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Saturday, 3 May 2008

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Clergyman: I presided over Mariah & Nick's wedding

Bishop tells PEOPLE they were married in the Caribbean

Bishop Clifford Petty of the National Church of God in the Caribbean confirmed to PEOPLE that he presided over the wedding of Mariah Carey and Nick Cannon.

Petty provided no details except to say that he did not give a sermon.

Carey, 39, and Cannon, 27, obtained a marriage license on the Bahamian island of Eleuthera, a source confirms to PEOPLE. Petty's church is based in Eleuthera, in the town of Governor's Harbour, but he didn't say whether the wedding took place there or elsewhere.

According to marriage requirements for the Bahamas, a couple must be in the country for at least 48 hours, be over the age of 16 and have obtained a valid marriage license within 90 days, says Monique Gomez, a Bahamian attorney in Nassau who specializes in family law.

The source says that Carey did obtain a license in Eleuthera within that time period. And clarifies Gomez, "The minister would make sure (the license) goes into the registry. It's still a valid marriage even if it's not filed. Anywhere in the world."

The National Church of God, based in Fort Lauderdale, Fla., was established in 1967 and has churches in South Florida, New York, the Bahamas and Jamaica, according to the church Web site.

"We are a church with a heart of a community, and a community with a church at heart," says the site, which lists Petty as the Bahamas Regional Overseer.

By Siobhan Morrissey