Hawaiian Wedding Ceremony

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Hawai'ian Wedding Ceremony

[The traditional Hawai'ian wedding ceremony begins by the blowing of the pu' (conch shell) which you and your fiance/fiancee may desire to have included as part of your ceremony].

Aloha to you both! I’d like to begin your ceremony with a Hawai’ian chant which I will recite and explain the meaning of once I’ve done so; it is called the 'Oli Aloha:

Ona’ona i ka hala, E ka lehua; E hale lehua o’ia na ka no’e. O ka’u no i’a, e ano’i nei.

Ea li’a nei, ho’i o ka hiki mai; a hiki mai no’o’u’ko’u, a hiki pu’no’meke Aloha. Aloha e, Aloha e.

The 'Oli Aloha is a chant which offers a form of greeting, which says in part, this is the site for which you have longed;

and now that you have come, love has come with you.

Aloha again and welcome, ________ & ________ [...and welcome family & friends!]. We are here to celebrate your joining to one another in holy matrimony, in marriage. For this day you are choosing to affirm your love for one another with spoken words, with prayer, and also with the sharing of symbols.

As you'll come to find, marriage is a commitment to life, to the best that two people can find and bring out in each other. It offers opportunities for sharing and growth which no other human relationship can equal. It’s a physical, emotional,

and spiritual joining that’s promised for a lifetime.

Within the circle of your love, marriage will encompass all of Life’s most important relationships. A husband & wife/spouse & spouse are each other’s best friend, confidant, lover, teacher, and listener.

There may come times when one partner is heart-broken or ailing, and the love of the other will bring forth a healing and steadfastness from the foundation upon which your marriage covenant has been established.

As you will discover, marriage deepens and enriches every facet of life; happiness is fuller, memories fresher, and

commitments are stronger.

Marriage understands and forgives the mistakes that Life is unable to avoid, yet encourages and nurtures new life,

new experiences, and new ways of expressing your love through the seasons of Life.

When two people pledge to love and care for one another in marriage, as you are so doing today, you create a spirit unique unto yourselves, a spirit which will bind you closer than any spoken or written words. Marriage is a promise made in the hearts of two people who love one another, and it's a promise which will take a life-time to fulfill. Aloha again to the both of you, and welcome to the beautiful Island of Maui!

Well, ________, this is where I ask you the question: Do you wish for ________ to become known as your wife/spouse?

If so, please say ‘I do’.

________, do you wish for ________ to become known as your husband/spouse? If so, please say ‘I do’.

________ & ________, do you promise to let the love you have for each other grow, as it will, as it must, so that in the years to come you will renew your acceptance, understanding, trust, and support of one another? If so, please say ‘We promise’.

Lei Exchange:

For those of us who call Hawai’i 'home', the flower lei is a symbol of Love; it is also a symbol of things that are

fragile and temporal. A flower lei will last but a day or two, and then it is gone. It's truly a wonderful metaphor

for our own existence here on Earth. Our lives are like the lei within the span of Eternity; therefore, live with

tender consideration for each other. Continue to love one another, and your marriage will endure.

May the leis you now offer each other be recognized as symbols of the love that you have for one another.

__________, please present your soon-to-be wife/husband with her/his lei.

Here in Hawai’i, the presenting of a lei is always followed by ‘honi ka wa'ha’, which means ‘to kiss’.

Please, __________, honi ka wa'ha, your finacee/fiance.

__________, please present your soon-to-be husband/wife with his/her lei.

And, please, honi ka waha, __________.

Marriage Vows:

At this time, ________, taking hold of ________ hands and looking into her/his eyes with all Love, Admiration, and Sincerity of Heart, before our Creator and your family & friends here as witnesses, please repeat after me your Marriage Vows:

I, ________, take you, ________, to be my bride/husband. I promise to love you, to honour you, and to cherish you.

