When to Send Wedding Invitations

The etiquette of wedding planning is often tricky. When it comes to invitations, it can be a huge challenge. Here are some of our top tips for inviting people to your Hawaii wedding.

If all of your guests live nearby, send your invitations no earlier than 8 weeks before your wedding date. This helps keep guests from double booking.

If you are planning a destination wedding or many of your guests will be travelling, send your invitation between 8 and 10 weeks before your wedding. This gives guests a bit of extra time to plan their travel.

A save the date doesn’t have a set time to be sent, but should only be sent when you have a date firmly in place. This is usually after you have booked your venue and some of your vendors.

Your RSVP deadline should be approximately 4 weeks before your Hawaii wedding. This is generally determined by when your vendors, such as caterers, need a final count.

When you send out your invitations, it is a formal way of asking people to be a part of your big day. If you would like help planning your Hawaii wedding, give us a call!

Photo: Flickr/Adrianne Curran

How Much Should the Bride Pay for Bridesmaids’ Expenses?

When you plan a Hawaii wedding, it’s a thrill to choose your bridesmaids. Your attendants are the closest women in your life, be they friends or family. They will want to help you have the wedding of your dreams, but they may be concerned about the cost of being a bridesmaid.

The biggest expense for any bridesmaid will be the dress. This is something each attendant should pay for herself. It’s the bride’s responsibility to be considerate of the financial situation of the ladies in her bridal party. This could mean choosing a budget-friendly dress for them, or helping to pay a portion of the cost of the dresses.

The bride should always pay for any extras, such as matching accessories or professional hair and make up. The bride should also pay for the bouquets, as these are part of the overall wedding flowers.
Maids should pay for their transportation to Hawaii, if they do not live here, but the bride should pay for transportation on the wedding day. For out-of-town attendants, the bride should also provide accommodation.

Overall, the cost for each bridesmaid should be split between the bride and the maid. This should allow each attendant to be a part of your special day without it being a financial strain.

Planning everything for your bridesmaids is part of planning the perfect wedding. If you want help planning your dream Hawaii wedding, give us a call today!

Working with the Best Vendors

When you plan your Hawaii wedding, you want the best -- the best venue, the best cake, the best first dance, the best dress. There’s no set thing that is the best for every couple, though. The dream dress for one bride will be another bride’s nightmare. Whatever your taste, though, you will want to work with the best vendors.

A great vendor, whether it’s a baker, venue, caterer, or entertainer, will be able to work with you to find the perfect solution for your taste and budget. This is the way for you to get the best for your Hawaii wedding.

Finding the best vendors can be a challenge, especially if you are planning a destination wedding. This is where an experienced wedding planner can come in very handy. As a planner, we have preferred vendors that we regularly work with. This means we know they offer the best services for your Hawaii wedding.

Working with a Hawaii wedding planner’s preferred vendors also means that you don’t need to spend countless hours online trying to find reviews and recommendations, only to end the search as confused as when you started! Saving yourself this time and stress can be invaluable in your wedding planning.

If you want to work with the best, give us a call today to find out what we offer!

How to Create Your Wedding Budget

Before you start shopping for your wedding dress or booking your entertainment, the first part of your wedding planning should be setting a budget. Whether you have a few thousand dollars to spend or a few hundred thousand dollars to spend, a budget is a way to allocate that money in the way that best suits your personal preferences.

Total budget
First off, figure out what you have to spend on the wedding as a whole. Be realistic about this. After all, it’s always better to aim for a lower budget and be able to spend more on your honeymoon than to set a budget you really can’t afford.

Priorities
The next step is to think about what your priorities are. Whether it’s a particular dress, venue, caterer, band, or anything else, if there is something that you simply cannot bear to compromise on, make sure you are clear on this from the start. You can then build the rest of your budget around the cost of this part.

Line items
To complete your wedding budget, you’ll need to figure out what you have to spend on each individual part of your wedding. This requires you to make a list of everything that will require money. A consultation with an experienced Hawaii wedding planner can help ensure you haven’t forgotten anything.

A wedding planner can also be a great help in getting the most from your wedding budget, however big or small it is. To find out how we can help you create the perfect wedding within your budget, give us a call today!

Photo: Flickr/kimubert

We’re the Best of Honolulu!

It’s always an honor to be recognized for the great work we do. We’re proud to announce that we’ve been selected for the 2014 Best of Honolulu Award in the Wedding Rehearsal Dinners category by the Honolulu Award Program.

This award puts us in the company of the best local businesses. As the Honolulu Award Program says, these are the companies that make the Honolulu area a great place to live, work and play.

Honolulu has so much to offer a couple planning their wedding. When you choose a Hawaii wedding, you get one of the most beautiful locations in the world, top quality food and entertainment, and highly experienced wedding professionals.

Hawaii has so many unique opportunities for a dream wedding, you wouldn’t want to miss out on any of them by trying to do it all yourself. From the perfect rehearsal dinner to the wedding day that exceeds all expectations, a Hawaii wedding planner like Wedding Planner 808 can help. Give us a call today to find out more about our award-winning services!

Why You Should Find Accommodation Near Your Venue

You have worked hard to plan the perfect Hawaii wedding, but have you put the same effort into finding accommodation near your venue? If you and your guests aren’t all staying at your wedding venue, it is crucial that you find places that are very near.

If you’re planning a wedding in Hawaii from afar, it is easy to underestimate distances. When you work with a Hawaii wedding planner, you can get local insight into how long it will really take to get from one place to another. This is very important if your ceremony and reception are in different locations, and if your guests will be staying somewhere else.

Your destination wedding in Hawaii is an excellent choice, and you and your guests will love taking advantage of all the places to sightsee, but you don’t want accidental sightseeing on your wedding day.
Picking a location to stay that is nearby will save time and frustration for you and your guests.

It is also good to give your guests information on a variety of accommodation so they can choose something to fit their budget. They may prefer staying some place very luxurious, or they might want to save money on their hotel so they can spend it on enjoying all Hawaii has to offer.

The best way to ensure that you are staying near your ceremony and reception is to work with a local Hawaii wedding planner. To find out more about what a wedding planner can do to help with your destination wedding, give us a call today!

Photo: Flickr/Zach Dischner

Why Choose One Venue for Ceremony and Reception

Many brides wonder whether they should look for a separate Hawaii wedding venue for the ceremony and reception, or if they should find one where they have both parts of their wedding. For most couples, it makes much more sense to have everything in one location.

Save Money

One big reason for having only one venue is that it will potentially save you lots of money. Most venues offer package deals that work out less than two separate venues. This doesn’t mean you are planning a cheap wedding if you stay with only one venue, though. It just means you can put more of your budget to adding the details that will make your big day even more special.

Save Time

No matter how much you’d like it to be longer, your wedding day will still only be 24 hours. To make the most of your wedding day, cut out the need to travel between venues. Your guests can walk from the ceremony to the cocktail hour and reception. There’s no need to leave a gap in your schedule for guests to make a journey, and potentially get lost in an unfamiliar location.

Save Hassle

A single venue will also mean less hassle for planning and day-of-wedding coordination. You don’t need to worry about your florist delivering to two locations, arranging decor for two venues, and coordinating your theme and schedule between extra vendors.

Hawaii offers many beautiful wedding venues that can accomodate your ceremony and reception. When you work with an experienced Hawaii wedding planner, it will be easy to find the perfect venue for your dream destination wedding. To find out more about what we can do to help you plan your Hawaii wedding, get in touch today!