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Alex and Lisa get married – again

(Hawaii 24/7 photo by Karin Stanton)

Karin Stanton | Hawaii 24/7 Editor

Alex and Lisa got married Tuesday – for the seventh time.

Tuesday’s ceremony, hosted by the Hilton Waikoloa Village, is one of 30 the couple has planned around the globe.

Friends for 10 years and a couple for more than three years, Alex Pelling, 31, and Lisa Gant, 29, decided to leave their life in Manchester, England and explore the world.

However, they also decided they needed a purpose to their globe-trotting. And once they decided to get married, the quest was set: Stage 30 wedding ceremonies, incorporating local customs, traditions and cultures.

Alex Pelling and Lisa Gant exchange vows Tuesday at the Dolphin Quest lagoon. (Hawaii 24/7 photo by Karin Stanton)

At the end of their journey, the couple will choose their favorite destination and head back for the official wedding. (None of the 30 staged ceremonies are legal or binding.)

“We both work hard and we didn’t want to stagnate in one place,” Lisa said. “We knew we wanted to travel the world and we knew we wanted to get married. So that was it.”

Alex gave up his car body repair shop and on June 6, 2011, the couple set off for Canada, but not before he surprised her with a practice wedding in England.

Since then, the couple has married five more times along the U.S.-Canadian border and arrived in Hawaii about two weeks ago.

“We have been to Oahu and Maui and the Big Island looking for the best place to hold a ceremony and we decided on the Big Island. We had the ceremony arranged and just hours before we were due to have the ceremony, it fell through. Devastated and out of time, we thought our hopes of a Hawaii wedding where over,” Alex said.

“As a last resort we put a Tweet out hoping for a last minute savior. One came! The Hilton Waikoloa Village offered to put us up for 3 days and hold us an amazing wedding ceremony,” he said. “They arranged the whole thing, including the ceremony, dolphins and a sunset finish at Buddha point.”

(Hawaii 24/7 photo by Karin Stanton)

So, shortly after 4 p.m. Tuesday, people who gathered to watch the Dolphin Quest show found out they were wedding guests.

Kahu Dean Kauka conducted the ceremony at the edge of the lagoon, with interested dolphins popping up in background and squeaking their approval.

“That was amazing,” Lisa said. “It’s definitely in the top two, so far. Everybody has just been so fabulous.”

The hotel’s Hawaiian cultural coordinator Owana Wilcox helped organize the ceremony, offering a traditional Hawaiian chant to accompany Lisa down the aisle.

“It’s so wonderful. Such a happy couple and so much fun,” she said. “Who doesn’t love a wedding?”

Once the couple finds the perfect place, they plan to return and get legally wed once and for all. In addition to their families and friends from England, the couple will invite people they meet along the way.

“People have just been really open to it,” Alex said. “The people who get what we’re doing are as passionate about it as we are. I’ve been amazed at the generosity and kindness of people we’ve met.”

To begin with, their families were a little skeptical.

“They did think we were a bit crazy,” Lisa said. “Especially our moms. They were mostly afraid that we would accidentally really get married and they would miss it. They really want a wedding where they can wear the big hats and cry and all that. Once they understood what we wanted to do, they have all been supportive.”

For more about Alex and Lisa and to track their wedding adventures, visit www.2people1life.com

Photo opportunity and champagne toast. (Hawaii 24/7 photo by Karin Stanton)

Hilton Hawaiian cultural coordinator Owana Wilcox teaches Lisa Gant and Alex Pelling the secret of the shaka. (Hawaii 24/7 photo by Karin Stanton)

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