Reverend Adam Gomes, has been blessed to have the incredible privilege of performing weddings for nearly 20 years. He has been married for almost 40 years and has 2 daughters, 3 granddaughters, and 1 great-granddaughter. He considers himself very blessed to have the family he does and loves them with all his heart.
Born and raised on the island of Maui, he considers this island not only his home but a place of majestic mountains, beautiful beaches, sacred sites, breathtaking sunrises and sunsets, and, most of all, its people who radiate so much love and aloha.
For him, every wedding he performs is like a gift, as he becomes a vessel in joining two lives into one, making that day special and memorable for each couple.
HAWAIIAN CHANT – OLI ALOHA (GREETING)
ONAONA I KA HALA ME KA LEHUA,
HE HALE LEHUA NO IA NA KA NOE,
O’KA’U NO IA E’ANO’I NEI,
E LI’A NEI HO ‘I O KAHIKI MAI,
A HIKI MAI NO ‘OLUA
A HIKI PU NO ME KE ALOHA…
ALOHA E! ALOHA E! ALOHA E!
THE OLI IS A CHANT THAT OFFERS A WORD OF GREETING. IT SAYS IN PART:
“THIS IS THE SIGHT FOR WHICH I HAVE LONGED. NOW THAT YOU HAVE COME, LOVE HAS COME
WITH YOU.” ALOHA AND WELCOME!
NON-RELIGIOUS WEDDING CEREMONY
GROOM AND BRIDE, WE ARE GATHERED HERE TO CELEBRATE YOUR MARRIAGE. THIS DAY YOU
HAVE CHOSEN TO AFFIRM YOUR LOVE FOR EACH OTHER WITH SPOKEN WORDS, AND WITH THE
SHARING OF SYMBOLS.
MARRIAGE IS A COMMITMENT TO LIFE…TO THE BEST THAT TWO PEOPLE CAN FIND AND BRING
OUT OF EACH OTHER. IT OFFERS OPPORTUNITIES FOR SHARING AND GROWTH NO OTHER
HUMAN RELATIONSHIP CAN EQUAL, A PHYSICAL AND EMOTIONAL JOINING THAT IS PROMISED
FOR A LIFETIME.
WITHIN THE CIRCLE OF ITS 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, AND THE LOVE OF THE OTHER BRINGS HEALING AND STEADFASTNESS TO THE STURDY
FOUNDATION THAT ALLOWS THE MARRIAGE COVENANT TO BE ESTABLISHED.
MARRIAGE DEEPENS AND ENRICHES EVERY FACET OF LIFE. HAPPINESS IS FULLER, MEMORIES
ARE FRESHER, AND COMMITMENT IS STRONGER.
MARRIAGE UNDERSTANDS AND FORGIVES THE MISTAKES LIFE IS UNABLE TO AVOID, AND YET IT
ENCOURAGES AND NURTURES NEW LIFE, NEW EXPERIENCES AND NEW WAYS OF EXPRESSING
LOVE THROUGH THE SEASONS OF LIFE.
WHEN TWO PEOPLE PLEDGE TO LOVE AND CARE FOR EACH OTHER IN MARRIAGE, THEY SEEM
TO CREATE A SPIRIT UNIQUE TO THEMSELVES, WHICH BINDS THEM CLOSER THAN ANY SPOKEN
OR WRITTEN WORD. MARRIAGE IS A PROMISE, MADE IN THE HEARTS OF TWO PEOPLE WHO OWE
EACH OTHER, AND THIS WILL TAKE A LIFETIME TO FULFILL.
(ALOHA TO THE BOTH OF YOU AND WELCOME TO OUR ISLAND)
SHARING OF LEIS:
FOR THOSE OF US WHO CALL HAWAII OUR 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 A DAY
OR TWO AND THEN IT IS GONE. 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 LAST. MAY THE LEIS YOU NOW OFFER EACH OTHER BE
RECOGNIZED FOR THE LOVE THAT YOU HAVE FOR ONE ANOTHER.
THE HAWAIIANS HAVE A TRADITIONAL SAYING: “HONI KA WAHA!” KISS HIM/HER ON THE MOUTH.
DECLARATION OF INTENTION:
GROOM, DO YOU WISH FOR BRIDE TO BE KNOWN AS YOUR WIFE? IF SO, PLEASE SAY “I DO”.
