Let's Go Get Married in the Maldives or Maybe Not

An amateur video that was taken of an western couple renewing their wedding vows in The Maldives has a shocking surprise that has led to the resort manager as well as the Minister of Tourism offering their deepest apologies to the couple, and a formal inquiry into the incident has been launched.

The renewal of vows, which took place at the Vilu Resort, was posted on You_Tube a few days ago, and after the celebrant explains the ceremony in English, he went off into a whole torrent of abusive language in the local Dhivehi dialect.

"Your marriage is not a valid one. You are not the kind of people who can have a valid marriage. One of you is an infidel. The other, too, is an infidel - and we have reason to believe -an atheist, who does not even believe in an infidel religion," are the words that were used, according to the local paper.

"You fornicate and make a lot of children. You drink and you eat pork. Most of the children that you have are marked with spots and blemishes. These children that you have are bastards."

The camera at this point closes in on the wedding documents that the celebrant has in front of him, but these appear instead to be employment contracts.

The celebrant then continues with a dialog that refers to things such as bestiality, sexual diseases and frequent fornication by homosexuals.

The ceremony concluded, the happy couple are led off to plant a coconut tree in memory of the event, and while they are doing this, comments were made about the bride's breasts.

The tourism ministry in The Maldives has said that it doesn't want this kind of thing to be assumed to be normal in the country, and that most people there are infuriated by this occurrence.

The hotel, which is operated by Sun Hotels and Resorts, charges £820 ($1,300) for wedding ceremonies, claiming that they offer couples the opportunity to "mark a milestone in your amazing journey together".

The hotel manager told the news agency that "the man had used filthy language. Otherwise the ceremony was ok".

Apparently the celebrant has been suspended from his duties, and the hotel management company is taking disciplinary action against the staff.

The couple, whose identities have not been released, have apparently been given an apology.

I just wonder how the couple felt on finding out that their happy day had been spoiled, especially when this was revealed some time after the event, and they presumably had no idea that anything like this was taking place.

Sources:

BBC News