Traditional Ceremony


Friends, we are gathered together in the sight of God to witness and bless the joining together of Groom and Bride in marriage.

Welcome to this celebration of love. Bride and Groom, (Substiture “Bride” and “Groom” with your names) may this __th day of _______ in the year 2016, 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 thrive.

Groom and Bride, the vows you are about to take are not to be taken without careful thought and prayer. For in them you are committing yourselves exclusively, the one to the other for as long as you both shall live

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:(OR ANOTHER READING OF YOUR CHOICE)
“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.

Groom and Bride you have come to give yourselves to one another in this holy covenant.
I ask you now, in the presence of God, to declare your intention to enter into union with one another.

Bride, will you have Groom to be your husband, to live together in holy marriage? Will you love him, comfort him, honor and keep him, in sickness and in health, and forsaking all others, be faithful to him as long as you both shall live?

(Bride, “I will”)

Groom, will you have Bride to be your wife, to live together in holy marriage? Will you love her, comfort her, honor and keep her, in sickness and in health, and forsaking all others, be faithful to her as long as you both shall live?

(Groom “I will”)

Bride and Groom face each other and join hands
(You can also do a lei exchange, if you want to)

Reading: Cor. 13: 4-7 (OR ANOTHER READING OF YOUR CHOICE)
Love is patient, love is kind and envies no one. Love is never boastful, nor conceited nor rude, never selfish, and not quick to take offense. Love keeps no score of wrongs, does not gloat over other man’s sins but delights in the truth. There is no thing love can not face, there is no limit to its faith, its hope, and its endurance.

Vows: (Look into each other’s eyes and repeat after me)
I Groom, take you, Bride, to be my wife,
to have and to hold from this day forward,
for better, for worse,
for richer, for poorer,
in sickness and in health,
to love and to cherish,
until death do we part.
This is my solemn vow.

I ,Bride, take you, Groom, to be my husband,
to have and to hold from this day forward,
for better, for worse,
for richer, for poorer,
in sickness and in health,
to love and to cherish,
until death do we part.
This is my solemn vow.

Ring Exchange
These rings are the outward and visible sign of an inward and spiritual grace signifying to us the union of Groom and Bride. 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.

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, O Lord, the giving of these rings, that they who wear them may live in your peace and continue in your favor all the days of their lives. Amen

(Repeat after me)

Bride, I give you this ring as a sign of my vow, and with all that I am, and all that I have, I honor you.

Groom, I give you this ring as a sign of my vow, and with all that I am, and all that I have, I honor you.

(You can insert a prayer or reading of your choice here, if you wish….)

Pronouncement
You have declared your consent and vows before God. May God confirm your covenant and fill you both with grace.

I announce you husband and wife! Those whom God has joined together, let no one put asunder. Amen

You may kiss the Bride

Congratulations!