City venue guide

The 10 best wedding venues in Honolulu

Most Honolulu weddings happen inside a few blocks of Waikiki, where The Royal Hawaiian, Halekulani and Hilton Hawaiian Village each run a full wedding operation with their own chapels, lawns and ballrooms. Couples who want something other than a hotel take an evening buyout of the Waikiki Aquarium, book a private room at 53 By The Sea on the Kakaako waterfront, or leave town altogether for Kualoa Ranch on the windward coast. The city also issues permits for small ceremonies in its botanical gardens, capped at 50 guests and with no reception allowed on site.

Researched and last reviewed 2026-08-16. We have no commercial relationship with any venue listed.

The Royal Hawaiian, a Luxury Collection Resort — wedding venue in Honolulu, Hawaii

Photo: royal-hawaiian.com

No. I

The Royal Hawaiian, a Luxury Collection Resort

Historic hotelWaikikiUp to 300 on the Monarch Room terrace

Spanish-Moorish arcades finished in 1927 gave this Kalakaua Avenue landmark its nickname, the Pink Palace. Four settings are bookable: Ocean Lawn, which runs down to the sand; Helumoa Garden, a lawn enclosed by palms and the pink facades; the Coconut Grove courtyard; and the Monarch Room terrace, which takes up to 300 for drinks and opens into the indoor room for a seated dinner. It suits couples who want an identifiable piece of Waikiki history behind them rather than an anonymous beach.

1927 Pink Palace on Waikiki Beach

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Halekulani — wedding venue in Honolulu, Hawaii

Photo: halekulani.com

No. II

Halekulani

Beachfront hotelWaikikiUp to 250 seated in the ballroom

Halekulani's ballroom is pillarless, seating 250 without a blocked sightline — uncommon in Waikiki, where most function rooms are broken up by columns. Mid-sized parties take the second-floor Hau Terrace, windowed on three sides, which seats 120 and opens across nearly 5,000 sq ft of terrace and lanai facing Diamond Head, or the Garden Terrace at 80. Upstairs, Kalia and Kiawe hold 40 and 30 and combine for 70; the beachfront Kawehewehe Lawn is capped at 20 for a ceremony with witnesses only.

Pillarless ballroom seating 250

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The Kahala Hotel & Resort — wedding venue in Honolulu, Hawaii

Photo: kahalaresort.com

No. III

The Kahala Hotel & Resort

Resort hotelKahala

Just east of Diamond Head, well clear of the Waikiki towers, the Kahala occupies its own beach in a quiet residential district of the same name. Ceremonies are held at Plumeria Grove and dinner moves into the Waialae Ballroom, with a gazebo and waterfall on the grounds between the two. The appeal is separation: guests get a full resort address at 5000 Kahala Avenue without the Kalakaua Avenue crowds walking through their photographs.

Its own beach, east of Diamond Head

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Hilton Hawaiian Village Waikiki Beach Resort — wedding venue in Honolulu, Hawaii

Photo: hiltonhawaiianvillage.com

No. IV

Hilton Hawaiian Village Waikiki Beach Resort

Resort with chapelsWaikiki14 in the Bali room, 100+ on the Village Green

Two purpose-built chapels make this resort unusual for Honolulu. Akala Chapel sits up a landscaped stairway past waterfalls, on the second storey with its own bridal room and a gazebo alongside; Paradise Chapel looks directly over Duke Kahanamoku Lagoon and the beach. Receptions ladder from the Bali oceanfront dining room at 14 guests through the Coral, Tapa and South Pacific ballrooms, while the Village Green — gardens, waterfalls and a koi pond — handles outdoor parties of 100 or more.

Two purpose-built wedding chapels

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Prince Waikiki — wedding venue in Honolulu, Hawaii

Photo: princewaikiki.com

No. V

Prince Waikiki

High-rise hotelAla Wai Harbor, Waikiki

The Lani Lea Chapel sits on the 33rd floor, which is an odd and welcome proposition in a city where nearly every ceremony happens at ground level. Glass on all sides puts open Pacific and the small-boat harbor behind the couple instead of other people's beach towels, and the space doubles for receptions and smaller dinners. Worth a look if wind on the sand or a passing afternoon shower is the thing you are most worried about.

