Below, you will find an example of how my typical wedding ceremony unfolds. This ceremony includes optional chants, scripture readings and lei exchanges and can be customized to include your own vows, poems, and other details to make your wedding vision a reality.

Blow Conch Shell (1x) – Start Procession

Blow Conch Shell (1x) – Arrival of the Bride…everyone please stand for the arrival of the bride.

Who has the honor of presenting this beautiful bride this day?  Dad/parents say “I/we do.”

(Groom hugs bride’s father and takes brdie’s hand)

Family & Friends, you may be seated.

Here in Hawaii before we start a celebration, we always open with a pule (prayer) or Oli Aloha.  So, it goes something like this.

Onaona I ka hala me ka lehua                                   Fragrant with Hala and Lehua

He hale lehua no ia na ka noe                                   A house of lehua for the mist

‘O ka’u no ia ne ‘ano’i a nei                                        It is mine to cherish

E halia nei ho’i o ka hiki mai                                      Longing for your arrival

A hiki mai no oukou                                                   For when you/you folks/we come

A hiki pu no me ke aloha                                           Love comes with you

Aloha e…Aloha e…Aloha e…

The blowing of the Pu (conch shell) signifies the arrival of those to be honored this day and the oli aloha is a chant which offers a word of greeting.  It says, in part, this is the sight for which we have longed and now that you are here, love has come with you.  So Aloha and welcome.  Family and Friends…Aloha!

This afternoon/morning Bride & Groom have invited you all their family and friends to be a part of and to be a witness to this wonderful occasion as they have chosen to join together their two individual lives binding them together so that after today amongst your family, y our friends and in society you will be known as a married couple. We’re all here to celebrate your love and to congratulate you as you make that decision.

So, as we start, in the spirit of ALOHA (Alo – to be present, Ha – the breath of life) I’d like to ask  you both take a deep breath in, take a good look at each other, the beautiful surroundings here in (location), Maui and think of all the loved ones that are supporting the both of you.  Take this moment in, because this time this place and this day will forever be one of the most cherished memories that the both of you will share together.  So, we ae all hope that this will be the beginning of a lifetime of joy, of building memories and of bringing your two families together to form one.

For those of us who call Hawaii home, we present leis to honor guests celebrating a special occasion sich as this.  It was an offering to express sincere love and aloha with open hearts for one another.  In a traditional Hawaiian wedding, it also symbolized the acceptance of marriage between a husband and wife.  So as you exchange these beautiful leis with each other before us today. UMUA…go forward as you embark upon this new chapter in life together as a married couple.  You many now present the leis to each other.  Here in Hawaii we say Honi Ka Waha (give each other “a kiss on the cheek”).

Scripture Reading – If Religious (Optional)

Sharing on Marriage

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 that no other human relationship can equal.  It’s both a physical and emotional joining that is promised for a lifetime.

The love that you both have for each other is one that began to grow from the day you both first met.  Today you will pledge your love for each other in marriage.  Within the circle of your love, marriage encompasses all of life’s most important relationships.  A wife and husband are each other’s best friend, confidant, lover, teacher, and listener.

There may come times when one partner is heartbroken or ailing, but the love of the other shall always bring healing and steadfastness for a sturdy foundation which allows for your marriage covenant to be established upon.  Marriage also understands and forgives the mistakes that life is unable to avoid.  Yet, it encourages and nurtures new life, new experiences and new ways of expressing your love for each other through the seasons of life.

Here in Hawaii, you both have something special, something we call “Piliahoha”, and Piliahoha is a special kind of love.  It’s a love that binds two people together and when two people pledge to love and care for each other, they create a spirit unique to themselves, binding them closer than any spoken or written words.  Your marriage is a promise, a promise made in the hearts of two people who love and care for each other, and this will take a lifetime to fulfill.

Declaration of Intention

Bride and Groom, today you say “I love you” to your best friend as you give yourselves to each other in marriage.  So, now to the both of you, will you, promise to encourage and inspire each other, to laugh with each other and comfort each other in times of sorrow and struggle?  Will you promise to love each other in the good times as well as the bad?  When life is easy but also when it is hard?  And when your love for each other is simple like it is right now, but also on days where it may take a little bit more effort?  And lastly, do you promise to cherish each other and to always hold each other in the highest of regard?

Bride/Groom, do you promise to give all these things to Groom/Bride today…and all the days of your life.  If so, say, “I Do”.

I, Groom/Bride take you, Bride/Groom to be my Wife/Husband. I promise to love you, to honor and cherish you.  I vow to be faithful, and I will share my strengths and my achievements.  I promise to respect you and be your best friend.  For better or for worse, for richer or for poorer, in sickness and in health for as long as we both shall live.

Personal Vows (Optional)

At this time Bride & Groom have some of their own words that they would like to share with each other so Bride, you’ll go first…

Love Poem (Optional)

You know over the years many things have been said about love and I’d like to share a piece with the both of you that expresses perhaps how you both feel about each other.  And it says:

I love you, not only for what you are, but what I am when I am with you.  I love you not only for what you have made of yourself, but for what you are making of me.  And I love you for the part of me that only you can bring out.  I love you for putting your hand into my heaped-up heart and passing over all the frivolous and weak things that you cannot help but find there, and for drawing out into the light all the beautiful and radiant things that no one else has looked quite far enough to find.  I love you because you have done more than any creed could have done to make me good, and more than any fate could have done to make me happy.  And you have done all of this without a touch, without a word, without a sign.  You have done it simply by being yourself.  Perhaps that is what love means after all.

These beautiful rings are a symbol of longevity in a marriage covenant.  The circle represents the never-ending circle of love and commitment that you are making here today.  Always see the best in each other, and for each day that you are together.  When you look upon the beauty of these rings, may they serve as a constant reminder that the love that you have for each other, like the circle of your rings, is forever.

Groom/Bride, I give this ring to you as a symbol of my love.  I give myself to you as your Husband/Wife.  I vow to love you and sustain you in the covenant of our marriage, for as long as we both shall live.

From this day forward may you always laugh together and plan together, find your favorite places and go together.  Always enjoy the sunshine as well as the rain.  Being alone together, and in crowds together…and from this day forward, together, may you love. And Groom, two golden rules to remember for a happy marriage, and that is..

Rule #1 – The wife is always right.

Rule #2 – When you think she is ever wrong, remember rule #1 lol

Bride and Groom, together with your families and friends you are ready to face the world together and they and in society shall recognize that you have now become a married couple and they shall honor you as such from this day forward.

Closing Blessing/Prayer – If Religious (Optional)

May God & his spirit be with you always.  May God bless you and keep you, may God’s face shine upon you.  May God lift up his continence upon you and bring you both peace now and forever more.  Amen.

Pronouncement

And so, because of the vows you have said, and the commitments you have made this day, therefore by the power vested in me by the laws of this great state of Hawaii, I now pronounce you as husband & wife…you may seal your vows with a kiss OR Groom, you may kiss your beautiful bride!

Blow Conch Shell (1x) – Clapp

Ladies and Gentlemen…please stand as I present to you for the very first time Mr. & Mrs. (Name)!