It’s safe to say that Maui knows what’s it doing when it comes to hosting tropical weddings. Home to an average of 60+ wedding ceremonies each day, Maui has officially gone pro in the marriage arena.
With 81 sandy beaches, the rolling hills of Upcountry, mountainous landscapes, tropical gardens and cascading waterfalls, it’s no wonder people come here from all over the world to celebrate their love and say ‘I Do.’ Below we give you our top choices for some of the most important aspects of your wedding day, including the officiant, photographer, venue, catering, music and more. Enjoy!
Top Maui Wedding Vendors
The Officiant: Meredith Richmond of Ceremonies by Meredith
Having personally attended more than one wedding ceremony in which the officiant was particularly distracting and/or strange, I highly recommend choosing an experienced officiant that fits both your personalities, doesn’t mind catering to your custom desires, and goes above and beyond to ensure the ceremony is smooth, professional and memorable.
Enter Meredith Richmond, who does all of that and more. She has excellent communication before and after you arrive, and knows how to deliver a beautiful ceremony that expresses your style and personal taste. With years of experience in the local industry, a great wealth of knowledge about Maui and her willingness to ensure your ultimate happiness, Meredith is our top choice for officiant services on The Valley Isle.
The Venue & Catering: Maui Tropical Plantation & The Mill House
You may think that coming all the way to Maui automatically means you should get married on the beach. But with so many gorgeous venues to choose from, and the fact that you can’t reserve a beach for your ceremony (meaning it may be busy with visitors or even another wedding ceremony), we actually recommend an entirely different kind of island locale.
Centrally located and only a short drive from most popular resort areas of Maui, Maui Tropical Plantation is an absolutely stunning place for a scenic wedding ceremony and reception. Backed by the West Maui Mountains and a sparkling lagoon, the Plantation’s immaculate landscaping and vast grounds allow for weddings ranging from 10 to 400 guests.
Bonus: Their Executive Chef, the award-winning Jeff Scheer, heads The Mill House, a beautiful onsite restaurant which offers a perfect dining location and innovative menu for your reception. Staff are all experts in the wedding catering industry and offer friendly, efficient service in a gorgeous location.
The ‘Getaway’ Venue: Trilogy Excursions
A good portion of those who come to Hawaii to get married do so specifically because they want to escape from the pressure of doing it back home, and begin their new married life in an island dreamland. And while beaches or tropical plantations are plenty exotic enough for some couples, others seek a truly remote getaway where they can be immersed in nature and enjoy the peace and quiet.
Trilogy offers weddings and wedding receptions at sea aboard one of their luxury sailing catamarans. Neat!
The Photographer(s): Natalie Brown, Karma Hill, Deelia Nelson
Wedding photographers aren’t hard to come by on Maui. Excellent wedding photographers, however, are a little harder to find, and one of the best investments you can make for your wedding day.
With nearly a decade of experience in the Maui wedding industry, Natalie Brown has a wealth of knowledge about how to capture the best shots for your big day. It also doesn’t hurt that she looks and sounds like an actual grown-up Disney princess and is a superbly talented and professional photographer.
We also highly recommend Karma Hill or Deelia Nelson, two high-quality wedding photographers based on Maui. You can absolutely count on any of these amazing photographers to deliver gorgeous, unique wedding photos, and thousands of happy couples can attest to their skills.
The Cocktails: Garnish Craft Cocktail Catering
Having consumed more than one of their cocktails myself, you may say I am a tad biased. And I am absolutely okay with that. Let’s continue.
Garnish Catering pushes the limits of traditional wedding cocktails (and cocktails in general), and does so using fresh, local ingredients and the most gorgeous bar setups you’ve ever seen. While they’re constantly coming up with new cocktail recipes, some of our favorites include the Solstice with fresh pressed grapefruit and lime, housemade Hawaiian chili pepper syrup, blanco tequila, cayenne sea salt mist and peppercorn ice, as well as the Son of a Peach with fresh pressed lemon, golden peach, vanilla bean infused maple reduction, rosemary and rye.
Bonus: They also own a company called Set that offers stunning glassware and dishes for rent.
The Transportation: Maui Roadsters & Blue Hawaiian Helicopters
While we recommend hiring a shuttle service to transport your guests to and from the wedding site(s), as for the bride and groom, a splurge may just be in order when you realize you can arrive to your wedding ceremony in a 1957 Porsche Speedster convertible.
Maui Roadsters has a fleet of 2-seater professional reproduction Porsches, and let me tell you – they are a friggin’ beautiful way to get from A to B. If ever there was a time to drive your dream car, your Maui wedding day is probably it. And depending on your wedding site, you could always choose to arrive by helicopter for an even more dramatic entrance!
As always, mahalo for reading! If you have any others you’d like to add to the list, please feel free to comment below. Aloha, and happy ‘I Do’ing!’
