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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.
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Call Toll FREE Maui Weddings at
1-800-856-3270
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Maui Me
(R),
Inc.
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120 Peahi Road, Haiku, Maui, HI 96708
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USA Toll Free Number: 1-800-856-3270
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Toll Free from Canada: 1-800-920-0611
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Local Maui Number:1-808-575-2002
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Fax Number: 1-808-575-9744
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