Hawaiian themed wedding.. need ideas

[karina]

Can anyone help with ideas for a Hawaiian themed wedding reception?  I don't want to make it too "luau-ish"... I was thinking maybe some pineapple and coconut centerpieces... any help is appreciated!

Thanks

[Duckgrrl]

In the July issue of Good Housekeeping, there is an article that shows different ways to decorate with sea shells. There is a beautiful floral arrangement using a conch shell as a base that would be perfect for a centerpiece.  I'm not sure how Hawaiian that is, but you could use tropical flowers to make it more Hawaiian.  You should really check out the magazine, the article begins on page 152.  Hope this helps.

[skye691]

it'd be really pretty if you could get fresh tropical flowers for your bouquet and centerpieces. Hibiscuses and plumeria would be SO pretty.. and lots of big green foliage (and palm fronds!) and if you can stand it, black/white sand would be neat..

like I could kind of see a small sand box type thing with some white candles in glass candle holders with some fresh flowers (and maybe big fake pearls?) on each table, with a big palm frond or two underneath. You could definately get some fresh fruit into the arrangement too.. it'd be really pretty..

and you could serve fresh fruit as appetizers.. or maybe make some teriyaki chicken..

oh and shoot me, but I love the idea of big potted palm trees and/or little white fairy lights if it's indoors.

[polkadotcom]

This may be too late and but I had a good idea for your desserts. I had a party and my cousin had tons of empty tuna fish cans. We made batter for pineapple upside cakes and put pineapple chunks in the bottom of the tuna fish can with brown sugar and melted butter and then poured the batter in. Then they went in the oven and when they were finished we just popped them out. We made about 50 I believe and everyone had their own individual cake.

[binny]

I'm probably too late to help also, but maybe somebody else will find this useful.  I highly recommend using sand for decorations.  It's very cheap and perfect for a beach/tropical theme.  In Wisconsin, a 50lb. bag of nice sandbox sand from Menards (home/hardware store) is only $2-3.  It's probably around the same price at Home Depot.  For my best friend's wedding reception (Jamaica destination wedding) we bought low wooden trays, seashells, and tealight candles from the dollar store.   Just fill the tray with sand, nestle in some seashells and candles, and have the staff light them when it's time.  Plus it was a low decoration that the guests could see over.

I like the individual pineapple upside-down cakes, so cute!  I love innovative ideas like that.

Whole pineapples stuck with appetizers on sticks would be a great way to have a useful and pretty centerpiece.  Or maybe it's rather '60s tacky, but it seems interesting to me.  But you might want to let people know they could eat the strawberries, grapes, cheese, or whatever that's stuck on it.