Kauai Island Weddings

Our wedding was a dream come true thanks to the staff at Kauai Island Weddings! Everyone is so detail oriented which was such a pleasant surprise as I myself am a very detailed person. Mike really took his time to listen to what we wanted for our wedding and made helpful suggestions on how to make it even better! And Hans was so sweet and did such a good job coordinating our large group! We went with the Wedding & Lodging package. I highly recommend doing that! The Kauai Country Inn was such a peaceful, private, and relaxing place to spend our honeymoon! Our room was so nice! We wanted to stay forever! They also offer a really nice continental breakfast each morning that includes fresh local fruit!
We really felt that everyone there made our wedding a top priority, you can tell they really genuinely care about each and every one of their weddings. Our wedding day plan was very clear and uncomplicated which was so refreshing, and took away a lot of wedding day stress! We got the add on of «getting ready photos» which were a really nice keepsake to have with our family and bridesmaids. All of our photos were top quality– they all came out so beautiful!
Our ceremony was so special– we did the Christian Hawaiian ceremony at The Plantation Gardens and it was so beautiful! Rev. Todd really did a great job! We really loved the beautiful garden location Mike helped us choose and the fact that there is a beach right across the street where you can take photos at after the ceremony. We felt that we got the best of both worlds with both the garden and the beach. All of our guest commented that our wedding was the most beautiful wedding they had ever been to! Overall the staff made things really easy, it’s a clear choice– if you want a beautiful, memorable wedding with gorgeous pictures– go with Kauai Island Weddings!!!

We booked our November 2014 wedding in Kauai through Kauai Island weddings and could not be more pleased with every part of our wedding and stay. I called them in September, after my then fiancé and I decided the stress of wedding planning and trying to please everyone wasn’t worth ruining our day. I spent nearly an hour on the phone with Mike setting everything up and by the end of our phone call the stress had melted away and I was able to relax and finally look forward to our up coming nuptials!
Mike painted the most beautiful picture in my mind (which truly was how our day turned out) and was very knowledgeable about the island, locations, and all of the other options. He had some great advice and feedback and made the decision process extremely easy, while still taking into consideration my thoughts and ideas. We opted for an afternoon wedding at Ship Wreck beach, which ultimately got moved up by a couple hours to allow my in-​laws time to get back to the airport for their flight, but they were very helpful and understanding about making the changes.
We opted to book our stay at the Kauai Country Inn along with our wedding package and were in awe of the lodging. It is beautifully decorated and very welcoming. Not a detail is over looked. Although it is a short drive up from the coast line, it is worth it as the location is so serene and unforgettable. A rental car is definitely a necessity. The grounds are well maintained and the rooms are clean and well stocked with everything one could want or need while on vacation. We enjoyed our down time there just as much as the rest of our trip. It is also very quite and peaceful; the perfect honey moon retreat. We met with Hans the day we arrived for a brief meeting to confirm all the details of our wedding. We opted for the ukulele player (who was wonderful!) and the added Cliff side extravaganza photo package at Ship Wreck Beach. The toughest decision by far was choosing my flowers, which I was able to do ahead of time thanks to a long list with pictures they had. The options were almost over whelming and they were just as beautiful in real life. Unfortunately plumeria was out of season, but I easily found the perfect orchid bouquet and selected orchid and tuberose leis, which smelled like heaven.
The day of the wedding was relaxing and went so smoothly. Everything was taken care of so I was able to spend the morning at the Outrigger spa with my mom while my husband to be enjoyed lunch with his parents.
What really made the day was the ceremony itself, of course. We choose the ceremony that was a mix of traditional Hawaiian vows and a Christian ceremony. It truly was one of the most beautiful ceremonies with the Lei exchange, the talk of Aloha, and the vows. I may be biased, but I wasn’t the only one that thought so! It really felt special and were words and ideas we could related to and live by. The ceremony was short and sweet, but that didn’t detract from the specialness of it. Rev. Todd Fuerte did our ceremony and was great!
We had two photographers for the afternoon, one for the ceremony and then two afterwards, as Todd also had a camera. Todd, and I believe it was David, were so much fun to work with and we were both very pleased with the quality and number of pictures we received. They had lots of ideas of poses, some traditional, some not, and the flower petal toss was lots of fun, even though my husband and I were completely uncoordinated! The hike up the cliffs was short, but definitely not something to do in heels. I was very grateful for my flip flops! The view from the tops was incredible and the lighting turned out wonderful, given that we were on the west side of the island. We have lots of pictures to choose from and I now face the task of narrowing down to my favorites for prints and photo albums. Todd and David were both lots of fun and really down to earth guys. We enjoyed working with and visiting with them.
Overall, I give our entire experience 5 stars. If you are looking for a well done, stress free experience, this is absolutely the way to do it. Kauai is an incredible place and «heart of the world» truly sums it up. We stayed in Kauai for 5 nights and then spent another 4 in Honolulu and the difference was night and day. Everyone in Kauai is so welcoming and kind, the Kauai Garden Inn included. We were really living on island time there and there were so many great things to do and see. Honolulu was expensive and crowded. We can’t wait to go back to Kauai, but I can say we will be passing on Honolulu next time and staying longer in Kauai.
I have already recommended Mike and everyone else at Kauai Island weddings to friends. A HUGE Mahalo to everyone there for making our big day truly special and unforgettable.

