Aloha  Adventure Ceremony  // Doug Binzak

 

 

______and_______,  and all family and friends here today

I welcome you with ALOHA spirit in the timeless presence of SEA, SAND, and SUN. 

 

We are gathered in JOY as you two pledge your VOWS of commitment to each other, just as our ancestors and others who have walked this “Aina have done since BEGINNING-less time.

 

In Hawaii, we BEGIN ceremony with an exchange of Leis as a symbol of our love. The BEAUTIFULLY crafted lei is the coming together of hand picked flowers and twine, carefully BONDED together with loving attention. 

 

As you exchange THESE leis, you will begin to weave YOUR lei together in life,  as husband and wife.    So please place your LEI over your beloved’s head with ALOHA.

 

{COUPLE EXCHANGES THE LEIS)

 

ALOHA is translated in many ways, but I invite you today to understand it through the virtues that it communicates, virtues that are essential to a long and satisfying marriage:

 

·        A  kahai, or kindness expressed with tenderness;

·        L   okahi, or unity, expressed with harmony;

·        O  lu’olu, or agreeableness, expressed with pleasantness;

·        H  a’aha’a, or humility, expressed with modesty;  and

·        A  honui, or patience, expressed with perseverance.

 

 

 

Now for those of us gathered as witnesses AND participants,

_________and________ declare publicly their choice to LIVE and PARTNER and GROW together.  They do so OUT-LOUD and in YOUR presence, out of the desire that we will all come to feel a very REAL and INTIMATE part of their decision, thus making it even MORE powerful. 

 

 

So let us JOIN in love and support of _______and_______, and BLESS this couple with OUR hopes for their everlasting happiness:

 

May they find GRACE in their journey,; May they DRAW UPON each other’s strengths, SUPPORT each other in weakness, and may their HOME TOGETHER be a place for growing   a place for sharing,  a place for MUSIC, laughter, peace, harmony, and contentment.

 

 

___________ and ________ In the circle of its love, marriage encompasses ALL of life’s most important relationships, not as requiring of obligations, but rather as providing OPPORTUNTIES:

To be each other’s best friend, confidante, lover, teacher, and listener;  to make happiness FULLER, memories FRESHER;  and for lifting your lives to their HIGHEST potential,  which sometimes will include greater understanding   and the FORGIVENESS of mistakes that life cannot avoid. 

 

When you PLEDGE to love one another in marriage, you create a SPIRIT that is unique to yourselves.  It is in YOUR spirit that we are here today, as you vow to each other.

 

THE WEDDING VOWS

 

And No vows are as tender as those that you are about to assume.  Please join hands and face each other and repeat after me.

 

GROOM“I ____, take you, ______, to be my wife. // I promise to love you// cherish you//respect you// and honor you. // I will share my strengths and achievements, with you //and be your friend and companion //for as long as we both shall live.

 

BRIDE “I ____, take you, ______, to be my husband // I promise to love you// cherish you//respect you// and honor you. // I will share my strengths and achievements, with you //and be your friend and companion //for as long as we both shall live.

 

EXCHANGE OF THE RINGS

 

The wedding ring is an UNBROKEN circle, a symbol of the SUN, the EARTH, of the WHOLE universe.  It is also a symbol of   WHOLENESS, holiness, and perfection.     From this day forward, whenever you see your wedding rings, may they remind you of the NEVER-ENDING love that the two of you pledge here today.

 

Please, then, both of you, take hold in your HANDS of the rings you give each other, take hold of what they symbolize in your HEARTS, and repeat after me:

 

“With this ring….I thee wed….”

 

(place the rings on each others fingers and hold ringed hands, raising them into the air)

 

“…that all may see and know of my love for you”.

 

 

________ and _________ TRUE LOVE is boundless like the OCEAN before us.  As you have announced the TRUE LOVE that is written in your hearts,

under the AUTHORITY vested in me by the State of Hawaii, it is my PRIVILEDGE and honor to NOW PRONOUNCE you Husband and Wife.

 

________ You may now kiss the bride!

 

And to all PRESENT and GATHERED here today, I am now PLEASED to present,  for the first time,  and in joy,

 

Mr. And Mrs ______________