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Gay and Lesbian Weddings on Maui Hawaii

Posted by on Feb 9, 2024 in Blog | 0 comments

LGBT wedding

We specialize in elopements and small group beach weddings

We know the best Maui wedding locations

Gay Weddings on Maui, Hawaii remains the best place to get married and honeymoon for gays and lesbians. Many couples from around the world come to Maui, Hawaii to get married.

GLBT+ Maui Hawaii are recognized in your respective states as well as federally and all couples from all other states that get married in Hawaii are recognized on a federal level. See our LGBT Maui wedding package pricing here. Couples who reside in countries where gay marriage is legal will also be recognized.

Wedding photography to last a lifetime

GayHawaiiWedding.com is LGBT+ Hawaii owned and operated wedding company licensed in Hawaii since 1994. We were the only wedding company that had been advocating for marriage equality in Hawaii since 1994 starting off with letter writing campaigns and lobbying our legislators.

There is no better place to have a wedding and honeymoon than Maui, voted Best Island worldwide once again. (20 consecutive years, a record). We are a very gay-friendly island.

maui wedding

Saying the vows

We are well known in the Maui community and are members of the Hawaii Visitors Bureau and the Maui Wedding Association. We have been featured on NPR Radio, local newspapers and most recently on ABC News (click on the link to the right to see the report). We were also featured in USA Today. Click on gay wedding packages (at the top of page) to see pricing and gay wedding locations.

 

Wailea Beach – photography by Sara Quinn

Please note other wedding companies are now also advertising gay weddings on Maui but most are not LGBT owned and operated. To reserve your Maui wedding, call us t808-891-1208 or email us today.  Your marriage will be recognized federally and you will get all federal benefits regardless of what State you reside.

Did we mention that Maui is very gay-friendly?  Please see our list of gay and gay-friendly Maui hotels and condos. Why get married on Maui? Maui has been voted best island word-wide for 20 consecutive years by readers of Conde Naste magazine and is the ideal location to have your wedding and honeymoon. Maui was voted the world’s favorite travel destination surpassing destinations such as Sydney, Florence and San Francisco.  We have the best beaches, waterfalls, 10.000 ft volcano, hiking, and year-round warm sunny climate. Please see our list of Maui wedding locations.

gay wedding, LGBT wedding

We know the most romantic settings

Maui sunset weddings are by far the most popular, and simply no ka oi (the best) Magnificent sunsets paint a picture of romance, setting the stage for an unforgettable same gender Hawaii wedding. Even the serene Pacific Ocean is brimming with an undeniable sensuality. See our gay Hawaii wedding packages with pricing. Weddings can take place at the beach fronting the Grand Wailea Resort, Wailea Marriot, Fairmont Kea Lani, Four Seasons, Andaz Maui and most Kihei beaches,  or our secluded beach. See location page, top of page

gay wedding, LGBT wedding

Love on Maui

Your Hawaii wedding ceremony can be religious or non-religious. View our Gay Hawaii Wedding Ceremonies HereCeremonies begin with a welcome, followed by the Vows. Couples repeat traditional or contemporary vows, or couples can recite their own. Rings are then exchanged, followed by a brief closing.

GayHawaiiWedding.com has several ministers we use who can perform religious, non-religious, and Hawaiian ceremonies. The Ceremony begins with a Welcome, followed by the Vows. Couples repeat traditional or contemporary vows, (or couples can recite their own) Rings are then exchanged, followed by a brief closing. Religious ceremonies include opening and closing non-denominational prayer. You can also select a Jewish ceremony. Please email us with any questions. Call us toll-free at 1-800-859-0072

 

Hawaii Wedding Ceremonies

There are four ceremonies that we can perform. Wedding couples may select one of the following ceremonies. You may also write your own vows if you so desire.

gay and lesbian weddings on maui

hawaii_gay_wedding, legal gay marriage hawaii, legal gay marriage on Maui

Maui Wedding Locations

Our most popular Maui venues are Poolenalena Beach, Wailea Beach, Sugar Beach Cove, Makena Cove, and Kihei beaches, Kula Botanical Gardens, Makena Beaches, Four Seasons Wailea, Grand Wailea and Wailea Marriot. We can also perform your wedding in front of most ocean resorts and condos. See our location page

