If you’ve ever dreamed of saying “I do” in a spaceship looking down at Earth, a travel company is giving you the chance. Co-founder of Space Perspective, Jane Poynter, says the waiting list to get married in their carbon-neutral balloon is already “light years long.”
The idea of an outer-space wedding may seem far-fetched, but it’s not as crazy as you might think. In fact, several companies are now offering to put you in orbit for your big day! These companies, including Space Perspective, offer a variety of packages for people to experience a once-in-a-lifetime moment above the clouds. You can even have your wedding in a simulated zero gravity environment for those with mobility issues, or at any altitude above the atmosphere.
There are also companies that specialize in creating one-of-a-kind wedding venues. You can marry in an old theater, town-building, or other historic property as well as in a natural setting like beside a mountain stream or on top of a mountain!
Some couples opt for a nontraditional wedding venue because they want to create a unique, memorable event. Some popular spaces include a barn, loft space, or the grounds of an old estate. In these cases, couples can add their own decor to the space to make it feel like a wedding venue and not just another room in someone’s home.
For example, a couple who wants to have their wedding in a warehouse might have a friend or professional decorator help them bring their vision to life. Then they can focus on enjoying the day. If you decide to hire a wedding planner or coordinator to take on the task of planning your wedding, you can save time and money by checking with local venues for recommendations for professionals they work with frequently.
A few years ago, Yuri Malenchenko became the first Russian cosmonaut to wed a citizen of another country while in space. He wore his NASA-issued flight suit and a tuxedo for the ceremony, which was conducted via video linkup from the space station. He was joined by his best man, who was standing in for him at the mission control center in Houston.
Officials from the Russian Space Agency tried to convince him to postpone his wedding until he returned, but they were unsuccessful. The reason is that active cosmonauts are required to obtain permission from the Russian state before they can marry an alien and have access to state secrets. Despite these restrictions, Malenchenko and his wife Ekaterina got married anyway. Two months later, when he returned to Earth, he married her in a church in Yaroslavl, Russia, while his astronaut colleague Ed Lu played Mendelssohn’s traditional Wedding March on the keyboard. They are now the parents of a daughter.