You’re engaged! You decided to marry for a Hawaii destination wedding but don’t even know where to begin… indoor ceremony? outdoor ceremony? beach ceremony? Most people when planning their Hawaii wedding, they prefer to have it on the beach. I mean why not? You’re traveling all this way! When an inquiry comes in for a destination wedding, I’m often asked which beaches I like or recommend because of scenery, location and time of day play important factors for you ceremony. This series will take us through a few of my favorite places on Oahu and why. At the end of the series, I will be offering an e-book with my top 5!

Today we’ll explore Waimanalo Beaches. This East side stretch of beach spans over 5 miles. It’s well known for its fine white sand, amazing aqua waters and gentle waves crashing along the shore, making Waimanalo an ideal place to have your ceremony. Check a calendar for state and federal holidays as it is frequented by locals during these times. We see most couples marrying during the week for their destination wedding so this is usually not an issue.

As it tends to a windy area, I recommend an up-do or let your stylist know that you’re having your ceremony here this way they know to use the appropriate amount of hair spray. Your dress should be lace free (at least the bottom portion). As lace picks everything up along its way, Waimanalo has lots of pine trees and the needles are everywhere lace becomes its vacuum cleaner! Waimanalo tends be quite especially during the week, making it an ideal place to marry. It’s always a bit confusing to me even but I believe if you want to set up chairs for people to sit during your ceremony, you’l need to have it over at the Beach Bay Park where “Sherwood Forrest” is and your chairs will need to be set up closer to the “tree line”. You’ll also have to be sure that you coordinator ad photographer obtain the proper permits from the City and County of Honolulu. These permits are $20 for each.

If you’re thinking of a Hawaii destination wedding, why not Waimanalo? We think its a perfect spot.

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Jeannemarie is Hawaii’s Premier Destination wedding photographer. Based out of Wailea and Honolulu, she is available to travel to any of our Hawaiian islands for your wedding celebration.