If you always dreamed of having a wedding in a Hawaii but can’t afford to splurge, don’t worry. You can bring a little bit of Hawaii to your wedding celebration, no matter where it takes place. You don’t need to wear a grass skirt for your wedding with your groom in a Hawaiian shirt. (Please don’t!) Instead, you can have a traditonal wedding ceremony, then have a luau themed reception.
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As your guests arrive at the reception, they should be greeted and given a flowered lei to wear around their neck. If you like, you can have the reception much later in the day to allow your guest time to dress in more casual, Hawaiian attire.
Decorate the reception venue with tropical flowers, including colorful orchids. The women in your wedding party and immediate family can wear a flower tucked behind their ear. The flower behind the right ear indicates the person is avaialable. If it’s placed behind the left ear, then they are taken.
Instead of a DJ, hire traditional Hawaiian hula dancers and live musicians to transform your wedding reception venue into a lively Hawaiian celebration.
For food, you don’t have to serve a roasted pig with an apple in its mouth, but you can! If you don’t like that idea, look for other traditional luau dishes like Chicken Luau (chicken with spinach and coconut milk), Mahi Mahi fish or Huli Huli chicken (Hawaiian BBQ chicken). Add side dishes like rice, corn chowder, mango bread, poi, sweet potatoes, and of course pineapple.
