Roderick Eime, guest blogger at Hug Thailand and award-winning travel writer, follows the sometimes crazy wedding trail through Trang.

On their wedding day, some couples are content with a quick, uncomplicated civil ceremony and perhaps a few drinks afterward. Others get married by an Elvis impersonator in Las Vegas, while still others opt for daring stunts like skydiving or unusual locations such as fast-food restaurants or a 50-meter-high platform.

Here in Trang in southern Thailand, couples come from all over the country and often from different countries to dive underwater for their ceremony.

Every year on Valentine's Day, Trang hosts a wedding celebration that is unparalleled in Thailand, perhaps even worldwide. Besides the actual festivities, there are street parades, parties, opulent dinners, fireworks, receptions, and media events with dozens of photographers, rivaling a Hollywood star-studded event.

For two days, the couples are surrounded by crowds; they wave, smile, and try to keep up with the fast-paced action. With the benevolent image of the revered king smiling down at them from billboards and giant advertising panels, it is truly a royal tour with a majestic blessing.

A couple from Phuket, Bond and Rita, seem to handle everything with aplomb. Rita beams from ear to ear, no matter the occasion or how tired she may be. Bond never leaves her side, as befits a devoted groom and his beautiful bride.

When the time came to take the plunge, so to speak, the two mastered what was certainly a somewhat nerve-wracking moment with flying colors.

“We did a trial dive at the resort and now we’re here,” Bond confides in me, “and Rita is also a complete beginner, just like me.”

The dive itself is anything but easy. We're in the open sea near one of Trang's massive limestone cliffs, where some old railway carriages have been sunk to create an artificial reef. A platform has been lowered to form an underwater altar, and everyone is wearing top-of-the-line diving gear, including a couple in a wedding dress and matching suit.

Visibility is a worrying 3-5 meters, and the couples have to rappel down to a depth of 15 meters on guide ropes to meet the officiant waiting for them there. A team of divers equipped with cameras circles above, filming everything.

After that moment, our happy and relieved newlyweds surfaced next to our boat, waving their laminated certificates, which had been presented to them on the seabed. There were Rita and Bond, as exuberant and joyful as ever. Certainly, there had been moments of uncertainty, but with their love behind them, the two were ready for a life together, confident that from now on everything would be easy!

May eternal happiness follow them all.

The photos included with this blog post were provided by Roderick Eime and Trang Tourism.