I have always been terrified by the unpredictability of the ocean. I’m not a strong swimmer and the fear of literally being out of my depth meant I avoided the sea as much as possible.
I got engaged to my boyfriend, Alex, in Curaçao in 2018. We live in Las Vegas, and had been together for two years before the holiday. Alex is the opposite of me when it comes to the sea; he loves water sports and scuba diving. I find his sense of adventure and passion for water inspiring and endearing.
We had a beautiful time in Curaçao, and he even convinced me to go on an underwater sea scooter. I enjoyed it so much that, before I could stop myself, I said, “Let’s have an underwater wedding.” Alex was even more surprised than I was: we both thought I’d be the last person to suggest doing anything out at sea, let alone getting married there. But I wanted to conquer my fear and challenge myself, and there was no one better to do that with.
In 2019, after a year’s training, I obtained my scuba diving licence in preparation for the wedding in December. I’d put a lot of pressure on myself to do it and was extremely nervous. I only did about six dives before the wedding, so I was still pretty new to it. We chose to get married in Cozumel, a Mexican island in the Caribbean Sea. It’s known for some of the best dives in the world.
We hired a wedding planner to reduce the stress as we were going to have the ceremony underwater. We had 14 guests, who all wore bathing suits. A boat company took us out into the water and provided snorkelling gear for everyone.
My stomach fluttered with nerves on the morning of the wedding at the thought of the dive, but I was also excited that the day was finally here. I wore a white swimsuit and a veil. My friend plaited my hair, but I skipped makeup – that didn’t seem a priority as I’d be wearing a scuba mask.
Alex and his best man wore tuxedo wetsuits, which made me laugh. Only me, Alex, his best man and the wedding celebrant scuba dived as we tied the knot. The rest of our guests snorkelled over us in a large circle.
As no one could speak underwater, the celebrant – who was well versed in underwater weddings – used signs to talk us through our ceremony. The most nerve-racking part was exchanging the rings. People thought we might have used dummy ones while underwater, but the best man was actually carrying the real ones the whole time.
I kept imagining worst-case scenarios – like the rings getting lost, or floating away. We gripped them very tightly when passing them over. We held up boards that said “I do” at the end. We then danced underwater to mark the end of the ceremony, which was one of my favourite parts; we held on to each other, spinning in the water, with bubbles flying everywhere. It was surreal.
After the ceremony, we took the boat to a small island, where our family and friends swam, ate, drank and had fun together. We had ceviche and quesadillas served on boogie boards floating in the shallows. It was perfect; the water couldn’t have been any more beautiful, there were no waves at all and it was so blue.
When we got back home, we had to legally officiate the marriage and sign all of the required paperwork.
People often ask if I had always planned to get married underwater – but I never even thought I’d get married. I never had a dream wedding planned out. It’s ironic, because my dad used to scuba dive and, after my wedding, he confessed that it was his dream to get married underwater. I’d lived out his dream without realising. It was funny to find out that we were even more similar than I’d thought.
An underwater wedding taught me a lot about myself and my ability to conquer fears. Alex gives me the strength to try new things. When I think of the ocean now, I think of peace and tranquillity; the fear has gone and I associate it with happiness and joy.
Our guests say it was the coolest wedding they’ve ever been to. Most of them commented on how unique it was. If you’d like to conquer your fears, your wedding day might just be the best time to do it.
• As told to Elizabeth McCafferty
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