This ceremony may seem long in written form but it only takes about 1o minutes. This service has been written by and is performed by Rev. John Souter:

 

You have arrived on the romantic island of Maui, the land of aloha, after ____ years of marriage. PATRICK and DEBORAH, you’ve decided to fan the flames of your love and renew your commitment to each other. Today you’re pledging your love again in this union we call marriage.

 

Think for a moment of the caterpillar. He begins life as a lowly, uninteresting little creature shackled to the ground. But he’s transformed by an extraordinary metamorphosis —which even the scientists do not fully understand—into an exquisite and fragile butterfly. In a similar way, your relationship has been changing. You are no longer just two good friends as you were before marriage. You have been transformed into one. Marriage has caused the merger of your two separate lives into a union dedicated for the common good.

 

 

Have you thought about why you wanted to get married? Take a moment, and gaze into each others eyes. What is it that you first saw there that captured your soul? What spark, what love, what beauty have you found in those eyes that has made you into a better person?

 

Do you remember when you first met? When you first kissed? Can you recall the moment when your lover turned your life and your heart upside down?

 

Now, today, you have come through many struggles and personal victories over the years and you bring all of these emotions today as you repeat your vow of love for each other. Today it is your desire to re-ignite the flames of your commitment, emphasizing again that you have not forgotten what it was that first brought you together. Today, you move further down that road which you want to last a lifetime. That’s your hope, your desire and your commitment today.

Love is a Verb

 

Now I don’t have to remind you that there will never be a perfect marriage. You know full well that it takes a lot of love AND a lot of work to make a good marriage. Some couples tend to think of marriage as a 50/50 proposition. But the best relationships are usually 90/10. If in the future you both will give 90%—you will have a formula likely to bring both of you a lifetime of happiness.

 

Let me remind you that love is a verb. It’s not just a state of being but an ACTION verb. It’s not just how you feel about each other, but what you DO for each other that will keep your relationship growing and alive.

 

When you don’t feel like being loving, think about how you would like to be treated. When you sense that you are being ignored, learn how to listen to your partner’s needs. PATRICK and DEBORAH, in the Hawaiian language ho ’oponopono means: “to put things right by family discussion.”

 

When your feelings are hurt, don’t turn inside. Instead, cultivate the great art of forgiving as well as being able to say you’re sorry. Expect the best from your lover even when they’ve disappointed you in the past. Give what you want to get, and you’ll continue to transform your home into a castle where love can thrive.

 

 

Poet Carl Sandburg captured the essence of a growing and maturing love when he wrote:

 

“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 now. You are going forward toward something great. I am on the way with you and . . I love you.”

 

 

PATRICK, please take this lei and place it around DEBORAH ‘s neck and in the Hawaiian tradition give him a kiss on both cheeks.

 

Do you PATRICK, continue to take DEBORAH, as your wife? Will you continue to love and cherish her, giving her assistance in all of life’s labors? Will you continue to be true to her both in sickness and health, when things are going well and when there are difficulties? And will you be faithful to her as long as you both shall live? If so, you may answer, I WILL.

 

PATRICK, let the beautiful & fragrant flowers that you have placed on DEBORAH remind you of the beautiful and fragile nature of your relationship with her. Cherish her as your princess.

 

 

DEBORAH, take this lei and place it around PATRICK ‘s neck and kiss him on both cheeks.

 

Do you, DEBORAH, continue to take PATRICK, to be your husband? Will you continue to love and cherish him, giving him assistance in all of life’s labors? Will you be true to him both in sickness and health, both when things are going well and when there are problems? And will you be faithful to him as long as you both shall live? If so, you may answer, I WILL.

 

DEBORAH, let the beauty & fragrance of these flowers which you have placed on PATRICK remind you always of this day when you committed yourself to be his bride. Cherish him as your prince.

 

 

PATRICK, look for a moment at the ring that is the lasting symbol of your vows to DEBORAH?

 

That gold ring has been subjected to tremendous heat so that the waste could be removed and the metal purified; it is a fit token of your commitment of love. PATRICK, let this ring continue to symbolize your willingness to keep on building your character as you love DEBORAH.

 

Touch this ring on DEBORAH ‘s hand, symbolically giving it to her again and repeat after me as you make these vows to her:

 

“From this day on, I PATRICK, recommit myself to you DEBORAH as my wife. I will continue to love you, I will continue to cherish you,
I will continue to be true to you, no matter what comes into our lives
if we are rich or poor, or if there is sickness or health, I’m committed to stay with you as long as we both shall live, and I reoffer this ring to you, as a symbol of my pledge of marriage.”

 

 

DEBORAH, touch the ring that you have given to PATRICK as the lasting symbol of your love.
 

 

The ring is a circle. And a circle has no ending so it symbolizes an enduring love. DEBORAH, let this ring remind you of your lifelong commitment to PATRICK.

 

Touch the ring on PATRICK hand and repeat after me as you make these vows of recommitment to him:

 

 

“From this day on, I DEBORAH, recommit myself to you PATRICK,
as my husband. I will continue to love you, I will continue to cherish you, I will continue to be true to you, no matter what comes into our lives. Whether we are rich or poor, or if there is sickness or health,
I’m committed to stay with you as long as we both shall live, and this ring is a symbol of my pledge of marriage to you.”

 

 

Now that you PATRICK and DEBORAH have openly renewed your wish to remain united in the union of marriage, and as you have made these promises to each other before this witness, and have given each other rings to reconfirm your vows;

 

I, John Souter, by the power & authority given to me as a minister, do affirm that the two of you have today expressed your desires to rekindle your love and passion and renew your vow of marriage. So from this moment on, let all know of your desire to continue for a lifetime as husband and wife. You may kiss the bride.