Maui Wedding Site Makena Cove

Makena Cove which has also gone by the name "secret beach" and "wedding cove" is a great spot to get married. We have, quite literally, married hundreds of couples at this site. Until recently, it was our default Maui wedding site.

The cove is located between two houses on the coastal highway. There is a gap in the rock wall fence leading to the beach. Eight years ago, when my husband and I were tourists on Maui for the first time, we drove past that opening and John wanted to stop and take a look at the beach. He went (I waited in the rental car) and came back to tell me that it was this neat little cove. Little did we know that this little beach would be such a major part of our lives in the next few years.

Makena Cove normally has a nice sandy beach. The waves can be pretty big down in that area, and sometimes the beach will get washed away. When this happens it can take anywhere from several days to several months for the sand to be washed back up. During some winter storms, we've seen waves coming in so hight that they hit the wall at the end of the beach.

On the left there is a nice sandy spot hidden up in the rocks (you can't see it from the beach proper). We like to do weddings on that spot (which local wedding coordinators often call "the point"). But we've been up there and have seen big waves come over the top. It is always a spot that can be difficult to reach if the tide is up.

Makena generally doesn't get too much rain (about 10 to 15 inches a year), so it is a great Maui wedding beach. There are palm trees on both sides of the beach and a nice set of concrete stairs that we often have our couples pose on for some of our photography shots. The sunsets are usually great from this location.

The biggest problem with Makena Cove is that it is small and popular with the Maui wedding companies. That means it is likely you will show up at the location and see six or seven weddings going on. Some coordinators have brought larger weddings with 20 to 30 people to this beach, and that can make the beach very crowded.

All in all, this is a great Maui wedding site. You will certainly enough your wedding here (if its not too crowded). When we bring couples here, we always like to be flexible, just in case we need to go to another Maui wedding location.