Maui Wedding Packages

We have created several gay Maui packages that you can select. Our simple and complete wedding package is $695, followed by packages that contain, photographers, videographers, flowers, hair/make-up and many options. It is your Maui wedding, and you can have it however you want! Aloha.

gay weddings on maui, hawaii with lesbian minister

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Lesbian and Gay Maui Wedding Information

Posted by on Feb 9, 2024 in Blog | 0 comments

A gay and lesbian wedding on Maui, Hawaii

One of our happy couples

Lesbian and Gay Maui Wedding Information

We are often asked when is the best time of the year to come to Maui and quite simply any month has great weather here. Low temperatures  in the winter months average between 75-80 degrees. Summer months average 80-90 degrees. The Southwest side of Maui is a semi-desert so we average just 10″ of rain per year with December – February as the “rainiest” time of the year. Maui has been voted best island world-wide ( yes world-wide) with Expedia in 2016, Trip Advisor  in 2106, and for 19 consecutive years by readers of Conde Neste Travel Magazine. No other island in the Hawaiian chain has received this honorMaui is a very gay and lesbian friendly island.gay and lesbian weddings on Maui, Hawaii

It is recommended you plan on arriving on Maui 2 days prior to the ceremony date. This allows for couples to adjust to the time-zone change, obtain a marriage license and relax a little before the ceremony. Hawaii’s marriage laws are very liberal. There is no waiting period, no blood tests of any kind, and the meeting with the State Marriage License Agent is less than 30 minutes long. All you do is complete a one page form, show legal photo ID (such as a driver’s license) and pay the Agent $70 cash. Please email us with any questions. We plan and coordinate your Maui wedding, all you have to do is show up!

Our Maui wedding location page details the locations for your ceremony site. The best beach we like to hold wedding and vow renewals on Maui is Poolenalena beach as it has a secluded side to it with no hotels around so the beach is much less crowed than other beaches. You can also opt to have your Maui wedding or vow renewal at your hotel or condo beach.

maui wedding

Saying the vows

We are asked frequently where to stay on Maui. Our hotel page details this question.We like the Southwest part of Maui which is Kihei, Wailea, Makena and Maalaea. This part of Maui is less touristy, has better beaches, and is closer to all the major attractions on Maui such as our dormant 10,000 foot volcano that you can drive up to see. It’s awesome and is a must-see on Maui. The waterfalls on Maui are located on the East side of the island and is a nice side trip to see on one of your days here. We do not recommend staying on the East side of Maui as it rains frequently and is far from the other attractions here on our island. To see all there is to do on Maui.

Gay Maui weddings  are discussed on the website. Click here for gay wedding packages  You can add or delete anything from the packages. Our philosophy is “it’s your wedding and you can have it any way you like”. The pricing of our packages has not been increased in over 2 years and we believe you can have a very nice memorable wedding without having to pay an exorbitant amount. Our pricing reflects this fair practice.

Wedding photography to last a lifetime

We have planned and coordinated over 8000 weddings ( yes, over 8000) on Maui since 1994! Over the years we have learned how to make your wedding stress-free, fun, romantic, and elegant. Sometimes we are asked by potential customers why they should select us to handle their wedding instead of the hotel wedding departments where they stay. The answer is quite simple.  As an owner operated Maui wedding company we are experienced. Employees of hotels come and go and are not necessarily invested in making sure your wedding is successful. We are the ones that set the stage, that others follow. We know every beach, every hotel, every State license agent, the best restaurants and the ones to avoid. We can hold your wedding on the beach that fronts your hotel or condo as all Hawaii beaches are public and not owned by a hotel.

HOW TO RESERVE

Our Hawaii Wedding reservation process is easy. Just call us at 1-808-891-1208 or toll-free at 800-859-0072 during normal business hours. Our hours are 8:30 a.m. – 4:30 p.m. Hawaii Time, Mon-Sat .You can place the deposit on a credit card. The deposit is 50% of the Hawaiian package price. The deposit is TOTALLY REFUNDABLE except $150 up until 30 days prior to the wedding date. The balance is not due until one day prior to your Maui wedding or vow renewal. Most couples are very happy with this policy because if you do need to cancel you are not out a lot of money.

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Gay Weddings in China?

Gay Weddings in China?

Posted by on Aug 10, 2022 in Blog | 0 comments

Gay Weddings in China?

