Getting married in Hawaii

[Leo&Farah 0]

Hi guys,

Well we are trying to get a rough idea of wedding plans and wanna do it in Hawaii.

My question is, is there anyone here living there or knows from experience if you can get married there and use your passport for identification as a foreign national to obtain the marriage license? I do not want to go the SSN route if possible until after the marriage so I can change it to my married name one shot.

I read on a website:

Q: How do I get a marriage license in Hawaii?

A: Hawaii has very simple requirements for a marriage license. You must be 18; have a valid driver's license / passport / state ID, and pay $60 in cash for your license. Blood test or US citizenship are not required. There is no waiting period, and the license is valid for 30 days.

Just wanted to double and triple confirm with anyone there, if we have any Hawaiian residents cause his family are already making plans for it and I don't wanna disappoint them for lack of knowledge!

Sorry if its in the wrong forum, not sure where to put this.

[elmcitymaven 9,712]

Moved to Moving Here and Your New Life in America as OP is asking about state-specific marriage requirements.

Sorry if its in the wrong forum, not sure where to put this.

No problem! Moved now.

[Dakine 26]

Hi guys,

Well we are trying to get a rough idea of wedding plans and wanna do it in Hawaii.

My question is, is there anyone here living there or knows from experience if you can get married there and use your passport for identification as a foreign national to obtain the marriage license? I do not want to go the SSN route if possible until after the marriage so I can change it to my married name one shot.

I read on a website:

Q: How do I get a marriage license in Hawaii?

A: Hawaii has very simple requirements for a marriage license. You must be 18; have a valid driver's license / passport / state ID, and pay $60 in cash for your license. Blood test or US citizenship are not required. There is no waiting period, and the license is valid for 30 days.

Just wanted to double and triple confirm with anyone there, if we have any Hawaiian residents cause his family are already making plans for it and I don't wanna disappoint them for lack of knowledge!

Sorry if its in the wrong forum, not sure where to put this.

Aloha!

Here you go!

http://hawaii.gov/health/vital-records/vit...iage/index.html

[MrsCat 6]

A SSN is not required to get married in HI.

http://hawaii.gov/health/vital-records/vit...x.html#eligible

A lot of foreigners get married in HI every single day.

Which island are you thinking of getting married on? Just curious. . . . .

[Leo&Farah 0]

Fantastic!

So I get to have the wedding where I want and get to change my name immediately afterwords and still be okay with Uncle Sam.

We're planning maybe Kauai since we don't want it on any commercialized beaches. So Maui, Oahu are out. Some place quiet and nice and NATURAL. I've been reading about Molokai but the garden island sounds appealing.

Although having a donkey ride in the park in Molokai sounds like fun. I think their ferry services shut down so you gotta fly between the islands though. Don't know much about the costs of inter-island travel.

Aloha!

[MrsCat 6]

Fantastic!

So I get to have the wedding where I want and get to change my name immediately afterwords and still be okay with Uncle Sam.

We're planning maybe Kauai since we don't want it on any commercialized beaches. So Maui, Oahu are out. Some place quiet and nice and NATURAL. I've been reading about Molokai but the garden island sounds appealing.

Although having a donkey ride in the park in Molokai sounds like fun. I think their ferry services shut down so you gotta fly between the islands though. Don't know much about the costs of inter-island travel.

Aloha!

Excellent prices right now from Honolulu. Probably where your mainland flight will arrive anyways. Hawaiian Airlines, Mokulele and Go! are offering $100RT/person. Which is incredible because it used to be a lot more ($200+).

Mokulele is new and have some good intro offers this week.

If I had to do it over again, I'd get married in Waipio Valley on the Big Island.

[Rainschild 0]

Excellent, that's what we're trying to do also!!! There's no SSN needed, so that makes it a lot easier! We were looking at Kahana Bay Beach, it's absolutely beautiful!!!!

[kaffy 2]

We're planning maybe Kauai since we don't want it on any commercialized beaches.

LOVE Kauai! We had our wedding on the north shore and I highly highly recommend it! If you do decide on Kauai and would like vendor recs let me know, I am happy to offer suggestions

[Leo&Farah 0]

Hi Kaffy! And thanks for the heads up on prices MrsCat!

Where to begin.

Yep, we were thinking of northern beaches as well. I've looked through a list of beaches.

