We Got Maui’d – Taking the Plunge of a Lifetime!

We got Maui’d!  Not to each other, but to two very different men and two years apart. We didn’t even attend each other’s weddings. Our philosophy is that a good friend will ask you to be in your wedding and make you buy an expensive ugly dress. A great friend elopes to Maui!

I thought I would share this fun way to get married (and a built-in honeymoon) without all the fuss and muss of a more traditional wedding.

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Why Get Maui’d?

Neither Deidra nor I were what one might call a young and blushing bride when we finally found Mr. Right.  My older sister, Melissa, Got Maui’d when she tied the knot (she was also a thirty-something bride), and I always said I wanted to do the same.  When Deidra expressed interest in a Hawaiian wedding, I promptly provided her my sister’s wedding planner’s contact information and away she went.  

Deidra and her husband Brian tied the knot on a beach in Maui nearly 17 years ago. They had a sunset wedding at Malu’aka Beach. It rained briefly as soon as they arrived at the beach for the ceremony. Rain on your wedding day is considered lucky, but Deidra didn’t think so as she fretted about her hair and makeup! But the damage wasn’t too bad. Better yet, the rain scared away the tourists, so they had the beach to themselves!

Just two short years later it was my turn to Get Maui’d. Mike and I opted to marry on the grounds of the Kaanapali Beach Club. This hotel offers a quiet gazebo area, stunning gardens, and beach access to expand your photoshoot options.  

Maui Wedding Planner

We used Anointed Weddings of Maui to plan all aspects of our weddings. They offer extremely reasonable wedding packages for their planning services, an officiant to perform the ceremony, a traditional Hawaiian Conch Shell Blowing, Hawaiian Leis, scheduling of the marriage license appointment, a witness (who is also willing to take photos with your camera for a small fee), and a Maui Beach Wedding Permit. This was the package that Deidra selected, but she added a digital photography package, bouquet and hair flower. She’s still sorry that she didn’t get a wedding cake!

The package I used is the Sweetheart Special which currently costs a base price of $735.  It includes everything listed above plus a colored sand ceremony and professional high-resolution photography with 40 4X6 color photos in an album and on a CD or 70-80 images on a CD.  Mike and I did not have a colored sand ceremony.  That seems to have replaced the rose ceremony that was part of our package, which is not a great loss.

My mother also wanted me to have a large bouquet and a cake for photographs, so I upgraded the package to include these items. These upgrades totaled less than $500 and provided us a wide variety of photo options.  I thought it was wasteful when I ordered it, but was glad I did.  The bouquet was beautiful and the cake was delicious! I guess mother really does know best.

To Invite or Not Invite Friends and Family

Neither Deidra nor I opted to have guests at our Hawaiian weddings.  Doing so would have brought some of the hassles we wanted to avoid by having a destination wedding.  If you want to invite your loved ones, the basic beach wedding permit allows up to 15 people in attendance.  Larger permits are available for an additional cost.  Also, if you want to go all out, Anointed Weddings of Maui has all sorts of packages with torch and drum processions, knife dancers, butterfly releases, and so much more!

Logistics

There are numerous hotel options in Maui but we stayed at Ka’anapali Shores.  We enjoyed the large room with a kitchenette.  This allowed us to take that lovely cake back to the room to enjoy all week long. Deidra stayed nearby at Ka’anapali Beach Hotel. Depending upon your interests, there are also a lot of great things for honeymooners to do while on the island including snorkeling, the road to Hana, a bike ride down Haleakala, and a luau.

Be sure to arrive on Maui at least one day before the big day.  We arrived the night before – but just barely. There was heavy fog the day of our departure and our flight was delayed quite a bit. The airline recommended that we remove our wedding clothes from our checked bags to ensure we had them upon arrival.  We had to run to our connecting flight, and all I could see was my wedding dress wadded up in a clear bag as Mike ran ahead to buy me a little time!

Getting A Marriage License

The morning of our wedding day, we had an appointment to apply for the marriage license.  Your wedding planner should set up this appointment as part of your package. We found it interesting that we applied for our license in a jewelry store. I guess this was so they could sell rings, but we were a little more prepared than that!

Considering Getting Maui’d?

The very best part of a Hawaiian wedding (besides the price-tag) is how easy it is.  Mike and I spent one afternoon deciding what we wanted and then booking the entire thing (including air, hotel, and activity reservations).  I won’t go into all the honeymoon details, but Mike swears I tried to kill him while snorkeling the first day!

For great Hawaii travel information, check out Beautiful Big Island & Kauai in 8 Days, 5 Must-Do Activities on the Big Island, and 5 Sites You Must See in Kauai. No longer newlyweds? Then check out Top Tips for Visiting Hawaii With Teens

Do you know anyone who got Maui’d?

Or do you have another great destination wedding idea?  If so, we would love to hear it! Tell us what you think below in the comments. You can also contact us and follow us on Facebook, Instagram and Pinterest so you never miss a post!