Hawaii Wedding Reception

If you're planning a Hawaii wedding reception, you can do it economically, and still have a gorgeous reception, whether you're inviting 5 or 150 guests. Having your reception at a restaurant is what I recommend because it can be accomplished so easily.

One of the best places to have a wedding reception in Hawaii has got to be the Hau Tree Lani Restaurant where Robert Louis Stevenson is said to have often relaxed under the beautiful, old banyan tree that now covers the dining room patio like a canopy.

The Hau Tree Lanai is a stunning place to dine at sunset. My wife and I had our reception there, and I can vouch for it's food, excellent service, and romantic atmosphere. I really enjoyed eating outdoors with a spectacular sunset for a back drop.

The best time to plan your Hawaii wedding reception is at 5:30 p.m. when the kitchen opens and the sun is just starting to light up the sky with orange and pink and purple hues. I recommend having your wedding ceremony around 3:00 p.m. because it's cooler at that time of the day in Hawaii.

We got married in the summer time, so there was really no danger of getting rained out. For people with parties larger than 15, or who want to get married during the rainy season (November through March), the Hau Tree Lanai also has a special banquet room over looking the beach which will seat up to 150 people—and I’m told you can rent it for only 150 bucks!

A lot people think that planning a reception is difficult and that the cost is astronomical. But it doesn't have to be that way. The Hau Tree Lanai is a great choice, but there are other economical and beautiful restaurants where you can have your Hawaii wedding reception.

I found the Hau Tree Lanai a few days before the day of our wedding, and the manager was able to accommodate us as there were only 15 people in our party. We were lucky because some couples reserve the Hau Tree Lanai for their wedding reception as much as two months in advance. Of course, the smaller your wedding party, the easier it is for the Hau Tree Lanai or any restaurant to accommodate you.

If you have a very small party you can just order right off the menu. For my Hawaii wedding reception the manager and I worked out a short menu for our guests that the kitchen could handle, but would still give our guests plenty of choices.

For $50 to $75 per person, The Hau Tree Lanai will prepare you and your guests a complete dinner with a set menu including:

- Bread and Butter

- Appetizer or Salad

- Entree (4 or 5 different choices)

- Dessert

- Coffee or Tea

That's basically what we did. And we served our guests champagne at $30 a bottle. There's about 5 glasses per bottle of champagne, so I think we went through 4 or 5 bottles. There was enough champagne to go around, as I remember.

We selected the following entrees for our guests to choose from:

- Avocado Crab Stuffed Mahi Mahi

- Chicken Hawaiian Monarch

- Jumbo Scampi Sans Souci

- Mango Marinated Pork Chops

- New York Steak With Butter Sauce

A 17% gratuity is added to your bill. With the champagne, the tax, and the gratuity, I remember my bill came to an even grand ($1,000). That was for 15 people. As you can see, if you're planning your wedding reception in Hawaii, it doesn't have to cost you an arm and a leg.

The Hau Tree Lanai is located at the edge of a beautiful white sand beach named Sans Souci Beach. The restaurant is part of The New Otani Kaimana Beach Hotel, a 20 minute walk from Waikiki Beach. It's a convenient location for people getting married in a park or on a beach near by.

Our limousine ferried my wife and I and several of our honored guests to the Hau Tree Lanai Restaurant. When we walked into the outdoor beach-front dining room, our long banquet table was prepared with pink table clothes and flowers in vases on the table.

The sun was setting and the waiters began pouring champagne. A great time was enjoyed by all. Our dinner party reception lasted about two and a half hours and that included cutting the wedding cake. The Hau Tree Lanai is very friendly, and truly a romantic and economical place to have your Hawaii wedding reception.