Beach Weddings: How Much Photography Time?

Hawaii Beach Weddings  - Shot of Wedding Party

Hawaii Beach Weddings – Photo of Wedding Party

How Much Photography Time is Needed for a Hawaii Beach Wedding?

One thing brides and grooms often underestimate is how much photography time is enough for Hawaii beach weddings. The amount of photography time needed, has not only to do with how much time you want, but how fast the sun sets. Below you will learn how much time you should allot to get the gorgeous beach wedding photos you came to Hawaii for. We will look at the key factors sunset times, length of ceremony and wedding guest count in determining how much photography time you really need.

Sunset Times for Hawaii Beach Weddings

What time does the sun set and how fast the sun sets are two key factors in understanding how much photography time you need for your beach wedding in Hawaii.

What Time Does the Sun Set in Hawaii Where You are Getting Married?

To figure out what time the sun sets in Hawaii in the particular region of your wedding, you need to use a sunset calculator. As wedding planners in Hawaii our preferred sunset calculator is located here: http://www.sunrisesunset.com/usa/Hawaii.asp. This sunset calculator is extremely easy-to-use. To calculate the sunset on your wedding date all you need to do is add your location and the date of your wedding and it will return the exact time the sun will set. Any quality wedding planner in Hawaii will know when the sun sets to the minute. Use this sunset time calculation tool in reverse when adding photography time. For example the sun sets at 6:30 pm and you want 2 hours of photography, then start time is at 4:30 pm.

How Fast Does the Sun Set?

The reason using a sunset calculator is so important is because once the sun sets in Hawaii you only have an additional 10 to 20 minutes of quality light for capturing the best wedding photos. The sun drops like a rock in Hawaii, it is not the West Coast where sunsets can linger for hours. Once the sun goes over the horizon and is no longer visible the clock starts ticking for your 10 to 20 minutes of gorgeous light. After that 10 to 20 minutes,  the rest of your photos are flash photography, creating a dark backgrounds in photos or leaving you with silhouette shots.

Length of Your Hawaii Wedding Ceremony

Let’s talk about the length of your wedding ceremony. Karma Hill, photographer and owner of Simple Maui Wedding says, “from experience with hundreds of weddings, the typical wedding ceremony length is 20 minutes for a Hawaiian based, religious or nonreligious ceremony”. This is important to account for, because if you only have one hour of photography time, this leaves you with 40 minutes to get all the scenery and guest shots you want and as you read further, that is not very long. After you’ve flown a minimum of 2600 miles to get to Hawaii for your destination wedding, you need more than 40 minutes of photography time to get the epic shots you desire.

Love this shot of one our recent Maui weddings at Kukahiko Estate. The lighting was beautiful that evening. #mauiwedding #wedding #love #maui #simplemauiwedding #mauiweddings #destinationwedding #venuewedding #tropicalwedding #dreamwedding #weddinginspiration

Wedding Guest Count

So now that you know 20 minutes of your Hawaii wedding package time is taken up for the ceremony, you need to decide how much time you want for guest photos and individual photos of just you and your spouse.

With a large guest count it is very important to write down the combinations of wedding guests you want photos with. The amount of these shots is vitally important to account for in gauging photography time. Let us explain why.

Let’s say you want photos with:
  • Brides mom and dad
  • Groom’s mom and dad
  • Entire wedding party
  • Bridesmaids
  • Groomsmen
  • Brides grandma and grandpa
  • Grooms grandma and grandpa
  • Flower girl
  • Bouquet toss
  • Group shot of close friends

 

So above we have 10 different poses which take up valuable photography time. Each Pose takes roughly 3- 4 minutes to: get all the guests together that are needed for the specific shot and set up the pose. If elderly or people with mobility problems are in the poses, this time frame will be increased. So if you have 10 poses at four minutes apiece that is 40 minutes of photography time and no shots have been taken of the bride and groom alone yet.

So with the ceremony of 20 minutes and just 10 poses with the wedding party you have accounted for one hour of photography. Now if you want to get your bride and groom shots you would need roughly 40 minutes to an hour to get some breathtaking shots. You came all the way to Hawaii to get married and you want to leave with some amazing pictures, so don’t cut yourself short on time. You can find additional information about wedding guest count here: Wedding Guest Count.

Determining Just How Much Photography Time You Need

So when determining how much photography time you need, go through and see which poses with friends and family are most important to you. Add up that amount poses X (times) four minutes for each pose, then add 20 minutes for the ceremony plus a  recommend minimum of 40 minutes to an hour of photography time for the bride and groom.

Using the example of 10 poses:

  • 10 poses x 4 min.                = 40 Min.
  • Ceremony                            = 20 Min.
  • Bride and groom photos  =  60 Min.

Total                                               2 hours

So in the above example, allow for 2 hours of photography time. As a general rule over-estimate photography time. When the sun has set, you can’t go back and start the wedding ceremony sooner.  With Hawaii beach weddings photography time must be planned in advance.

In Closing

The #1 thing to remember is don’t cut yourself short on photography time. Hawaii beach weddings seem simple, but it takes time to wrangle guests together for poses. Use a reputable Hawaii wedding coordinator like Simple Maui Wedding to ensure you have enough time calculated for the perfect Hawaii wedding photos.

 

 

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Hawaii Wedding Packages New Site is Getting up and Running

Aloha from Hawaii Wedding Packages, we hope you are having a great year so far. Wedding season is in full swing here in Hawaii with tons of brides and grooms choosing to say i do in paradise this year.

Hawaii Wedding Packages

Hawaii Wedding Package created by Simple Maui Wedding

This beautiful photo was taken by Maui photographer Karma Hill for the wedding company Simple Maui Wedding. There are so many happy couples getting married in Hawaii. I attribute it to the relaxed atmosphere of the island, mother natures natural beauty and the countless activities you can do while in this sunny paradise.

We will have some great information about Hawaii weddings, venues, vendors, floral examples and so much more out as soon as we can. We just need to do a little back end work on Hawaiiweddingpackages.com before we can get posts out on a regular basis.

Much Aloha,

:)

 

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