33rd-floor glass chapel above the harbor

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Waikīkī Aquarium — wedding venue in Honolulu, Hawaii

Photo: waikikiaquarium.org

No. VI

Waikīkī Aquarium

AquariumKapiolani Park, Waikiki100 included in the base rental

Evening rentals run on Tuesdays and Saturdays from 5.15pm, with the exhibit galleries left open to guests until 9pm so people can wander the tanks between courses. The $3,200 base fee covers 100 guests and includes 18 tables and 100 chairs, with additional guests charged at $12 a head. House rules shape the night more than the room does: beer and wine service stops at 9pm, live rock bands are not permitted, and everything ends by 9.30pm — so plan it as a dinner, not a late party.

Exhibit galleries open to guests until 9pm

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53 By The Sea — wedding venue in Honolulu, Hawaii

Photo: 53bythesea.com

No. VII

53 By The Sea

Waterfront restaurantKakaakoUp to 50 in the largest private room

A fine-dining restaurant on Ahui Street in Kakaako, open since 2012 and built around a broad staircase with glass turned toward the water. Three private rooms on the second floor seat 12, 20 and 50, each with an unbroken view back along the coast to Waikiki and Diamond Head. This is a wedding dinner rather than a full reception venue; T's Bar, a cocktail lounge on site, covers the drinks half of the evening.

Second-floor rooms facing Diamond Head

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No. VIIIFoster Botanical Garden

No. VIII

Foster Botanical Garden

Botanical gardenDowntown Honolulu50 guests by permit

The city's Parks and Recreation department permits ceremonies here for up to 50 people, leaving it among the rare truly low-cost options in town. The rulebook is strict in exchange: apply at least three weeks ahead with liability insurance, every guest and vendor pays garden admission, and the ceremony must be finished by 3.30pm. Receptions, alcohol, confetti and rice are all prohibited outright, and chairs, tents or amplified sound have to be written into the permit in advance — so book a restaurant for afterwards.

City permit ceremony, 50 guests maximum

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Kualoa Ranch — wedding venue in Honolulu, Hawaii

Photo: kualoa.com

No. IX

Kualoa Ranch

Working ranchKaneohe, windward Oahu

Paliku Gardens sits at the foot of Kanehoalani peak on the windward coast, with the Koʻolau range walling in the site, cattle pasture running away from it, and Mokoliʻi island offshore in Kaneohe Bay. Site fees are published rather than quoted: $6,495 at weekends and $5,495 midweek plus tax, with catering handled in house. It is a long drive out from Waikiki and looks nothing like the postcards — mountain and grass instead of sand.

Koʻolau cliffs with Mokoliʻi offshore

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Waimea Valley — wedding venue in Honolulu, Hawaii

Photo: waimeavalley.net

No. X

Waimea Valley

Botanical valleyHaleiwa, North Shore

Out at Haleiwa on the North Shore, this is a cultural and botanical valley that runs inland to a waterfall. Palm Meadow, the largest of the three ceremony sites, is an open lawn ringed by tall palms; Upper Meadow sits under a heavy tree canopy; the waterfall itself takes only the ceremony and cocktails, with dinner moved back down to a meadow. Logistics are firmly controlled — a licensed event planner is mandatory, all food and drink comes from Ke Nui Kitchen, and parties over seven ride a shuttle in because private cars are not allowed up the valley.

Ceremony at the valley waterfall

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Marrying in Honolulu?

Want an invitation designed for your venue?

Tell us where you’re marrying in Honolulu, Hawaiiand we’ll build the invitation around it — the venue’s own colours, an illustration of the building if you want one, your map and timings already in place. One link for every guest, with live RSVPs.

