Magic Island Weddings in Honolulu: History, Sunsets & Real Couples

In the middle of Honolulu, just minutes from the hotels of Waikiki, a little peninsula of palms and grass reaches out into the sea. Locals call it Magic Island. In Hawaiian it is ʻĀina Moana, “land from the sea.” Walk out to the point and the city seems to soften into sand, water and sky.

The History of Building Magic Island

Magic Island was never meant to be a park. Its story begins on a swamp and an old city garbage dump along the Ala Moana shore, which Honolulu cleaned up in the 1930s. In 1934, President Franklin D. Roosevelt helped dedicate the new 76-acre “Moana Park.” In the mid-1950s, reef rubble was dredged to fill an old boat channel, and sand from Waiʻanae was added on top to make the long beach we know today.

A Dream of Hotels on the Reef

In 1955, industrialist Henry Kaiser proposed building artificial islands on the reef off Ala Moana with six hotels, theaters and swimming pools. He called it “Magic Island” and offered to pay the $50 million cost. By 1958, supporters were asking Congress to return about 300 acres of the Ala Moana reef to the Territory of Hawaii for the project.

Building the Peninsula

Construction began in the early 1960s, and by 1964 a scaled-back, 30-acre peninsula of dredged coral had been built next to the Ala Wai Small Boat Harbor, with “inner” and “outer” beaches for protected swimming. Planners still hoped for something bigger: in 1967, the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers built a 1:100 scale model of the shoreline to test waves and currents for a large artificial island between Kewalo Basin and the Ala Wai Boat Harbor, with an inner swimming lagoon.

The People Chose a Park

The hotel resort was never built. Public opposition kept the new land for recreation, and in 1972 the State officially renamed Magic Island ʻĀina Moana, “land from the sea,” to honor the coral fill it was made from. In 1976, after erosion, more sand was brought in from Mokuleʻia on the North Shore. Today almost everyone still calls it Magic Island.

Magic Island & Ala Moana by the Numbers

• 1934: Ala Moana Park dedicated, with President Franklin D. Roosevelt taking part.
• $50 million: the cost Henry Kaiser offered to pay in 1955 for his “Magic Island” hotel islands.
• 6 hotels and 2 islands: the original resort plan for the reef.
• 30 acres: the size of the coral peninsula built by 1964.
• 1:100: the scale of the Army Corps of Engineers’ 1967 model of the planned island complex.
• 1972: the year it was officially renamed ʻĀina Moana.
• 119 acres: the size of Ala Moana Regional Park today, with a sandy beach about a mile long.
• About 4 million: estimated visitors to Ala Moana Regional Park every year, one of the busiest parks in Hawaii.

Sources: Images of Old Hawaiʻi · Ala Moana Beach Park, Wikipedia · Honolulu Department of Parks and Recreation · U.S. Army Corps of Engineers, 1967

Why Couples Love Magic Island

• Calm, turquoise water. A rock breakwater wraps around the lagoon, so the water inside stays calm and clear.
• The best views in town. Diamond Head rises above the Waikiki skyline, and sailboats glide in and out of the Ala Wai Harbor next door.
• Sunsets over the ocean. Plan your ceremony about an hour before sunset for warm, golden light, then watch the whole sky glow for your photos.
• So close to Waikiki. No long drive; your guests can be there in minutes.
• Room to choose. The calm lagoon, palm shaded lawns with giant banyan trees, and the lava rock point are all a short walk apart.

Lila & Mustafa’s Magic Island Wedding

Lila and Mustafa married under the palms in warm sunset colors: a pink and cream arch, six bridesmaids and six groomsmen, and their children as flower girl and ring bearer. After the ceremony they wandered under the giant banyan trees and out onto the breakwater, with Diamond Head behind them. See Lila and Mustafa’s whole wedding.

A 20 Year Vow Renewal by the Water

Steve and Sara renewed their vows at Magic Island in an elegant, all white celebration, under a garden arch right by the water with Diamond Head and the city skyline across the bay. See their 20 year vow renewal.

Sunset Photos at Magic Island

Even couples who marry somewhere else on Oahu often come to Magic Island for sunset photos: the lava rocks glow gold, the lagoon turns pink, and the lights of Waikiki come on across the water.

Plan Your Magic Island Wedding

See more real weddings, our planning tips and directions on our Magic Island weddings page. Our Hawaii wedding packages range from $350 to $15,000, and our vow renewals from $950 to $2,000, plus 4.712% Hawaii state tax, and every beach package includes the park permit.