Wacky weddings on Valentine's...

You are the air that I breathe: Divers have marriage blessed at London Aquarium

By DAILY MAIL REPORTER
Last updated at 7:11 PM on 14th February 2011

• Plus all those other wacky Valentine's Day weddings from around the world

While many use Valentine's Day as an annual excuse to splash out on a bunch of roses or a nice dinner, some couples take the celebration just a little bit further.

James Oliver and Kathryn O'Connor celebrated February 14 with an underwater blessing at the London Aquarium.

Kathryn wore a flowing white gown under her diving apparatus while James accessorised with a sea-blue tie.

Here swims the bride: Aquarists Kathryn O'Connor and James Oliver take part in a Valentine's Day blessing at the London Aquarium

Giant green sea turtles, cow-nose rays and shoals of colourful tropical fish swarmed around the couple during the blessing.  

Valentine's Day has traditionally been the day for romantic gestures since the 14th Century and is celebrated all over the world in increasingly inventive ways.

London also saw people queuing up to give Bruce Willis a kiss - his wax model that is.

Madame Tussaud's let the public choose who they wanted as their Valentine's 'Heartthrob.'

Maid of honour? The couple stroke a giant green sea turtles during the blessing

The Sixth Sense actor came top of the list. Closely followed by BAFTA winner Colin Firth and Brokeback Mountain star Jake Gyllenhaal.

In New York, Stephanie Hull and Air Force Captain John Wu - both from Louisville, Kentucky - got married on the 86th floor of the Empire State Building.

The pair were one of 14 couples from all over the United States who got married in one of New York's most famous landmarks.

They had all competed for the prize during the17th Annual Empire State Building and TheKnot.com Valentine's Weddings Event.

Prize-winning wedding: Stephanie Hull and Air Force Captain John Wu - both from Louisville, Kentucky - got married on the 86th floor of the Empire State Building

Fourteen competitive couples in Pattava, South Thailand, all tried to break the record for the World's Longest Continuous Kiss.

The pairs were clearly taking the challenge very seriously, they were dressed as if they were about to go to an exercise class and even had little steps to stand on if there was a big height difference between the two smoochers.

For better and for worse: Jojie Salminiano and his new wife Analyn were not deterred by the rain. They took part in a mass wedding in the Philippines

Seven of the pairs broke the previous record of 32 hours, 7 minutes and 14 seconds which was set in 2009 by a couple in Germany - although one participant fainted just 34 minutes into the competition.

Rules stated that couples were not to sit, sleep or leave the venue while kissing. They were allowed bathroom breaks every three hours but had to continue kissing while using the toilet, accompanied by staff to verify the fact.

And they were allowed to eat and to drink water, coffee, milk or juice - but only through straws while keeping their lips firmly locked together.

Kissing en-masse was also on the cards in Beijing's Happy Valley amusement park.

To have and to hold: Sontaya Tiemjun and Praputson Mahavong swing on rappelling ropes during their wedding ceremony, also in Thailand

Couples get two-for-one entries into the park from the 14th to the 17th of February. Happy Valley holds kissing and singing games for enthusiastically loved-up pairs over the romantic period.

It wouldn't be Valentine's Day without a couple of mass weddings.

In Palawan, western Philippines, at least 150 couples defied the rain by getting married and planting mangrove trees at a 'Love Affairs with Nature' themed mass wedding.

Back in Thailand, couples took to the skies to make their wedding vows.

Animal rights activists? Cocker Spaniel Blondie waits for her wedding ceremony with a Staffordshire Terrier

Sontaya Tiemjun and Praputson Mahavong were one of the couples who hung from rappelling ropes during their mountainside ceremony. 

Getting married in mid-air is a popular way for thrill-seekers to tie the know in Thailand's Prachinburi province.

Nicaraguans used Valentine's Day as an unusual excuse to promote animal protection laws.

An English Cocker Spaniel dog called Blondie and a American Staffordshire Terrier dog called Katar were given their own wedding ceremony in Managua to raise awareness of the law.

Read more: http://www.dailymail.co.uk/femail/article-1356903/Valentines-Day-Couples-celebrate-love-underwater-trapezes-Empire-State-Building.html#ixzz1DxpGq4l2