The State of Hawaii, through the Department of Land and Natural Resources has started a new Beach Wedding Permit policy which violates the Constitutional Rights of the citizens by forcing them to register and pay a fee to have the privilege of exercising their First Amendment Rights of freedom of religion and the free exercise thereof and the freedom of assembly.
As a further insult to the religious beliefs of the citizens this week the department issued further restrictions on beach weddings which prevent the use of chairs for the wedding guests, a wedding arch, alter, table, or any other similar equipment from being used for their wedding ceremony on a beach. The permit also restricts the time allowed for setup, ceremony, and tear-down to two hours total.
These new restrictions are a clear attempt on the part of the State of Hawaii to discriminate against religions which ceremonies can not be performed under these requirements, including Catholic, Orthodox and Jewish faiths.
Their narrow-minded view of religion requires that all religions of the world fit into the same box. They do not seem to realize, or even care that each different religion, or denomination thereof, has different requirements for their ceremonies, many of which can not conform to these new requirements.
Basically the state is saying that yes, you do have First Amendment Rights, but only after you pay us $20 for them, and then we will give them to you for two-hours. And even when we do give you these rights, we still have the power to tell you how you must express your religious beliefs, and if they do not meet with our interpretation of what a ceremony should consist of, we can revoke your permit, and thereby take those rights away from you.
This is an outrageous violation of our Constitutional Rights. All together, their Beach Wedding Permit policy, along with its new changes which take affect on November 20th of this year, violate the First, Fifth, and Fourteenth Amendments of the U.S. Constitution, and also violate Article I Sections 4, 5, and 6 of the Constitution of the State of Hawaii.
The State of Hawaii can not require a permit system which requires that the names of a bride and groom be placed on the permit for a religious ceremony, which would thereby state or imply that the couple are members of a specific religion or religious group. This has the potential of subjecting the couple to religious persecution, and similar laws have been ruled as unconstitutional by the Supreme Court.
In Hawaii, only a Judge, or a Minister can perform wedding ceremonies. If the wedding is performed by a judge, they are not covered by the freedom of religion aspects of the amendments, but if the ceremony is performed by a minister, it is considered by the state to automatically be a "Religious Ceremony". The state can not dictate how a religious ceremony is performed. This is a clear and flagrant violation of the separation of Church and State.
By also not allowing the consumption of alcohol of any type during the ceremony on public lands, the state is further discriminating against Catholic, Jewish, Orthodox and any other faiths which require that alcohol be consumed during the ceremony.
these are all flagrant violations of our Constitutional Rights, as well as violating the Religious Freedom Restoration Act which prevents state from passing laws which substantially burden a person's free exercise of religion. The State of Hawaii is requiring people to give up their Constitutional Rights, and violate cardinal principles of their faith in order to have a wedding on a beach.
These new policies are unconstitutional, and we requesting that wedding companies in Hawaii not force their clients to give up their rights by applying for these new permits. We will not apply for an unconstitutional permit nor submit to any other unconstitutional policy which violates any of the rights of either our employees, or our clients.
The Ecumenical Catholic Church of America has notified the Department of Land and Natural Resources that if any enforcement of these policies is undertaken, they will immediately file litigation against the state and all individual parties concerned to uphold the Constitutional Rights of its members, clergy and the citizens of America.
Stand up to the State of Hawaii, and let them know that they can NOT take away your Constitutional Rights.
Sunday, November 2, 2008
Saturday, December 22, 2007
New Photography Blog
We have set up a new photography blog where we will share some important information with you about photography. Currently we are posting a series of articles entitled "Choosing a Wedding Photographer".
We will be posting updates to both blogs frequently, so be sure to check back often.
Our new photography blog can be viewed at RCAndersonPhotoBlog.com and you can also access it from the link at the left.
We will be posting updates to both blogs frequently, so be sure to check back often.
Our new photography blog can be viewed at RCAndersonPhotoBlog.com and you can also access it from the link at the left.
Tuesday, November 6, 2007
Choosing an Officiate
A very important question to keep in mind in your wedding planning is who will officiate or preside over your wedding. The minister or officiate that you choose for your wedding is the most important decision you can make in regards to planning your wedding.
