Most people who journey to Maui to get married embrace a non-traditional ceremony. Below is a sample ceremony, but feel free to cut and paste, mix and match and edit to your heart’s content. If you are more interested in a Traditional Ceremony, that option is available as well. We are LGBT friendly, so please exchange “bride/groom” he/she accordingly.
Things to consider:
Do you want a lei exchange? Are there other family members you want to honor with leis (parents, children)?
Do you like the reading or do you have another poem, lyrics or prayer you’d like read?
(Substitute your names for “bride” and “groom.”)
Welcome to this celebration of love. Bride/Groom and Bride/Groom, may this be a moment in time to be remembered and cherished. Today, we celebrate your love. Love is the foundation, the very essence of life. It must be cared for, tended to, and nourished if it is to grow, become strong, and endure.
We say in Hawaii:
Aloha ika ho’o manawanui, Aloha ika loko maika’i, Aloha ike kahi, ike kahi
Love is patient. Love is kind. Love begets love.
Marriage is a very special spiritual connection of two people united on a common path, bringing together love and trust into a single focus. At the same time, your love should give you the strength to stand apart, to seek out your unique destinies, and to grow as individuals.
Reading from Kahlil Gibran: (Any reading of your choice can be placed here, or none. Click here for some reading options)
“Love one another, but make not a bond of love:
Let it rather be a moving sea between the shores of your souls.
Fill each other’s cup but drink not from one cup.
Give one another of your bread but eat not from the same loaf.
Sing and dance together and be joyous, but let each one of you be alone,
Even as the strings of a lute are alone
Though they quiver with the same music.
Give your hearts, but not into each other’s keeping.
For only the hand of Life can contain your hearts.
And stand together yet not too near together:
For the pillars of the temple stand apart,
And the oak tree and the cypress grow not in each other’s shadow.
Let there be spaces in your togetherness,
And let the winds of the heavens dance between you.”
Marriage requires the faith and commitment of two people to love, to stand by each other, and to support one another through both the good times and the difficult. This commitment is the alignment of your words, which speak boldly of your intentions, and your actions, which speak louder than your words. This requires making the time when there is none, listening not only with your ears-but also with your heart, and taking responsibility for your choices. Coming through for each other, time after time.
So, welcome, Bride/Groom and Bride/Groom, to this moment in your lives, to this place you have come to in each other’s hearts. And, may this shining hour be an open door through which you go now to build the dearest of all human relationships: that of two best friends growing old together in marriage, always fathoming deeper depths, and discovering richer facets of one another’s soul.
Lei Exchange (OPTIONAL—wording will change based on your lei choices. You get your own leis unless other wise arranged. Lei’s can also be offered to family members, children, etc to honor their special part in this relationship.)
In Hawaii, we have a tradition of sharing beautiful flower leis. The flowers for the leis have been hand picked and woven together much like your love has been chosen and you are now weaving your lives together. The lei expresses love, respect and reverence.
Groom/Bride, you may now offer Bride/Groom this lei; This is the very fragrant flower of love. Just like love, the scent is intoxicating and its essence lingers long after the flower.
Bride/Groom, you may now offer Groom/Bride this lei; Maile is a very rare leaf that must be searched for and gathered and is traditionally worn in honor of special occasions and rites of passage. (Specific type of lei can be altered depending on what you decide on)
So, welcome, Bride/Groom and Groom/Bride, to this moment in your lives, to this place you have come to in each other’s hearts. And, may this shining hour be an open door through which you go now to build the dearest of all human relationships: that of two best friends growing old together in marriage, always fathoming deeper depths, and discovering richer facets of one another’s soul.
Groom/Bride and Bride/Groom, you are here today to declare and to strengthen your love, and to pledge to each other the beginning of a new life together.
Groom/Bride, do you receive Bride/Groom as your wedded wife/husband to love, comfort, respect, and to share your life with from this day forward?
And, Bride/Groom, do you receive Groom/Bride as your wedded husband/wife to love, comfort, respect, and to share your life with from this day forward?
We will now seal this promise of marriage with these wedding rings. These rings are symbols of the unbroken unity of love, now to be continued in your married life. The circle has no beginning and no end, it is eternal and everlasting.
Made in the form of the circle, these rings represent the truth of the law of life:
‘As we give to each other, we receive from each other.’
So, as you give and receive these rings, let your hearts be joined together in one unbroken circle.
As you place the ring on your beloved’s hand and as you receive the ring from the hand of your beloved, remember that this will be the first hand extended to pick you up when you have fallen down and it will be the first hand raised to toast all of your joys and all of your successes from this day forward and forevermore.
Bless this ring, bless Groom/Bride who gives it and Bride/Groom who receives it. Bless their union with patience, understanding and eternal joy.
VOWS (You can personalize these and use your own if you prefer or add your own sentiments at the end.)
Groom/Bride, holding the ring on Bride/Groom’s hand and looking into her eyes, say these words:
Bride/Grrom,
With this ring, I marry you,
and promise my faithful love.
I have chosen you above all others
for my partner and companion.
I shall love you,
and honor you,
and share with you life’s joys
and life’s difficulties.
In sorrow, I shall comfort you,
In times of need, I shall be there for you,
In good times, I shall rejoice with you,
From this day forward and forevermore.
Bless this ring, bless Bride/Groom who gives it and Groom/Bride who receives it. Bless their union with kindness, friendship and unconditional love.
Bride/Groom, holding the ring on Groom/Bride’s hand and looking into his eyes, say these words:
Groom/Bride ,
With this ring, I marry you,
and promise my faithful love.
I have chosen you above all others
for my partner and companion.
I shall love you,
and honor you,
and share with you life’s joys
and life’s difficulties.
In sorrow, I shall comfort you,
In times of need, I shall be there for you,
In good times, I shall rejoice with you,
From this day forward and forevermore.
As you look upon these rings throughout the years, let them be symbols of the unconditional love that you have for one another, a love that can overcome all obstacles. And when times call for you to be apart, may you always return to your togetherness in the same spirit of love that you have felt here today.
May we take pause to bless this marriage: (Click here for some Optional Prayers)
May your love grow and bring you peace and joy on life’s path. From each other, may you always find communication, compassion, tolerance, understanding, and forgiveness. And, to each other, may you always be best friends, companions, lovers, partners, and teachers. May your home always radiate an environment of love, happiness, and unity. And whoever enters your home, may they be blessed and inspired by the harmony and love that dwells there.
May the love of God be above you to overshadow you, beneath you to uphold you, before you to guide you, behind you to protect you, close beside you and within you to make you able for all things, and to reward your faithfulness with the joy and peace which the world cannot give — neither can it take away. Divine Spirit, we leave this marriage in your hands. Amen
By the power vested in me by the State of Hawaii, I now pronounce you husband and wife (married couple, etc) !
Those whom Spirit has joined together let no one separate.
You may seal this blessing with a kiss!
Congratulations!
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