Couples Take 'I Do' Bonzais as Wedding Vows at Six Flags St. Louis

Instead of having rice thrown at them, four St. Louis area couples opted to plunge down a 290-foot body water slide at as their wedding ceremonies. The weddings will take place Thursday morning at the to help debut Six Flags St. Louis' new addition to its water park:  Bonzai Pipeline, a six-story water slide.

The four couples won the privilege to plunge into marriage through local radio promotions. They will exchange wedding vows right before taking what's being deemed "the Xtreme Plunge," as they propel from the Proslide Skybox launching capsules at the top of the slide.

After the floor drops from beneath them, the couples will slide through 290 feet of clear tubing at up to 40 mph through a 360-degree “super loop”, and splash down at the bottom where they will be pronounced husband and wife.

This ride seems befitting of marriage ceremonies, in that the Japanese word "Bonzai" in general means living a happy, long, 10,000-years-old life.

The four couples reside in St. Louis, MO; Pevely, MO; Farmington, MO; and Park Hills, MO.

The Bonzai Pipeline water slide will open to the public on Saturday. Six Flags' teams consider it the second new "Xtreme experience" introduced at the park this year, with opening earlier this month.

Bonzai Pipeline joins the 12-acre Hurricane Harbor water park's existing lineup of water attractions as the first looping body slide. All Hurricane Harbor attractions are free with theme park admission. is located to the west side of the wave pool.