It’s the second day in our Destination: Hawaii week and today we’re bringing you helpful advice from destination wedding experts! We’ve rounded up tips, insight and firsthand help from industry experts and real-life wedding couples. Read-on and if you or someone you know are considering a destination wedding or honeymoon in Hawaii – please feel free to reach out to us with any questions! You can find Destination I Do on Facebook, Twitter and Instagram – we would love to hear from you and to answer all of your Hawaii questions!

A Top Planner’s Top 5 Must-Do’s

Unveiled Hawaii is unquestionably one of the Hawaiian Islands’ top wedding planning and design companies. They also happen to be all about helping out potential destination wedding couples. Unveiled Hawaii’s Principle Wedding Director and Lead Designer, Lorrie Nielson, is sharing her top five must-do’s when considering a wedding away in Hawaii.

1. DO: Have a good idea of where your guests are traveling from. For example, if they are coming from countries outside the US, consider which airports in Hawaii have international terminals as they might have to take an “outer island hopper flight” in addition to their international flight.
2. DO: Consider who your guests are when choosing which side of the island you would like to host the wedding. Each part of the islands offer different hotel accommodations, night life options, dining and activities, etc.
3. DO: Take into account the time of year you will be hosting the wedding. While Hawaii offers almost year round sunny, blue skies and comfortable temperatures, it does have “seasons” contrary to popular belief.
4. DO: Hire a wedding planner! We know our market and have the contacts and insider knowledge. For example, we know which vendors are best for which brides, the logistics, the venues, and the island. Information like this in invaluable when planning a destination wedding from afar.
5. DO: Limit your time searching the Internet. There is so much information that can unfortunately make the initial planning stages or even the thought of having a destination wedding in Hawaii seem too overwhelming. Trust in the professionals who know the industry and who will point you in all the right directions.

Unveiled Hawaii also took over our Instagram account this past weekend to provide lots of gorgeous island inspiration! In case you missed it, be sure to check out DID’s Instagram account.

DestinationWeddings.com Hearts Hawaii

Our friends and experts over at DestinationWeddings.com wished to weigh-in on the wonder that is Hawaii. The company has planned countless of weddings all over the globe, but not surprisingly has a soft spot for the Hawaiian Islands. Megan Velez with Destination Weddings Travel Group shares her thoughts:

• “Known for its rich and diverse scenery, Hawaii is the ultimate destination choice for couples who want an experience unique to them. They can choose to take in the classic sandy beaches, as well as rainforests, mountains and volcanic landscapes. The natural beauty of this Pacific archipelago is made only better by year-round warmth and sun, as well as many opportunities for adventure.”
• “One of the great things about Hawaii is that, with one destination, you actually get many. While most people arrive in Honolulu on the island of Oahu, Maui, the Big Island, Kauai, and other islands are all just a short and affordable flight away. As each island offers unique cultures, sites and activities, you could easily spend a week in the island chain and still have more to see! This makes it the perfect place to have a destination wedding, as a couple can spend their honeymoon making memories while island-hopping.”
• “There are few things more beautiful than a Hawaiian wedding and, fortunately, there are many ways for couples to infuse the local culture into their celebration. From Kahili feather artists that weave feathers together to signify the union to the romantic lei ceremony where the couple presents one another with flower leis to represent their love and commitment, a Hawaiian celebration is one that will stick with you for many years to come.”

Destination I Do’s Hawaiian Love

In the 13 years we’ve been on the newsstand (whoa, doggy!), DID has covered Hawaii countless times. In fact, it was the first place our founders visited to share with their soon-to-be readers. In our now 25 issues (discover past issues here), we’ve covered the islands in almost every issue. Below, you will find a small sampling of the features we’ve done in recent years – from how to honeymoon or renew your vows in Maui to real-life weddings and lovely Lanai.

• “A Blush Maui Wedding”
• “Escape to Lanai”
• “Discover Kaua’i For Yourself”
• “A Magical Maui Wedding”
• “Family-Friendly Hawaiian Resorts”
• “Wowie Maui: Hip & Haute Hawaii”

Past Hawaiian Wedding Couples’ Help

Here at DID, we get thousands of real wedding submission a year…weddings from all over the globe and with every style under the rainbow. Of the most popular and frequent destinations, Hawaii is very near the top. So, we went back and took a look at some of the real-life Hawaiian destination weddings featured on our blog. We gathered just a small sampling of the helpful advice offered by our couples to other engaged folks out there considering a destination wedding in Hawaii.

•  “At the beginning there was some negativity due to various reasons and it made us feel horrible and selfish for wanting to get Maui’d. In the end, everything worked out great! Our guests could see just how happy we were and there were many tears of joy among the crowd during the ceremony. Even my 85 year-old grandfather traveled over 16,000 miles from Ho Chi Minh City!”  ~ Kim, Maui destination wedding bride
• “Be open to the unexpected and go with it. Sometimes the biggest and most unanticipated curveballs make for the most memorable moments.” ~ Meghan, Oahu destination wedding bride
• “Your wedding day will be over in a blink, so if you can extend the time you spend celebrating with your favorite people, then go for it. We had some sort of party each day we were on the island, even if it was only a group breakfast or a simple happy hour.” ~ Laurel, Kauai destination wedding bride
• “[Our destination wedding] was a great experience! There were times we were concerned about not knowing all of the details. However, being surprised on the day of our wedding made the experience that much more incredible!” ~ Summer, Maui destination wedding bride

Please stay tuned tomorrow and Friday for fresh and gorgeous Hawaii real weddings and even more helpful advice from couples! On Thursday, we’ll be bringing you more island beauty to get the creative juices flowing and to get you inspired to begin planning your own Hawaii destination wedding!

Photos courtesy of (in order of appearance): Toto Villaruel Photography (1st & 3rd), Wendy Laurel Photography (2nd), Dmitri & Sandra Photography (4th), Creatrix Photography (5th), Adi Nevo Photographs (6th) & Callaway Gable Studios (7th).

Additonal Credits: Event Planning by Unveiled Hawaii, Stationery by Kate Paulson Creative, Florals by Damselfly Designs, Ribbon by Adorn Company, Venue Haiku Mill & Place Settings by Winters Events (1st & 3rd) & Dress by George Elsissa (4th).