The owner responded and every word is a LIE.
First off, we were married in May. Last I checked May is not a winter month. Maybe the owner is not lying. Maybe Kauai Island Weddings is confusing us with another couple that was extremely dissatisfied. That would make sense.
Secondly, the owner suggested Lydgate Park. I had never been to Kauai and was open for suggestions. I wanted the best place. He told me it would be Lydgate Park. I naively trusted him. As I said before, tide schedules are easily accessible. He should have checked them and alerted us that there would be HIGH TIDE at the time he suggested we get married. If he would have done that we would have chosen a different time or possibly a different place. I was staying in Poipu. A Poipu beach would have been way easier for everyone. We went to Lydgate because that is what was suggested. Lydgate was a 45 minute drive. There were many other beautiful close beaches we could have gone but I trusted his suggestion. P. S. Lydgate Park is one of the closest beaches to their business. That is convenient.
Third, when they suggested that we redo the photos they never said they would be cover the expense. Were they going to pay for my hair and makeup to get redone? No, they never even mentioned that.
The owner also said «the trash the bride is referring to is 40 foot drift wood». Kauai Island Weddings is obviously super confused which is evident in their winter wedding comment. The fact remains that there was trash on the beach. It was super embarrassing and I have 20 people to attest to it.
They are super amateur. Don’t make the same mistake I did. Go with someone that is authentic and cares.

Mike has been amazing in helping us plan our wedding!
We are getting married next week and can’t wait!
I am hopeful he continues with his customer service that we have received thus far. I can’t imagine it being any different then before we arrived here.
He gave us his recommendations, which we were obliged to go with because he is a local and we are not, so to us, that was a no brainer. :)
He sent us a complete itinerary. All we have to do is be ready, the limo will pick us up and off to be married we go!
I am sure after the ceremony I will report back to conclude all was amazing and successful!!!

It’s hard to believe how hard it was to find any reviews on a destination wedding in Kauai. I have been married almost a year, but I do recall being unable to find any reviews of Kauai weddings a year ago. So my review is way past due, but here it is.
I picked Kauai Island Weddings mostly because of the pictures on their website and wedding package prices. There were others with much better pictures but a much higher price point. There are some sites with crappy pictures and higher prices too. So this was somewhere in the middle. I chose the Aloha Sunset package at 1195 $ and added on the Hawaiian musician for 200 $ and my bouquet for another 100 $. Mike was very helpful and gave me lots of useful information in the 2 months before the wedding.
So now is where my 3 star rating comes in. When we got to Kauai 5 days before our ceremony I played a little phone tag with Mike. He gave me the beaches to scope out for our ceremony and we ended up getting married on the beach right outside where we were staying. Which was Wailua Beach at Kauai Sands. It was just too convenient and pretty. I wanted to get married as late in the day as possible. I’m a student photographer, a bride, and scared of overhead shadows of course! So we set the time at 4 o’clock. I didn’t hear from him the rest of the time we were there until a few hours before the ceremony. He tried talking me into making it earlier which I was not having. I was really put off because we had talked quite a bit before heading to Kauai but when I got there every time I spoke to him I had to remind him who we were and when we were getting married. I understand they do a lot of weddings, but every bride wants to feel a little special. Not a big deal but a bit disappointing.
Now for my big disappointment. I didn’t even lay eyes on Mike (the rev, photographer, wedding coordinator guy) until walking out onto the beach! I mean I was staying right there. It would have been nice for him to come and meet me, give me a few pointers on what to expect, etc. So it made it feel like a Vegas wedding in a way, wham bam thank you m’aam, or a chop shop nail salon!
As for the pictures. I did love the coffee table book. They send it to Apple and they make a book out of it, not your typical photo album. The beach is always breezy, except when we went down to get all legal. Not a breeze, it was so hot! I wish he would have moved us into the shade. And being a photographer myself I know that there is a standard way to take portraits and wedding pictures that pretty much works for everyone. I tried to be candid but still aware of how my body was positioned while his assistant snapped away. But in that heat it makes it hard. So a little tweaking would have been nice. They perform a ring ceremony and the picture in my book would be great had he had me position my hands a little different. Instead I look like I have a lobster claw for a hand. Just little picky things like that. You’ll see some of the cheesy poses he has everyone do, which I refused. Mostly I am pretty satisfied but I think someone from Kauai Island Weddings should get there and meet with the couple (the bride mostly) before they walk out onto the beach. I hope more couples will start posting reviews about destination weddings in Kauai. There are plenty for Maui but none for this little island.