Treehouse Weddings

The treehouse and grounds are a potential wedding location in addition to the rainforest pavilion.  While the pavilion is a setting protected from the rain, the grotto at the treehouse is open and bathed in dappled light.  The hammock comes down and the bride and groom stand amidst fragrant orchids and gardenias, ginger if in season.

The treehouse lanai is another spot where a ceremony can take place.

Standing in the grotto, you are below the treehouse, and across from the lava tube.  The tree ferns or hapu'u that form the mid canopy of the rainforest wave gently ovehead.  Above them, the red flowered ohia trees reach into the sky.

The orchids are epiphytes, and like the nepenthes pitcher plants, grow directly in the tree ferns and on the trees.  Exotic island mosses drape the tree branches and grow along the paths.

From the moment you arrive until you depart, you can choose to stay in the magical forest, never setting foot back in a car.  Personal catering is available, and your wedding photography can all be done in the treehouse and around the grounds.

To see more photos, look through the blog.  You may reach us through www.mahinui.com.  aloha!

What is it about a rainforest wedding?

Yesterday we had a one night stay at the treehouse ~ newlyweds passing through volcano.  When the bride asked how we had happened to build the treehouse, I told her it was the companion to the wedding business.  She then told me how difficult their wedding planning had been, for their Kauai ceremony.

There is no reason a wedding in Hawaii should be difficult, or the process annoying.  The reason it becomes difficult is sometimes because of the island ways of doing things - slow.  Unresponsive.  And of course there are the details.  You can spend hours searching for something on the internet that someone on the island knows about already, but perhaps you don't have a contact on the island.  At Mahinui Na Lani, your experience will likely be smooth as a pina colada and pleasant as an afternoon on a beach hammock stretched between two palms.  In other words, we want your wedding to be a good time for you (and for us) from the moment you contact us until you drive away into the rest of your life.

Here's how we do that.  First, once you contact us, you will hear back from us right away.  Best ways to reach us are through our website, www.mahinui.com or by phone  510-965-7367.  We like email, and we text.  We try to keep communications as easy as possible.

We offer a simple wedding plan.  Call it our off the rack party.  It comes with the full service Hawaiian style ceremony in our private pavilion, set among the tree ferns and ohias on top of Kilauea Volcano.  The setting is serene and spiritual, a rainforest jungle with bird song and exotic flowers.  The wedding includes the ceremony, photographs, music, cake, leis, and a wedding toast.  If you would prefer a beach ceremony, we can arrange that as well.

Our treehouse was built as a honeymoon cottage, and our second tier pricing includes two nights there.  If you would like a small party with a few friends and family, we arrange catering at the pavilion.  For a sit down supper, we will help you arrange that at a local restaurant.  Special leis, custom flowers, live music, a custom cake can all be taken care of as a part of our wedding service.

We are conscientious about pricing.  If you give us a wish list and a budget, we will let you know right away if you are dreaming or if it can be done.  Chances are very good we will be able to get you what you are looking for within your budget.  If you would rather plan as you go, and add to the basic charges as need be, we can do that.

When you make your plans for a Big Island wedding, it helps to remember a few basic things.  You will be stopping in Hilo to get your marriage license.  If your flight gets in too late to do that, you may drive back down the mountain the next day, about 40 minutes, or choose to spend your first night on the island in Hilo.  If you are arriving in Kona, the drive to Hilo is two to two and a half hours.

Hawaiian prices can be higher than you may be used to because so much is shipped to this island from thousands of miles away.  When you are here, you will have the opportunity to experience local flavor in every sense of the word.  We are careful to use locally grown and produced products as much as possible.  You will experience this in any catering you order through us, and in all that we provide for you.

We'd love comments on the blog, and welcome questions.  We'd love to make your wedding day as special, as magical,  as you imagine it can be.

10-10-10 A lucky day for a wedding

We got married in the rainforest of Hawaii.  We stood out on the lanai, surrounded by giant tree ferns and the gentle whisper of evening tropical misty rain.  It was as if we had been blessed directly.  It was unplanned,  and from idea to inception a matter of an afternoon.  

When we decided to change our lives, we wanted to do something that would bring happiness to other people.  The plan evolved to put up a pavilion in the rainforest for weddings and other celebrations.   As the pavilion plan took shape, the plan needed something more - a beautiful and private honeymoon spot. 

For the honeymoon cottage, a treehouse.  A fantasy suspended from the trees, complete with cedar hot tub.  

Our goal is to offer a runaway wedding spot, an elopement destination drenched in romance, intimate, enchanting, unforgettable.

It turns out to be easy to rent a treehouse.  Even disguised among condo vacation rentals, people do happily stumble upon it.  

As for the wedding business, this is another story.  Everyone knows about Las Vegas, and everyone knows about getting married in Hawaii.  There are thousands of websites, and hundreds of bridal sites, magazines, shows ---  but --- we are not all about the production wedding.  We are about the romance of the mountaintop, the volcano, the magic of it all.  

Now the magical date of 10-10-10 approaches.  We've set aside the 10th and 11th at the treehouse.  We're putting it out there - we are here, we are available, and we are far from expensive.  Hawaiian Airlines lowered their prices today, and round trip from the Bay Area is under $333 on selected dates that encompass 10-10-10.   We can do the ceremony on the beach, at a waterfall, or in our pavilion in a private rainforest.  

Our website is http://www.mahinui.com.

Come take a look.  We'd love to have some celebrations.