Underwater Weddings

I saw this story on a scuba group training pastors for underwater weddings in Fort Lauderdale. It reminded me of the underwater wedding I conducted.

Yes, I think I remain the first and (to date) only pastor to conduct an underwater wedding while serving in the Cayman Islands. Actually, I think I remain the first and (to date) only certified marriage officer in the Cayman Island who was also scuba-certified.

So, an American couple wanted a unique wedding experience. They were newly-certified scuba divers and wanted an underwater ceremony like the ones they had read about in other resort settings.

They wanted me to hold up laminated signs that said, “Do you take . . .” and they would hold up signs that said, “I do.” I wasn’t keen on that idea. I told them that we could exchange rings underwater, but in the British West Indies it was required that a ceremony be conducted in such a time and place that someone could object if necessary. Besides, vows are serious business: I wanted them to make their promises in a way that was (1) public and (2) not “cutesy.” I didn’t mind the exchange of rings underwater, but the vows would be on the boat.

My friend and fellow church leader, Rex Crane, was kind enough to serve as the yacht captain of this little ceremony, and he and the videographer were also witnesses.

Following the exchange of vows, the bride, groom, videographer and I geared up for a shallow dive not far from Stingray City (for those of you who know about this Cayman spot).

It didn’t go exactly as the bride planned it.

The aim was for us to float horizontally, belly down, just off the white sandy bottom 15 feet underwater where the bride and groom would exchange rings. They would then remove their regs and kiss, and then turn and kick away from me like they were heading up the church aisle. The videographer was to get all of this over my shoulder.

Everything went fine enough until the couple swam away. Those of you who scuba dive know it’s harder for inexperienced divers to maintain buoyancy the closer you are to the surface. So, as they kicked away, the bride kept floating, bottom-first, toward the surface, and the groom kept having to pull her down. After a few moment of capturing this on film, the videographer and I just looked at each other and shook our heads. Let’s just say it wasn’t the best angle to capture the departing couple for film.

Then again, you could say they got their wish since they wanted the film for, um, posterity.

By the way, though this was my only underwater wedding, it wasn’t my only non-resident wedding. I was asked many times to perform so-called “cruise-ship weddings” for couples who were traveling to the island for the purpose of getting married. I resisted these invitations for my first year in Grand Cayman, but then I felt I was missing a “kingdom opportunity” with couples unlikely to have a church or a Savior. So, I developed a 2-hour pre-marriage workshop and required couples to sit with me for the workshop if they wanted my services. The workshop included some biblical guidance on a healthy marriage, the plan of salvation, and guidance on finding a church home when the couple returned to Canada or the U.S.

It was meant as seed-sowing, not harvest. But I fondly remember a Canadian man writing me a few years later to let me be among the first to hear of his profession of faith--a process, he said, that began with my witness in the workshop. Though that’s the only couple who has written me, hopefully there are other stories like that among the couples I worked with.

…Including the scuba-diving bride and groom!