I will be your companion. I will share my strengths and my achievements. I promise to respect you and to be your friend. For better or for worse, for richer or for poorer, in sickness and in health, for as long as we both shall live.

Nahe’nahe, which means ‘nicely done’.

________, continuing to hold ________ hands and looking into his/her eyes, with all Love, Admiration, and Sincerity of Heart, before our Creator and your family & friends here as witnesses, please repeat after me your Marriage Vows:

I, ________, take you, ________, to be my husband/wife. I promise to love you, to honour you, and to cherish you. I will be your companion. I will share my strengths and my achievements. I promise to respect you and to be your friend. For better or for worse, for richer or for poorer, in sickness and in health, for as long as we both shall live.

Nahe’nahe!

Ring Ceremony:

I understand you have rings to exchange? May I now have those rings please?

The wedding rings also are symbols of Love in marriage. Unlike the leis, however, the rings are a symbol of Longevity in

the Marriage Covenant. The circle of the rings symbolizes the never-ending circle of your love and the commitment you’re now making to one another. I would encourage you that each day, through all the years of your Life as a married couple,

to pause--if even for a few moments every day--and gaze upon the beauty of these rings; and remember that the love you have for one another is as the rings: a perfect circle with no beginning and no end; a Love that always was, is, and will be ...Forever.

________, you may now place the wedding band on your fiancee's/fiance's ring finger.

Continuing to hold ________ hand, and once again looking into her/his eyes with all Love and Sincerity of Heart, _________, please repeat after me your ring ceremony:

________, I give this ring to you as a sign of my love. I give myself to you to be your husband/wife. From this day forward you shall not walk alone. I feel so honoured to have you as my wife/husband. I vow to love you and to sustain you, in the covenant of our Marriage, for as long as we both shall live.

Nahe’nahe!

________, you may now place the wedding band on ________ ring finger.

Continuing to hold ________ hand, and once again looking into his/her eyes with all Love and Sincerity of Heart, _________, please repeat after me your ring ceremony:

________, I give this ring to you as a sign of my love. I give myself to you to be your wife/husband. From this day forward you shall not walk alone. I feel so honoured to have you as my husband/wife. I vow to love you and to sustain you, in the covenant of our Marriage, for as long as we both shall live.

Nahe’nahe!

I’d now like to allow you a few moments to express the love you have for one another, in your own words...from the heart…

Well, ________ & ________, we’ve all witnesses to this very special day, therefore I and those who are here with you--

as well as those who are not necessarily here in body, but here in spirit [and the two of you know who those people are

in your lives and what they represent to you; namely immediate family, closest of friends], all of us together as 'ohana (the Hawaiian word for 'family' and a cornerstone of Hawaiian culture and values) we recognize that you are, at this very hour, are becoming a married couple; and we along with your families and friends elsewhere & everywhere shall honour you as the same--as two who have become one--from this day forward.

Remember and this beautiful day here on beautiful _________ Beach, on the magical Island of Maui, and with Joy & Thanksgiving, may you Love to Live and Live to Love.

If I may, I’d like to end the ceremony with a prayer in Hawai’ian:

Aloha e, Aloha e, Aloha no e. I Mau Aku Kaloko, Mai ka’i o Kahaku, o Jesu Kristo.

Me ke Akua Ame. Kalama Pu’ana, Ka Uhane Hemolele, Kako’u A’pau. Amen.

Now, therefore, by the authority given unto me as a minister by the laws of this State of Hawai’i,

I now pronounce you ‘Husband’ and ‘Wife'/'Spouse' & 'Spouse'. Therefore, ___________, you may honi ka wa'ha your bride/husband! [The couple shares their first kiss as a married couple while the minister blows the pu', bringing the ceremony to a close].

It is my honour to present to all of you, Mr. & Mrs. _________________. Whom God has joined together, let no man put asunder!

Ceremony by: Carrll Robilotta

~Island of Maui~

[State of Hawai'i Commission No. 2012-01126]