the early years of Marriage in Hawaii

One hundred couples, all so happy—weddings, vow renewals, marrying each other again … a hundred wonderful romances… Brides and grooms have written to Linda, their Hawaii wedding officiant, about their weddings in Hawaii:

"Thank you thank you thank you! The ceremony was absolutely beautiful -- if we had chosen to write our own vows, they could not have been more perfect! We are so happy that we found you, and we both appreciate your facilitating our union in the spirit of sacredness and blessing."

"Thanks once again for all your help and for making our wedding something special to remember."

"Thank you again for making our wedding such a special day for us."

"Hi Linda, just wanted to thank you for a wonderful wedding it was very special and we really enjoyed YOU!"

What do I know about marketing? (Nothing)
I recently learned that a required promotional tool is to tell you what others have said about me. That is a rather difficult task as a wedding isn't about me, but a couple, two lives joined as one.

It seemed quite a problem, to switch my focus to "Look at me!" from the contagious joy of a happily wedded couple. Newlyweds have been generous with email, note cards and gifts, providing me with lots of material, but I just can't say I'm the important one when it comes to a wedding.

Discussing the dilemma with a friend, and noting that I was approaching the mark of 100 weddings (and vow renewals), one hundred couples who made me smile, a hundred joyous occasions, the solution became clear: rather obvious, actually. One hundred beautiful couples, each with a romance, each a story that will never be repeated… I'll share some of the happy weddings!

Some couples come to the Islands, or live here, and want a very private "wedding for two"…

"I wanted to thank you again for such a wonderful wedding. It was exactly what we wanted! A small but perfect wedding!"

"I just wanted to thank you for everything …We wanted a nice quiet wedding and it was a great day."

"You are a great match for the very small just-the-two-of-us wedding!"

Army, Air Force, Navy, Marines, Coast Guard, National Guard… and some have served in the Middle East…

I respect our troops, and offer a courtesy to our uniformed friends…

"Thank YOU for your generosity! Also, thank you for your unending support and respect for our troops…"

"It was so nice to meet you and have you as a part of our special day. It would not have been the same without such a caring and warm person such as yourself performing the ceremony. We have a very special gift for you as a token of our appreciation"

[Carmen sent a beautiful framed photograph of the three of us.]

special requests have included:

a wedding in Hawaii before the legal marriage…
"[We] went to Chicago Thanksgiving weekend and made everything "legal"….it will never come close to the wonderful ceremony we had on Kailua Beach …what a day filled with wonderful memories! We plan on returning to the islands this summer … "

a vow renewal for a couple who lived "in sickness and in health"…
"Ken and I want to give you our heartfelt thanks for officiating at our vow renewal. The ceremony was beautiful. We had a great time and as you could see it really meant everything to us!
Thank you again for your kind words and prayer. It wouldn't have been the same with anyone but you."

large weddings, with lots of guests and flowers and dinner and photos and music and a wedding planner…
"Thank you so much for your help in making our wedding day special. We truly appreciate all your efforts and friendship throughout the whole process. Our ceremony was beautiful (as all our guests/family affirmed) and it unfolded the way we imagined. Mahalo nui loa!"

One couple had been together for 36 years. Their numerous children, grandchildren and great-grandchildren celebrated the wedding day with the couple at a relaxed beach park.

Families, too…

And sometimes a marriage begins as a family with children…
"We LOVE your idea about how to include the children! Thank you so much!"

…married, for 20+ years or five, divorced for three months or six years, then to Hawaii to be (re)married, sometimes to each other.

Hawaii is a top wedding destination, and brides and grooms visit from thousands of miles to be married in Paradise.

Sweden, Japan, the Netherlands, Germany, Canada, Australia, New Zealand, Austria, the United Kingdom, Scotland… couples from around the world have enriched my life by including me as officiant in their weddings..

I've made wonderful new friends…
"Wanted to thank you again for making our day so special. We are finally back home and back into the routine that is our life here in the big city. Hawaii was so beautiful we didn't want to leave."

"We both thank you very much for making our day so special. We viewed the video yesterday…made both of us have tears in our eyes…we will be in touch again. Your friends, Marion and Joe"

"thanks again for helping to make our wedding day so special. We are so happy!"

While the wedding day is happy, sad news can follow…
"We did have hope and dreams on our Wedding day, but it did not last. My lovely Husband died [10 months after the wedding] on a Hart (sic) attack. Our Vacation to your lovely Island was booked to celebrate our first wedding anniversary. Now all I have left are wonderful memories and I will treasure the time I had with [him]."

Special requests have revealed individuals as unique as their creative thinking…
" Thanks again for officiating for us. We both agreed that things turned out absolutely perfect, we couldn't have asked for a better experience! We both also agreed that the …vows [you wrote]…were perfect!"

An Unexpected Wedding Twist
Linda & Wayne had an unexpected event at their wedding. You can read the bride's story on a page here, Linda & Wayne.

Sunrise, sunset, friend's yard, ballroom, beach, park, hotel, garden, private hideaway…
So many special memories, for the couple, and for me!…

Al & Jayne so enjoyed their wedding last year, they're doing it again this year! (You can see by the picture below how enthralled Al is with Jayne, and Jayne's lovely response…that's me in the wheelchair to the left, recuperating from Linda's & Wayne's wedding. (Al had recovered from a similar injury so he was quite an encouragement for me!)

"Thank you for marrying us…it was beautiful. We will have many fond memories…"

"[We] think of you whenever we reflect on our beautiful wedding. We…are so grateful to you for joinin us together forever."

"We love the special certificate and the wedding blessing -- we plan to frame them for our new home."

Trivia: men contact me as frequently as women… they can be delightfully romantic, you lucky gals! As I write this, two men are anticipating wonderful surprises for their brides…

Each wedding is special, and each is remembered

I cannot tell you who was the 25th, or 50th couple without looking at their names but I can tell you the first two. After being licensed in 1996, I was both wedding minister and mother of the bride for the first couple I married, my older daughter in 1997 and then the second, my younger daughter in 1999. Between then and when I added my website to Google in 2003 (it had previously been a single page) I had officiated eight weddings.

By early 2005, I had officiated wedding, vow renewal and marry-again ceremonies for 100 couples!

One wedding was a friend's … He wanted "obey" in their vows, she didn't. The solution was easy: he could promise to obey her. During the ceremony, when we arrived at the words that weren't included, the groom interjected, "What happened to obey?!" and their guests embraced his spontaneity.

After each wedding I am filled with the joy of the couple just married! Each couple is wonderful, each couple makes an impression on my life. This is the happiest wedding!

Photographic options: I don't always snap pictures, either because I don't want to get in the photographer's way or because the couple want to keep their wedding secret. I can recommend a professional photographer… Or revisit the teaching of my father, who instructed me in his darkroom and my mother, whose eye for composition was insatiable… See some of my shots on any of my websites and in albums at marriageinhawaii.dotphoto.com. The photos on this website, with few exceptions, were snapped by my camera. I enjoy watching the shine of genuine smiles when I instruct couples how not to pose!

aloha!

your Hawaii wedding minister     

Note: Couples noted here were in the early years of officiating and not all couples are represented.