Lanikuhonua Cultural Institute

We used this location for our wedding ceremony only. The locations was breathtakingly (if there is such a word) beautiful. Our contacts were responsive to our needs and changes before the big day.

Our only complaint is that the guard was tailing us to leave the venue promptly at 6pm. She was following us and our photographer at 5:50pm. Otherwise, we loved the place.

It was difficult at first to get a hold of the site manager but someone else took care of what I needed. Everything turned out perfect on that day. The ambiance the scenery was gorgeous, everything I imagined.

Lanikuhonua...where heaven meets the earth was an absolutely gorgeous place to get married. The susets amazing. It's nestled in between Paradise Cove and Marriott Ilhilani in KO Olina. We were a little concerned about the noise next door because Paradise Cove has nightly luaus but we could hardly hear the music.

Beautiful place to get married!! I've always wanted to get married by the beach and I am so happy it was here. Lankuhonoa not only has history, but place the views are breath taking. There are always some challenges with having a completely outdoor wedding like renting everything from a garbage can to stoves for the caterer, but it was all worth it in the end. You just take a walk on the property under the trees and you want to stay there forever. For someone who wants an outdoor wedding and doesn't mind the planning that comes with having it outdoors, I definitely recommend Lanikuhonoa. Small note, if you are having a upscale wedding, you may want to "spruce" up the restrooms a bit. They are fine but they are just as "untouched" as the property.

Lanikuhonua is a beautiful venue! Our wedding was in the summer, and it was uncommonly windy with some light, scattered showers on the southside of the island in Waikiki where most guests were staying.. It was even sprinkling the morning of our wedding! But the west side @ Lanikuhonua was gorgeous all day! If you've always wanted a beach wedding, you'll have to go with Phase II for the ceremony. The lawn is expansive and meticulously kept, and it's the perfect canvas limited only by your imagination (and budget, haha)! All your other vendors will have to be brought in, but this just allows for more creativity. That also means you'll have to rent everything from the tables, to the ceremony seating, to the dancefloor, etc. The only other downside - you have to wrap up by 10pm. We could've partied a lot longer! But overall - very picturesque, beautiful property, and the staff was really easy to work with. *If your budget allows, stay at the Ihilani Resort right next door the night before and the night of. It's a gorgeous property, and super convenient to get to the wedding! You can walk!

Lanikuhonua is spectacular... we thought it was the best place to say "I Do" since it offers a beach setting without being on the sand, has the best sunset and will allow you the ability to add more guests (the property is huge!).

Their website does not do them justice. It is just breathtaking in person. If you do have the chance to visit the property, I recommend doing so (by appointment only).

A few things brides and grooms should know--- it is just a venue. You will need to rent your own chairs, tables, lighting, dance floor, etc. In order to serve alcohol, you will also need to get an insurance certificate. You will also have to end the ceremony at 10pm. We wish we could have stayed a little longer since it is so gorgeous!

We hired a wonderful wedding coordinator to help with these details, which worked out beautifully. I highly recommend doing so, especially if you are planning it as a destination wedding.

Auntie Netty, Annette and their team at Lanikuhonua are professional and so friendly. The property is kept up very well too--- grass is green, the landscape is neat and the bathrooms are clean.

Lanikuhonua was the perfect setting for our wedding. Everyone is still talking about the beauty of our ceremony and reception. All our guests got wonderful sunset photos. It truly is the place where heaven meets the earth.

Excellent place to have my dream wedding and the weather with sunset couldn't have been anymore perfect. My number one spot for a memorable wedding. Only thing that I didn't like was that our cousins, who are related to the family who owns property, got it for more than 50% cheaper than what I had paid for for their family function.

Lani is BEAUTIFUL!!!! I am so happy we were able to have our wedding here. The family loved the outdoor setting. The kids could run around to their hearts content and the ladies could kick off those uncomfortable heels and walk around barefoot! :) We couldn't have asked for a more beautiful day... as long as you have good weather on your side, you'll love this place. and even if you don't, you'll have a blast anyway... the scenery is just breathtaking.
Aunty Nettie, Annette, Bo-Bo, and everyone else at Lani were so helpful! They made it so easy for us to do site visits prior to the big day and were so flexible on wedding day! Bo-Bo was so helpful!

Although the process to rent Lanikuhonua is quite involved, it is probably the best place on the island to celebrate a wedding. The area is absolutely beautiful and accommodating for large weddings or parties. It The wonderful spiritual feeling about the area just added to the sacredness of our ceremony!

Even though I was hesitant at first because you are basically renting a "blank canvas"..I am soooo glad we booked Lani for our wedding. Not only did we love working with Annette but Auntie Nettie (a Kahu) and a keeper of story in the Hawaiian culture only added to our experience. The grounds are what everyone says...breathtaking and gorgeous. As one of my guests said to me "how can it be any more perfect than this". Honestly..it simply can't. You are basically getting the 'million dollar view' without the million dollar price tag. On the day we were married..the sun was shining, the trees were swaying in the tradewinds and the dolphins were playing in the surf...it was stunning. We had a small ceremony by the rock wall oceanfront and then set up our reception under the trees of Phase II. With Japanese lanterns strung across the dance floor and guest tables...tiki torches lining the pathways and perimeter areas...ocean colored lights uplighting some of the trees...magical would be a word Id use to describe it.

Beautiful location! Worth the cost but, tons of obstacles since it's privately owned.

