Kauai wedding vendors urge couples to keep plans after hurricane

News admin October 13, 2026 0 Comments

Kauai wedding vendors urge couples to keep plans after hurricane

LIHUE (HawaiiNewsNow) – Kauai wedding vendors are urging couples not to give up on island weddings as businesses continue recovering from Hurricane Lowell.

The storm passed close to Kauai’s west side in early September, damaging homes, businesses and some wedding venues.

In Kekaha, Mona Garcia said storm surge broke through walls at her oceanfront home, where she also stores inventory for her business, Aloha Fridays Event Design.

Garcia said about 80% of her rental inventory was damaged.

“It was a lot of damage,” she said. “I mean, it was 11 hours of taking all that storm. I didn’t anticipate it to be that heavy.”

Garcia said one client canceled a wedding, while most others chose to reschedule for next year and keep the same vendors.

“I really appreciate that they didn’t cancel,” she said.

She said cancellations can have a ripple effect because a single wedding can involve numerous small businesses, including florists, DJs, coordinators and officiants.

“If you do happen to cancel your event, you’re affecting so many small businesses that aren’t able to get that revenue again,” Garcia said.

Michael Dandurand, president of the Kauai Wedding Professionals Association, said not all venues were destroyed and many remained available after the storm.

He said wedding coordinators worked to move events to other locations when necessary, with some venues fully operational within about a week and a half.

Dandurand said the industry also had to push back against negative messages circulating online telling visitors not to come to Kauai.

“It was mostly on chat rooms and on Facebook and things like that. It kind of spiraled,” he said.

Event designer Yvette Sahut said her business saw cancellations and rescheduled weddings throughout September, normally one of its busiest months.

She said some guests were nervous about coming to Kauai because they felt they might not be welcome.

“I think that there really is a direct impact to Kauai that we’re all feeling,” Sahut said. “And definitely as vendors, we are feeling the slowdown.”

As more hotels, venues and activities reopen, vendors are asking couples and visitors to come with aloha and respect, while staying away from areas that remain affected or closed.

“Keep choosing Kauai. Please, please come. You’re welcome here,” Garcia said. “It might look different aesthetically, but the magic is still alive, and you’re still going to experience a beautiful time when you come here.”