RUNAWAY BAY, Jamaica -- SuperClubs Resorts is forging ahead with a
planned nude wedding ceremony for a dozen tourist couples on Feb.
14, Valentine's Day, despite protests from Jamaica's clergy and
public disapproval from the Jamaican government and its Tourist
Board.
The 12 couples are scheduled to either tie the knot or renew
their wedding vows in the buff as part of a Valentine's Day
promotion at Hedonism III in Runaway Bay.
Hedonism III and its sister property, Hedonism II in Negril, are
promoted as clothing-optional resorts and feature separate
facilities for both nudes and "prudes."
Portia Simpson Miller, Jamaica's minister of tourism and sport,
said nude weddings are "not in keeping with our marketing strategy
for Jamaica."
"It is not part of our policy to use public funds to pursue the
particular niche market to which this event is targeted," she said
in a statement.
Although it can voice its displeasure with the event, Miller
said the tourist board "has no legal authority to intervene in the
promotion of any event held on private property."
Last Wednesday, a group from the Caribbean American Clergy
Coalition in New York demonstrated outside the New York offices of
the Jamaica Tourist Board saying the nude wedding ceremony would
tarnish Jamaica's image.
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One prominent Jamaican church official, Msgr. Richard Albert,
told The Gleaner newspaper in Jamaica that the nude wedding
ceremony was being "blown way out of proportion."
"Our attention should be on trying to help people, on trying to
build better communities and on trying to improve the lives of each
other," Msgr. Albert told the paper.
In a statement, SuperClubs said "thousands" of couples have
exchanged vows at its resorts during the past 25 years in
ceremonies "ranging from very traditional to swinging from a
trapeze to standing atop a sand castle wedding cake." The nude
couples "will be celebrating their love openly and honestly. We
wish them all the joy of living and applaud them."
Despite the controversy, a SuperClubs spokeswoman said not a
single couple has backed out of the planned nude nuptials. In fact,
she said, Hedonism III was "overbooked" for the week.
SuperClubs charged each bride in the buff and her bare better
half $470 per room per night (with a minimum four night stay). The
ceremony and everything it entails -- minister, marriage license,
flowers, cake and music -- is free of charge.