Virgin Australia flight VA841 probably will become momentous not only for airline passengers but also for its employees. The Australian air carrier has played host to the company’s first-ever wedding in the sky for a couple from Melbourne.
The Virgin Australia flight from Melbourne to Sydney was marked by an unusual event. An Australian couple Elaine Tiong and Luke Serdar get married at 40,000 feet. According to the airline’s announcement, the couple initially scheduled their mid-air wedding for Valentine’s Day but due to Victoria state five-day lockdown, the event was postponed to February 18, 2021.
During the flight, stunned passengers looked on as the bride was walking down the aircraft aisle wearing a striking white ensemble. The couple swore eternal love at 40,000 feet, as the aircraft flew over Canberra. The newlyweds said that they were looking for an unconventional wedding without the fuss.
“We actually had planned to marry on board a Virgin Australia flight on Valentine’s Day, but we had to postpone when the Victorian lockdown came into play just 24-hours before the big day, so after a false start, we couldn’t be happier to finally tie the knot today,” the groom said.
“I’m 17 weeks pregnant and we just decided we didn’t want any fuss and here we are marrying onboard a flight in front of 150 complete strangers,” the bride laughed.
“The truth is, I was a wedding planner for many years, and after organizing hundreds of weddings, I wanted something different for us. […] This is always what I had dreamed of – doing something random and completely out of the box. After friends suggested I marry on a flight – Luke loves to travel and planes – I couldn’t think of a more perfect way for us to say ‘I do’, and here we are,” Elaine added.
When asked about the reaction from friends and family, Luke said that the friends and family would think that a couple probably are a bit crazy but they are always up for an adventure.
“We’re pregnant and while both originally from Adelaide, our families now live between the UK, America, and Croatia. After five years of dating we wanted to elope, and thanks to Virgin Australia, we’ve done just that,” Luke said.
Due to strict pandemic-related regulations, the couple first kissed as husband and wife upon disembarkation of the aircraft in Sydney, where they were finally able to remove their face masks.