Contemporary Ceremony:

Blowing of the Conch Shell In Hawaiian tradition the blowing of the conch shell is a use of what we here in Hawaii call the sacred breath of life, the “ha,” to reach out to that which is holy and sacred, known here as Ke Akua. It is also a call to and acknowledgment of the ancestors and those with whom we feel deep kinship who can be here today only in spirit. We welcome them all. As we begin today, I invite you to join me and take a deep breath. Take a moment to look around you at the beauty that you are part of. Notice the blue of the sky and the sea, the sound of the ocean as it kisses the shore, the gentle breeze on your cheek. And be fully present for this joyous occasion so that you may better remember it when you are on a distant shore called “home.”

• Oli Aloha Chant
• 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 lia’a nei ho’i o ka hiki mai
• A hiki mai no ‘olua, hiki pu no me ke aloha.
• Aloha e, aloha e, aloha e
• Fragrant with the breath of hala and lehua
• This is the sight I long to see.
• Your coming fills me with eagerness.
• Now that you have come, love has come with you.

Lei Exchange Here in Hawaii we have a beautiful tradition of giving leis at ceremonial occasions. Leis say aloha, I love you. They say I honor and respect you. The lei maker who made these lei individually selected each flower and strand and bound them together with love. Just as the two of you will pick and choose everything you say and everything you do to make your own Lei of Life. May the lei you weave together as husband and wife be as beautiful and fragrant as these two you give to each other here today. And now, please, ____, hold this lei in both your hands, look into ____’s eyes and repeat after me: I give you this lei of love with all the aloha in my heart. With this I join my life with yours. ____, please repeat after me: I give you this lei of love with all the aloha in my heart. With this I join my life with yours.

Friends, we come here today for the joyous occasion and celebration, the joining of these, two, already beloved friends, as husband and wife. ____ & ____, true marriage is more than just the legal bonds of matrimony. It is the uniting of two people who are already attuned to each other. This is a sacred union of hearts and lives joined by the most strong and tender of ties. This union is created out of friendship and respect, as well as love. With this marriage, you are adding to your lives the affection that your hearts desire, the happy companionship of times spent together, and a deep trust and consideration for one another as well. You are agreeing to work out your own challenges and also to help one another. You are agreeing to be a light and a loving guide to one another. You are agreeing to carry a part of each other’s responsibilities. You are entering in on an act of pure faith in which you give of yourself to the utmost. It is into this state of marriage that the two of you now come to be united. Please join hands and face each other. If you are ready to take your wedding vows, please say, “We are.”

Vows: ____, please repeat after me: My beloved ____, I take you as my lawfully wedded 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 as we go forth as partners in life. ____, please repeat after me: My beloved ____, I take you as my lawfully wedded 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 as we go forth as partners in life.

Ring Exchange Rings are a symbol of love everlasting. Please let us look at your beautiful rings. Remember when you bought them? How happy and full of love you were? I hope that every time you look at these rings, whether it is the ring on your partner’s finger or the one on your own, you will remember all that joy and love. And I hope that these rings serve you, not as locks binding you together, but as keys unlocking the secrets of your hearts for each other to know so that you may live in love and in peace forever. ____, please repeat after me: ____, I give you this ring as a symbol of my vow of love and loyalty, to you and to our marriage, and with it I offer you all that I am and all that I have. I do so freely and with all my heart. ____, please repeat after me: ____, I give you this ring as a symbol of my vow of love and loyalty, to you and to our marriage, and with it I offer you all that I am and all that I have. I do so freely and with all my heart.

____ & ____, you have recited your sacred wedding vows before us today on this beautiful island of Maui. And now, may your love and understanding grow throughout the years. May you seek each other’s happiness and recognize each other’s needs as though they were your own. And may your home be like a peaceful island where the pressures of the world can be sorted out, brought into focus, and healed.

____ & ____, by the authority vested in me by the State of Hawaii, it is my great joy to pronounce you husband and wife. You may seal your vows with a kiss.

Blowing of the conch shell

Sand Ceremony:

Today you join your separate lives together. The two separate bottles of sand symbolize your separate lives, separate families and separate sets of friends. They represent all that you are and all that you will ever be as an individual. They also represent your lives before today.

As these two containers of sand are poured into the third container, the individual containers of sand will no longer exist, but will be joined together as one. Just as these grains of sand can never be separated and poured again into the individual containers, so will your marriage be.