VIP OAHU BEACH WEDDING EXPERIENCE FILLED WITH BEAUTIFUL HAWAII WEDDING TRADITIONS

Imagine walking barefoot on a beautiful beach on the island of Oahu holding hands with your love as you walk towards a circle of orchids on the sand just outside where the waves are crashing and the sounds of the oceans act as your wedding march.

I wait for you and your love with a warm smile holding fresh flower leis to be used for a lei exchange during your ceremony. I am also holding a book with your personalized non-religious ceremony script that I wrote for you based on your love and journey as a couple. You are welcomed with Aloha as you enter the circle of flowers and the ceremony begins. As you take in the moment looking around to see all the spectacular scenery that surrounds you are grateful to be celebrating your love with your love in such a special way.

Your ceremony begins with an exchange of fresh flower leis to symbolize your giving of your love, respect and yourself to each other. The personalize ceremony takes you on a journey of your love reminding you of some of your favorite highlights as a couple. You share an intimate moment during the Honi Honi Ha Breath of Life ceremony as you touch foreheads and noses to exchange mana (life force energy) through the breath, a very sacred practice and a sign of great respect in the Hawaiian culture.

As I hand you each a wooden bowl I ask you to each scoop up a small bit of sand from where you are standing and with your hand over your bowl of sand then make your promises of eternal love and commitment to each other before combining your sand in a larger wooden bowl symbolizing the combining of your love and lives. (I provide a vile to take some of the sand infused with your mana (life force energy) as a keepsake from your wedding day.)

Exchanging rings is not required to be legally married but if you have rings to exchange I tell you exactly what to say as you are putting the ring on each other’s finger and you also have an opportunity to say your own vows or words of Aloha (love) to one another if you want to.

After you’ve proclaimed your vows of Aloha (love) you are asked to hold a lava rock to symbolize your vows and marriage and together wrap the lava rock in a ti leaf a traditional Hawaiian practice to bring protection and luck to the couple and their marriage then the wrapped lava rock is left at the ceremony location as an offering from the couple.

You are proclaimed married ~ Ka Honi Mai Me Ke Aloha ~ And with love is a kiss!
A shower of flowers for a spectacular ending and then it is time to celebrate!

I provide all items for the ceremony. This VIP Oahu Beach Wedding Experience filled with beautiful Hawaii wedding traditions.

The deluxe wedding/elopement package includes personalized non-religious wedding ceremony written and officiated by Licensed Hawaii Wedding Officiant Kim Crinella, fresh flowers for the circle of flowers, fresh basic orchid leis for the lei exchange, use of my wooden bowls for the sand unity ceremony, a vile to take some of your sand home as a keepsake, fresh loose blooms or petals for a shower of flowers, and a lava rock with fresh ti leaf. (Below is additional information about each tradition. )
The couple may choose any beach on the island of Oahu for their ceremony. If a use permit is required for the beach chosen I will obtain the use permit from the city and county. I do not get permits for State Beach Parks. I am happy to recommend beaches that do and/or does not require a use permit once the deposit to secure the day and time has been paid.
$808 plus tax

DEPOSIT FOR RESERVATION AND PAYMENT
A $50 non-refundable deposit is required to secure the day and time of your ceremony. The balance is due in full no later than 24 hours prior to the ceremony. Deposit and balance may be paid by credit card, debit card, Venmo, CashApp, or PayPal.

Please Note: Wedding couples must also apply for and pick up their own Hawaii marriage license from the Hawaii Department of Health. (I will provide instructions.) The cost of the marriage license and any use permit is not included in the deluxe wedding/elopement package.

CIRCLE OF FLOWERS

Circle of Plumeria and Bougainvillea Blooms using over 1,000 blooms!

Circle of Flowers is a tradition in Hawaii where the wedding couple has a circle of blooms mark the spot where they will exchange vows. The circle of flowers is symbolic of their never ending love for one another and their eternal pledge they commit to one another in the circle.

LEI EXCHANGE

The exchanging of the leis represents the couple giving themselves to their partner. The leis are symbolic of the couple, each of the couple is beautiful and unique on their own like each of the flowers which makes up the lei. But when the flowers are combined to make the lei the flowers still retain their own unique qualities and beauty while creating something even more beautiful, just like the couple does in their marriage.

Many style of leis are used in lei exchanges are a circle which symbolize eternity and the leis can also represent the couples eternal Aloha for one another. However, some leis used during the ceremony may be open leis such as maile leis or some styles of braided ti leis which are popular with men.

This couple exchanged maile leis which is a lei made from a vine sacred in the Hawaiian culture.

Leis in a lei exchange ceremony are typically worn around the neck. There are leis for the head called Haku Leis which are a crown of flowers. They can be simple single strung flowers or can be a woven head piece of flowers, ferns and leaves. Some brides who do not want to wear a lei around their neck will incorporate a Haku lei instead into the lei exchange or may start the wedding wearing the Haku and also incorporate leis for the neck in a lei exchange like this couple did…

If one of the couple is pregnant please be aware of a superstition in Hawaii that if a woman is pregnant and she wears a closed lei the umbilical cord will wrap around the baby’s neck. Pretty harsh, I know. So, if one of the couple is pregnant at the time of the ceremony consider an open lei just to keep the spirits and mood happy. Lei shops will typically make any style lei an open lei if you request it. Just tell them it is for a pregnant lady, they will know what you want.

HONI HONI, HA BREATH OF LIFE

Honi Honi with Ha Breath of Life Unity Ceremony

Honi Honi, Ha Breath of Life is my favorite Hawaiian tradition that is incorporated into weddings. It is a tender intimate deeply meaningful moment during the ceremony. Honi Honi is the Hawaiian way of kissing by touching foreheads and noses and breathing in through the nose at the same time to share the breath of life, known as Ha. Ancient Hawaiians recognized that their breath was the key to good health and believed it possessed mana, spiritual power. Sharing Ha is a great sign of respect and love and in the Hawaiian culture it is a tradition shared by wedding couples during their ceremony.

SAND UNITY

A sand unity symbolizes the combining of the love and lives of the couple. A Ohana sand unity can also be incorporated to represent the blending of families and where the couple and their children from prior relationships use the ceremony to represent their coming together and uniting as a Ohana (Ohana is the Hawaiian word for family).

Some couples purchase colored sand and containers to for the ceremony. Couples can also collect sand prior to the ceremony together or if their ceremony is on a beach they can gather sand from where they are taking their vows to represent themselves as individuals then combine their sand into a bowl to represent them blending their lives and love. The sand can be a keepsake reminder of that special day!

I have wooden bowls couples may use for free upon request for sand unity ceremonies in weddings I officiate.

Lava Rock Ceremony

In a Lava Rock Ceremony a piece of lava rock is wrapped in a Ti leaf and is left at the ceremony site after the wedding. It remains there to mark the birth of your union together and is offered as a blessing to your marriage. In Hawaiian culture, Ti Leaves are believed to provide protection to ward off evil spirits and bring good luck. The lava rock represents the couple’s making a lifetime commitment to one another and wrapping it in a Ti leaf represents protection and good luck to the wedding couple for their marriage.

SHOWER OF FLOWERS

A shower of flowers is popular in Hawaii as an alternative to guests throwing rice or blowing bubbles. Showering a couple after their ceremony is meant to be symbolic of guests showering the couple with prosperity, good fortune, and fertility. Plumeria blooms, orchid blooms, or fresh rose petals are a popular choices for a shower of flowers in the Hawaiian Islands.