For the first time in history, a man and a woman have been married in space. The Russian space program, along with the U.S. space agency, have sent a tourist and a dog into orbit. Ekaterina Dmitriev and Yuri Malenchenko are getting married in space, via video link from NASA headquarters. The bride walked down the aisle to a David Bowie song. Yuri wore a bow tie to commemorate the occasion.
A couple wishing to tie the knot in space will be able to do so thanks to Space Perspective, a company that has plans to take the first space weddings to orbit Earth in 2011. The wedding will take place in 2025, but there’s still time to sign a contract to make sure your date is available. In the meantime, couples can sign up for special packages and receive exclusive invitations. Guests will get to experience the space station and the atmosphere of space, along with a wedding certificate.
The two will get married via video link, and Ed Lu, an astronaut, will be the best man at the event. The wedding was not originally planned in space, but a delay in Malenchenko’s mission meant that he couldn’t attend the ceremony. Despite the delay, the couple decided to stick with their original date. They have a few months to get married. But it’s sure to be one of the most memorable events in space.
The wedding will be held 100 kilometers in the air and will cost 240 million yen. The ceremony will be performed by a priest and can include up to three other guests. They will be broadcast live from space, which is a first for the world. Guests will get a copy of the ceremony and can also send the wedding invitation to their friends and family. However, it’s unclear whether the space wedding will actually happen in real life.
While many experts predicted that Malenchenko’s career would come to an end after his marriage in space, he went on to complete two more ISS missions. The space station closures have only temporarily affected the wedding and its reception, but it has not deterred Earthlings from dreaming about space weddings. While it’s unlikely that the two cosmonauts will be able to get married anytime soon, the ceremony was still the first to take place in space.
For the reception, N+J wanted to spend time together, before the wedding. To celebrate their love and their relationship, they went to Cellar Door Winery and sampled Meowgartias. They also spent time hand-in-hand through the warehouse where the reception was held. Fink Prints designed the Galactic-inspired invitations and used calligraphy by Lulu & Roo Design Boutique. Their invitations included a fun fact about a couple’s love for cats.