After 30 years of marriage, Mike and Sharyn McCoy are just as giddy about renewing their vows on Kaua‘i as they were when they tied the knot. Not only did they arrange for yesterday’s ceremony to take place at the
After 30 years of marriage, Mike and Sharyn McCoy are just as giddy about renewing their vows on Kaua‘i as they were when they tied the knot.
Not only did they arrange for yesterday’s ceremony to take place at the Coco Palms historic wedding chapel, where they were married three decades ago to the day on Oct. 10, 1977, they wore the same attire and were joined by the same people who witnesses the nuptials the first time around.
The couple, who are visiting from Paso Robles, Calif., even have the suite key from their first visit, which Mike McCoy kept over the years as a memento.
After hatching the idea as a surprise for his wife, Mike McCoy began looking online for Kaua‘i entertainer Larry Rivera, who played guitar at the first ceremony.
Rivera agreed to join the McCoys at the renewal ceremony and even helped Mike McCoy locate the reverend who married them, Richard Chung.
From there, it was downhill, Mike McCoy said.
While weddings no longer take place in the chapel, Rivera offered to clean it up a bit for the couple. Even Rivera’s wife, who attended the first wedding, was present for the renewal vows.
Upon arrival, the McCoys were shocked to see the iconic hotel in such a state of disrepair. But the memory of the place and the era remain strong for them.
“We weren’t conscious of the desolation around us; it was just a fantasy,” Sharyn McCoy said.
“If you look the right way, (the Coco Palms) is alive — you see the true beauty.”
Not only were the couple able to indulge in a bit of their own nostalgia, they provided an opportunity for their wedding party to do the same.
“We feel like we really shared our day with other people and brought back wonderful memories with them, too,” Sharyn McCoy said.
This their third visit to Kaua‘i, Mike McCoy said the Coco Palms is really the reason for the return. Beyond the natural beauty of the island, they said the hotel represents for them the essence of aloha.
While the hotel and Kaua‘i provided the backdrop for this and the original ceremonies, the McCoys’ commitment to one another, of course, takes center stage.
After 30 years together, Sharyn McCoy said the key to their success is sharing the same direction in life and continuing, over the years, to appreciate the beauty of the world around them.
“We keep renewing and renewing our love,” she said.
Her husband agreed.
“Continue your renewal,” he said. “Never pass up the opportunity to do something wonderful and good for each other.”
• Blake Jones, business writer/assistant editor, can be reached at 245-3681 (ext. 251) or bjones@kauaipubco.com.
