Any 2021 Brides Planning Hawaii Destination Wedding?

Im not planning a destination wedding but personally unless it was someone really close to me, I would decline traveling to a wedding in the next few months. Things should be better but Covid will definitely still be a thing. Goodluck planning!

View Quoted Comment Thanks for sharing, Yasmine! Yes, that’s my dilemma. We are only planning on having our parents and siblings with us, as well as our two best friends (MOH and best man), but even that can be tricky. I agree, Covid will definitely still be around, probably well into 2021. Best wishes to you as well!

Hi Lucy! I definitely think you have enough time to plan something intimate, but travel restrictions are still a tough thing to predict! Also there's the horrible chance that one of you or your guests could test positive at that point and be unable to make the trip! 😱

Here are a few recent discussions you can check out where other couples have been sharing their updates and concerns for May weddings:

Postponing again?

May/june 2021 brides

May 2021 Brides

Hi Lucy, I’m from Hawai’i currently planning for December 12, 2021. I’m no expert and obviously since I live here, it’s not a desirination wedding, but I can give some thoughts that might help you:

- plan ahead on the 72 hr testing, many people have been having a lot of trouble b/c they can’t get the test done
- make sure it’s on the “approved list” of testing providers. Not all are approved and you could be turned away! - we are on a tier system. Lifting of restrictions are based on the infection %. Currently 5 people are allowed to gather, meaning the couple, 2 parents and 1 officiant would be all you could have (Oahu)- eventually we may move to tier 2 which allows 10 people to gather (Oahu)-each islands restrictions and counts allowed to gather vary, be sure to check that if you plan for Maui, Hawai’i Island, or Kauai
Personally, I am reserving an outdoor venue for December 2021 (risking rainy season in favor of safety for my event!) because I’m not sure when the younger groups will be able to get the vaccine. We are projected for summer.
Hope that helps! I’m in limbo too on a lot of things. There are a lot of couples in the same boat. Good luck!

View Quoted Comment Hi Jena,


Thanks so much for taking the time to reply and congrats on your upcoming wedding 💕 this is all information that I might have missed somehow. I’ve been speaking to a few different wedding planners and venues in Maui but have not heard much in detail about the current restrictions, so it’s definitely helpful to know especially since we’re planning on having our wedding in May. We are not doing a formal reception but more of a sit down dinner instead and I think everything we’ve looked into has been outdoors so far. Thank you for the testing info as well! I feel like this part is even more stressful than the planning itself! Good luck with your planning as well, would love to touch base with you again in the future to hear about your progress and any updates there. Happy New Year!

Hi Lucy!
Thank you and congrats to you as well! I’m a bit of a newbie so I apologize for the delay in reply, but I wanted to see how you were doing, feeling, and how the planning is coming along? May is coming up really soon!

I wanted to give a little update to you on the vaccine situation. Like everywhere else it is in short supply /high demand. some who have had appointments are being turned away. Right now only elderly over age 75 have been able to get it, along with first responders and a few essential worker (ie teachers). This is stage 1b and then 1c will be the next wave of elderly and essential workers. What that means is for the rest of us, we may not get offered the vaccine until later summer, which would likely include your vendors...however on the plus side, everyone here is very open to following rules and wearing masks. There’s a high social pressure to keep our families and island safe. There’s a very low infection rate on Maui. Also, they are less restrictive overall than on Oahu.
Anyway I hope that helps! Our planning is coming along, I ended up going with an outside venue on Oahu and am being optimistic that we can hold a larger guest count by the time December comes around. I’m also trying to be flexible and change my mindset as the only certainty now is uncertainty! over coordinate, ask as many questions, over communicate etc. so that it isn’t stressful if things change. I would love to hear how your event is going/goes!

View Quoted Comment Hey Jena, I’m sorry to be replying to this so late! Thanks so much for the vaccine update, slowly but surely it sounds like most folks who need it the most there are being prioritized, which is great to hear. We’ve actually shifted our plans a bit and decided to just do an elopement wedding in Maui rather than a family affair. Our new date is April 19, and I’m working with a wedding planner to help us set up a casual beach elopement. Instead of a group of 12+ like we initially anticipated on it will now just be us two, and our two childhood friends (best man and MOH who happen to be married to each other haha) and their little one. With all the of uncertainty (still) I just didn’t feel comfortable asking everyone to book flights, lodging, coordinate dinners, activities, etc. We thought it would be much easier to just plan for 5 rather than 15, and use that week as our vacation/honeymoon. We do plan to host a casual reception here in California hopefully this July, once things cool off a bit and vendors/venues begin to operate normally (fingers crossed). From everything I’ve been reading, there is speculation that by fall/December things should be returning back to *almost normal-ish pre-pandemic levels since large numbers of individuals should be vaccinated by then. The good news for you is that you still have 10 months! I’m optimistic that by December we’ll be able to gather in larger crowds again (even with safety protocols in place still). Best wishes with your planning!