Fiji vs Hawaii for a Destination Wedding

Hawaii is faster to get married in, and it is the only one of the two where same-sex couples can marry. Fiji is dramatically cheaper and roughly half the flight for Australian and New Zealand guests. Those three facts decide almost every version of this choice, and the rest of this page is the evidence behind them.

This is the comparison planners and couples ask for most often, because Hawaii is the benchmark destination-wedding market and the assumption is that Fiji is the budget stand-in. The published figures tell a more interesting story than that.

How do the two compare at a glance?

All figures checked 7 October 2026.

Which is easier legally?

Hawaii, and the gap is larger than most comparisons admit.

The Hawaii Department of Health states plainly that "there are no state residence or U.S. citizenship requirements" and that "once the license has been issued, there is no waiting period before the marriage can take place". You apply online, both parties collect the licence in person from a licensed agent — no proxies — and you can marry the same day. The licence then runs for 30 days and is void after that.

Fiji requires a notice of intention to marry posted in a conspicuous place for 21 consecutive days before the marriage is solemnised. The Registrar-General can grant a special licence dispensing with the 21 days, and Fiji's own foreign affairs guidance says this is expressly available to "foreign visitors who are in the country for a short period". But it is a discretionary grant "only on special circumstances", not an entitlement, and the special licence authorises the marriage within a window not exceeding 28 days.

In practice almost every destination wedding in Fiji goes the special-licence route and it works. It is still a discretionary step that Hawaii does not have.

The document requirements run the other way

Hawaii's lightness extends to paperwork. A certified divorce decree is required only if the divorce was finalised within 30 days of licence pickup, and a death certificate only if the death occurred within 30 days. A couple divorced two years ago produces nothing but photo ID.

Fiji lists more: passports, birth certificates, divorce papers if either party is divorced, a death certificate if a spouse is deceased, two witnesses with photo identification, and — for non-citizens — a certificate of single status, certificate of search or certificate of no legal impediment. Documents not in English must be translated.

The point that decides it for some couples

Fiji does not permit same-sex marriage. Section 15 of the Marriage Act defines marriage as "the voluntary union of one man to one woman to the exclusion of all others". Hawaii has permitted marriage "between two individuals without regard to gender" since the Marriage Equality Act of 2013.

There is no planning workaround for this, and we would rather say so here than let a couple discover it after a deposit. Our fuller treatment is in same-sex couples and Fiji: the honest legal position.

What does each actually cost?

This is where Fiji's case is overwhelming, and the published numbers are not close.

Hawaii's cheap licence sits on top of expensive venues. Four Seasons Resort Maui publishes a ceremony package at USD 19,000 plus tax on weekdays and USD 20,000 plus tax at weekends, for ten or more guests with no maximum. Mauna Kea Beach Hotel publishes site fees of USD 10,000 to USD 15,000 depending on the location, plus a food and beverage minimum of USD 15,000 Monday to Thursday or USD 20,000 Friday to Sunday, a non-refundable deposit of USD 9,500, and a minimum of ten room nights.

Accommodation compounds it. The Hawaii Tourism Authority's May 2025 hotel performance report puts the statewide average daily rate at USD 338.61, with Maui County at USD 494.74 and O'ahu at USD 268.05.

Fiji's published packages start in a different universe. Plantation Island Resort publishes a Romantic Lailai package and a Renewal of Vows package at FJD 1,510 each, a Vakamau Inclusive package at FJD 8,036 for a minimum of 20 adults over four nights, an All Inclusive at FJD 12,195 for 30 adults, and a Deluxe Inclusive at FJD 16,416 for 30 adults over five nights.

One caveat on the Fiji side that is new enough to catch people out: a 5% Tourism Services Tax took effect on 1 September 2026 for operators above a FJD 2 million turnover threshold, on top of 12.5% VAT. Ask any Fiji venue whether a quoted package is inclusive of it.

How do guests actually get there?

For an Australian or New Zealand guest list, Fiji is close and Hawaii is not.

Air New Zealand publishes Auckland to Honolulu at 8 hours 30 minutes nonstop. Hawaiian Airlines publishes Honolulu to Sydney at roughly 10 to 11 hours depending on winds and direction, operating five times a week year-round on an Airbus A330.

Fiji is served from seven Australian cities and three New Zealand cities by Fiji Airways, and the one published flight time we can cite directly — the Nadi to Gold Coast service launched 11 June 2026 — is just over three hours. Air New Zealand, Virgin Australia and Jetstar also publish Nadi services.

The practical consequence is not the flight; it is the trip. Hawaii from Australasia is a day of travel each way, which pushes guests toward longer leave and a bigger spend. Fiji is a long weekend if it needs to be. Our guide to getting guests to Fiji has the detail.

What about the weather risk?

The storm seasons are seasonally inverted, which is the single most useful planning fact on this page.

Fiji's tropical cyclone season runs November to April, with peak activity January to March, and it sits inside the wet season. Hawaii's Central Pacific hurricane season runs 1 June to 30 November — which sits inside Hawaii's driest months, since gohawaii notes the wettest months are November to March.

So a couple determined to avoid named-storm season has to choose opposite halves of the calendar: May to October for Fiji, roughly December to May for Hawaii. You cannot apply one rule to both. For Fiji specifically, read cyclone season and your Fiji wedding.

Will the marriage be recognised at home?

Both are, in the ordinary case. New Zealand's government guidance states that "most overseas marriages are valid in New Zealand", with the marriage registered where it took place rather than in New Zealand. Australia recognises a marriage that was valid under the law of the country where it happened and would have been valid under Australian law had it occurred in Australia; you cannot register an overseas marriage in Australia, so the foreign certificate is your proof.

This is guideline information only — confirm your own position with the Registrar-General's Births, Deaths and Marriages Registry at Fiji's Ministry of Justice for the Fiji side, the Hawaii Department of Health for the Hawaii side, and your own registry at home. Last reviewed 7 October 2026.

The verdict

Choose Hawaii if you are a same-sex couple, you need to marry quickly with minimal paperwork, your guest list is North American, or your budget comfortably absorbs a five-figure venue fee before catering.

Choose Fiji if your guests are in Australia or New Zealand, cost matters, you want a shorter flight and a shorter trip, and you are comfortable with one discretionary licence step and an offshore wet season.

For most Australasian couples, Fiji is not the budget substitute for Hawaii — it is the better-fitting destination, and the saving is a consequence rather than the point. Start with the master Fiji wedding guide, then narrow by region in Fiji wedding venues or by guest count. If Plantation Island is on your list, its directory page carries the published packages; for planning support, Rosie Holidays and Events Fiji both cover the western resorts, and Celebrant Fiji covers Nadi, Denarau, Lautoka, the Mamanucas and the Coral Coast.