/ 19 April 2007

Sharks the witnesses for aquarium wedding

Sharks were the wedding witnesses on Thursday as a Japanese couple tied the knot surrounded by water and fish in a unique ceremony at an aquarium.

The bride, Nami Arakawa (28), and groom Kosuke Sugiura (29) chose to tie the knot inside a 20m transparent tunnel running through the aquarium.

Guests watched as sharks and rays swam around the couple as they walked down the tunnel as if it were a wedding aisle.

“The bride and groom said they liked this place because very young children were among the guests,” said Akiko Tanaka, spokesperson for Tokyo’s Shinagawa Prince Hotel, which runs the Aqua Stadium aquarium.

“Guests seemed to have had great fun, taking photos of the bride and groom and then also of themselves in the tunnel and other parts of the aquarium,” she said.

The couple were the first to have a wedding at the venue but another couple has made reservations in June, Tanaka said. — AFP