UNDERWATER WEDDINGS

The dive center in Plantation Bay Resort & Spa conducts also underwater weddings. The underwater ceremony takes place at a sort of altar on a sandy spot on the seafloor. Both bride and groom should be certified divers. If not, we can certify and train them for the event in a couple of days. After the underwater ceremony that takes about 30 minutes, the couple returns to the beach, where they change into their bridal attire for a picnic-style reception arranged by Plantation Bay . The couples spend their wedding night in specially decorated rooms. The next morning the newly weds visit a dedicated groove on Plantation Bay property where they plant a tree as a symbol of everybody's commitment to ecotourism.

Here are some impressions from Bambi Beltram, an PADI Instructor who attended a scuba wedding and was most impressed by its beauty and magnificence.

HERE COMES THE BRIDE - and she is dressed in scuba gear, all in white.
(by Bambi Bertram)

For non-divers it must be hard to understand why people prefer to say their marriage vows 5 meters under water. Divers develop often such a very close affinity to the underwater world that they go out of their way to make this world part of their lives. The bride treads the water with flowers on her hair while the groom waits a few meters away and together they make their decent. It makes a beautiful picture when everybody takes their position and the colorful fish mutely witness the ceremony.

Since our vocal cords are not adapted to the conditions underwater, the wedding is pantomime-like. You can hear the faint sound of some marine creatures which results in a solemnity that is only possible in this venue. Although this is largely a private affair not solemnized by the Church or the state, nature itself seems to bind the couple stronger. The rhythmic sway of the water, the tugging pull of the current, the play of curios fish around you, are strong reminders that everything, and everyone, is just a small part of a force that is all encompassing. After the wedding, when we land-dwellers return to our natural habitat, we ponder from time to time and yearn for the soundlessness and serenity back there. You see, sport diving is not a matter of making the deepest dive or spotting the biggest sharks. It is finding a relaxing state-of-mind and encountering the stark realities of life.