EIGHT Taiwanese couples will be married in a mass wedding  ceremony in Phuket Town on Valentine’s Day.

The couples have been brought to Phuket by the Phuket office of the Tourism Association of Thailand in a bid to promote the island as a lovers’ paradise. Hongyok House in Phuket Town will be transformed into a ‘brides’ house’ where the girls will dress and prepare for their big day, and the nearby TAT offices will be used by the grooms.

On Saturday morning, Valentines Day, the eight grooms will march in a procession, complete with a Chinese band, to Hongyok House where they will be reunited with their brides for an ancient Chinese Baba wedding ceremony. The eight couples will all be married in a single ceremony. Twenty five already-married Taiwanese honeymooners have also come to Phuket to witness the ceremony, which will begin at 8.19am and finish at 5pm.

Eight is considered lucky by the Chinese, and 19 is a lucky number for Thais. Phuket City Mayor, Somjai Suwansupana , will be the official witness, and the ceremony will be covered by Taiwanese television and other media.

The Royal Thai navy Band will play at a wedding feast that night. The wedding will be open to the public and both tourists and locals are invited to attend.

TAT director, Setthaphan Buddhani, said the mass wedding had been organised in conjunction with tourism officials in Taiwan in a bid to showcase Phuket as the perfect place to be married.