A US couple turned a Southwest flight into a makeshift wedding chapel and took the vows midair in the company of fellow passengers.
According to CNN, Pam Patterson and Jeremy Salda had been dating since August 2020. Earlier this month, when they heard the news of the mask mandate being lifted on some airlines, they had joked about eloping in Las Vegas. But their joke soon got serious as they booked a flight for Sunday.
“Within about an hour and a half, we had our flights and hotel booked,” Salda told CNN.
However, when the lovebirds arrived at Dallas Fort Worth Airport, they faced multiple delays, and eventually, their final flight to Vegas was canceled. While waiting at the terminal, a passenger and ordained minister, Chris Kilgora, overheard the couple’s predicament, following which he offered to marry the couple himself.
From there, the Oklahoma couple and the minister purchased the last three seats to Las Vegas on a Southwest flight. However, this flight was scheduled out of Dallas Love Field airport, which was about 25 minutes away. “We had 50 minutes before the plane took off,” Patterson told CNN, adding, “We told the Uber to floor it, and he did.”
The couple was traveling in their wedding attire all day. So, when they boarded the flight, the pilot noticed the wedding dress and asked Patterson about it. The couple then joked with the Captain that they should just tie the knot on the flight. To this, the Captain responded saying: “Let’s do it!”
The whole flight crew then helped the couple and hung up toilet paper streamers. They made a snack mix sash for the minister and an old notebook was passed around the cabin for passengers to sign as a makeshift guest book. A flight attendant stood in as the bride’s maid of honor and there was a professional photographer as well on the flight who took out her camera to take official wedding photos.
“It’s so strange how everything fell into place,” Patterson told the media outlet.
The newlyweds spent an extra day in Vegas to celebrate their wedding. Now, they plan to follow through with their originally planned ceremony in August, where they will celebrate with family and friends in Cabo San Lucas, Mexico.
