Wedding by Unification Church was second since the death of leader and self-declared messiah Sun Myung Moon
He founded the church in South Korea in 1954 and it since became famous for its mass 'blessing' ceremonies
Participants have to refrain from sex for 40 days and nights after getting married to echo Jesus in the desert
Huge ceremony held at the CheongShim Peace World Centre, a 25,000-seat stadium in Gapyong-gun, South Korea
It's only natural to fear being upstaged on your wedding day, so imagine competing with 2,499 other brides.
But that did not deter these couples - some of whom met just days ago - when they married today in the romantic surroundings of a 25,000-seat sports stadium.
Dressed in gleaming white with the men in sharp black suits, they were part of only the second 'cosmic blessing' by South Korea's famous Unitarian Church since the death of its leader, divisive self-proclaimed messiah Sun Myung Moon, in September 2012.
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We do! Some 2,500 couples took part in a mass 'cosmic blessing' today by South Korea's Unification Church, founded by self-proclaimed messiah Sun Myung Moon
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With this ring I thee wed... and what's your name again? Some of the couples met just days ago and not all spoke the same language, as part of the faith's tradition
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Blessing: South Korea's Unification Church is famous for its cosmic blessing ceremonies, often held in sports stadiums. More than 40 of the couples met just days ago
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Love (with an earpiece): One newlywed couple make the heart shape with their hands. They will have to abstain from sex for at least 40 days and nights
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Scale: The church was founded in 1954 by self-proclaimed messiah Sun Myung Moon and its first blessing had 33 couples. Today's ceremony was held by his widow
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Need a private moment, dear? While some of the couples were reaffirming their vows, others did not even speak the same language and were united by 'True Mother'
After confirming under oath that they are virgins the couples sprinkle holy water, recite vows pledging themselves to be fathful to each other and exchange rings and prayers.
But the tradition then steers wildly away from Christian marriage - as the newlyweds must then go for at least 40 days without having sex.
The period of abstinence is supposed to be an echo of Jesus's 40 days and nights wandering the desert, where the Bible says he remained in the wilderness as the devil appeared to him and offered him a string of temptations, all of which he ignored.
A highly controversial figure accused of leading a cult, Reverend Moon founded his church in 1954 and began holding the mass 'blessings' soon afterwards, which grew to global prominence as he gained followers around the world.
The first ceremony in 1961 attracted just 33 couples, but they soon expanded. In one such mass blessing in 1997, 30,000 couples tied the knot in Washington D.C. Just two years later 21,000 filled the Olympic Stadium in Seoul.
Rev Moon died in September 2012 at the age of 92 of complications from pneumonia, and today's ceremony - as with another with 3,500 couples this time last year - was overseen by his 71-year-old widow Hak Ja Hang.
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Are you sitting comfortably? Seats were laid out in neat rows in the stadium, a vast sports and cultural complex on the outskirts of South Korean capital Seoul
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Identical: Standing from plastic chairs, the couples were dressed the same with women in white dresses and veils and the men in black suits with white shawls
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Devotion: Newlyweds bow to Rev Moon's 71-year-old widow Hak Ja Hang, described by followers who flock from around the world as 'True Mother'
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Mass ceremony: Though taking place in a free and democratic country, the mass spectacle is reminiscent of displays by Korea's dictatorship neighbour to the north
It was held at the CheongShim Peace World Center, a vast sports and cultural stadium with a full roof buried in the countryside on the outskirts of the South Korean capital Seoul.
As the second-largest arena of its kind in Asia, it is the same venue where the religious leader's opulent funeral was held in 2012.
Confetti was hurled into the air today as the identically-dressed couples exchanged their vows, with women dressed in traditional white dresses and veils while the men wore sharp black suits with white shawls.
Some of the couples were already married and were reaffirming their vows, while others had been engaged for some time.
For some, however, cold feet would be a real danger - as they would have met their partners just days before.
Some 140 people from 10 countries who were born into the church - 43 men and 97 women - gathered at a camp near the venue last week for a 'matching ceremony' to meet their new partners for the first time.
The newlyweds-to-be, five of whom were from America, went to classes and lectures alongside each other before putting on their wedding clothes after lunch and waiting for the 'True Mother' - Rev Moon's widow - to appear and match them up with each other. Hak Ja Hang began matching the oldest candidates, working her way down to the youngest.
The church's American website said: 'After the matches were confirmed, it was a joy to watch the new couples converse happily with one another, many of them with the help of a translator.'
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Confetti: The blessing was just one step in a long a complex process which ends in the formal unification between man and woman in a three-day ceremony
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Sharing a prayer: But the insistence that leader Rev Moon was the second coming of Christ led him to be regarded with wide suspicion as a cult figure
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Stadium: The ceremonies have taken place regularly. The church claims to have three million members but most people say that number is far smaller
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It's time to party! There were so many couples that they and their guests filled the arena, which is the second-largest of its kind in Asia
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Spectacle: A bride and groom to be take a minute to absorb the view in the stadium - or are they taking a cheeky pair of selfies?
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Here come the brides: A woman complete with a bridal veil and white glove takes a moment to take a photo. Today's ceremony was the second since Rev Moon died
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Devotion: The mass blessings have become a world-famous ritual, with couples who are already married reaffirming vows alongside those joining for the first time
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Say cheese: Although many people may find the ritual unusual, it was a happy affair for the thousands of couples who posed for photos together afterwards
One of the American participants who got married today added: 'It's weird to think that any one of these women who I am sitting next to during lectures, or eating lunch at the same table with, could be my future spouse.'
Rev Moon was famous for personally pairing up couples who could not even speak the same language because he preferred marriages to be across cultures and nations.
His teachings included that more earthy romantic love ruined society by leading to sexual promiscuity and badly-matched couples.
After the 40-day period of separation, couples join together for the 'three day ceremony', the last step in the unusual process.
According to the church's American website: 'Over a three-day period, the wife gives rebirth to her husband from the position of mother and then receives him in the position of wife.
'Then in the position of father, the husband gives rebirth to his wife and receives her in the position of husband. Through this process, God breathes into the couple a new conjugal life.'
Despite gaining a huge following around the world, the insistence that Rev Moon was the second coming of Christ led him to be regarded with wide suspicion as a cult leader.
In 1982, he was jailed for 13 months in the U.S. for filing false federal income tax returns. His church insisted he had been pursued by the authorities because of his religious activities.
The church claims to have three million members worldwide, though most sources say that number is likely to be far smaller.
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Cult-like: The Rev Moon, pictured left in 1998 with his wife who oversaw today's ceremony, said he had a vision in which God told him to do the messiah's work
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History: The ceremonies have happened for several decades, such as this one at the Jasmil gymnasium in the south Korean capital Seoul on October 14, 1982
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Cult of personality: Mourners gather beneath a gigantic depiction of Rev Moon at the same stadium as today's ceremony during a memorial service in August last year
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Leader: Wearing a crown, Rev Moon wedded 4,200 'Moonies' at New York's Madison Square Garden during a 1982 ceremony in which he picked couples himself
