Peter O'Dowd and Missy O'Dowd, nee Cathro were married by "Prime Ministeroni" Karen Martyn of The Church of the Flying Spaghetti at Worser Bay in Wellington.

A gay toy sheep wearing a colander was perched on the celebrant's head, and the guests were dressed as pirates.

When Pastafarians marry as they did at Worser Bay in Wellington on Sunday – sealing the deal with the "noodle of love" – things are a little different.

Some conventions are followed. The Moët was on ice, the love was touchingly heart-felt, friends and family gathered, vows were read, and there was a touching back-story about meeting through a friend's Facebook page and love conquering distance.

CAMERON BURNELL/STUFF The union of Peter O'Dowd and Missy O'Dowd, nee Cathro, was blessed sealed with a noodle of love and blessed by the Flying Spaghetti Monster.

But the marriage of Peter O'Dowd and Missy O'Dowd, nee Cathro, was anything but conventional.

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Pastafarianism was founded in the United States by Oregon man Bobby Henderson in 2005 as a response to Christian fundamentalists who were advocating the teaching of creationism in schools.

CAMERON BURNELL/STUFF Peter O'Dowd and Missy O'Dowd, nee Cathro are part of the growing movement of Pastafarianism, which was founded by American Bobby Henderson in 2005.

Adherents worship a pasta god called the Flying Spaghetti Monster, they wear colanders or pirate garb, and they reject "crazy nonsense" while enjoying life, being nice to all sentient beings and feasting on pasta.

The religion's followers are called Pastafarians and they often dress in pirate regalia because they believe pirates were created by thier god. They wear colanders on their heads to mark special events.

The groom, dressed as a pirate, said both he and the bride, also dressed as a pirate, believed in the Flying Spaghetti Monster.

The religion may seem like a laugh – and indeed there was plenty of laughter at the wedding – but "Prime Ministeroni" Karen Martyn of The Church of the Flying Spaghetti Monster said there was more to it.

It was a church that fostered on such beliefs as interconnectedness, cooperation, trust and science-based evidence. It was against discrimination, hate, and harm. It was for end-of-life choice and was committed to "encouraging sensual pleasures".

The Flying Spaghetti Monster was also not a specific gender, and on Martyn's pirate outfit she wore a gender-neutral kiwi and a gay sheep sporting a blue colander on its head.

Pastafarian Kiwi's official doctrine runs to 43 pages, ending with the question of why Pastafarians talk pirate?

"Because it's fun and fun is the ideal."