How to Tie the Knot on Kauai

LIHUE, KAUAI -- One of the most famous weddings on Kauai was the celluloid ceremony for the King of Rock and Roll in the torchy melodrama "Blue Hawaii."

Now anyone can step right into Elvis Presley's blue suede shoes and say "I do." In fact, they can get married in the exact spot to the exact music under the same coconut palms. This is only one of the many ways, ordinary or odd, to wed on Hawaii's Garden Isle.

Couples have married high in a helicopter over Waimea, the "Grand Canyon of the Pacific." They've gurgled their vows underwater weighed down by SCUBA gear, wed on horseback beside a whispering waterfall, and they've promised "forever" in a little Hawaiian church in Hanalei. They've worn tux and the big pouffe of organza; malo (the Polynesian masculine skirt) and fetching sarong; and even thong bikinis. They've had flowers in their hair, mist in their eyes and love on their lips. They can't help it -- Kauai is romantic in the extreme.

Hollywood loves the island and has brought swooning lovers to its shores since 1933 when they shot "White Heat." Sometimes fantasy crosses the boundaries into reality. During the last remake of "King Kong," the big love-sick gorilla went crashing through the jungle and startled an actual honeymoon couple who had been camping in HonopuValley.

Contacting one of the many professional wedding planners on Kauai will make life easy for the soon-to-be-married couple. Professionals can plan a wedding down to the smallest detail, leaving the bride and groom free to enjoy a dream instead of a drama. Many planners have private estates available for ceremonies. The wedding can be a simple promise on the beach or a big "destination wedding," where families and friends jet in and make the marriage the centerpiece of a grand vacation.

A couple hotels have wedding planners on staff, or they work with trusted local planners. They can arrange a Hawaiian minister, musicians, hula dancers, appropriate leis, flower petal carpet, even an archway of orchids. The bride can arrive by outrigger canoe with conch shells blowing.

The wedding supper can be a simple candle-lit dinner for two under the stars beside the sea, or it can be an elaborate reception with all the frills and the big cake.

Some couples plan their wedding two to three years in advance. Others come on holiday and are so swept away by the seductive natural beauty around them that they get married on the spot.

Some of the most romantic sites for weddings are in the many private botanical areas on the island. The 5-acre Kilauea Lakeside Estate features fairytale swans gliding about the lakes and streams. The Na 'Aina Kai Botanical Gardens is where couples can wed on the beach, on an isle in the middle of a lily-strewn lake, in a Japanese teahouse or beside a waterfall. Then there's the famous Fern Grotto beside the Wailua River, where hundreds of couples come every week to exchange or renew nuptial vows.

Destination weddings are increasingly popular and usually involve a number of relatives who come for a week or week-end of wedding-related events that may include sightseeing, spa treatments, a private lu'au or a sail along the spectacular Napali Coast.

For those who prefer a traditional church wedding, there isn't a lovelier site than the gracious old Waioli Huiia Church in Hanalei.

Built in 1912, the green church blends right into the landscape and the stained glass windows shine like the waterfalls tumbling from the mountains around it. The grounds are manicured green, the old pews are of richly gleaming wood, and the acoustics are wonderful for organ, piano, classical guitar, or violin. It's simply a classic.

At the opposite end of the nuptial spectrum, Kauai ATV does down and dirty weddings -- in the mud. The bride and groom show up in their wedding clothes and cover up in grubby overalls then, with their minister, roar off into the mountains to a waterfall. They pick flowers along the way for the ceremony. When they get to the waterfall they shed the coveralls -- and there they are --the bride and groom in white or nice aloha attire, pristine for the wedding videos.

Above the fray and the mud, Safari Helicopters does weddings in the air. They have a two-way intercom system to facilitate the vow exchange as they hover at special sites such as the Napali Coast. They'll venture near Waialeale Crater, streaming with waterfalls or hang above the famous waterfall in the opening footage of "Jurassic Park."

And then there's that Elvis wedding. Ceremonies take place on the same lagoon-laced grounds surrounded by coconut palms, where Elvis was wed in 1961. Surprisingly, the more unusual weddings are often favored by second-time brides and grooms who have done the traditional wedding and want something different.

Whatever a couple wants, they are likely to find expression for their personal style on Kauai where the island itself has the soaring glory of a great cathedral.

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Emele Freiberg, Senior Account Executive
McNeil Wilson Communications, Inc.
1001 Bishop Street, Pauahi Tower, Suite 950
Honolulu, HI 96813
808-539-3440 phone
808-521-7163 fax
emele@mcneilwilson.com
Yvette Mackler, Account Executive
McNeil Wilson Communications, Inc.
1001 Bishop Street, Pauahi Tower, Suite 950
Honolulu, HI 96813
808-539-3435 phone
808-521-7163 fax
ymackler@mcneilwilson.com
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