Water-baby couples tie the knot in Thailand

Locals and foreign holidaymakers were celebrating Valentine’s Day in Thailand today by getting hitched underwater, on the backs of elephants and even swinging from cliffs.

Signing marriage certificates on waterproof paper, 36 couples gurgled “I do” after scuba diving about 50ft under the Andaman Sea.

The annual Valentine’s Day ceremony off Kra Daan island, 500 miles south of Bangkok, attracted couples from Germany, Greece, Hong Kong and Spain as well as locals.

Six couples decided to begin life together by swapping rings while suspended by slings from a 196ft cliff in Taplan National Park. District Chief Somai Parichart witnessed the ceremony – but from the ground.

More conservatively, 14 couples in traditional dress rode through the ancient capital of Ayuthaya on elephants. Buddhist monks and well-wishers joined the procession on foot.

About 300 couples began queuing at 3am (2000 GMT) to be the first to tie the knot in Bangkok’s Bang Rak, or Love Village, district.

Sponsors at the Silom Gallery, where the ceremony took place, offered gold-plated marriage certificates to the first 10 couples to register.

The day proved to be a bonanza for some Bangkok businesses.

A poll showed that the use of “short-time” hotels by lovers was up about 100% compared with normal days, while sales of condoms and birth control pills tripled.

Flower sellers were also doing a booming trade since an influx of roses from China pushed prices below last year’s average.