Gay Weddings in China? It does not seen possible anytime in the near future. USA and the 24 other countries recognize gay marriage on our planet. 175 Counties prohibit it. (Source Wikipedia, 10/18/22)

As we celebrate 8 years of equality in the USA (2015) , many tend to forget the widespread discrimination, torture, and murder of gay women, gay men and Trans elsewhere.

When a Hawaii wedding company married 2 gay men from Beijing it was “remarkable”.  They came to Hawaii just to get legally married. Their marriage will be recognized in the USA and other counties that recognize gay marriage. They know it will not be recognized in China, but they wanted to affirm their love for each other, and to know they are married in some places in the world. They requested their names and photos not be released.

Chinese government says no to gay marriage

In China, discrimination of LGBT people is increasing. Although China may portray itself as “upcoming modern”,  forced shock therapy still exists  in some places as does job loss, housing discrimination and media censorship. Many Chinese families and parents ban gays from their family unless they recant their  preference. According to the Human Right Campaign (HRC 2014, ) 8o% to 90% of gays are married to the opposite sex because of this treatment in China.

All this homophobia in China is interesting. In China’s past, dynasty’s accepted homosexuality with graphic art and written history documenting homosexuality as being accepted, and as a way of life.When England took over much of China in the 1839 war, and western thinking took hold, the Chinese adopted their Victorian way of thinking about homosexuality and that has not changed since.

Officially, in the 1960’s Chairman Mao believed in castration of “sexual deviants” (source Randy Shilts. Author of “Conduct Unbecoming”)  . Dr Zhusi, a Chinese physician that lived in revolutionary China and fled to America during the Cultural Revolution, said in his book “The Private Life of Chairman Mao”, that the Chairman had sex with young men.

When I interviewed several Chinese married men from 2014-2018, they all told similar stories of discrimination. They married women because they felt had no choice. Lesbians did the same. A GAY Wedding or just living together seemed impossible. They were sure the family would no longer speak to them, they would be outed at work and possibly fired and/or never have an opportunity for job advancement. They would be outcasts and most Chinese women and men feel this way still today. There are pockets of more acceptability in parts of Beijing, Hong Kong and Shanghai.

One single man told he did tell his family he was gay and they immediately called his employer and outed him purposely, and then they forbad him from leaving the house for 2 days. The family reads all his texts. He is 32 years old. He was devastated and is now trying to find a way to immigrate to another country. He fears he will be forced (black-mailed by family) into therapy.

I spoke to 2 other men who were granted political asylum in the USA, one in 2018 and the other in 2016. Its’ unclear how much longer the USA will allow asylum to LGBT people in the future.

In 2018, President Xi has ordered the media to further censor the LGBT themes in the movies, Internet and on television programs. Gays can no longer be portrayed in the creative arts. They are edited out of any international or national programs. (Source: BBC. 11/18 issue)

Reports indicated Xi is ordering the increased censorship not because of his distaste of LGBTQs per se, but rather because of risks of activism and groups assembling.

An example of this would be a 2018 song contest shown produced by Eurovision in China (similar to “American Idol” or “Voice”), in which singers from many countries show their skills. The Irish male contestant had 2 gay-appearing dancers in the backdrop waving the rainbow flag. This skit/song was deleted and not shown to Chinese viewers.

There are first-hand reports from gays who have been forced to undergo gay conversion therapy (source Human Rights Watch, HRW) . The country’s controversial practice has long been known about, but the HRW study shows a look rarely shared from China.

“Gay conversion therapy” has been declared unethical, unscientific and harmful according to he World Psychiatric Association – and it is effectively illegal in China, yet still occurs. The case studies details severe abuse, forced medication and electric shock therapy taking place in Chinese hospitals. Some hospitals recently stopped doing this.

According to the advocacy director of the gay rights programmed at HRW, Boris Dittrich, it is also profitable. Doctors and clinics can charge up to 30,000 yuan ($4,530; £3,440) to “treat” gay people. The group is urging the Chinese government to end to such the abuse. It appears the opposite is occurring under Xi.

Abuse at the hospitals is terrible. HRW says “11 of those interviewed were forced to take medication without being informed about its purpose or side-effects. One 29-year-old gay man who underwent “treatment” at a public hospital in Fujian province three years ago said the doctors and nurses did not tell him what pills he was taking.

