Oklahoma couple gets married on Southwest flight after weather thwarts Vegas wedding plans
DALLAS – When stormy weather put an Oklahoma couple’s plans for a Vegas wedding in jeopardy, the determined pair came up with the ultimate backup plan: a ceremony 37,000 feet above the ground.
According to the Arizona Republic and KPNX-TV, Jeremy Salda and Pam Patterson, both of Oklahoma City, were at Dallas-Fort Worth International Airport on Sunday when they learned that their American Airlines flight to Nevada had been canceled – just hours before they were scheduled to wed at a Las Vegas chapel.
The bride and groom, already clad in their wedding clothes, happened upon another passenger who was an ordained minister, the news outlets reported. The quick-thinking trio then rushed to Dallas Love Field after snagging tickets for a Southwest Airlines flight to Vegas with a layover in Phoenix.
“As they boarded the flight, their pilot, Captain Gil, noticed Pam’s wedding dress and asked her about it,” Southwest wrote in a Facebook post about the couple.
The bride-to-be, worried that they wouldn’t arrive in Las Vegas in time for the appointment, explained the situation and jokingly suggested that they have the ceremony on the plane, KPNX reported. The pilot replied, “Let’s do it,” according to the Facebook post.
The crew quickly decorated the plane with “toilet paper streamers” and used snack bags to make a sash for the minister, identified only as Chris, the post read. A flight attendant, Julie Reynolds, offered to stand in as the maid of honor, according to the Republic.
“A professional photographer on the flight pulled out her camera for official wedding photos,” Southwest wrote in the Facebook post. “Another passenger passed around an old notebook for the whole cabin to sign with well-wishes and their seat numbers, which was given to the bride and groom as a makeshift guestbook.”
The airline went on to congratulate the happy couple.
“Congrats to the newlyweds on a memorable inflight wedding neither our employees nor passengers are likely to forget!” Southwest wrote.
