NASSAU — Wedding bells will be ringing throughout The Islands of The Bahamas as 16 Canadian couples say ‘I do’ at 16 different venues on Nassau/Paradise Island, Exuma, Eleuthera, Abaco, Cat Island and Bimini, at exactly 1600 hours (4 p.m.) on Nov. 16, 2016.

The Bahamas Ministry of Tourism (BMOT) rolled out the red carpet for the 16 couples, who all finally arrived in New Providence on Monday after months of planning for their dream weddings in paradise.

The couples were met with a warm welcome by the BMOT team at the Lynden Pindling International Airport where they were took advantage of a photo opportunity before being escorted to the Atlantis Paradise Island resort in a stretch limousine. They were also

Later that evening the couples were treated to a welcome reception at Fathoms at Atlantis. Tourism Director General Joy Jibrulu thanked the couples for showing interest in The Islands of The Bahamas for their special day and invited them to celebrate all of their milestones in The Bahamas.

“In 2015 the World Travel Awards voted The Bahamas the best wedding destination in the world,” Jibrilu told the couples. “It’s not just us saying that this is the best destination, it has been independently verified and we’re excited that you could experience some of the beautiful islands that earned us that title.

“We’re delighted to have you here and to be a part of your special day. I hope that your journey is a beautiful one.”

Vinincia Strachan, Sr. Manager of Romantic Travel, said the idea of destination weddings in The Bahamas is growing in the Canadian market, and it is her hope that the promotion continues to stimulate growth.

“More and more people are wanting to have destination weddings, and now they’re beginning to look at The Bahamas as one of the premiere destinations for a wedding. I’m hoping that this 16 weddings promotion inspires more Bahamas destination weddings, particularly to the Family Islands. We hope this promotion gets Canadians excited to learn about all of The Islands of The Bahamas,” she said.

On Nov. 13 the couples received their marriage licenses from the Registrar General Department and enjoyed some shopping at the Straw Market and John Bull in Downtown Nassau.

Debbie Thompson and Jason Carrington from Toronto will wed in Nassau at Sapodilla Estates. “We’ve never been to The Bahamas before this but we’ll be back, it’s beautiful,” said Thompson. “We brought 21 people with us. This is a big deal for us and we’ll also be celebrating our one-year anniversary here in The Bahamas. We will never forget this; we will tell our grandchildren about this.”

The couples were chosen out of hundreds of entries to the Ministry of Tourism’s ‘Bahamas 16 Weddings Invitation’ promotion. The unique multimedia contest invited engaged couples to select one of 16 locations within The Islands Of The Bahamas as a backdrop for their dream wedding. For more information see bahamas16weddings.com.