AKAROA, New Zealand, April 19 (UPI) — The Church of the Flying Spaghetti Monster conducted it’s first ever legal wedding ceremony, as a New Zealand couple were wed in a pirate-themed ceremony.
Toby Ricketts and Marianna Young live-streamed their ceremony, which took place on a pirate ship in Akaroa.
Ricketts told Stuff that he learned of The Church of the Flying Spaghetti Monster while researching a film and decided to marry Young in the first ever Pastafarian wedding ceremony, after another couple dropped out.
“I sent Marianna a ‘meeting’ invite via Google calendar titled ‘Pirate Wedding?’ – and she accepted,” he said.
The couple were wed by the first legal Pastafarian marriage celebrant, or “Ministeroni,” Karen Martyn, who was approved by New Zealand’s government in February.
Martyn told the BBC that she has received several inquiries about Pastafarian weddings since being named the celebrant.
“I’ve had people from Russia, from Germany, from Denmark, from all over contacting me and wanting me to marry them in the church because of our non-discriminatory philosophy,” she said.
The Church of the Flying Spaghetti Monster is a social movement that promotes a light-hearted view of religion and opposes the teachings of intelligent design. It is formally recognized religion in New Zealand, Poland and The Netherlands.
