Elopement Officiant · Kailua
Love Always Weddings Hawai'i
"No scripts, no repeats" is the promise at the center of Love Always Weddings Hawai'i, the Kailua-based practice of an…
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From $555 Profile
State land · Hawaii
Hawai'i state beaches (DLNR Wiki Permits)
Managed by Hawai'i Department of Land and Natural Resources, Land Division
A beach wedding on a state shoreline needs a Wiki Permits right-of-entry permit: 10 cents per square foot with a $20 minimum, a 2-hour limit and liability insurance of $500,000 / $1,000,000. No arches, altars, tables or tents are allowed, and the applicant is often the photographer or planner.
Verified 4 official sources
01 The rules
Permit fact card
- Permit
- Required: Right-of-entry permit via Wiki Permits — beach wedding or other commercial activity on unencumbered State shorelines
- Application fee
- $0.10 per square foot per event per day, $20.00 minimum per event, non-refundable (the $20 minimum covers 200 sq ft)
- Other fees
- Certificate of liability insurance naming the State of Hawai'i as additional insured, at least $500,000 per incident and $1,000,000 aggregate. The DLNR FAQ says one-day event policies start at about $75.
- Lead time
- For first-time users, send the account application and insurance certificate; DLNR FAQ: 'at least a week or two in advance is a reasonable time frame'. Once set up, the permit can be bought up to the night or morning of the event. A permit outside the shoreline needs a Land Board review and 90 days or more.
- Group size
- No official cap on the page. DLNR FAQ: the average event has 10 participants; most professionals are uncomfortable above 25; for 25–30 or more, contact DLNR before applying.
- Caps & rules
- Maximum 2 hours including set-up and breakdown. Not allowed: arches, bowers, altars, tables, chairs (except a limited number for elderly, infirm or disabled guests), kahili, tents, tarps, signs, ropes or stanchions. Allowed: loose flowers, lei, bouquets, unamplified instruments including a conch shell, doves or butterflies for release, hand-carried accessories, a small podium or cake stand up to 3 ft square. No alcohol, no amplified instruments, no driving on the beach. No exclusive use; the public keeps access. Unpermitted activity: civil penalty up to $5,000 for a first violation.
- Photographer
- One permit and one permittee per event; the photographer carries a copy of the permit. The Hawaii Film Office accepts a Wiki Permits permit for a photographer on State unencumbered shoreline (since Jan 1, 2015); a Film Office permit is the alternative.
- Seasons
- Lumahai Beach (Kaua'i) is permitted only between Memorial Day and Labor Day. China Walls (O'ahu) has a seasonal restriction April 1–September 30.
02 Where
4 designated ceremony sites
As listed by the agency. Numbers in brackets are the group caps it gives.
- Permitted shoreline list (about 230 named sites, May 2025 version), for example: Lanikai Beach 1–5, Kailua Beach 2–8, Waimanalo Bay Beach 1 and 4–6 (O'ahu)
- Makena Landing Beach & Makena Bay, Kapalua Bay Beach 1–2 (Maui)
- Poipu Beach, Waioli Beach 1–3 (Kaua'i)
- Honoli'i Beach, Anaeho'omalu Bay Beach (Hawai'i Island)
03 Re-check log
Compared with our June 2026 guides
No change to the 10 cents per sq ft, $20 minimum, 2-hour cap, banned items and $500,000 / $1,000,000 insurance. New today: the doves/butterflies/podium exceptions, the DLNR average-event-size guidance, photographer coverage, seasonal beach limits, and the rule that where a county park fronts a beach, the sand is still State land.
Sources
Where each value comes from
- Commercial Activities / Beach Weddings — DLNR Land Division ↗ Read on
- Wiki Permits General Terms and Conditions (state beaches), page footer dated 1/13/16 ↗ Read on
- Wiki Permits: The Basics (DLNR FAQ PDF) ↗ Read on
- Wiki Permits permissible beach locations, May 2025 list (DLNR PDF) ↗ Read on
Confirm with the agency before you book. Fees, calendars and site lists change, sometimes without notice. This page records what the official pages said on the date above; it is not legal advice.
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