Hawaii is a beautiful place and a marriage here is an ideal way for a couple to start life together. You may be a visitor to the Islands, drawn to our year-round warm and sunny weather, or you may be a resident wishing to celebrate a most cherished moment in a place that you call home. Whoever you are, we welcome you and hope that we can make your wedding day as free from worry as possible. Aloha and best wishes!
When my (now) husband and I decided to get married, we didn't even know where to start. We didn't want to spend $5,000 for the wedding venue alone. So, we decided to elope (but where?). First place came to mind was Las Vegas (with an Elvis impersonator marrying us?, NO!!!). Then, Jamaica (wait a minute, what would happen to our legal marriage document, would it be in English or some foreign language?)...
Then, we came up with Maui. Now, where do I find a minister to perform our ceremony on an island full of vacationers and timeshares? Since the internet was our friend, we started searching online. OMG, there are ten or so names popping up... If you are wondering what keywords we chose, we typed "getting married in Maui" and then "getting married in Hawaii". We chose one wedding planner who didn't charge an arm and a leg.
They set up an appointment with a marriage license agent. Two months later, we showed up with our wedding rings and two valid driver licenses. We met with a marriage license agent in Kihei and spent fifteen minutes or so with her. We walked out with our marriage license. Two days later, we presented our license to our minister who performed our wedding and submitted it to the State of Hawaii. Just like that...
For more information, please see below...
For any person to lawfully marry in the State of Hawaii, a license for that purpose must be obtained from an authorized agent (Section 572-1.7, Hawaii Revised Statutes). Once the license has been issued, there is no waiting period before the marriage can take place.
A marriage license and marriage certificate are different documents. The marriage license permits a marriage to take place. The marriage certificate indicates that a legal marriage has been performed.
The marriage certificate is prepared and filed by your licensed marriage officiant or performer with the Department of Health. A newly married couple receives one (1) certified copy of the marriage certificate at no extra charge, upon payment of the marriage license fee, which will be sent to the couple by mail (60-120 days) after the marriage has been performed. If a marriage certificate is needed sooner than this, you can apply for one or more additional certified copies.
For a list of wedding ministers, please visit:
www.destinationweddinghawaii.com/ministers.html
Please watch for our next blog coming up soon...
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