Six record-breaking weddings from underground matrimony to doggy marriage

Weddings and marriages are seen as a right of passage throughout history. The impacts of weddings do not exclusively affect the couple, but a larger community too. These seven record-breaking weddings highlight how the nuances of the special day can spread far beyond the betrothed pair. 

Largest dog wedding ceremony 

Picture of two dogs being married.

Love is not exclusive to human beings. Animals are capable of love too by way of playing together, sniffing each other — and even having a wedding. 178 canine couples (with the help of their owners) decided to pair up on 19 May 2007. Jill Kobe assisted the hounds that were getting hitched by marrying them. These marriages occurred at an event called the “Bow Wow Vows event” which was hosted by the Aspen Grove Lifestyle Center in Littleton, United States. 

The dogs’ love stories were a whirlwind, with the pairs meeting at a speed dating event that occurred shortly before the weddings. Technically, the duos are not legally married, but the sentiment still broke the world record for the largest dog wedding ceremony.  

Deepest underground wedding ceremony

For some, a dream wedding is outdoors, where the bright sun can shine down upon oneself and one’s spouse-to-be. For John and Susan Waters, however, they wanted their love to be legally cemented deep within the Earth. The couple’s record-breaking nuptials took place 450 ft (137.16 m) beneath the surface of the Earth.  

The duo’s wedding occurred on 15 May 1999 and they were married at Llechwedd Slate Caverns which is in Blenau Ffestiniog, Gwynedd, UK. The deepest parts of the taverns go over 500 ft (152.4 m) deep. 

Longest royal wedding parade 

Wedding parades are full of people that want to support the new couple on their journey together. They can walk across a variety of lengths, but, as many royals have grandiose celebrations and weddings, it makes sense that royals, His Royal Highness Crown Prince Hussein Bin Abdullah and Princess Rajwa Al Hussein, had the longest royal wedding parade; they were supported for a full 9.7 km (over 6 miles).  

The couple married on 1 June 2023 and recently had their first child, a daughter, in August of last year.  

The most flower girls in a wedding  

Flower girls are often a quintessential aspect of weddings. At some weddings there is one flower girl, at some two, and at one record-breaking wedding, 253. The Australian couple, Charlene Pearson and Leon Watts, married in Hita, Japan on 2 April 2017.  

The couple had a connection to Japan having travelled there together. Leon also learned fluent Japanese. Eventually, Charlene found work in the city of Hita. In April 2016, tragedy struck when a set of earthquakes rolled through the Kumamoto area and within the chaos, some of Hita was hit. Charlene thought asking locals residents to be flower girls and including the city in her wedding would be a great way to bring fun back to the area. She put up sign-up sheets throughout the area and was able to recruit the record-breaking number of flower girls.  

Most bridesmaids to one wedding

Picture of Tina Ackles and her bridal party.

Bridesmaids are a large means of support for the bride and being asked to be a bridesmaid usually means that the person is quite important and close to the woman. The bridal party can vary in size and the record for the most bridesmaids to one wedding is presently 168 people.  

Much of the 2015 wedding’s bridal party was made up of members of the American Business Women’s Association, which bride Tina Ackles was a part of. The group had previously stated in conversations that they would love to be bridesmaids for one another and Tina helped make that dream come true. The bridal party also included some of Tina’s family and friends. 

Oldest bridesmaid

Picture of Edith Gulliford as a bridesmaid. 

A misconception that movies and television can perpetuate is all bridesmaids are in their 20s or 30s, but one bridesmaid battled against that idea. In 2007, Edith Gulliford at 105 years 171 days old was a bridesmaid at the wedding of couple Kyra Harwood and James Lucas. Edith passed away the following year in April 2008. Prior to Edith’s achievement, the record for the oldest bridesmaid was held by Flossie Bennett at 97 years and 181-day year old. 

Weddings are a time of union and celebration. Many do not think of records when having a wedding, but whether by lucky coincidence or as a form of couple or community bonding, these record-breaking weddings are a reminder of one of many reasons why these ceremonies are so special.  

Header: generic picture of a wedding ceremony, Becerra Govea Photo/Pexels