The Big Island of Hawaii is a wedding destination that doesn’t look like anywhere else in the U.S. Black lava flows meet white-sand beaches, active volcanoes tower behind resort corridors, and the Kona and Kohala coasts host some of the most iconic luxury wedding properties in the Pacific.
Kauai is Hawaii’s “Garden Isle,” the oldest, greenest, and most cinematic of the main Hawaiian islands. The Na Pali Coast, Waimea Canyon, and lush north-shore rainforests give Kauai weddings a sense of scale and drama no other island can match.
Lana’i is the most secluded of the main Hawaiian islands, a 141-square-mile private-island escape with just 3,000 residents and a resort scene made up entirely of two ultra-luxury Four Seasons properties. This is where couples come when they want a wedding that feels like it’s happening at the edge of the world.
Oahu is the gateway to Hawaii, the most connected of the main islands, and home to some of the state’s most iconic wedding settings: Waikiki Beach with Diamond Head as your backdrop, Ko Olina’s protected lagoons, Turtle Bay’s North Shore surf, and the quieter Kahala coast east of Honolulu.
A Hawaii wedding doesn’t price out the way a Caribbean wedding does, and trying to compare the two side by side will give you the wrong answer every time. The reason: Hawaii’s resort scene doesn’t really do all-inclusive packages the way the Caribbean does.
Hawaii has been quietly one of the most welcoming wedding destinations in the world for LGBTQ+ couples for a long time before the rest of the country caught up. Same-sex marriage has been fully legal here since 2013, and the islands have built a wedding culture around the kind of warm, ceremony-honoring hospitality that recognizes…
Some destinations were practically built for the big family wedding. Hawaii is one of them.
There’s a kind of light you only get in Hawaii, a long, slow gold that drapes across the volcanic cliffs in the late afternoon, settles on the water, and lingers just long enough for vows. Couples who choose a destination wedding in Hawaii tend to be the kind who want their celebration rooted in a…
Hawaii’s resort scene works differently than the Caribbean or Mexico — most properties operate as luxury hotels with à la carte amenities rather than traditional all-inclusive packages.
Hawaii is one of the most genuinely family-friendly wedding destinations in the world. With Aulani Disney leading the lineup, lush kid-friendly natural attractions across six islands, and no passport requirement for U.S. guests, the islands deliver multi-generational family weddings without the international travel complications.