Join James Chun from Hawaii Wedding Studio in Honolulu as he dives deep into the beauty and practicality of the Unity Sand Ceremony for your Oahu wedding. In this episode, James and his research team explore why the traditional unity candle often fails in the island’s trade winds and how the sand ceremony provides a vibrant, windproof alternative.
You’ll learn about:
The Physics of the Sand Ceremony:
Why the ceremony is the ultimate “island hack” for a seamless wedding experience.
Meaningful Variations:
How to incorporate children for a heartfelt “blended family” ceremony.
Pro-Tips for Success:
Why you should never use actual beach sand (and the potential $100,000 fines involved!).
The “Officiant Factor”:
Why James’s background in cinematography and acting ensures your ceremony is perfectly paced and stress-free.
Make your Oahu wedding effortless.
Link to Original Blog Post: Hawaii Wedding Minister – Unity Sand Ceremony: Meaning and Variations for Your Hawaiian Wedding
Connect with James Chun & Hawaii Wedding Studio:
- Website: HawaiiWeddingMinister.com
- Instagram: @oahuminister
About Hawaii Wedding Studio
Heading by Rev. James Chun and his team, Hawaii Wedding Studio specializes in sophisticated, stress-free elopements exclusively on the island of Oahu. From the quiet shores of the North Shore to the dramatic cliffs of the East Side, we help couples trade wedding performance for true presence.
Plan Your Oahu Elopement
Ready to start planning your perfect island celebration? Visit our website to view our packages and book your date. If you enjoyed this episode, please subscribe and leave a review to help other couples find their blueprint for a Hawaii wedding.
Podcast Transcript: S01E03 – Unity Sand Ceremony
James Chun: Hey everyone, it’s James from Hawaii Wedding Studio, and welcome to my podcast. Every week I publish a deep-dive blog on my website specifically designed for couples that are planning to get married on Oahu. To give you a fresh perspective on the topics, I’ve had my digital research team analyze the latest blog post and discuss the highlights and hidden gems. They’ve done all the data crunching, and I’ve done the officiating. So let’s listen in on what they found this week.
[Music Transition]
Host 1: I want you to close your eyes for a second… Actually, keep them open if you’re driving. Picture the most romantic moment of your life. You’ve flown 5,000 miles, you’re standing on a breathtaking beach in Oahu… The Pacific Ocean is lapping at your feet, sunset is just painting the sky purple and gold.
Host 2: The perfect scene.
Host 1: You are holding a candle, your partner is holding a candle, you lean in to light the central unity candle… and then whoosh. The trade winds have entered the chat. That eternal flame just flickers and dies.
Host 2: That is not the romantic moment you paid for. It sounds more like a stress test for your marriage.
Host 1: It really does. But honestly, that specific disaster scenario is pretty much the origin story of what we’re covering today: the Unity Sand Ceremony.
Host 2: Which, I have to admit, sounds like a craft project you’d do at summer camp.
Host 1: Right? But looking at the research we’ve got—photos, guides, hundreds of reviews for this one Oahu officiant, Reverend James Chun—it seems like this is actually a pretty brilliant case of human adaptation.
Host 2: It really is. We’re going to look at how a very practical problem—wind—created this entirely new wedding tradition. We’ll unpack the surprising physics of why it works, the strict “don’ts” that could get you fined, and how a guy with credits on Hawaii Five-O became the person you want running the show.
Host 1: I still can’t get over the Hawaii Five-O connection.
Host 2: Let’s talk about the ceremony itself. The sand ceremony emerged as the weather-proof alternative to the candle. It’s the ultimate island hack for matrimony.
Host 1: And gravity works even when it’s windy.
Host 2: Exactly. And unlike the candle, which eventually melts down, the sand is permanent. Once those grains of sand are mixed, they can never be separated. It represents the irreversibility of the commitment.
Host 1: That is a powerful symbol. But I have a burning question about the colors. Is there some ancient Hawaiian color chart?
Host 2: I love that you asked that, because it’s a common misconception. The colors are purely aesthetic. Most couples just pick colors that match their wedding theme or their favorite colors.
Host 1: I respect the honesty of that.
Host 2: However, there is a variation for blended families. If you have children from previous relationships, the sand ceremony is a fantastic way to include them. They literally pour their own “self” into the family vessel. It turns the marriage into a merger.
Host 1: The “merger ceremony.” I love that. Now, we have to pivot to what I think is the most shocking part of this research. The sources are basically screaming in all caps: DO NOT USE BEACH SAND.
Host 2: This is the sand trap. It is illegal to remove sand from Hawaii beaches.
Host 1: Illegal like a parking ticket, or illegal like you’re going to jail?
Host 2: Fines can reach up to $100,000. Beyond the law, there’s a deep cultural reason: Malama ‘Aina, respecting and caring for the land. Taking sand is considered deeply disrespectful.
Host 1: So to have the authentic Hawaiian sand ceremony, you have to buy colored sand from a craft store and fly it to Hawaii?
Host 2: Exactly. It pours better, looks more vibrant, and you aren’t committing a crime against the state or the culture.
Host 1: Speaking of the human element, a ceremony is only as good as the person leading it. And our source material revolves around one guy: Reverend James Chun.
Host 2: He’s a veteran—over 20 years in the industry, thousands of weddings. But what stands out is his background in video production and acting. He has credits on Hawaii Five-O and Magnum P.I.
Host 1: Does that acting background actually help with a wedding?
Host 2: I think it’s crucial. Voice projection, presence, and especially the ability to improvise. There was a review from a couple where a guest’s cell phone started ringing during the vows. James didn’t even pause; he just cracked a joke: “That’s my favorite song.” The whole crowd laughed, and the tension evaporated.
Host 1: He turns a bug into a feature.
Host 2: And he dresses the part—professional attire, no loud Hawaiian shirts unless you ask for it. He respects the solemnity of the occasion.
Host 1: So the Unity Sand Ceremony isn’t just a gimmick; it’s an evolution. It’s a tradition born out of necessity—the trade winds—that evolved into something meaningful.
Host 2: But it only works if you respect the context and the Malama ‘Aina.
Host 1: Well, that is our deep dive on the Unity Sand Ceremony.
Host 2: Thanks for listening!
[Music Transition]
James Chun: I hope you enjoyed that breakdown. You can find the full original blog post on my website at hawaiiweddingminister.com. If you’re planning a wedding on Oahu, let’s make it effortless. Until next time, Aloha.