We were thinking someplace quiet with little people, if at all and so far think Hideaways Beach near Princeville sounds perfect save for the 10 minute vertical hike! Oh well, it can be symbolic, a hike to symbolise the hardship faced in a LDR prior to the marriage. And once there, nothing but blue sea and white sandy beach. A hidden gem. The beach looked absolutely gorgeous from the pics. Isn't it fun going wedding window shopping online?

I really hope the minister and wedding planner won't mind the 10 minute hike,

Probably gonna get a vacation rental for one week and find something that's nice and homely. I don't like the idea of staying in commercialized hotels or condos. We're there on an island, live the island way! Got a place lined up with bamboo furnishing and a tropical outdoors shower. Oh what fun we'll have.

Gonna get a barefoot beach wedding. Feel free to PM me if you have any suggestions for that. I think I found a great package so far but not clear if they will do it on Hideaways (I forgot the Hawaiian name for it). The important thing is that I must have a natural floral head wreath (I forgot the actual name for it). Nothing fake, just natural. I have my heart set on there. I'm a big hat person.

In terms of activities, well. Not sure what we will do but are gonna buy groceries from Safeway for a week and cook at home mostly. Hopefully we can get fresh fish and grill it out by the porch and such. Maybe a hike or exploring the sea caves I read about.

[Dakine 26]

Hi Kaffy! And thanks for the heads up on prices MrsCat!

Where to begin.

Yep, we were thinking of northern beaches as well. I've looked through a list of beaches.

We were thinking someplace quiet with little people, if at all and so far think Hideaways Beach near Princeville sounds perfect save for the 10 minute vertical hike! Oh well, it can be symbolic, a hike to symbolise the hardship faced in a LDR prior to the marriage. And once there, nothing but blue sea and white sandy beach. A hidden gem. The beach looked absolutely gorgeous from the pics. Isn't it fun going wedding window shopping online?

I really hope the minister and wedding planner won't mind the 10 minute hike,

Probably gonna get a vacation rental for one week and find something that's nice and homely. I don't like the idea of staying in commercialized hotels or condos. We're there on an island, live the island way! Got a place lined up with bamboo furnishing and a tropical outdoors shower. Oh what fun we'll have.

Gonna get a balmoach wedding. Feel free to PM me if you have any suggestions for that. I think I found a great package so far but not clear if they will do it on Hideaways (I forgot the Hawaiian name for it). The important thing is that I must have a natural floral head wreath (I forgot the actual name for it). Nothing fake, just natural. I have my heart set on there. I'm a big hat person.

In terms of activities, well. Not sure what we will do but are gonna buy groceries from Safeway for a week and cook at home mostly. Hopefully we can get fresh fish and grill it out by the porch and such. Maybe a hike or exploring the sea caves I read about.

I lived in Hanalei for 20 years. All the North shore is green and beautiful. Do you know what keeps it that way? Rain!! Best to stay on the South side.

Hideaways is nice but there's a big condo [Pali ke kua][Hawaiian name of the beach also] right above it looking down on the beach.

Kauai is pretty much wrecked along with Maui and Oahu.

Kick WAY back and go to Lanai. Where ever you go get a private vacation rental. Lots online and all real estate company's have them.

[kaffy 2]

Gonna get a barefoot beach wedding.

We did it barefoot & on the beach too. We picked Tunnels but the week before the wedding went a visited a few of the beaches and ended up at Haena Beach Park instead. We had a really gorgeous spot by the rocks & water with great lighting (for photos) and since we chose to get married at sunrise there were very few people on the beach, mostly campers and they were closer to the land anyway. It doesnt look very impressive in a lot of the photos online but I'll show you some of mine.

We didn't do it through any company, rather just booked everything separately ourselves with the help of family (FIL married us, MIL made our cake) but I can PM you suggestions for photographer, makeup/hair stylist, florist, private chef (for rehearsal dinner) and reception venue if you like.

re: vacation rental. We stayed here: http://www.vrbo.com/92690 for a week with family. Great house, awesome kitchen and close to the shops & beach too. Highly recommend it. Tropical outdoor showers sound pretty awesome though, I'm sure you'll have a great time no matter where you choose

re: groceries. There is a big Costco and Walmart by the airport so I suggest stocking up there after you arrive (I assume you'll have a car). There is a Safeway up in Princeville and a smaller grocery store in Hanalei but prices are higher as you can imagine.

