When should you start planning your destination wedding? The answer to this depends on a number of things.
As a Maui wedding planner my speciality is weddings and receptions at private sites. This entails a lot of people. There’s the rental company, the officiant, the florist, the photographers, the caterer, the DJ, etc. In order to hire the best and most reasonable talent, the earlier the better. And, since the number of private locations is limited, the availability must also be considered. Most of my clients start planning at least six months prior and many begin a year or even two before the date of the wedding.
If you’re having a smaller beach wedding you don’t need as much time.
The most popular dates are Valentines Day and the month and date that correspond to the year, for example October 10, 2010. These dates usually get completely booked at least a year ahead of time. I don’t usually book anything on Valentines Day because it’s almost impossible to find vendors.
One thing you don’t have to worry about is weekends. When people have a Maui wedding, they’re on vacation. So Saturdays aren’t significantly busier than any other day of the week. Or more expensive. So don’t be surprised when you don’t get less expensive prices for a wedding on Wednesday.
Be sure to give yourself enough time to get a marriage license. There’s no waiting period on Maui and no blood tests are necessary but most licensing agents don’t work on weekends.
So, the answer to the question is, it depends.
Peace, sunsets and aloha from Maui,
Ellen
Please visit my main website here.
