8 Incredible Places to Have an Underwater Wedding

Imagine an underwater chapel bedecked with shells and even wedding rings encased in a mother-of-pearl clamshell. It’s all waiting under the waves in Bora Bora, where you and your mate can seal the deal in unique aquatic style. And the bonus is that you’ll already be in one of the most romantic honeymoon spots on the planet! Your South Pacific style service will be performed by a Polynesian master of ceremonies, and you need not be certified to dive as they supply air helmets that allow you to breathe underwater without a mask. (You can smile, laugh and blow kisses, too!)

Captain Slate in the Florida Keys has been performing underwater weddings since the ’70s! He calls himself “Justice of the Pisces,” and has performed an underwater wedding with 100 divers in attendance (It’s now in the Guinness Book of World Records as the largest ever). You can charter his boat and take up to 25 divers or 40 passengers that can snorkel above the ceremony if they choose. The location dive site is just south of Key Largo, and the wedding couple must be certified to dive.

This tiny island in the Southern Caribbean is the “B” of the Dutch ABC Islands (Aruba, Bonaire, Curacao). And Bonaire is well known among the international scuba set as a diver’s paradise and one of the best places in the world for shore diving as well. So it’s no wonder that it was one of the first Caribbean islands to offer underwater weddings. Buddy Dive Resort is your go-to operator, and their house reef where the ceremony is performed is teeming with tropical fish. Bonaire waters have been protected since the ’70s, so their reefs are very healthy and the marine life is extremely abundant.

If you’re planning a sporty honeymoon, Bonaire is also one of the best spots on the planet to learn to windsurf and kite board due to excellent conditions at Lac Bay.

Getting wed with marvelous marine life is one thing, but how about a ceremony with wild sharks in attendance, too? Nassau’s Stuart’s Cove Dive Bahamas uses local Island Preacha Weddings to work out all the details. You can marry underwater without sharks as well, or renew your vows at a shipwreck. Couples must be certified to dive.

This outfit is very much about protecting and understanding sharks in the wild, they also teach a special Shark Awareness course, in case you want to know more about your offbeat wedding party guests beforehand.

Guests staying at adults-only all-inclusive Secrets Aura Cozumel or family-friendly all-inclusive Sunscape Sabor Cozumel can take advantage of the incredible waters surrounding the island and the second largest coral reef system in the world to enjoy an underwater wedding with an incredible array of marine life present. Ceremonies are conducted by local operator Dive House and the couple must be certified to dive.

The hotel’s long pier with a huge palapa can be reserved for an afterparty or wedding reception and it’s one of the best places on the island to experience the sunset.

Aquafari in Curacao is the outfit that has rare underwater air helmet scooters that putter around under the sea to view magical marine life, with no dive or snorkel experience required. The professional diver and photographer that accompanies every wedding will supply the appropriate flip cards to the couple when they are ready and surrounded by tropical fish, making the “I do’s” easy to do under the sea.

You need not know how to dive, or even swim when you marry underwater with Atlantis Submarines in Barbados. The unique ceremony has you surrounded by the ocean’s awesome marine life without even getting wet. Your entire wedding party can be aboard, too and they will certainly enjoy the underwater tour through Barbados pristine coral reefs. The ceremony is officiated by the submarine Captain and champagne toasts afterward begin the couple’s new journey.

You can charter the entire submarine if you book well in advance and you can book for up to 22 guests. Note that children must be at least 3 feet tall to be a passenger, and guests must be mobile enough to climb down the ladder into the submarine.

Combine your underwater wedding with a tropical honeymoon in paradise at the Maldives Conrad Hilton, where you can have a unique ceremony in their underwater dining room. You and your guests will be surrounded by amazing marine life without even getting wet, and the hotel is well-equipped to pull out all the stops for a seriously fancy affair at their award-winning Ithaa Undersea Restaurant.