Lapitan and Boock are not the only ones. As 2,000 Hawai'i-based Army National Guard soldiers prepare for active duty in Iraq, wedding bells have been ringing statewide.

The number of marriage licenses issued in Hawai'i has jumped since the first large wave of Hawai'i-based soldiers was deployed to Iraq and Afghanistan earlier this year; officials at the state Department of Health said military deployments are likely a reason behind the trend.

When Boock and Lapitan began planning their future a few months ago, they pictured a wedding on the beach, a home of their own and a family. With a baby on the way, everything was falling into place for the young Hawai'i Kai couple. Until Lapitan, a Starbucks assistant manager who spent a weekend a month serving in the Army National Guard, got a phone call notifying him that he was being sent to the Middle East in a matter of months.

"We never thought this would happen," said 22-year-old Boock, a Punahou School graduate and economics major at the University of Hawai'i-Manoa.

"I knew the situation was pretty bad, but the threat of the National Guard being deployed was pretty far from my mind. ... Normally you do the weekend and they pay for your college. It was pretty shocking."

Lapitan, a 23-year-old Radford High graduate who has been with the guard for four years, said he feels torn. "I want to be here with her through the pregnancy and help take care of the kid," he said.

The new groom gets some peace of mind from the marriage. He said being married at least assures him that his wife and child will be taken care of financially while he's gone.

"The main thing was the benefits," he said. "It will help us and our baby."

The graveness of the situation didn't hit until they began signing official paperwork last week, Boock said.

"I was in denial. The other night he was showing me the life-insurance papers. ... It's scary, the reality of it," she said, squeezing his hand.

"We were going to move out of my parents' house and get our own place. ... Now he's going to miss the first year of our baby's life," she said. "It's really hard. Plus, he has to try and act strong to keep me from feeling sad."

Last-minute civil ceremonies for citizen soldiers are on the rise, said Chickie Guillaume, a marriage coordinator at Hawai'i Civil Marriages, a company that offers quick, walk-in ceremonies with licensed, commissioned judges.

It's a pattern repeated often when the nation goes to war. "With Desert Storm, we were slammed," Guillaume said. "It happens every time."

At Kalaeloa last week, dozens of Army National Guard soldiers lined up to add new spouses as dependents to their files. Sgt. 1st Class Mara Bacon, a personnel employee processing their paperwork, said she was amazed to see how many soldiers were getting hitched right before leaving. "The first question I always ask is: 'Now how long have you known this girl?' " she said. "It's hard enough during the first year (of marriage) when you're together. But when you're apart?"

For some, the motivation is practical. For others, it's pure romance. But for Hawai'i-based soldiers and spouses scrambling to tie the knot before deployment, it's a race against time as they count down their days together.

For Bianca Asato and Kaulana Kalohi of Waimanalo, getting married was a way to simplify the couple's legal and financial affairs while Asato, a private first class in the guard, is in Iraq.

"It's just easier to be joined," Asato said. "He gets medical and dental insurance. He can take care of the bills and my dogs."

The Roosevelt High School sweethearts were planning to marry eventually, but Asato said her impending deployment sped things up a bit. "He asked my parents the day before (the wedding). ... They're really old-fashioned, so we were nervous about that," she said.

Asato, 21, and Kalohi, a 20-year-old landscaper, were married July 24 on the beach at Kalaeloa. He wore a simple white-collared shirt and jeans. She wore her combat boots and fatigues. They signed the marriage certificate on the hood of a car. "It was really carefree," she said.

Three of the 11 members of Asato's unit decided to get hitched this year after receiving news of their deployment to Iraq. Staff Sgt. Kevin Aihara of Pearl City plans to propose to Carolyn Nishida this week. He said he wants to show Nishida, his girlfriend of 5 1/2 years, that he is "really serious."

"I just want to give her that reassurance that I'm making a bigger commitment," said Aihara, 28. "And that I'm coming back." Aihara said he hopes to get married when he is on holiday leave in December.

Before saying goodbye, some of the newlyweds already are thinking of when they will say hello again. For active-duty soldiers, the estimated tour of duty is 18 months to two years.

"Now we have to wait two years for our honeymoon," said Asato. "It's something to look forward to when I get home."

But Lapitan said he can only process this experience one day at a time. "I'm taking it step by step," he said. "I'm just thinking about being safe out there."

Although his mind will be on the mission at hand, Lapitan said he knows his heart will be elsewhere: "My family. My newborn. My first baby," he said quietly, brushing his fingers across his wife's belly. "I don't want to miss anything."

Reach Carrie Ching at 525-8054 or cching@honoluluadvertiser.com.