Planning a destination wedding in Hawaii? If so, you’re probably navigating the intricacies of what it looks like to host a milestone event far from home. When guests travel to celebrate your love story, planning a destination wedding often involves focusing on creating an unforgettable experience. Keeping the attention on an experience-based event means knowing what to say yes to, and what to pass on. Here are 5 things you can definitely skip when planning your destination wedding in Hawaii!
1. Favors
We can’t even begin to tell you how often favors are left behind. Sometimes guests don’t see the favor table at the end of the night and sometimes they simply choose to skip over it. Whatever the reason, skip piecing together 100 favors to stuff into your travel bag before hopping a flight for your destination wedding in Hawaii. Your budgeting & planning efforts are better spent on providing your guests with an unforgettable experience. Which tends to be more memorable and long-lasting than a row of neatly set-out favors.
2. Giant Cake
Some couples still want to have the traditional experience of cutting the cake at their wedding, and we get that. For couples who want to cut the cake at their wedding but pass on a 3-5 tier cake, we always work with them to find a “cut cake” that fits their wedding day vision. After all, you can’t exactly fly home with the top tier of your wedding cake to freeze for your anniversary. But, all in all, a giant wedding cake whose only purpose is to serve forgotten slices to your guests, is better off avoided. Dessert bars with small bites of multiple options provide a more immersive dessert service for your guests. And trust us when we say, there will be nothing left at the end of the night!
3. Champagne Toast
Sometimes a champagne toast will be a complimentary service as part of your catering package, and sometimes it will be an add-on option. In the event that the champagne is not provided, feel free to pass on it. Champagne served purely for the purpose of sipping during a toast is usually not Dom or Veuve if you know what we mean! Most guests will take a sip after the toast and the rest usually goes to waste. Instead, our approach is to inform your DJ of your wedding day timeline. This allows them to announce that speeches or toasts will be coming up next so your guests can grab a drink of their choice from the bar. After all destination weddings in Hawaii are known for their cocktails made with fresh ingredients from the island!
4. Speeches
Long speeches. We’re sure you’ve sat through a few of these and wondered when on earth the speeches end and the dinner service begins. Weddings are often a time when friends and family get retrospective & sentimental (as they should) but it often presents itself in the form of a long-winded speech. There are a few ways to keep the speeches just as beautiful without sacrificing the start of your dinner service. The first is to split up the speeches between your rehearsal dinner and your wedding reception. The second is to limit the speeches to a total of 2-3 minutes each, with no more than three to four speakers. And yes, this is absolutely something we can work on for your wedding day timeline!
5. Shots at the Bar
Guests who are in Hawaii to attend a destination wedding are often in vacation mode. They’ve traveled a distance to celebrate your best day ever and they’ve more than likely taken a few days off work and moved their schedule around. So when it comes to the bar they are more apt to throw caution to the wind. We’re sure that you and your guests want to end the night of your wedding in the best way possible. Needless to say, offering shots at the bar is not the way to do it. Stick with your signature cocktails, a few crowd favorites, and nonalcoholic options!