Should you use your own church minister, or a professional wedding officiate? This question comes up all the time, and this is a very personal decision that you must make. While it is always good to include your own minister, or family minister, it may not be the best choice for your wedding.
Most church pastors or ministers only perform an average of 4 to 5 weddings throughout their entire careers. This doesnt give them very much practice to polish their ceremony. On the ther hand, a professional wedding officiate performs weddings all the time, many perform several weddings per week, all year long. This gives them much more experience in performing wedding ceremonies. The professional wedding minister or officiate would be a perfect choice for those who want a flawless wedding ceremony.
The choice of who to have perform your wedding is a difficult decision to make, and one that you will need to make very early in your wedding planning. This choice needs to be the first decision you make, as many other decisions that you will need to make may depend on this first choice.
Should you use your own church minister, or a professional wedding officiate? This question comes up all the time, and this is a very personal decision that you must make. While it is always good to include your own minister, or family minister, it may not be the best choice for your wedding.
Most church pastors or ministers only perform an average of 4 to 5 weddings throughout their entire careers. This doesnt give them very much practice to polish their ceremony. On the ther hand, a professional wedding officiate performs weddings all the time, many perform several weddings per week, all year long. This gives them much more experience in performing wedding ceremonies. The professional wedding minister or officiate would be a perfect choice for those who want a flawless wedding ceremony.
The choice of who to have perform your wedding is a difficult decision to make, and one that you will need to make very early in your wedding planning. This choice needs to be the first decision you make, as many other decisions that you will need to make may depend on this first choice.
Planning Timeline
When is the right time to plan your wedding? This is a tough question and has to take many things into account before you can come up with an answer.
Will the wedding be a small intimate affair with just a handful of people, or an extravagant extravaganza with hundreds of guests? Will the wedding be held outdoors on a beach, or in a church or chapel? Will you have a reception afterwards? Will guests be flying in for the event, or are all your guests locals?
Once you have answered all of these questions, it will give you a better idea of how long you will need to plan your wedding.
We have a few suggestions to keep in mind.
1. Most church/chapel wedding venues book up 12 months in advance.
2. Many churches require 6 months of preparation before a wedding can take place.
3. Most catered receptions need to be booked 9-12 months in advance.
The most important aspect to consider booking for your wedding is the Officiate. The minister/officiate should be the very first person you book for your wedding. They are the most important person to consider for your wedding as a professional officiate can mean the difference in a mediocre wedding, or a memorable experience. Good professional officiates book up fast, so dont wait until the last minute to try to find one, or you may have to settle for whoever is available instead of getting the best possible choice.
Will the wedding be a small intimate affair with just a handful of people, or an extravagant extravaganza with hundreds of guests? Will the wedding be held outdoors on a beach, or in a church or chapel? Will you have a reception afterwards? Will guests be flying in for the event, or are all your guests locals?
Once you have answered all of these questions, it will give you a better idea of how long you will need to plan your wedding.
We have a few suggestions to keep in mind.
1. Most church/chapel wedding venues book up 12 months in advance.
2. Many churches require 6 months of preparation before a wedding can take place.
3. Most catered receptions need to be booked 9-12 months in advance.
The most important aspect to consider booking for your wedding is the Officiate. The minister/officiate should be the very first person you book for your wedding. They are the most important person to consider for your wedding as a professional officiate can mean the difference in a mediocre wedding, or a memorable experience. Good professional officiates book up fast, so dont wait until the last minute to try to find one, or you may have to settle for whoever is available instead of getting the best possible choice.
Outdoor Weddings in the Rainy Season
Weddings in Hawaii can be very beautiful and memorable events, but if you are planning an outdor wedding in Hawaii between the months of October through April you may want to have a back-up plan just in case.
The winter months in Hawaii, just as any tropical location, is the rainy season. During the rainy season in Hawaii we can receive several inches of rain in a single shower. There is a chance of rain at any time during the rainy season and it is very unpredictable.
