Celebrant Sprinkles Spirituality on Weddings and Funerals In Hawaii

Julie Wirtz recently returned to Kauai full-time carrying the titles of Wedding Officiant and Funeral Celebrant as she helps people by performing weddings and funerals with a spirituality that is universal in nature. For several years, she divided her time between Seattle and Kauai.
“I think people feel a spiritual connection to the natural fertile beauty of Hawaii. It’s a far cry from the busy city life they may have left behind on the mainland, so it offers more opportunity for reflection and getting in tune with their true raw feelings and what’s important in life,” Wirtz explained. “When couples choose to marry in the solitude of a quiet beach or silent forest, it’s reminiscent of a desert island, where they are removed from everything, except what is in front of them -- each other.”
In Hawaii, a legal marriage ceremony doesn’t require any witnesses, so Wirtz often conducts small intimate wedding ceremonies on a beach, in a garden, or near a waterfall. Wirtz is open to any adventurous idea.
“Kauai is such a popular destination wedding spot, most of the weddings I perform are for visitors, who are combining their wedding and their honeymoon adventure all in one. I also perform marriages for Hawaii residents who wish for something warmer and more memorable than a courthouse marriage. The ceremonies I conduct allow the couple to focus on their personal values and their own level of spirituality. Many of the weddings I conduct have a spiritual connection to nature, rather than traditional religious themes,” Wirtz explained.
“I help couples customize and personalize a wedding ceremony. One of my recent weddings had all the plans of a spiritual journey, including an eight-mile hike to the base of a waterfall. At the last minute, weather complications changed the plans and we instead chose to hike along a ridge where we could see distant waterfalls across the valley, with the mountain hidden behind the mist. Nature sometimes throws a curve ball as it did for another couple that had traveled from California to get married at sunset on a remote beach, but a sudden heavy rainstorm changed that. Instead, the couple was married in a nearby cave. This goes to show that it’s not the location, but the feelings being celebrated that are important.”
Farewells can be especially moving in Hawaii, as Wirtz recognizes opportunities to do something special.
“We do things such as throw a lei into the ocean, symbolic of the love we feel for the person, and watch it go out to sea. The tides coming in and going out have a refreshing quality as they wash away the footprints of the past, while also bringing in treasures for the future,” Wirtz said.
“One of my hopes is to remove my parents' ashes from their little boxes on the mainland and scatter them here where they wanted to be forever. For my dad, I want to hike his ashes into the Kalalau Valley, which is a 17-mile hike he attempted over and over in his last years, but never made it. For my mom, I'd scatter her ashes over the ocean during a full moon, when the moonlight shimmers on the water in the way she loved. I'm not sure if I'll make it into a ceremony or just write a little something to send around to family and friends to let them know that when they look down the valley, that's where my dad's spirit resides, and to be reminded of my mom when they see the moonlight shimmering on the ocean. I might do this on the anniversaries of their deaths since those dates are one day apart.”
Wirtz conducted many funerals on the mainland for frequent visitors to Hawaii, as their families wanted to honor loved ones and incorporate the Aloha Spirit.
“One couple had been married in Hawaii, and for them it was such a strong spiritual ceremony which emphasized their everlasting connection to each other, that when the wife died, the husband wanted to include the same style of Hawaiian spirituality into the funeral service,” Wirtz explained. “Another funeral was for a woman whose wish it was to have her friends and family witness her cremation and then scatter her ashes on the Big Island. We created a spiritual ceremony at the time of her cremation, acknowledging the transformation from her calm warm beauty in life to the moment of incineration of her body into the ashes that would be carried by her brother to the Big Island to become part of the calm warm beauty of the landscape there.”
Wirtz became a Certified Funeral Celebrant through training with the In-Sight Institute after attending funerals that were nothing more than a worship service with little mention of the deceased, offering no positive way for the family to process the grief or handle the loss.
“I serve families who choose to have a non-religious service, but wish to incorporate the personal spiritual values of the deceased. In this way, the ceremony can speak to everyone in attendance, regardless of their spiritual path or religion,” Wirtz said. “My goal as a funeral celebrant is to help those suffering a loss to gradually transform their grief into healthy memories and also demonstrate ways to perpetuate their loved one's values and passions into their every day lives. In this way, they carry the spirit of their loved one in their hearts always, and the grief is a little more bearable.”
Wirtz caters to the growing slice of the population who are forging their own personal spiritual path and often do not belong to a church.
“The clients who seek me out are generally free thinkers with very strong ethical and spiritual values. Families contact me as a Celebrant to make the funeral service into a celebration of their loved one’s life, allowing the life to become a positive inspiration to others,” Wirtz added. “Being so close to the ancient cultural ways of old Hawaii, it’s easy to visualize the advancement of humanity as we go forth, while keeping us grounded in timeless but basic needs and pleasures.”