Hawaii is undoubtedly the premi're wedding destination on planet earth. Whenever you vibrate the sound ?Hawaii? to anyone, anywhere in the world, it immediately invokes visions of heaven in their minds. And what better place could there be for a wedding than heaven? One of the divine qualities of heaven is the complete absence of stress.



Unfortunately, no place on this earth is totally free from stress, but Hawaii comes pretty darn close. Start with the fact that it is a place of eternal springtime. The temperature only varies about 8 degrees Fahrenheit from summer to winter. So it's never hot, and never cold - always just perfect? upper 70's to mid 80's Fahrenheit.

Hawaii has so much to offer in terms of gorgeous wedding locations. For example, there are pristine white or black sand beaches, lush tropical gardens with cascading waterfalls, mountain top cliffs with scenic overviews, and weddings at sea aboard a variety of luxury sailing yachts.

Obtaining a Hawaii wedding license is a piece of cake. All that is required is $60 in cash and a photo I.D. You do not need to have any type of blood work, nor produce a birth certificate or divorce records. Also, there is no waiting period. Conveniently, witnesses are not required in Hawaii. This is great news if you want to just sneak off and elope. Marriage licenses are obtained from the Hawaii State Department of Health. The entire procedure usually takes only around thirty minutes.

A common question is, ?Are weddings performed in Hawaii recognized elsewhere. The answer is affirmatively, YES! In fact, Hawaii weddings are recognized everywhere in the civilized world. Besides the marriage license issued by the State of Hawaii, some countries in Europe require an apostille. This is obtainable from Hawaii's Lieutenant Governor's Office for an additional dollar.

Hawaii has six main islands to choose from; Oahu, Maui, Kauai, the big island, Molokai, and Lanai. All the islands have wedding companies ready, willing, and able to tie the knot. Oahu and Maui are undoubtedly the two most popular.

Oahu, also called ?the gathering isle? is Hawaii's capital island. The beautiful city of Honolulu is located on Oahu, as is the infamous Pearl Harbor as well as Hawaii's Polynesian Cultural Center. Oahu is endowed with Hawaii's most spectacular and world renown surfing beaches like Waimea Bay, Sunset Beach, and Bonsai Pipeline, just to name a few. Oahu offers the most bang for your wedding buck as the prices seem to average well below the other islands.

Maui, also called the ?Valley Isle?, is a popular wedding destination and a beautiful island. Maui is most famous for its extinct crater, Haleakala, meaning house of the sun. Maui has many nice beaches but because it is a younger island than Oahu, their beaches pale in comparison. If you are shopping for price, weddings on Maui are at the higher end of the curve.

The Big Island is also called the ?Orchid Isle? due to the proliferation of commercial orchid greenhouses. Curiously, the big island is technically named ?Hawaii? which is also the name of the state. Since this is so incredibly confusing, everyone just calls the isle of Hawaii, ?the Big Island? and rightfully so. The Big Island is bigger than all the other islands combined. The Big Island is most famous for its active volcano, Kilauea. It is also the best place on our planet for observing stellar bodies. The Big Island is Hawaii's youngest island so if you are looking for nice beaches, don't even think about it. Geologically speaking, the Big Island is just a baby and has not had enough time to produce nice beaches.

Kauai is Hawaii's northern most island. It is also called the ?Garden Isle?. Kauai is where most of Jurassic Park was filmed. This is absolutely a beautiful island- but be ye forewarned. Kauai is the wettest place on earth. The average annual rainfall is in excess of 400 inches per year. That's wet! If you are considering Kauai for your wedding destination, avoid the rainy season? mid-October thru the first of May.

Molokai and Lanai are smaller islands and the least visited. Molokai, also called ?the friendly isle?, is well known for its historic leper colony. Molokai also boasts the highest sea cliffs in the world.

Lanai, nicknamed ?the pineapple isle?, is Hawaii's smallest island. It's very laid back and there isn't a heck of a lot to do. This is the island Bill Gates chose for his wedding.

Here's the bottom line: If you want to have a typical ?been there, done that?, expensive and stressful wedding, then a home town wedding is for you. On the other hand, if you really want to break free from the norm, and embrace your sacred nuptials in a serene tropical paradise ? then escaping to Hawaii may well be for you!