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Maui, Hawaii 

Kahu Eric Dotterer

 

GREETING  ~ Oli Aloha

Onaona I ka hala, me ka lehua E hale lehua, no ia na ka noe

O kau no ia, e anoi nei  E halia nei, hoi o ka hiki mai

A hiki mai no olua, a hiki pu no me ke aloha, Aloha e! Aloha e! Aloha e!

 

The Oli Aloha is a chant, which offers a word of greeting.  It says, in part, this is the sight for which I have longed.  Now that you are here, love has come.  Aloha and welcome

 

We gather today in the spirit of love, the spirit we know intimately in these islands as the spirit of Aloha.  It is the same spirit that brought you <groom> and <bride> together.  We celebrate this new and exciting moment in your lifes journey, and embrace now this moment and wonders of creation

surrounding us.

 

There is so much  beauty to behold here in Hawaii.  Trade winds, fragrant flowers, singing of the birds, sunsets.  But I would like to take a moment to focus on the ocean.  This ocean has been here a long time flowing with a sense of awe and life giving power.  The ocean does so because it is alive and constantly changing. The ocean brings life and cleanses all it touches with its ebb and flow.  So I invite you to be like the ocean.  Be open to changes, be excited about new challenges and share these moments with each other.

 

LEI EXCHANGE( optional)

Here in Hawai' we exchange flower leis, signifying our open hearts and love for one another.  The beautiful lei, with all of it's hand picked flowers, are twined and carefully bonded together with love.  A reflection of your love and aloha for each other.  As you exchange these leis, you will now begin to weave your own lei of life.  And now, with loving aloha, please present your leis to one another.

 

READING  - I Corinthians 13:4-7 optional

Love is patient.  Love is kind.  Love is not jealous or boastful.  It is not arrogant or rude.  Love does not insist on it's own way.  It is not irritable or resentful.  It does not rejoice in the wrong but rejoices in the right.  Love bears all things, believes all things, hopes all things, and endures all things.  Love never ends.  So faith, hope and love abide, but the greatest of all is Love.

DECLARATION OF INTENTION * Please choose one 

Option A ~ Revised Traditional:

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

(Groom and Bride respond: I will)

 

Option B ~ Contemporary:

______, will you have  ______ to be your husband/wife, and will you love him/her faithfully as long as you both shall live?

(Groom and Bride respond: I will)

 

Option C ~ Contemporary

______, do you find within you a special love for ______ that convinces you that you want to spend the rest of your lives together? Do you find within you the courage to face the challenges that you may encounter along your journey together? Are you willing to love ______ into her/his unique fullness, and to take the risk and accept the vulnerability of love again and again?

(Groom and Bride respond: I do and I will)

 

Option D ~ Contemporary

______, do you here in the presence of God and these witnesses, declare your commitment to ______ and choose her/him as the one with whom you wish to spend the rest of your life? Do you give yourself to her/him and accept the gift of self, which she/he gives to you? Do you also pledge to endure all of the difficulties of life even as you look forward to sharing the joys to be experienced together?

      (Groom and Bride respond: I do)

 

EXCHANGING OF VOWS * Please choose one

Option A ~ Revised Traditional

In the Spirit of Love, I, ______, take you ______, to be my husband/wife,

To have and to hold, from this day forward,

For better for worse, for richer or poorer,

In sickness and in health,

To love and to cherish, now and forever

This is my solemn vow.

 

Option B ~ Contemporary

I, ______, take you, ______ to be my husband/wife,

And in doing so commit my life to you,

Encompassing all sorrows and joys,

All hardships and triumphs,

All the experiences of life;

A commitment made in love, kept in faith, lived in hope, and eternally made new.

 

Option C ~ Contemporary

______, I offer you my love, my strength, and my support;

I offer you my loyalty, my faith and my hope

In all the changing circumstances of life,

As long as we both shall live

 

Option D ~ Contemporary

I, ______, promise you my love without any limits,

To accept the things you believe in

And to always try to understand you;

To trust in your love for me and pray it will grow stronger every day;

To plan with you and dream with you;

To laugh with you in joy, to grieve with you in sorrow,

To grow with you in love,

To do my best to show you how much I love you with all my heart,

      For as long as we both shall live.  Amen

 

EXCHANGE OF RINGS * Please choose one

Option A ~ Revised Traditional

______, I give you this ring, as a symbol of my love, and with all that I am, and all that I have, I honor you

 

Option B ~ Contemporary

______, I give you this ring, as a symbol of my love and faithfulness

 

Option C ~ Contemporary

______, I give you this ring, as a symbol of my love, knowing that love is precious and fragile, yet strong.  Let this be a reminder, of all that I have pledged to you here today.

 

CLOSING MARRIAGE CREED

<bride> and <groom>, you are finally united in matrimony.   Go forth on your journey.   May you trust each other, trust life and not be afraid.  May you be given the gift of memory of this moment, day, and place for the rest of your lives.  We say in these islands, the spirit of aloha, love is reflected in all the beauty surrounding us, but I say to you <bride> and <groom> that the beauty and spirit of aloha is reflected intimately in the joy and happiness in your faces.

 

DECLARATION OF MARRIAGE

And now in oneness with the Spirit of Love, of Aloha, of God, and in accordance with human law, it is my great honor and pleasure to pronounce you <groom>, and you <bride>, husband and wife

 

Ladies and gentlemen, may I present to you

Mr. and Mrs. <groom> and <bride> <last name>

 

You may seal your vows with a kiss..