Renewing your vows in a tropical paradise sounds perfect, doesn’t it? But what if you were to discover that the words uttered during your ceremony weren’t “to have and to hold,” but slurs against your name, your country and your religion?
CNN reports that the Maldive Islands plans to announce new, stricter wedding laws after it was discovered that a couple participating in a vow renewal ceremony was insulted.
According to CNN, who researched the issue after seeing the video on YouTube:
the person conducting the ceremony calls them “swines” and “infidels” and says children of such a union will be “illegitimate,” according to a translation provided by the local Minivan news website.At the end of the ceremony, the couple exchange rings and head to the beach to plant a coconut tree in the sand. At several points in the video, the officiant is heard cautioning the videographer to make sure he did not record the profanities.
The nation’s president, Mohamed Nasheed, condemned the incident and the government issued a statement saying that “no stone will be left unturned to ensure that an incident like this never happens again,” according to CNN.
Tourist hotels will soon have strict regulations concerning wedding ceremonies.