Congratulations on deciding to come to Hawaii for your wedding. Now comes the big decisions!  Do you just make it easy & ELOPE or make it the DESINATION WEDDING you have always dreamed about?  There certainly are lots of pros & cons to doing both. Before Covid 19 this decision was probably easier to make then it is now.

Yes, unfortunately Covid 19 has changed everything & that begins with the mandatory State of Hawaii travel restrictions. Below are some of the mandatory restrictions, but I encourage you to research for the very ;latest changes as The State of Hawaii has been known to change the rules suddenly. For more information from the State of Hawaii look at the link attached below.

These restrictions are as follows.

–All travelers must have a negative test result BEFORE beginning the final leg of their trip. Anyone without a negative test                      result PRIOR to departure must quarantine upon arrival. Mandatory quarantine is ten days. 

               -The negative test result must be uploaded onto Safe Travels prior to departure or printed out prior to departure and hard                    copy in hand when arriving in Hawai‘i.

               -Once in Hawaii there are also additional mandatory restrictions including mandatory mask wearing throughout the                              entire Hawaiian Islands. 

                – Fortunately the State of Hawaii has eased up on some rules specific to weddings where the mask can be removed at                            certain times for the wedding couple, the family & wedding party. Although social distance rules are still in effect. All                              vendors, other then ministers & some musicians have to wear their mask & keep their distance throughout the entire event. 

So knowing what the basic rules are & the difficulties of having a your dream destination wedding or do you simplify it & just elope?? That is the question??

So obviously if you want to have your dream wedding it can be done. Unfortunately it is just at a greater expense then it used to be, because of all the additional protocols that need to be taken in getting to Hawaii  & once here the additional expense of the keeping the guests & vendors safe. Pretty much all the vendors I know have gone to great lengths to make sure that the weddings go off seamlessly with safety protocols in place using six feet of social distancing, hand sanitizers & wearing masks 100% of the time. Of the few big weddings I have done since Hawaii has opened up I have worn a mask for nine hours straight maintained social distancing.

One aspect of having a big destination wedding in Hawaii is not only the difficulties of your travel but also the travel of all of your guests. So in 2020 I have had two big weddings that were right at the quotas for maximum number of people. One of the weddings, all of my clients were from Iowa  where Covid19 has been especially brutal. Unfortunately because of what is happening the grandparents were not able to travel & couldn’t attend. In addition some of the wedding party, the very night before they were to fly almost didn’t get the mandatory documents to the State of Hawaii.  They were able to get it done in the nick of time, but with great stress. This added stress/anxiety definitely needs to be considered during your evaluation whether to have a big wedding or simply eloping.

So what about Eloping? Obviously it’s just the two of you so your parents & family are not going to attend & cry as they see you walk down the aisle. For some, like my wife, this was NOT an option for her parents.I totally understand the importance of this and this might be the single biggest decider on what you do and might be  the biggest detriment to eloping. BUT nowadays with technology like live streaming that can ease the parents concerns about traveling during covid and also using zoom to include people who were not able to travel.  Another thing that will make your family more content with your decision to elope is having a fantastic photographer. Having a great photographer who captures not only all the the little moments & important details, but also the great big dramatic images that will blow the socks off of all that see the images!

More benefits about eloping include making the wedding something you never dreamed it could be with a large destination wedding. Something I love doing is planning an executing an “Adventure Weddings” where you literally go on a photo adventure shooting unique images at each location that are off the beaten path & then have the nuptials maybe in a tropical forest & experience the sunset on a windy cliff with breaking waves.  Perhaps it is at sunrise on the summit of Haleakala or with your feet in the white sand of the perfect beach. Other benefits about eloping is that instead of spending money on tents & chairs & fruity drinks, you can go all out with your dream dress & deluxe accommodations/dinner at your dreamy Maui restaurant.  So these are just a few of the pro & cons about eloping or holding a destination wedding in Hawaii during Covid.