Couple wed beside 9-foot-tall underwater Jesus statue
In this photo provided by the Florida Keys News Bureau, Kimberly Triolet, left, and Jorge Rodriguez, right, kiss after being married next to the Christ of the Deep statue in the Florida Keys. (Bob Care/Florida Keys News Bureau via AP)
AP - KEY LARGO, Fla. — Kimberly Triolet and Jorge Rodriguez exchanged their wedding vows underwater beside a 9-foot statue of Jesus.
The Miami couple were wed beneath the waves Tuesday to help mark the 50th anniversary of the installation of the Christ of the Deep statue. The bronze sculpture is a subsea icon in the Florida Keys National Marine Sanctuary.
For the traditional wedding kiss, the bride and groom removed their SCUBA breathing mouthpieces.
The 9-foot-tall statue was submerged about 25 feet deep off of Key Largo Aug. 25, 1965. It became a symbol for Key Largo's John Pennekamp Coral Reef State Park, created in 1960 as America's first underwater preserve.
The statue is a replica of the Italian "Christ of the Abyss" that was placed in a shallow bay near Portofino, Italy, in 1954