Lanikuhonua was our chosen venue because it had special meaning to us. The location is beautiful, one of the most beautiful on the island, and it is also very exclusive. The downside is that it is very expensive and they do not provide anything except the grass, electricity, and parking. Therefore, you need to bring in your own equipment, caterer, and the rest. Overall, we had a wonderful time and have no regrets.

Absolutely breathtaking. LOVED EVERYTHING except for the fact that we had to end our wedding at 10pm. It was such a downer and so disappointing to end soooo early. Our only negative is that we wish we could have ended the wedding later. Especially when so much time and money goes into it, it would be nice to have it last longer. Other than that...it was sooo beautiful!

Lani is an AMAZING venue, and was absolutely perfect for our wedding. Because it is so naturally gorgeous, there is no need for alot of added decorations, which saves some $$. Only issue I had with them was at the beginning of the planning process, where they were difficult to get ahold of to reserve and book the day. After that, it was pretty smooth sailing.

As it is translated to "Where heaven meets earth", you can not go wrong with this location if you are planning a very private, beautiful Hawaii beach side wedding! The sunset was so beautiful that all our guest couldn't stop talking about how beautiful location was. I didn't get to check out the site until my wedding day, but when I got there, it was jaw dropping! I highly recommend here for your dream Hawaiian wedding!

Lanikuhonua is such an amazing place. I am so happy we decided to have our wedding there. I definitely recommend getting a wedding planner if you are having a destination wedding. Although you have to provide everything (tables, chairs, lighting, etc.), it is definitely worth it. We had about 50 people and decided to have our wedding under the trees in Phase II. It was perfect. I loved being surrounded by all the trees. You can also take some beautiful beach pictures, especially on the rocks. Make sure you check it out.

Everyone LOVED this location. It is so incredibly beautiful and shows off Hawaii's true beauty. Even though it requires more work, I think it was 100% completely worth it. In the beginning it was a little hard to get in touch with Lanikuhonua, but once I did it was smooth sailing. They seem to respond to emails faster, too.

It was also a little cheaper than a hotel, and much more fun because I got to think about every single element of our wedding day...

We had our ceremony and reception here and it was BEAUTIFUL.. So worth the $$$.

Lanikuhonua Institute is a beautiful venue! It's ideal for those brides who want to work with a blank slate and build their dream wedding from the ground up, especially DIY brides!

STAFF:
Annette Keahola-Park was amazing to work with. She responded to e-mails promptly and made sure all my questions were answered! Nettie was the grounds coordinator we had to work with to coordinate our rehearsal and set up of the actual wedding. She was much harder to get a hold of (we left messages numerous times before gettng any response). THis was a bit frustrating, but thankfully, my wedding coordinator handled the communication.
Lastly, on the day of the wedding, my 9 yearold stepson was allegedly reprimanded by one of the groundskeepers for climbing the trees. Granted, my stepson was warned to stop once before, but I was upset that he was reprimanded so harshly. My stepson was shaking, in tears because he'd never had an adult swear at him before. I was FURIOUS. They really should have contacted our coordinator or one of the adults at the party ... he had no right to speak to my kid like that, rules or no rules.

GROUNDS: Just amazing! The lawn is expansive and surrounded by mature trees. Surprisingly, the gazebo was a hit with our guests, especially since there was a perfect view of the sunset. The beach just on the other side of the short wall seemed to be open to the public, but it was practically empty on the day of our wedding. Apparently, there was a dog barking during my ceremony, but I really didn't hear it at all. There really is no place for shelter from rain, so I strongly suggest for brides to spend the extra to rent a WHITE tent. Clear tents are beautiful, but they do not offer any relief from the sun. Also, the forecast leading up to our wedding called for clear skies, even on the day of the wedding... but it rained for about 15 minutes during dinner. The last thing you want is to have your guests eating in the rain.

IF YOU ARE STAYING AT THE IHILANI:
Lanikuhonua is just beside the JW Marriott Ihilani. We stayed here the night before the wedding and on the day of. You can see the hotel from the Lani grounds, so naturally, we assumed it was easily accessible by foot. WRONG. IF you plan to get ready here on the day of the wedding, be sure you arrange some form of transportation to Lanikuhonua in advance of the wedding day... Otherwise, you'll need to walk all the way out to the main road and back up to the Lanikuhonua grounds. There is a gate between Lani and Ihilani, but they only open it if the event being held there is affiliated with the Ihilani.

I chose this location because it was simple but beautiful. You don't need to add a whole lot for your ceremony or reception. The views are truly breathtaking. It is along the water and the JW Marriott Ihilani is within walking distance for your guests.

We literally had 5 weeks to plan our wedding and was able to book Lanikuhonua for a Sunday afternoon. Because there were no other events for the day at either of the phases, they were kind enough to let us choose our time frame (instead of just morning or afternoon). We were able choose 2-8pm for the venue...beautiful for sunset weddings!

Beautiful location!

The name means "Where Heaven Meets Earth." It lives up to its name so well! The site is prestine and gorgeous. The breeze off the beach is soothing. If we had to do it again, we would get married there again in a heartbeat!

this place is what you imagine Hawaii to be and it's big enough to have all your guests and more. beach, garden, this place has it all.

Lanikuhonua is a gorgeous place. It seems like another world from the city-like Honolulu/Waikiki. I know the price has gone up tremendously since I originally booked. They are extremely strict esp. w/ time... but I loved the breathtaking site and I am glad I had my wedding there.

Great oceanfront location for a wedding. Both Phase 1 and Phase 2 locations are beautiful.