Organizers of a South Carolina Polar Bear Plunge said this year's event drew hundreds of participants, including two who got married just before jumping in.

ADVERTISEMENT

Veteran plungers Allie and John Golden held their wedding on the shore prior to the 18th annual Sullivan's Island Polar Bear Plunge Sunday while surrounded by hundreds of other participants waiting to leap into the frigid waters of the Atlantic Ocean, WCSC-TV, Charleston, S.C., reported Monday.

"This is our favorite event," John Golden said. "So it's a perfect day for our marriage."

"We had a small wedding party but a large crowd," Allie Golden said. "I couldn't imagine being anywhere else or having our wedding anywhere else but right here."

Bill Dunleavy, co-owner of event sponsor Dunleavy's Pub, said he did not yet have an official count of participants, but the number may have been in the thousands. He said the event aimed to raise $50,000 for the Special Olympics.

"This is the biggest we've ever had," Dunleavy said. "The best weather forecast ... just a great turn out for the Special Olympics."