A Match Made In The Sea: Underwater Weddings In Thailand

The oxygen mask replaces the veil, and a slick wet suit with heavy scuba gear becomes the wedding gown. In Trang, it’s out with the traditional and in with the unconventional and the bizarre, as couples jostle for some underwater space to exchange their wedding vows and seal their union with a wet kiss.

The southern, sunny islands of Thailand’s Trang province have become the preferred wedding destination for many madly in love couples, thanks to their celebration of life and love in a unique fashion – an underwater wedding!  You read that right. Putting a rather wet and salty twist to traditional celebrations of holy matrimony, matches in Trang are no longer made in heaven, but underwater. What’s more exciting is that anyone with a taste for adventure and the unconventional can have a go at it and there’s no other place in Trang as popular for this unlikely event as the island of Ko Kradan.

Initiated in 1996 as a one-off event, these underwater weddings have now become an annual affair with almost 40 couples tying the knot on none other than Valentine’s Day. Into its 16^th year now, these wedding ceremonies have become a talking point of tourist itineraries and hi-tech couples alike. The year 2000 was a landmark year, which saw the event enter the Guinness Book of World Records for hosting the largest wedding ceremony underwater.

Couples looking forward to an extraordinary experience to mark their special day can opt for this wedding ceremony, which will not only provide a marriage registration along with the traditional rings and vows, but also a little slice of this tropical haven to take home with you. A part of Trang’s Season of Love, the event is presided over by a priest, in diving gear of course, who reads out the vows in an underwater altar. With Trang’s breathtaking coral reefs and marine life for company, it can indeed be a once in a lifetime experience. Before the wedding the couples have to get a PADI (Professional Association of Diving Instructors registration certificate, which qualifies them to take this underwater journey. Simply put, couples who do not know how to scuba dive, must first take lessons and only after being qualified to take the dive, can they take the plunge!

The sunny islands of Thailand’s Trang province make for a unique marriage venue of many madly in love couples.While the actual ceremony takes place on February 14th, the event is stretched over three days – 13th, 14th and 15th. Prospective brides and grooms, dressed in traditional Thai costumes, are welcomed to Trang in a procession that draws large crowds and includes much showering of flowers and blessings. Day two is the actual wedding day when couples are taken to the island of Ko Kradan on speedboats accompanied by musical bands and dancers forming a merry procession. Those not keen to wed underwater can still have their beach ceremony while the more daring ones go underwater. A waterproof certificate legalizes the event.

Interestingly, this is an open for all event where not just Thais but people from all nationalities, beliefs and sexual orientation can participate, even though gay weddings are not recognised by the Thai government. But as they say, all’s fair in love, and this stupendous celebration can make even an ordinary love story seem extraordinary.