Traditional vs. Maui weddings

Every day in the United States around 6,700 couples tie the knot, while every day about 3,200 are untying the knot.

Six percent of United States couples propose on the phone. One in ten women are the ones who propose. On the average, couples are now waiting for 16 months after proposing to get married. A third of the couples having a wedding are already living together.

Here on Maui, we've actually performed a few "surprise Maui weddings" where either the bride or the groom did not know what was about to happen until their partner brought them to the wedding license appointment!

Nine out of ten brides take their husband's last name. We actually had one groom who took his wife's name and one couple that both changed their last name to something else entirely.

Over a quarter of United States couples complete their wedding planning in three months or less. Over half of the couples take as much as a year to plan the details, while 17 percent need over a year to plan and prepare. I believe the majority of our couples would be in the "less than three months" group.

The typical wedding size is 171 guests, while around seven percent have more than 250 in attendance. By contrast, most of our Maui weddings are 10 or under. I enjoy calling our couples the "runaway bride and groom" because they leave all of their anxieties (and guests) back home.

The average first time wedding on the mainland costs a massive 22,360 dollars. There are many who are obviously spending even more. By comparison, even our high-end Maui weddings are rarely as high as 3000 dollars (unless they invite a lot of people and have a big reception).

Fifty percent of those married in a grand traditional mainland wedding wish afterwards that they had opted for a private, more intimate ceremony. But it is fascinating that not a single Hawaii wedding eloper wishes they had stuck around for a big, traditional wedding.

And that's the glory about having a wedding in Hawaii. You are highly unlikely to regret that decision later. Your pocket book will appreciate the decision, and you'll find it much more intimate for the two of you to escape to Maui for you own special wedding commitment.

John Souter lives in paradise. His company provides Maui weddings in Hawaii. When he isn't busy planning Maui weddings, he is an active real estate investor. John is an alumni of Nouveau Riche University. For more information on real estate investing, take a look at his website at: nrusuccess.com..