Sara Arroyo Montalvo and her partner were flying to Las Vegas to elope privately. Instead, their first Southwest Airlines flight became an unforgettable wedding celebration in the sky.
After flight attendants learned the couple planned to get married in Las Vegas, they decided to organize a surprise midair ceremony. The Aug. 13 wedding took place in front of 178 passengers, with the plane’s captain—who is also an ordained minister—officiating.
The crew even improvised the wedding accessories using whatever they had available onboard. Montalvo was given a veil and a one-ply “wedding dress” made from toilet paper, while her bouquet was created using Southwest coffee stir sticks.
Montalvo said the couple never expected their private elopement plans to turn into a celebration involving an entire aircraft.
“Fate couldn’t have been more aligned,” she wrote, noting it was also their first time flying with Southwest.
She thanked the crew for making the journey unforgettable, while passengers and social media users congratulated the newlyweds and praised the crew for going above and beyond.
But the unusual ceremony also raised an interesting question: How exactly does a marriage performed at 35,000 feet become legally valid?
Questions quickly appeared online about which state’s marriage license would apply and how the official paperwork would be handled.
Regardless of the legal details, the couple certainly got a wedding story they will never forget—a Las Vegas elopement that began at cruising altitude with 178 unexpected witnesses.
