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Virgin Australia hosted its first mid-air wedding onboard flight VA841 travelling between Melbourne and Sydney on Thursday.
Elaine Tiong and Luke Serdar walked down the aisle of the 737-8FE, VH-YFX, which departed the Victorian capital at 12:32 PM and landed in the NSW capital at 1:37pm.
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As a result of COVID restrictions, the happy couple wore masks and didn’t kiss until they disembarked the aircraft in Sydney.
Serdar, 36, from Prahran in Melbourne’s inner eastern suburbs said the couple were planning to marry on Valentine’s Day and wanted an unconventional wedding.
“Our friends and family will probably think we’re a bit crazy, but know we’re always up for an adventure!” said the groom. “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.”
Stylist Tiong, 35, 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 truth is, I was a wedding planner for many years, and after organising 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 travel and planes – I couldn’t think of a more perfect way for us to say ‘I do’, and here we are.”
During the flight, Virgin cabin crew handed all passengers a buttermilk biscuit wedding favour in the shape of a love heart and the pair were married by celebrity wedding celebrant Tottie Goldsmith.
Virgin Australia general manager Sarah Adam said they wished the couple a happy life together.
“We’re Australia’s most loved airline, so it’s only fitting that we took love to new heights today, with our first-ever mid-air wedding,” said Adam. “We’re a fun and vibrant airline and travellers can continue to expect surprises like this when they fly with us.”
Last week, Australian Aviation reported how Virgin launched a special flight to mark Sydney’s Pride Festival, featuring mid-air drag performances and DJ entertainment.
The service, from Brisbane to Sydney on Friday, 5 March, will be hosted by cabin crew member and “Sydney drag royalty” Penny Tration.
