Christian Maui Wedding Ceremony

The following Christian Maui Wedding Ceremony was written by and is performed by Rev. John Souter for our Maui wedding couples. You can read it for yourself to see if it fits your Maui wedding ceremony preferences.

Maui Ceremony: Introduction

Who gives this woman to be married to this man? (Optional -- usually spoken to the bride's father.)

GERALD and LESLIE you have arrived here on Maui, in this beautiful setting, so that you could publicly commit yourselves to each other in marriage.

        God invented marriage. He created it because He looked into the future and saw what your needs and your desires would be for companionship, love and fulfillment. But God also knew that no marriage would ever be perfect. As you enter this union, it’s important to realistically understand that it will take a lot of love AND a lot of work to make your relationship an ongoing success.

        Many couples tend to think marriage as a 50/50 proposition. Actually, the best relationships are 90/10. If you both will give 90% —you will have a formula likely to bring both of you happiness for a lifetime.

Maui Ceremony: The Bible & Marriage

The best manual ever written on the subject of marriage is still the Bible. Here are a few of the things that God has to say about marriage:

        “Each man should have his own wife, and each woman should have her own husband... A man leaves his father and mother and is joined to his wife, and the two are united into one. Since they are no longer two but one, let no one separate them, for God has joined them together.

        “Give honor to marriage, and remain faithful to one another in marriage. Husbands ought to love their wives as they love their own bodies... Each man must love his wife as he loves himself, and the wife must respect her husband.” (1 Cor. 7:2; Matt. 19:5-6; Heb. 13:4; Eph. 5:28,33)

Maui Ceremony: 1 Corinthians 13

Now love is a verb. It is not just a state of being but its really an ACTION word. So it's not just how you feel about each other, but it's what you DO for each other that will keep your relationship growing and alive.

        The Bible has a lot to say about love. Let me read 1 Corinthians 13 from The fresh Living Bible: “Love is very patient and kind, never jealous or envious, never boastful or proud, never haughty or selfish or rude. Love does not demand its own way. It is not irritable or touchy. It does not hold grudges and will hardly even notice when others do it wrong. It is never glad about injustice, but rejoices whenever truth wins out.

        “If you love someone you will be loyal to him no matter what the cost. You will always believe in him, always expect the best of him, and always stand your ground in defending him.”

        GERALD and LESLIE, in the Hawaiian language there is a term that describes how couples should treat one another: Ho’oponopono, which means: “to put things right . . . by family discussion.”

        In other words, you don’t want to let the sun set when you find that you are angry. Talk things out. Makes things right with each other quickly, before the sun disappears. That’s the best way to keep small misunderstandings from growing into problems that could break down your relationship.

        Marriage is more than a contract. It is a commitment to take your joy deeper than happiness, deeper into the discovery of who you really are. It is a journey -- to a life of becoming. Marriage is even deeper than commitment. It is a covenant that says: I love you. I trust you. I will be here for you when you are hurting, and when I am hurting, I will not leave. Marriage is intended to provide a sanctuary safe enough to risk fully loving, with nothing held back. Expect that best from your lover and you can transform your home into a castle where love thrives.

Maui Ceremony: Sandburg’s Poem

While marriages are founded and built upon love, emotions are often fickle. Poet Carl Sandburg captured the essence of a love which can stand the test of time in a free-verse poem that I first heard at my own wedding. Let me read it to you:
 

        “I love you. I love you for what you are, but I love you yet more for what you are going to be. I love you not so much for your realities as for your ideals. I pray for your desires, that they may be great, rather than for your satisfactions, which may be so hazardously little.
 

        “A satisfied flower is one whose petals are about to fall. But the most beautiful rose is one, hardly more than a bud, wherein the pangs and ecstasies of desire are working for larger and finer growth. Not always shall you be what you are right now. You are going forward toward something great. I am on the way with you and . . I love you.”

Maui Ceremony: His Vows

GERALD, please take this lei and place it around LESLIE ‘s neck and in the Hawaiian tradition, kiss her on both cheeks. Let these pretty & fragrant flowers that you have placed upon LESLIE remind you of the beautiful and fragile nature of your relationship with her.

        Do you GERALD, take LESLIE, to be your wife, to live together according to the Word of God? Will you love and cherish her, giving her assistance in all of life’s labors? Will you be true to her both in sickness and health; both when things are going well and when there are problems? And will you be faithful to her as long as you both shall live? If so, you may answer, I WILL.

GERALD, cherish LESLIE always treating her as your princess.

Maui Ceremony: Her Vows

LESLIE, please take this lei and place it over GERALD ‘s neck and in the Hawaiian tradition kiss him on both cheeks. Let the beauty & fragrance of these flowers which you are giving to GERALD remind you always of this day when you committed yourself to be his bride. Cherish him always, treating him as your prince.

        Do you, LESLIE, take GERALD, to be your husband, to live together according to the word of God? Will you love him and submit to him in the Lord, and be his helper in all that comes your way. Will you be true to him both in sickness and health, both when things are going well and when there are difficulties? And will you be faithful to him as long as both of you shall live? If so, you may answer, I WILL.

Maui Ceremony: Her Ring

GERALD, may I have the ring that is a lasting symbol of your vows to LESLIE?
 

        This (gold or silver) ring has been subjected to tremendous heat so that the waste could be removed and the metal purified into a fit token of your commitment of love. GERALD, let this ring symbolize your willingness to build your character through your self-sacrificial love for LESLIE. Place the ring on the third finger of LESLIE ’S left hand and repeat after me as you make these vows to LESLIE:
 

I GERALD,
from this day forward
take you LESLIE
to be my lawfully wedded wife
I will love you
I will cherish you
I will be true to you
no matter what comes
whether we become rich or poor
whether there is sickness or health
for as long as we both shall live
and with this ring
as a symbol of my love
I now marry you.

Maui Ceremony: His Ring

LESLIE, may I have the ring that is the lasting symbol of your vows to GERALD?
 

        This ring is a circle, which symbolizes eternity—for a circle has no ending. LESLIE, let this ring remind you of the new relationship that you are entering with GERALD which you desire to last for a lifetime. Place the ring on the third finger of GERALD ’s left hand and repeat after me as you make these vows to GERALD:

I LESLIE,
from this day forward
take you GERALD
to be my lawfully wedded husband
I will love you
I will cherish you
I will be true to you
no matter what comes
Whether we become rich or poor
whether there is sickness or health
for as long as we both shall live
and with this ring
as a symbol of my love
I now marry you.

Maui Ceremony: PRAYER

Maui Ceremony: PROCLAMATION
 

Now that you GERALD and LESLIE have openly declared your wish to be united in the covenant of marriage, and as you have made these promises to each other before God and these witnesses, and as you have given each other rings to confirm your vows;
 

        I, John Souter, by the power & authority granted to me as a minister of the Gospel of Jesus Christ, and according to the laws of the County of Maui and the State of Hawaii, do now pronounce you to be: Husband and wife, in the name of the Father, and of the Son and of the Holy Spirit, Amen.

        God has joined you together--let no one tear you apart. You may kiss your bride.

Call Toll FREE Maui Weddings at
1-800-856-3270
Maui Me^®, Inc.
120 Peahi Road, Haiku, Maui, HI 96708
USA Toll Free Number: 1-800-856-3270
Toll Free from Canada: 1-800-920-0611
Local Maui Number:1-808-575-2002