I'll PM you with activity suggestions too.. later though because I have to go to work now

Haole - We spent the majority of our time up in Hanalei and I loved that town.. so laid back and such friendly people. I don't mind the rain so much considering where I'm from

[Dakine 26]

Gonna get a barefoot beach wedding.

We did it barefoot & on the beach too. We picked Tunnels but the week before the wedding went a visited a few of the beaches and ended up at Haena Beach Park instead. We had a really gorgeous spot by the rocks & water with great lighting (for photos) and since we chose to get married at sunrise there were very few people on the beach, mostly campers and they were closer to the land anyway. It doesnt look very impressive in a lot of the photos online but I'll show you some of mine.

We didn't do it through any company, rather just booked everything separately ourselves with the help of family (FIL married us, MIL made our cake) but I can PM you suggestions for photographer, makeup/hair stylist, florist, private chef (for rehearsal dinner) and reception venue if you like.

re: vacation rental. We stayed here: http://www.vrbo.com/92690 for a week with family. Great house, awesome kitchen and close to the shops & beach too. Highly recommend it. Tropical outdoor showers sound pretty awesome though, I'm sure you'll have a great time no matter where you choose

re: groceries. There is a big Costco and Walmart by the airport so I suggest stocking up there after you arrive (I assume you'll have a car). There is a Safeway up in Princeville and a smaller grocery store in Hanalei but prices are higher as you can imagine.

I'll PM you with activity suggestions too.. later though because I have to go to work now

Haole - We spent the majority of our time up in Hanalei and I loved that town.. so laid back and such friendly people. I don't mind the rain so much considering where I'm from

Actually I lived in Haena. Tunnels is one of the most beautiful beaches in the world. That's Foodland at Princeville. Safeway is in Kapaa. Yeah food is VERY expensive on the North shore. Best to load up in Lihue as you said.

[Leo&Farah 0]

Thanks for the tips on grocery guys.

Probably will load up on it near Lihue, as suggested and we'll have a rented car, gonna go with a jeep wrangler. Hmm, I don't like the idea of a hotel overlooking Pali Ke Kua but I don't like the idea of there being people around either. And I don't think we'll be doing a sunrise wedding, I wouldn't be able to wake up for that!

Found a greaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaat place on the north side and scouted out a few place on the south side in Kalaheo after hearing about the rain. I don't mind a few sunshowers but if its pouring rain, that's a different story altogether. VRBO.com rocks. All our places are rustic and natural.

Also found this great site to buy travel sized stuff such as condiments, toiletries etc.

This is the wedding package we're looking at. It looks absolutely amazing. Seems like more and more of his family want to come though, so we might have to add in chairs by the beach. I'm not sure. I'm kinda clueless how to make it comfortable for everyone and still have it affordable. The bulk of our savings is going towards flight tickets as he'll be coming down for the interview and we'll fly to US together, and later AOS. The package comes with a photographer too. We won't really want cake since I don't like cake all that much. He does like cake though hmm. Initially it was supposed to be a private thing with just me and him but now his family want to come, I'm not sure how to adjust accordingly.

I was toying with the idea of having a fun picnic/cookout by the beach with his family after the ceremony. Not too keen on having a lavish indoor event as I want to stick to things being natural. Unless there's a nice beach restaurant somewhere.

As for the beach venue, I'm clueless! The package includes a wedding coordinator so maybe she/he can make a few suggestions.

I've checked out Lanai but it seems to be more golf oriented and couldn't find any nice rustic vacation rentals on vrbo.com. Also looked at Molokai and on tripadvisor a lot of travelers are complaining of locals being unfriendly there and calling them "haouli".

[Leo&Farah 0]

Oh and did you guys have any problem getting a certified copy of your marriage cert immediately after the wedding to file for AOS?

[MrsCat 6]

My coworker was born and raised on Molokai. She has said herself that it can be a tad unfriendly to non-locals. Haole can be both an insult and term of endearment. It all depends on the context. For the most part, its just the way locals describe tourists and whites. Its rarely actually meant to be derogatory, its just the way they've grown up.

As you can see by Haole's post, I think the name just stuck with him.

I'm a haole here, and my coworkers call me such and its never meant to be rude. Its usually said when we're highlighting our eating habits. Like 'Sistah, you no eat spam? you eat like Haole yah?!" lol