Atlantica - 01.03.2002, Page 50

i-site MARRY ME IN THE SKY❍
Looking for a new way to celebrate romantic love? Flowers are boring.
Dinner? Nah, been there, done that. A sentimental greeting card from
Hallmark? No thanks. How about saying those wedding vows at 35,000 feet
over the middle of the North Atlantic?
An aeroplane wedding! That’s the way five American couples celebrated
last Valentine’s Day, on board an Icelandair flight travelling from
Baltimore’s International Airport to Keflavík.
Before the ‘Honeymoon Express’ lifted off, Icelandair hosted an intimate
party for the brides and grooms, and their friends and families, at the
Baltimore-Washington Airport; a party that was so successful that some air-
port staff quipped about building a small chapel in the terminal. After the
party, the couples boarded the aircraft while ‘Here Comes the Bride’ played
in the background. One passenger, who called his mother back home in
California slightly before take-off, learned that CNN had already ran a story
on the flight. “Hey, this plane’s on television,” he said.
Take-off. More celebrating. Then at 11:15 p.m. EST, the honourable Robert
P. Duckworth, Clerk of the Court for Anne Arundel County, Maryland, joined
the couples in wedlock while passengers cheered on the newly-weds.
“It was very sweet,” said media manager Debbie Scott, the person who
conceived the wedding plans. “When the rings were exchanged, it was a
happy moment. Everyone on board erupted in applause.”
After toasting their nuptials with champagne, the excited newly-weds
touched down in Iceland, a little tired, but revved up for their weekend hon-
eymoon courtesy of Icelandair.
And what better place to celebrate a wedding than Iceland? The couples
had a host of activities set up for them, but mostly they enjoyed the winter
romance of Iceland, and undoubtedly the magic of Reykjavík’s famed
nightlife, all of which was cast under the spell of their in-flight wedding. EW
A T L A N T I C A48
Honeymoon Express
“You´ve heard of people getting married on
an island or a boat, but never on an airplane
on their way to Iceland,” said newly-weds
Chris Douglas and Stacie Gresham.
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