Weddings are always a big deal. They’re a chance for couples to celebrate their love and commit themselves to one another in front of friends and family. But this couple took things to the next level and got married in space!
The company behind this out-of-this-world event is called Raw Space. The Florida-based company offers couples a chance to get married at the edge of space, and no, it doesn’t involve a rocket launch. Instead, the couple will be transported in what the company calls a SpaceBalloon that “launches from land or sea, takes you up, and then splashes down into the ocean.”
There are a few requirements to getting married in space. First and foremost, the couple needs to be able to work together as a team because there aren’t a lot of other people around to help out with the logistics of organizing such an event. It’s also important that the couple has enough money to afford it because the price tag is pretty steep.
Those interested in tying the knot in space can book their tickets here. The experience costs a cool Rs 1 crore per person and the company says that it can hold up to nine people including the pilot. The SpaceBalloon can also be used for other events like birthday parties, bachelor or bachelorette weekends, and even for a romantic getaway.
The idea of marrying in space is nothing new, but the first-ever space wedding happened in 2003 and it was quite an affair. Ekaterina Dmitrieva, a U.S. citizen of Russian descent, and Yuri Malenchenko, who was on the International Space Station at the time, married via a video linkup between NASA headquarters in Houston and the ISS. She wore a white dress and he wore a bow tie in place of his regular flight uniform. The ceremony was officially categorized as a private family conference and wasn’t broadcast publicly on NASA TV.
After the wedding, the couple returned to Earth where they had a religious ceremony in a church in Yaroslavl, north of Moscow. The pair later had a daughter. During his professional career, Malenchenko went on five space missions and spent more than two years in orbit. He’s also the second-longest-serving cosmonaut in history and holds Russia’s highest award, Hero of the Russian Federation.
As traditional wedding venues become increasingly scarce, it’s no wonder that so many couples are choosing to get married in unique locations. From a rustic horse stable to a waterfall, there are endless opportunities for couples to have a one-of-a-kind wedding day. And with companies like Raw Space offering to help with the planning, there’s no limit to how far these lovebirds can go to show their commitment to one another.