Two gay couples married Monday aboard a
Scandinavian Airlines or SAS (previously Scandinavian Airlines
System) flight to New York from Stockholm, MSNBC.com reported.
The winners of the company's Love is in
the Air marketing campaign, which was sponsored by the International
Gay Lesbian Travel Association (IGLTA), walked down the aisle within
the flight's first 20 minutes while in Swedish airspace. Sweden
legalized gay marriage last year.
The twin weddings are believed to be
the first legal gay marriages performed aboard a commercial airline.
A
rumored Virgin America ceremony performed in Canadian airspace last
month has not been verified.
A representative from the European
Parliament officiated over the marriages of German couple Aleksander
Mijatovic and Shantu Bhattacherjee and Ewa Tomaszewicz and Gosia
Rowinska from Poland.
The men met over seven years ago at a
party in Berlin and have been together ever since.
The women say it was love at first
sight for the pair, who have been together over five years.
The celebration included the
traditional first dance, a multi-course dinner and a wedding cake.
More than 300 happy couples eager to
marry at 35,000 feet entered the contest. First place winners
Mijatovic-Bhattacherjee received a total of 81,640 votes to win the
dream wedding.
“It's been like a fairy tale,” said
newlywed Bhattacherjee. “Aleksander and I both lost our mothers
several years ago. But it's nice to be married up here, close to
them in the clouds where they have the option to be here and be part
of the ceremony.”