First Wedding of the Millennium Joins Virginia Couple in Fiji; Historic Celebration Hosted by Turtle Island Resort and WeddingChannel.com

Business Wire, Dec 31, 1999

News Editors and Entertainment Writers

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VANCOUVER, Wash.--(BUSINESS WIRE)--Dec. 31, 1999

Cheryl Berthelsen and Matthew Beach of Leesburg, Virginia, USA, were the first couple to marry in the New Millennium. The couple exchanged vows just after midnight on January 1, 2000, on Turtle Island in Fiji, where the Millennium arrived first. The historic wedding, hosted by Turtle Island Resort and WeddingChannel.com, was held on the beach overlooking the famous Blue Lagoon.

"Matt and I are thrilled to be married, and delighted that our exquisite wedding took place under such unique circumstances," said Cheryl. "It's a joyful, extraordinary day for us. We wish other Millennium celebrants the same happiness and hope for the future." Both 28, Cheryl works in training and development for Concert Management and Matt is a Financial Analyst for AOL. They met at the University of Colorado in 1993, and became engaged in 1997.

The couple learned of the "Wedding of the Millennium" package on the Internet and made their winning online auction bid just before Thanksgiving. Turtle Island will donate net proceeds to help fund a new hospital for 3500 residents of its neighboring villages.

Gala wedding festivities extended over two days. The ceremony began at sunset on December 31, 1999, with other resort guests attending. The couple completed their nuptials just after midnight on January 1, 2000, in a private ceremony officiated by a Methodist minister from a nearby island.

To access wedding photos and details, visit www.turtlefiji.com and www.weddingchannel.com. Turtle Island is an award-winning, five-star resort in Fiji's Yasawa Islands. During the 1979 movie production of "Blue Lagoon" starring Brooke Shields, Turtle's clocks were advanced to provide extra daylight for the film crew. By adopting Daylight Savings Time, which is one hour ahead of Greenwich Mean Time (GMT) -- and never going back -- Turtle Island has maintained a one-hour time differential versus the rest of Fiji for 20 years.

With its patent-pending integrated technology, WeddingChannel.com, the Web's leading bridal resource, is the first Internet business to offer consumers a complete menu of wedding-related services, including personalized web pages, planning tools, e-commerce, online travel planning, local business directories, and the largest database of bridal fashions.