A couple from Oklahoma got married on a flight to Las Vegas, surrounded by crew and other passengers who went the extra mile to make the day extra special for them.
Jeremy Salda and Pam Patterson had wanted to get married in Vegas on April 24, and had even booked a chapel to that end, reports USA Today. Fate, however, had other plans in store for the couple – they ended up getting married 37,000 feet in the air, rather than in the ‘marriage capital’ of the world.
Things were going according to plan for Salda and Patterson until their connecting flight on American Airlines to Las Vegas was cancelled. They thought the wedding was not going to happen, but a post from Southwest Airlines explains how it finally came together.
“Chris, another passenger traveling to LAS from DFW, overheard Pam and Jeremy discussing how they might still get to Vegas in time for their appointment,” the airline wrote in a Facebook post that has gone viral.
“Chris also happened to be an ordained minister and offered to marry the couple himself! The three went online, snatched up the last three seats to Vegas on a Southwest flight, and hurried together across town to Dallas Love Field.”
Once on the flight, the captain noticed Patterson was wearing a wedding dress (she had dressed up “just for the fun of it.”)
“Pam explained their story and joked with Captain Gil they should just get married on the flight. For the second time that week, Pam was surprised to hear the words, ‘Let’s do it!’” according to Southwest.
From there onwards, things came together pretty fast for the happy couple. Streamers made of toilet paper went up to give the aircraft a festive look appropriate for a wedding. A professional photographer travelling on the same flight offered to take photos, while another person passed around an old notebook for people to sign with wishes for the newlyweds. Julie, a flight attendant, stood in for the bride’s maid of honour.
The post, shared yesterday, has gone viral with over 63,000 ‘shares’ and hundreds of comments.
“Omg. First, congratulations! Second, that is SO cool how everything fell into place to a great venue for the wedding,” wrote one person in the comments section.
“Wow, this couple and passengers will never forget this story! So wonderful to read how everyone jumped in to make this a very happy ending,” said another.
