The Welsh Incident – Unique Weddings

Not so long ago in Wales, a woman who had invited her partner to a mutual friend’s wedding instead showed up at the altar fully donned—white gown and a priest at her side—intent on hearing a “Yes” from him, completely catching him off guard. It seems he welcomed the surprise, since he’d repeatedly tried to persuade her to put on an engagement ring. A rather tricky task, given Aleasha Pilaw’s hesitance—our protagonist—shaped by the unhappy endings of her two previous marriages. Then… a change of heart, and everything that followed.

There are plenty of extravagances out there. Take the couple who wanted a Bollywood-style wedding: they chartered an entire ship—the Costa Fascinosa—and staged a Maharaja-worthy, tightly secured ceremony complete with a handpicked “crew.” The only “guests,” so to speak, were those invited. With over a thousand people on board, the ship set sail for Barcelona, then docked in Cannes for the celebration. The spectacular event stretched over more than four days. And that’s not all. A Chinese pair tying the knot on the island of Capri demanded a fleet of ten white Rolls-Royces, two children scattering petals as they passed, and—believe it—one hundred paid extras.

Some turn ceremony into a yearly tradition. A Brazilian couple now renew their vows every year in a new locale—Rio de Janeiro, Ibiza, New York, Bora Bora… and most recently, Venice. They remarried aboard the Royal Gondola, flanked by a brigade of immaculately dressed gondoliers. Both wore the “gondolier de casàda,” the historic white-and-gold jacket reserved for grand occasions. Dinner followed at one of the lagoon’s most prestigious restaurants, and finally a tango in the ever-romantic Piazza San Marco, accompanied by a masterful ensemble.

Rings, a white veil for her, a black top hat for him, and a bouquet so lavish it concealed every “critical point.” That’s how an Australian couple chose to pledge eternal love “as nature intended,” with 250 guests in attendance. Jeroen and Sandra Kippers—originally from Brussels—stood, along with the officiant and twenty friends, on a suspended platform, exchanged vows completely naked, then plunged into a bungee jump. The reception? Also suspended in midair, with everyone strapped to their chairs.

Take Xiao Wang, who spent over a year collecting 99,999 red roses for his bride, Xiao Liu, on their wedding day. In central China, 999 is considered especially lucky. He arranged for thirty flower-bedecked cars and even placed an online ad seeking help to meet his goal. The power of love… the groom later donated 20% of the flower bill to charity—perhaps hoping to secure even more good fortune.

In 2010, April Pignataro donned a white wetsuit and Michael Curry a dark one when they decided to wed at New York’s Atlantic Marine World in Riverhead—specifically, inside the shark tank. Their witnesses were sharks, eels, and a giant grouper. These expert divers exchanged vows inside a protective cage, fitted with microphones so relatives outside could hear every word. There was a radio transmitter but no officiant… all in the name of preserving that sense of inevitability that makes each moment uniquely precious.