HRW continues their story and I quote them. “They just told me they were supposed to be good for me and help with the progress of the ‘treatment’,” he explained. Zhang Zhikun, a transgender woman, said she was forced to watch gay porn while being injected with a “colorless liquid”. Five of those interviewed were subjected to electric shocks while being shown images or videos – or given verbal descriptions – of homosexual acts.

Gong Lei described his experience.”The doctor asked me to relax because I was going to practice some kind of hypnosis and to think about sex scenes with my boyfriend – at that moment I felt pain in both wrists. I did not know what was happening.”

Another interviewee remembered going through nine electroshock sessions during his two-month “treatment”. ( end HRC quote) HRC contends with their story of the hospital abuse. One patient said “My wrists and arms felt numb, my head too. But the most painful part was my stomach.”

in 2016 the World Psychiatric Association said “so-called treatments of homosexuality can create a setting in which prejudice and discrimination flourish, and they can be potentially harmful”.All of those interviewed told HRW that they were forced to have conversion therapy. Parents are ashamed their kids are LGBT.

All this homophobia in China is interesting. In past dynasty’s China accepted homosexuality with graphic art and written history, with homosexuality being accepted as a way of life. When England took over in 1839 and western thinking took hold, Chinese adopted the Victorian way of thinking about homosexuality and that has not changed since.

One lesbian said was under considerable intimidation  from her parents to have the treatment after outing herself.”My mom started screaming about unfortunate things happening to our family. My dad said he did not know how to continue living in this world.”

She said that her parents feared “facing other family members if people found out I was lesbian”. She felt backed into a corner by her parents and, reluctantly, attended the “gay conversion therapy” clinic. Zhang Zhikun went to so-called therapy sessions at a state-owned hospital in Shenzhen in 2012 under pressure from her parents.

“There wasn’t really much I could do to change my parents’ mind. I knew it was not going to work if I kept resisting their pressure.”  In some  conversion therapy “doctors” use brain-wash techniques to convince patients they will get AIDs if they don’t convert. Most of those forced to undergo therapy say they were subjected to verbal harassment and insults during treatment.

Zhang Zhikun said she was told by her doctor: “If you do not change [your sexuality], you will get sick and die of Aids.”She was also recounted emotional blackmail from those treating her.”Have you ever considered the happiness of your parents?” she was asked.

A gay man from Hebei province was told: “If you feel like having sex with another man you are sick.”

So as we here in the USA  we worry about a supreme court that might overturn some or all of our rights. Awareness of much more discriminatory practices in the world can not and should not go unnoticed. Gay weddings in China? Probably not for years.

Copyright 2022, Hawaii Wedding and Vow Renewal. DBA gayhawaiiiwedding.com

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Gay Weddings Under Attack

Posted by on Jul 29, 2022 in Blog | 0 comments

  • Gay Weddings are under attack again after the far right  “conservatives” have been emboldened after Roe vs. Wade was overturned by the “Supreme” Court.
Just when LGBT people thought the government thought they were equal, the evangelical lobby is trying hard to get Senators from voting in favor for the Equality Act.
Complacency among some in the LGBT community is seen as an opportunity to pursue a repeal of the law. GOP Sens. Mitt Romney of Utah and Roy Blunt of Missouri also said they hadn’t decided what they will do. Apparently heterosexuals get more rights than the LGBT community.

Sen. Todd Young, a Republican from Indiana, said he would have “more to say” about the same-sex marriage bill after the Senate finishes work later this week on a bill on the floor now that he co-sponsored to increase the production of semiconductor chips.

Iowa Republican Sen. Joni Ernst said she is talking to her constituents about the issue. “I’m hearing from both sides right now. I’ve just got to hear from Iowans,” she said. One Iowan this reporter spoke to from Iowa City said ” who does Ernst think she is? Why should one person or a group of people decide who gets equal rights”?
 The Supreme Court issued its Obergefell v. Hodges decision, which ruled that states must allow same-sex couples to marry. A Pew Forum poll before the decision found that most Americans (57%) thought same-sex marriage should be legal, but less than a third of evangelicals agreed. Many are now asking questions about the difference between civil and religious marriage, the place of religious dissent on same-sex marriage, and pastoral care.
Judge Alito insisted that the right to same-sex marriage was not among those rights “deeply rooted” in history and tradi­tion. Notably, he harped on “the newness of the right,” noting it was “contrary to long-estab­lished tradi­tion.”Alito voted against gay marriage in 2015.

