Two New Zealanders, Toby Ricketts and Marianna Young, got married yesterday. Seems like an event that isn't exactly newsworthy, right? I mean, it's no Kim Kardashian and Kanye West wedding.
What was special about this wedding was that it was the first wedding to be officiated by a minister of The Church of the Flying Spaghetti Monster, after New Zealand granted the church the right to hold such ceremonies in December. The couple, who are recent converts to the religion told Radio NZ that conventional marriages didn't really appeal to them, "so this offered an opportunity to do something different that fitted for us."
Instead of the usual sit down dinner and the like, the couple, close friends, and family went out "sailing the high seas" pirate-style then "ceremoniously" arrived on the Akaroa wharf. "The ceremony will commence ... with a customised script and lots of interesting traditions that we have kind of cooked up especially for the occasion," Ricketts continued.
The colander hat-wearing church was formed in the mid-2000s as a reaction to the teaching of intelligent design in American schools, and states it's not an atheist or anti-religion institution, but it protests "crazy nonsense done in the name of religion."
Their 'sacred' texts suggest the Flying Spaghetti Monster created the world, and its first inhabitants were pirates. The couple reflected this in their wedding by reading "terms of engagement" in lieu of vows in pirate speak, and rings of pasta are exchanged instead of, you know, precious metals.
Fancy officiating a Pastafarian wedding yourself? Well, you're in luck because for a mere $25, you can purchase an ordination certificate to become a Pastafarian minister. But wait, there's more! For $40, you get an official card too, what a bargain! Though you won't be able to change your title to Reverend, you'll sport the even better title of 'Ministeroni'.
