A couple’s wedding day is a special event. They go to extraordinary lengths to make it memorable and unique. They’ll choose a beautiful location with the perfect view, and they might even opt for a themed wedding. They may plan a destination wedding in a beautiful place or they might choose to marry at a rustic horse stable, for example. However, one company is offering a once-in-a-lifetime experience for couples looking to get married at the most out-of-this-world venue. A space travel company is planning to offer couples the chance to say their vows in space.
There are a lot of different ways to get married, but one way is to have a traditional ceremony at a hotel ballroom or other traditional site. Many couples, however, are getting more adventurous when it comes to finding a one-of-a-kind space for their wedding. Some have tied the knot beside a river or lake, in an old barn, on a mountain top, or in a greenhouse.
In another case, a Russian cosmonaut married his wife while still in space. Ekaterina Dmitriev walked down the aisle via video link in Houston, Texas, while her husband, Yuri Malenchenko, orbited in the International Space Station. He wore his formal flight uniform and his best man, fellow astronaut Ed Lu, played Mendelsohn’s traditional wedding march on a keyboard aboard the station. In accordance with Texas law, Dmitriev blew him a kiss and he blew her one back, despite the fact that they could not hear each other speak.
This is not the first time that a bride and groom have exchanged their vows while in space. In fact, the first space wedding was held in 16 years ago. Then, as now, a Russian astronaut performed the marriage, which was officially a proxy ceremony in accordance with Texas law. The groom, Yuri Malenchenko, is named after Yuri Gagarin, the first human to reach outer space. The ceremony took place in June, and the couple had 200 guests attend on Earth while they walked down the aisle to David Bowie’s “The Starman.”
Now, a company called Space Perspective is hoping to provide couples with a similar once-in-a-lifetime experience. The company says that it can organize a space wedding for anyone willing to pay the price of $125,000. The company’s website explains that its Neptune spacecraft will carry newlyweds into space and into the “space lounge” where they can relax and admire the curvature of Earth’s atmosphere and the thin line between our planet’s blue and white lines. Neptune is powered by sustainable hydrogen, which means it doesn’t use rockets and the resulting carbon footprint.
The company’s co-founder, Jane Poynter, says that the list of couples who want to get married in space is already light-years long. She hopes that the service will be available by late next year. If you’re interested, you can sign up on the Space Perspective website. Spaceship Neptune can hold nine people, including the pilot, but it can accommodate more if necessary.