8 Factors to Consider When Selecting a Hawaii Wedding Venue

Venue: Hawaii Vista Weddings | Photography: Michele C Photo

With so many beautiful wedding venue options in Hawaii, it can be really difficult to choose which venue (or venues) is the perfect one for your wedding! From gorgeous gardens by the beach to beautiful ballrooms in luxury resorts we know that the choices can sometimes be very overwhelming for couples. Especially as every venue is unique and provides different items, amenities, and fees they can’t exactly just be compared side by side.

Due to that, we recommend that you and your other half determine what factor or factors are most important to the two of you, and only compare those areas when looking at multiple venues. With that in mind we created the following list of factors that you may want to consider when selecting a hawaii wedding venue! We hope that this list will help you find the wedding venue that will capture your personality, priorities, style, and of course budget!

  1. Site Fee & Minimum Guarantee

    A site fee is the amount that it will cost to book the venue space. Whereas the minimum guarantee is the amount that you are required to spend on food and/or drinks. Some venues may have higher site fees but lower minimum guarantees and vice versa. Note that as a minimum guarantee will require you to spend a certain amount, this factor may also affect your guest size. 

  2. Parking Fees 

    Though many local guests anticipate having to pay for parking, if taking care of this cost completely for your guests is something that is a priority to you, this is a cost to consider as some venues have free parking while others will have parking fees. 

  3. Bar Fees 

    Similar to parking fees, though guests are typically prepared to pay for their drinks, if taking care of this cost completely is something that is important to you, the cost and bar options is something to consider. Though most venues offer options of fully hosted bars, drink tickets, a time limit, or dollar limit it’s crucial to determine which option matters to you so that your venue aligns with this priority! .

Venue: Kahala Resort | Photography: Derek Wong Photography

4. Amenities

Some venues offer free or discounted items that would come with booking their venue such as a spa treatment, wedding cake, hotel rooms, ceremony/reception decor, and champagne glasses. Though it’s always nice to get items for free or at a discount, really consider if the amenities that are offered are things that you would actually use!

5. Service Fees

Used for a venue to cover their incidentals as well as for tipping their banquet staff this fee typically comes with every venue. However, the exact amount tends to differ from venue to venue so this fee is something to consider if you’re sticking to a tight budget. The service fee  percentages typically range from 21% to 30% of the venue cost. 

6. Provided Items

If having a venue that has the “standard” items such as chairs, linens, and an arbor are something that’s important to you as you won’t have to hire another vendor to provide these items, then you may want to consider venues that provide these standard items and possibly more. Some venues can even provide candles, cocktail tables, and easels upon request. 

7. Food

If you and your other half are “foodies”, this area may be especially important to you! You may want to consider venues that not only serve the food that you desire, but may also allow for a taste testing before the wedding. And if you’re planning on a budget does this venue provide a taste tasting at no extra charge? If the taste of the food served at your wedding is especially important to you, this may be high on your priority list! 

8. Atmosphere

What kind of atmosphere do you want for your wedding? A completely outdoor wedding by the beach? Or an outdoor ceremony and indoor reception in a ballroom? If there’s a certain type of atmosphere you want to create at your wedding see what venues are able to help you create that ambiance. If you’re still unsure whether you want an indoor or outdoor wedding, please check out our video below covering the topic as well as the five blogs that go into more depth of the pros & cons for both indoor and outdoor weddings! 

Know that if there’s a venue that you really want but it’s slightly above your budget there’s no harm in inquiring with the venue to see if any of the factors such as site fee, minimum guarantee, and the fees mentioned above can be negotiated!

Additionally, if you just want to see pictures and videos of the various properties, click here for a gallery of images and videos of weddings at the various wedding venues on the island of Oahu.

We hope this list of 8 factors to consider when selecting a Hawaii wedding venue will help you choose the perfect location for you and your best friend to say “I Do!”.

XOXOXO

Happy Planning!

(A Perfect Day)

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