Flight delay thwarts Vegas wedding plans – so couple got married on the plane instead

A couple who had planned to marry in Las Vegas resorted to a unique backup plan and said their vows at 37,000 feet in the air instead.

Jeremy Salda and Pam Patterson (now Salda) planned to fly from Dallas-Fort Worth Airport to Las Vegas on Sunday, April 24 to get married in a wedding chapel. But their connecting American Airlines flight out of D-FW was canceled.

The couple, all dressed up in their wedding attire, became visibly stressed trying to figure out what to do next; their wedding was scheduled for 9 p.m. in Vegas, and they weren’t sure they were going to make it.

“We were the last appointment of the day, so we couldn’t push it back,” Pam said. “It was 9 p.m. or nothing.”

But another traveler, who was on their canceled flight and who noticed their predicament, offered up a solution.

“He says, ‘I don’t think you’re going to make it,’ and we’re like ‘yeah, I don’t think we are either,’” Pam said. “And then he said ‘well, I’m an ordained minister, so I think I can help you out.’”

The passenger, Chris Mitcham, was not only ordained, but was also carrying high-quality video equipment to Las Vegas for his job as a broadcaster.

He offered to marry the couple in Las Vegas himself. The three travelers managed to find seats on a Southwest Airlines flight from Dallas to Las Vegas, and they shared an Uber for the 20-mile trip to the Dallas Love Field airport.

With their flight leaving in 50 minutes, they knew they had to hurry.

“We get in the Uber and I sit in the front seat and I tell him, ‘look, we’re going to need you to floor it, and I’m going to tell you why,’” Pam said.

Once they arrived at Love Field, Pam said they were “ literally running through the airport.”

They made it to their gate just as they were about to board, Pam said. Once they got on, the captain noticed the couple’s attire.

“He goes, ‘are you trying to get married in Vegas?’” Pam said. “And I say ‘yes, but I don’t think we’re gonna make it, so I think we’re going to get married right here on this plane.’”

To the couple’s surprise, the captain agreed with them.

“Everybody just springs into action after that,” Pam said. “We’re just sitting there and we can’t believe it.

The flight crew quickly prepared for the couple’s makeshift ceremony, hanging up streamers made out of toilet paper, making Chris a sash out of snack packets, and asking customers onboard to turn on their call buttons to illuminate the center aisle.

Chris also set up his camera equipment, complete with lights, microphones, and a tripod.

“He just keeps pulling stuff out of his bag like Mary Poppins,” Pam said.

A flight attendant also downloaded the wedding march and had it ready for Pam’s walk down the aisle.

During the ceremony, the couple sprinkled puns into their vows.

“Any turbulence, I want to weather it with you,” Pam told the groom.

After the ceremony came an improvised reception. One passenger, who happened to be a professional wedding photographer, offered to take photos. Another passenger offered up a leftover powdered doughnut as a wedding cake.

And a third passenger volunteered an old notebook to be used as a guest book. Its pages soon became filled with well-wishes from passengers and staff throughout the cabin.

“Everybody wrote the sweetest notes, and their seat number and their name,” Pam said.

Chris, the ordained minister and broadcaster, also captured the ceremony in 4K video.

“It’s one of the more well-organized weddings I’ve ever been to, and I’ve seen a lot of weddings,” Jeremy said.

And, according to the couple, Southwest Airlines paid for everyone’s drinks during the ceremony.

“It was technically an open bar,” Pam said.

The couple, who met online in 2020, got engaged in January and have a destination wedding in Mexico planned for later this year.

But they also wanted to have an “official” wedding in the U.S., which led them to plan a ceremony in Las Vegas.

Luckily, everything ended up working out in the end.

“It could not have gone any more perfect, honestly,” Pam said.

The couple still has plans for their wedding in Mexico later this year, on the 2-year anniversary of their first date. But they’ve made a lot of new additions to their guest list.

“We’re going to invite the flight crew, the officiant and his wife, the captain, and it sounds like some of them will be able to come,” Jeremy said.

Southwest, which brands itself as the “love airline” — its New York Stock Exchange symbol is LUV — said in a statement that it appreciated the opportunity to celebrate its customers.

“We were thrilled to play host to Pam and Jeremy’s special day,” the company said in an emailed statement to McClatchy News. “We offer our congratulations to the newlyweds and well wishes on their new life together.”

This story was originally published April 28, 2022 at 3:12 PM with the headline "Flight delay thwarts Vegas wedding plans – so couple got married on the plane instead."