Minister Michael, Officiant,State Lic.

Pricing is an important consideration but think for a minute what it all means. If the plumber doesn't show up or is late it does not cause too big a distraction, you just make a new appointment. I have to be early to be on time, I need to show up, period. Then I can go over the wedding game plan and perform a meaningful ceremony. You would be surprised how many calls I get because a wedding minister didn't show up. And I go all over the island and to neighboring islands too. Most service providers won't show up to your house let alone any location on the island for less than $100. And that is before they start work. I charge a small base and let my customers pay me what they feel they and their day is worth and how I enhanced it. It is how I make you feel. I cover my expenses and pay to be here, it should not be about the money. My wedding planner events pay me over $500 a ceremony in the most grand of events. My thumbtack weddings are a fraction of that.

Thumbtack is a no-frills type of booking service. I offer an excellent value. I start with asking them where they would like to marry and why. I try to cater each ceremony to what it is they tell me. I ask how they met, who said I Love you first and where it was at. I try to get to know them as I am going to be a big part of their special day. I charge a small booking fee to reserve the date then let them pay the small balance at the ceremony then let them decide what it is worth to them and receive it as a gratuity. I give my people getting married more control that way. I also come early and leave late.

Being a student of theology and an apprentice of Hawaiian cultural studies, it gives me both a religious, spiritual and a blend of the both that helps people understand our connection with our earth and their higher power whether it be to God, our Akua or their own life's Force. A majority of people these days are looking for a more spiritual ceremony celebrating each other and outside of the church.

I had to fill in for another Minister who fell ill. I can legally perform a wedding though I was a police Chaplain. They sent the wrong ceremony to me and I had to write another one in 10 minutes then do the ceremony. I loved it. I got referred 7 times from that one wedding and have been doing it ever since.

All kinds. Military shipping out, professionals, young, old, people remarrying after divorcing. People who met at Starbucks who want to get married at Starbucks. ( we threw coffee beans, not rice) pregnant brides, terminally ill people and did the ceremony in the hospital. Celebrities . Actually quite a few. Any person who is in love, I marry them. Love is an international language that is not reserved for only certain people. Being connected for life with another human being has a special place among all of us. Sharing a life's path together, that's living.

I was tasked with doing the wedding for two Disney illustrators I wove into their ceremony how they met and the first time one of them said "I Love you" it was while they were in a broken down car raining on a busy freeway. Tension was high, they broke the tension in this way. I told them to remember that because they would be challenged many more times in life that way.

Folks will pay more for their iPhone than they would for someone to make their day memorable. I get that. I quote a low base rate then let my customers add a gratuity for the balance that tells me how much they enjoyed the time we spent.

Where do they want to marry? What is important to you that you want to take with you from that special day? How would you like to feel? Set the money thought aside. Do they like the person who will be bonding you together or recommitting you? Cake is great and usually more than the ceremony I provide but once it's gone, it's gone. My experience they carry with them for a lifetime. I do this to fund the charities I support, I don't sustain myself with what I receive.