We recommend that if you are planning an outdoor event, such as a wedding in Hawaii during this time of year that you have a back-up plan in place, such as an alternate location, just in case your primary location gets rained out.
Other items to consider as a back-up plan could include tents, or umbrellas. Many of the outdoor locations have room to set up a tent large enough for your wedding or event to take place inside, or it wouls at least give you an area to wait out the rain without getting wet. Once the rain stops, you can continue with your event out in the open again.
It may cost you a little more to have back-up plans in place with equipment rentals like tents or umbrellas, or even a second location, but it will be well worth it in the event your wedding or event is rained out and the locatin is unusable. Having a back-up plan in place will give you peace of mind which will allow you to relax and enjoy the event more.
The winter months in Hawaii, just as any tropical location, is the rainy season. During the rainy season in Hawaii we can receive several inches of rain in a single shower. There is a chance of rain at any time during the rainy season and it is very unpredictable.
We recommend that if you are planning an outdoor event, such as a wedding in Hawaii during this time of year that you have a back-up plan in place, such as an alternate location, just in case your primary location gets rained out.
Other items to consider as a back-up plan could include tents, or umbrellas. Many of the outdoor locations have room to set up a tent large enough for your wedding or event to take place inside, or it wouls at least give you an area to wait out the rain without getting wet. Once the rain stops, you can continue with your event out in the open again.
It may cost you a little more to have back-up plans in place with equipment rentals like tents or umbrellas, or even a second location, but it will be well worth it in the event your wedding or event is rained out and the locatin is unusable. Having a back-up plan in place will give you peace of mind which will allow you to relax and enjoy the event more.
Tuesday, October 16, 2007
Missing Wedding Photos
We have made a dramatic change this week to our website that we want to make everyone aware of.
Yesterday we took the PhotoReflect portion of our website which stored all of our wedding photos for our clients to order their prints from offline. This was done due to recent problems that we have had with PhotoReflect which caused us to re-evaluate their services and reliability. We have decided to change services over to SmugMug so that we can continue to offer our clients reliable, dependable photography service.
This change will take a couple weeks to accomplish as we have to re-edit, and re-upload each individual photo from all of our clients to the new SmugMug website. During this change over some clients photos may not be displayed. If you are searching for your photos to order re-prints and enlargements from, please be patient over the next couple of weeks as we continue to get photos uploaded. If your photos are not uploaded within 3 weeks, please contact us.
Yesterday we took the PhotoReflect portion of our website which stored all of our wedding photos for our clients to order their prints from offline. This was done due to recent problems that we have had with PhotoReflect which caused us to re-evaluate their services and reliability. We have decided to change services over to SmugMug so that we can continue to offer our clients reliable, dependable photography service.
This change will take a couple weeks to accomplish as we have to re-edit, and re-upload each individual photo from all of our clients to the new SmugMug website. During this change over some clients photos may not be displayed. If you are searching for your photos to order re-prints and enlargements from, please be patient over the next couple of weeks as we continue to get photos uploaded. If your photos are not uploaded within 3 weeks, please contact us.
Friday, September 28, 2007
New Honolulu Office
The past few weeks have been absolutely crazy with weddings, which is the reason I have not been able to post new additions to the blog.
I finally have a chance to catch my breath and try to get caught up around the office on paperwork so I thought I would try to catch the blog up as well.
We finally have a new Honolulu office which makes meeting with clients who are staying at hotels in Waikiki more convienent. With our new office located just off of Ward and Kapiolani we are now located right in the heart of Honolulu with easy access from just about anywhere.
With our new offices we also have conference rooms available for larger meetings with our clients and various vendors which comes in handy when planning large detailed weddings.
I finally have a chance to catch my breath and try to get caught up around the office on paperwork so I thought I would try to catch the blog up as well.
We finally have a new Honolulu office which makes meeting with clients who are staying at hotels in Waikiki more convienent. With our new office located just off of Ward and Kapiolani we are now located right in the heart of Honolulu with easy access from just about anywhere.
With our new offices we also have conference rooms available for larger meetings with our clients and various vendors which comes in handy when planning large detailed weddings.
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