Permits Required to Hawaii Beach Weddings

If you’ve been researching your upcoming Hawaii wedding, you may have heard rumblings about needing beach permits to use state lands. You may also have the impression that it’s somehow an inconvenience.

Here’s the SCOOP on Maui Wedding beach permits.

The State of Hawaii is now requiring permits for all “commercial activities” on all state beaches. That means if you are planning your wedding on Maui (or anywhere in Hawaii) and wish to have a wedding planner, a minister, a caterer or live music, you will need to obtain a permit from the Department of Land and Natural Resources.

Two words: NO PROBLEM!

These permits will be obtained and paid for by the wedding company of your choosing. There will be no inconvenience to you whatsoever and ceremonies on Maui’s beaches will continue like they always have.

I would even go a step further and say this permit process is a GOOD THING, since it provides an extra layer of security to you, the Hawaii destination wedding couple.

How so?

Because the beach permit process requires the wedding professional to be fully licensed and insured, fly-by-night businesses and unscrupulous people will be weeded out, leaving you feeling more secure that your romantic Maui beach wedding will be conducted by the very best that any destination wedding location has to offer.

I am not sure how it’s done in other countries where beach weddings are popular, but here in Hawaii, you can breathe easier knowing that consumer protection is on your side.

Maui No Ka’oi

In the News: Wedding Guests Scrambling After Airline Bankruptcy

SAN DIEGO — A long to-do list is nothing out of the ordinary for a bride-to-be.

But Mariana Luevano is adding more things on to her list instead of crossing items off.”We thought we had our plane tickets paid for and done and something off of our to-do list for our wedding, and it turns out the agency went bankrupt,” said Luevano.

Read the entire story here.

LIVE MAUI WEBCAST will offer a 10% discount to any wedding couple who is affected by the Aloha and ATA airline bankruptcies and whose friends and family cannot make it out to Maui.

Aloha Airlines Shuts Down

Aloha Airlines will stop flying Monday after serving Hawaii travelers for 61 years. Read the Pacific Business News article here.

Live Maui Webcast Commentary:

It’s a sad day for Hawaii. The airline that’s been around for over 60 years has halted their operations, their jets parked in a plane graveyard at Honolulu International Airport.

I can’t help but feel a bit of nostalgia. On a recent trip to the Big Island I had one of “those moments” while I was sitting at Hilo Airport waiting for my flight. The retro design airplane (at left) with it’s unmistakable “Aloha” markings landed and pulled up and I suddenly pondered that word and what it means.

Far beyond “hello” or “goodbye”, it signifies a deeper spiritual meaning. ‘Alo’ in Hawaiian means as much as “face, facade or appearance” and ‘ha’, the “breath of life.” When one utters the word Aloha and at the same time feels the depth and significance of what it stands for, one uses it in a way that says: ” I recognize the (same) breath of life within you as I have within, and wish to present from me.”

And while there might be one less airline with which to fly to Hawaii, there are still other options and we most certainly encourage all of you who have a thirst for a deeper and more spiritually significant wedding experience to come to Maui and share the breath of life with us. You will be richly rewarded.

With Kind Regards and Warm Aloha,
Stephan

Day of Hope at the Four Seasons Resort Maui on November 3rd, 2007 to Benefit Cancer Research

Aloha Everyone!

The November 3rd, 2007 Day of Hope was another great success! The annual event at the Four Seasons Resort Maui raises tens of thousands of dollars every year for cancer research.

Four Seasons has raised somewhere in the neighborhood of $37mil company wide since supporting this cause.

A great big mahalo goes to all the tireless volunteers, gracious donors, and fit runners.

Below are photo slideshows of the event. Click on the bottom right hand corner of the slide show windows to access the albums. Once there, you can right mouse click to save the photos or click on "order prints" to have a professional lab make prints.

With Kind Regards and Warm Aloha,
Stephan

- Executive Producer

REGISTRATION

VOLUNTEERS

RUN

RECEPTION

LOCKS OF LOVE

KEIKI RUN

CANOE CEREMONY

Superferry nears Hawaii

There is going to be a new way of traveling inter island between Oahu, Maui and Kauai: THE HAWAII SUPERFERRY. A trip between Maui and Kauai takes 3 hours.

Prices won’t fluctuate like those of the airlines and one-way are as follows:

ADULT     (TUE-THU): $52  (2 week online advance purchase: $44)
( FRI-MON): $62 (2 week online advance purchase: $54)

CHILDREN (ages 2-12) & SENIORS (62 and over): $41 (TUE-THU) and $51 (FRI-MON)

CAR or SUV: $59 off peak and $69 peak

Big Island trips coming in 2009 when a 2nd vessel comes on line. It will travel 4 hours and 15 minutes between the Big Island and Kauai and fares will cost an additional $10 to the ones above.

Here is a newspaper article from the Honolulu Star Bulletin…

By Dave Segal
dsegal@starbulletin.com

STORY SUMMARY »

The Hawaii Superferry will make its much-anticipated arrival in Hawaii waters tomorrow.

The Alakai arrives in a market transformed from three years ago, when its fares were approved. The interisland airfare war has slashed many ticket prices to far below what it would cost to travel on the vessel. But company executives say their business model isn’t threatened.

 read more at The Honolulu Star Bulletin