Make ours for Honolulu See the designs

Planning a wedding in Honolulu

A Hawaii marriage license is issued only in the state, and both partners must appear together in person before an authorized agent — proxies are not accepted — with the ceremony held within 30 days of pickup, so the appointment has to be built into your arrival week. Central Pacific hurricane season runs from June through November and named storms do close roads and airports; venues here rarely refund for weather, which makes trip insurance worth pricing early. If you are considering a city botanical garden, the permit application closes three weeks out and has to arrive with proof of liability insurance attached.

When to marry — Late April to early June and September into October are the most reliable stretches: drier than the winter wet season on Oahu's leeward side, and outside the December-to-January visitor peak.
What it costs — Among venues that publish a site fee, the range runs from about $3,200 for an evening at the Waikiki Aquarium to roughly $6,500 for a weekend at Kualoa Ranch — and that is before catering, which is where most of a Honolulu budget actually goes.

Once the venue is settled, the next thing most couples deal with is telling everyone. A digital wedding invitation carries the address, a map, your timings and a live RSVP on one link — which matters more than usual when guests are travelling to Honolulu and need directions, and plenty of notice.

Questions

Marrying in Honolulu: your questions.

Can we legally marry in Honolulu if we are not US residents?

Yes. Hawaii sets no state residency or US citizenship requirement, asks for no blood test, and imposes no waiting period once the license is issued; the fee is $65 and the minimum age is 18 without parental consent. Both of you must appear together in person before an authorized license agent in Hawaii — proxies are not accepted — and the ceremony has to take place within 30 days of collection. The license is valid only inside Hawaii, and whether your home country recognizes the resulting certificate is a separate question: many countries require you to register the foreign marriage on return, and some will only recognize a civil ceremony performed at home, so check with your own authorities before you treat the Honolulu ceremony as the legal one.

What does a Honolulu wedding venue actually cost?

Site fees vary far more by venue type than by guest count. An evening buyout of the Waikiki Aquarium starts at $3,200 for 100 guests, Kualoa Ranch publishes $5,495 midweek and $6,495 at weekends plus tax, and a city botanical garden permit costs little beyond admission for each guest. Hotels such as Halekulani and the Hilton Hawaiian Village generally price per head through food and beverage minimums instead of a flat rental, so ask for the minimum spend for your date before comparing anything.

When is the best time of year to marry in Honolulu, and how far ahead should we book?

Late April to early June and September into October give the driest weather on Oahu's leeward side without the December-to-January visitor crush. Avoid pinning everything on the summer if you can: Central Pacific hurricane season runs June to November, and while a direct hit is rare, storms disrupt flights. Waikiki's hotel wedding teams and the handful of non-hotel venues both work on limited date inventory, so start twelve to eighteen months out for a Saturday in a shoulder month.

We want something small and inexpensive. What are the options?

Honolulu's botanical gardens are permitted for ceremonies at 25 to 50 guests depending on the garden — Foster and Ho'omaluhia allow 50, Wahiawa and Koko Crater 30, and Lili'uokalani 25. The permit must be filed at least three weeks ahead with liability insurance, and receptions, alcohol and amplified sound are not allowed on site, so couples pair the ceremony with dinner elsewhere. For a small dinner, 53 By The Sea has private rooms from 12 guests, Halekulani's Kawehewehe Lawn is capped at 20, and the Hilton's Bali oceanfront room seats 14.

Keep looking

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Or browse every venue guide.

Marrying in Honolulu?

Want an invitation designed for your venue?

Make ours for Honolulu See the designs

The 10 best wedding venues in Honolulu

Researched and last reviewed 2026-08-16. We have no commercial relationship with any venue listed.

Planning a wedding in Honolulu

When to marry — Late April to early June and September into October are the most reliable stretches: drier than the winter wet season on Oahu's leeward side, and outside the December-to-January visitor peak.

What it costs — Among venues that publish a site fee, the range runs from about $3,200 for an evening at the Waikiki Aquarium to roughly $6,500 for a weekend at Kualoa Ranch — and that is before catering, which is where most of a Honolulu budget actually goes.