BRIDE, DO YOU WISH FOR GROOM TO BE KNOWN AS YOUR HUSBAND? IF SO, PLEASE SAY “I
DO”.
GROOM AND BRIDE, DO YOU PROMISE TO LET YOUR LOVE FOR EACH OTHER GROW, AS IT WILL
AND AS IT MUST, SO THAT IN THE YEARS TO COME YOU WILL RENEW YOUR ACCEPTANCE, YOUR
UNDERSTANDING AND YOUR TRUST OF ONE ANOTHER? IF SO, PLEASE SAY “WE PROMISE”.
MARRIAGE VOWS:
I, GROOM, TAKE YOU, BRIDE, TO BE MY WIFE. I PROMISE TO LOVE YOU, HONOR YOU AND
CHERISH YOU. I WILL BE YOUR COMPANION. I WILL SHARE MY STRENGTHS AND ACHIEVEMENTS.
I PROMISE TO RESPECT YOU AND 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.
I, BRIDE, TAKE YOU, GROOM, TO BE MY HUSBAND. I PROMISE TO LOVE YOU, HONOR YOU AND
CHERISH YOU. I WILL BE YOUR COMPANION. I WILL SHARE MY STRENGTHS AND MY
ACHIEVEMENTS. I PROMISE TO RESPECT YOU AND 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.
RING CEREMONY:
THE WEDDING RINGS ARE A SYMBOL OF LONGEVITY IN THE MARRIAGE COVENANT. THE CIRCLE
OF THE RING SYMBOLIZES THE NEVER ENDING CIRCLE OF LOVE AND COMMITMENT THAT YOU
ARE MAKING. ALWAYS SEE THE BEST IN EACH OTHER, AND EACH DAY THAT YOU ARE
TOGETHER, WHEN YOU LOOK AT THE BEAUTY OF THESE RINGS, REMEMBER THE LOVE THAT
YOU HAVE FOR EACH OTHER, IS FOREVER.
GROOM, REPEAT AFTER ME YOUR RING CEREMONY:
BRIDE, I GIVE THIS RING TO YOU AS A SIGN OF MY LOVE. I GIVE MYSELF TO YOU TO BE YOUR
HUSBAND. FROM THIS DAY FORWARD YOU SHALL NOT WALK ALONE. I FEEL SO HONORED TO
HAVE YOU AS MY WIFE. I VOW TO LOVE YOU AND SUSTAIN YOU IN THE COVENANT OF OUR
MARRIAGE, FOR AS LONG AS WE BOTH SHALL LIVE.
BRIDE, REPEAT AFTER ME YOUR RING CEREMONY:
GROOM, I GIVE THIS RING TO YOU AS A SIGN OF MY LOVE. I GIVE MYSELF TO YOU TO BE YOUR
WIFE. FROM THIS DAY FORWARD YOU SHALL NOT WALK ALONE. I FEEL SO HONORED TO HAVE
YOU AS MY HUSBAND. I VOW TO LOVE YOU AND SUSTAIN YOU IN THE COVENANT OF OUR
MARRIAGE, FOR AS LONG AS WE BOTH SHALL LIVE.
PRONOUNCEMENT:
WE HAVE BEEN WITNESSES TO THIS SPECIAL DAY, THEREFORE, I, AND THOSE OF US HERE
WITH YOU, RECOGNIZE THAT YOU HAVE BECOME HUSBAND AND WIFE, AND WE AND ALL OF
YOUR FAMILY AND FRIENDS SHALL HONOR YOU AS THE SAME FROM THIS DAY FORWARD.
BENEDICTION:
GROOM AND BRIDE, REMEMBER THIS DAY HERE IN BEAUTIFUL PLACE, MAUI, HAWAII, WITH JOY
AND THANKSGIVING, AND MAY YOU LOVE TO LIVE AND LIVE TO LOVE!
NOW THEREFORE, BY THE AUTHORITY GIVEN UNTO ME AS A MINISTER OF THE GOSPEL, AND BY
THE LAWS OF THIS STATE, I NOW PRONOUNCE THAT YOU ARE HUSBAND AND WIFE,
THEREFORE, YOU MAY KISS YOUR BRIDE!
I PRESENT TO YOU MR. AND MRS.