Hotel Caravelle of St. Croix Offers Wet Wedding Package
Couple Breaks Guinness Book Of World Records for Underwater Wedding

St. Croix - US Virgin Islands - Winter 2003 - On September 13, 2003, St. Croix Ultimate Bluewater Adventures (aka SCUBA), an award-winning dive shop, helped a couple change history. On that sun-drenched day,  John Santino and fiancée Toni Wilson tied the knot in the worlds largest underwater wedding with 103 guests attending, breaking the record in the Guinness Book of World Records.  The wedding, organized by the team at SCUBA dive shop,  was held on the West End of St Croix, a lush Caribbean island known for its spectacular diving and romantic history.  For couples wanting to tie the knot under the sea, Hotel Caravelle on St Croix is offering a Wet Wedding Package.  

"We came to St Croix to dive and find the underwater world to be absolutely stunning," stated groom John Santino, who manages the dive shop SCUBA based in Christiansted, the main town on St. Croix. "So it was the only place we could imagine exchanging vows."

Captain John Macy, a licensed minister, writes vows that the couple repeat. To say their vows, John Santino and Toni Wilson removed their regulators and spoke out loud - underwater. Guests report that they heard the vows loud and clear.	John Santino and Toni Wilson exchange rings.

Captain John Macy, better known locally as Big Beard, officiated the underwater ceremony. He has married more than 500 couples in more than 15 years as a licensed minister on St. Croix. Witnesses signed the marriage license the same way the guests registered - underwater with a grease pencil on a waterproof document. 

"I have performed weddings on beaches, sailboats, but this was a first," reported John Macy who runs Big Beard's Adventure Tours, a sailing charter company that offers snorkeling trips to Buck Island.

Hotel Caravelle's Wet Wedding Package includes accommodations, two dives, marriage services performed by Captain John Macy (includes consultation, ceremony and filing of documents), a candle light dinner at Hotel Caravelle's waterfront restaurant, his and hers T-Shirts, champagne and flowers in the guest room and a choice of a Buck Island or Safari land tour. All taxes and service charges are included.. The marriage license is additional.

For more information or to book the Wet Wedding Package, contact Hotel Caravelle at 800-524-2030 or visit  www.hotelcaravelle.com.

Diving is provided by St. Croix Ultimate Bluewater Adventures, voted the number one dive staff and number two dive operator in the world and is a PADI Gold Palm IDC facility. 

Photographer: SCUBAGOD / DOUGLAS S. KAUFMAN 2003. USE OF IMAGES WITH OUT WRITTEN PERMISSION PROHIBITED