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Just talked with Jill Carl, the Government Chair of the Maui Wedding Association, who reminded me that the Department of Land and Natural Resources (DLNR) is holding approval of beach wedding permits beyond September 15, 2009.
This DOES NOT mean permits won’t be issued, simply that the DLNR has further restrictions to announce to the wedding industry in Hawaii. These restrictions will probably include the use of ‘props’ such as those mentioned in my earlier post “…the ‘goose’ is simmering.’
Beach weddings in Hawaii, prior to September 15, using chairs and other so-called props should be fine.
Aloha,
Ron Winckler
Pacific Island Weddings Ltd.
because maui and las vegas are oceans apart®
September 11, 2008 at 9:20 am |
It was interesting at the DLNR meeting yesterday when Laura was responding to Larry Mischel’s question about Annual Permits, she said that the new online system would essentially be like an annual permit because you could ask for permits for weddings for a whole year (or as long as your insurance was valid (which is usually 1 year). But actually this was not what we were looking for, since they would still ask for at least $20 per wedding. We were hoping for an annual permit that would cost around $500, regardless of how many weddings you did in a year. Rather, let’s say that you did 200 weddings in a year, at $20 each (the minimum amount required per wedding), your “Annual Permit” will cost you $4,000! Laura also mentioned it wasn’t about the money, although a lot of money is being made by them. She also mentioned that, “at least we are issuing permits for weddings, we are not issuing permits for surf schools and kayak companies”. Funny, the Senate resolution SR103 demanded that they provide for a beach permit process, it sounds like she was doing us a favor issuing beach wedding permits, when actually she had to. Although, when I mentioned that the Senate resolution stated that the DLNR “provide opportunities for input and collaboration with wedding service providers statewide who provide services for beach weddings during the rule-making process”, Laura stated that Senate resolutions were not law and were just “suggestions”. I don’t see that the DLNR really asked out opinion about any of this. Yes, they did provide for beach wedding permitting, NO, they did not provide for an annual permit (as was also stated in the SR 103, “is requested to adopt rules and permitting procedures that allow for the issuance of annual and daily beach wedding permits, where appropriate”), NO, they did not ask our opinion about the use of “stuff” (as she put it) on the beach. Has she ever been to a wedding? “Stuff” is part of a wedding! At a church wedding there are always flowers, candles, a podium to sign the license on and usually a table for a guest book. At a beach wedding there is usually an ice bucket w/ beverage, glasses, some flower decorations and a cake and cake table, knife & server, many times chairs for the guests to sit and watch the most important event of their son or daughter’s lives, and sometimes an arbor with fresh flowers. The difference between having these things and not at a beach wedding are the difference between a cheesy wedding and a classy one. Laura even stated that her own daughter may elect to be married on her favorite beach. I ask, will there be any decorations? Will 50 or more guests be asked to stand for an hour or more? Will a table be available to a guest book? According to her rules, none of this will be possible.
After the meeting I was speaking with “Buzz”, head DOCARE officer. He said, “the thing is, in 2 years we will elect a new Governor, and when that happens all these DLNR appointments will be changed and we will have to start all over again.” True Buzz. Although, the damage to to the wedding industry will have already been done, and there will be no changing the rules again. And the wedding industry will not be able to recover to pre-Laura status.
This was an interesting article:
http://www.savemaui.net/permit.html