Ted Cruz says Supreme Court was ‘clearly wrong’ about the same-sex marriage ruling.

Cruz, the Texan senator who headed south when the Texas electrical grid fried and it got cold in Texas, says this issue is too hot for him to figure out.  Cruz and the Senate will vote soon, and we will find out if gay weddings are going to continue to occur in the USA. Cruz actively courts the evangelical vote.

The Roman Catholic Church cannot bless same-sex marriages, no matter how stable or positive the couples’ relationships are, the Vatican said on Monday. The message, approved by Pope Francis, came in response to questions about whether the church should reflect the increasing social and legal acceptance of same-sex unions. The battle of Love vs Hate continues,.

 

Sources: Paul Frier : New Yorker MGinze,

Copyright: Hawaii Wedding and Vow renewal

DBA gayhawaiiwedding.com

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Gay Hawaii Wedding Google Reviews

Gay Hawaii Wedding Google Reviews

Posted by on May 8, 2018 in Blog | 0 comments

 Google Reviews

Our verified Google reviews ( click to see) are 5 stars with over 20 verified customers commenting about us.

At Gay Hawaii Wedding we are thrilled with the 5.0 score. These reviews are from confirmed customers ( with full names and their email addresses ) over the last years. We have been in business for 30 years on Maui. We have done over 12,o00 gay and straight weddings on Maui.

We started performing commitment ceremonies in 1994 and have been a leader in the march toward marriage equality in Hawaii, advocating through letter writing campaigns, public awareness and by lobbying our legislators. There is no better place for a destination wedding and honeymoon than Maui, a gay-friendly island. We were featured on NPR Radio Hawaii, USA Today, LA Times, Frontier Magazine, Go Gay. We had to start turning  down interviews as it was too time consuming for us and we had weddings to do!

In the 1990’s the Maui Wedding Association had meetings to ascertain if they should support gay marriage. We were the only wedding company that wanted it. Some ministers refused to perform a gay wedding, civil union or commitment ceremony.  We were targets of physical threats and verbal abuse. Now, these companies have ads on google saying they perform gay weddings. The reason? money! We are sad to report this but it is true. ( There was an internal debate whether we should have a negative post about this issue and just “move on”, but we felt it was our responsibility to tell the truth about the past and move forward.)

gay wedding, LGBT wedding

Love on Maui

It is worth noting that other wedding companies advertise gay Maui gay weddings but most are not LGBT owned and/or operated. If you have questions please EMAIL us for a prompt response or call 808-8991-12089.

 

Mahalo

 

 

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Gay Marriage and Gay Rights

Gay Marriage and Gay Rights

Posted by on May 22, 2017 in Blog | 0 comments

Gay Marriage and Gay Rights

Gay descrimination in Iran

Impossible to be gay in Iran

Gay Marriage and Gay Rights have come so far in the United States, but there is still so much to do in the USA and in the world. My Iranian friend in the UK tells me of the terrible things occuring in Iran. The UK has accepted political asylum from gays and lesbians and are giving them shelter from the oppressive and homophobic regime. There is an organization in the UK that needs all of our help.

Mazyar Shirali, the Director of  LGBT Asylum Seeker Social Group in the says ” We now have need of some further support! Our organisation continues to help those LGBT clients, who are seeking sanctuary in the UK, to navigate the complex asylum process & to integrate into the local community. The good work we are already doing would be greatly enhanced if we had our own computer, scanner, printer & fax machine. We would be so grateful if friends & well-wishers could donate funds or equipment to achieve this goal.”

Gay Marriage and Gay Rights in Iran? No. What does the Iranian government do to gays and lesbians? If they find out a person is gay the person is given 2 choices only. #1- get a sex change! The mullahs agree that a person born with a deformity can have a sex change. The Koran allows this. Option #2 – go to prison for an indefinite time. Many gays are Desperately trying  to leave Iran using a dangerous escape route. They are leaving their loved ones; their family who they may never see again, their jobs, and their life.

So as we celebrate  gay weddings in the USA and Europe, another reality is occurring that needs more attention than to marriage equality in Hawaii and the USA. Spread the word and hear their cries for help.

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