Love was in the air somewhere over Oregon when flight attendant
Kristy Larsen and her husband Jim married in a one-of-a-kind airplane
wedding on Alaska Airlines Flight 461 Friday, February 19.
Bride Kristy, who first met Jim in a Seattle coffee shop while she
was on a layover, had been working for the airline for 11 years before
taking to the skies to wed her fiance. Sharing with
The Knot
that they not only took a leap by getting engaged on Leap Day, February
29, 2012, the pair went to even greater heights for their airplane
wedding last weekend!
But
Frees it in Time
photographer and friend of the bride Christina Frees told The Knot that
planning a speedy airplane wedding isn’t an easy task. “Getting
permission for this type of wedding is rare and hard. Last time our
airline approved someone to get married in flight was another one of our
flight attendants over 20 years ago!” She added, “We work for the best
airline, with the best crews and it really took everyone’s help to pull
it off.”
Kristy
held a bridal bouquet of pink, purple and white flowers on her wedding
day. Credit: Christina Frees/Frees it in Time Photography
Kristy called the planning process “tricky,” adding that Alaska
Airline inflight supervisor and friend Rita Daniels was an asset in
procuring permissions. She helped make sure the ceremony ran smoothly so
Kristy could celebrate at 35,000 feet with her close friends and
unsuspecting passengers on the sold out flight!
“I had 11 days to plan which included coming up with the idea,
getting permission from Alaska Airlines, designing and making my shoes
and accessories, coordinating tickets and getting medical approval for
my mom to travel,” Kristy told The Knot.
With
the blessing of the Captain, the bride and groom were married by pastor
Scott Wetzel.
Credit: Christina Frees/Frees it in Time Photography
The bride’s mother Billie Jo had been receiving treatments for lung
cancer while living in Los Angeles. She was able to not only witness her
daughter’s wedding, but also travel to Seattle to see where her
daughter lives with Jim and how she works in airplanes. Christina shared
that the wedding was a secret for Billie Jo saying, “I think she
reacted the way everyone on the plane did. With shock and joy! I believe
her words were ‘pretty spectacular!’ There were tears, laughs and lots
of hugs.”
“She was VERY excited and said, ‘That’s my Kissy!’ My family’s
nickname for me,” Kristy told The Knot. “She says, ‘I am super pleased
to see my girl so happy.'” Contrary to other reports, the bride shared
that her mother was doing well adding, “She is strong and improving.
She’s had positive results from the new alternative immunotherapy
treatments for her lung cancer.”
Kristy
and Jim shared a toast with flight 461 passengers after their wedding
ceremony.
Credit: Christina Frees/Frees it in Time Photography
Calling on not only her chosen wedding guests of flight attendants
and Alaska Airlines supervisors, the bride cleverly devised ways to
transform the airplane into a wedding venue with the help of its 165
passengers. “The passengers were amazing! People love a love story and a
surprise. This obviously had both,” the wedding photographer said.
“They were asked to hold tulle down the aisle, chocolate roses, and were
given bubbles for the walk back down.”
Passenger
helped create a wedding aisle for the bride and groom and blew bubbles
after the ceremony.
Credit: Christina Frees/Frees it in Time Photography
“I have never photographed a wedding where the people attending the
wedding didn’t know they were going to be part of such an emotional and
intimate moment,” Christina told The Knot. “None of the 165 passengers
knew the couple and everyone was so excited to share in their love. It
was so amazing to see people come together to celebrate a beautiful love
story and touching moment with Jim, Kristy and her mom Billie Jo.”
Thankful for the receptive rows of spontaneous wedding guests, the
bride also exclusively shared with The Knot that her favorite memory of
the day was, “Seeing the passengers so engaged and enjoying themselves.
You could feel the happiness, love and joy spreading throughout the
cabin.”
Passengers
aboard flight 461 from Los Angeles to Seattle helped Kristy and Jim
celebrate their wedding
Credit: Christina Frees/Frees it in Time
Photography
“Well….and the shoes!” the bride added. “I really enjoyed designing
and most of all wearing them.” The shoes in question are custom white
pumps dreamt up and painted by the bride to resemble the Alaska Airlines
airplane, complete with blue heels with a green stripe, and rows of
tiny windows. Kristy said, “I loved people’s reactions to the shoes!”
The Knot certainly can’t get enough of this unique airplane wedding
detail, too!
Kristy
told The Knot that she “loved” peoples reactions to the airplane
wedding heels she designed
herself. Credit: Christina Frees/Frees it in
Time Photography
Despite the “short notice plan,” photographer and flight attendant
Christina leapt at the opportunity to capture her friends Kristy and
Jim’s location-less wedding. “I didn’t find out the location was a plane
until the week before!” she said. “I love planes as much as I love
photography and feel really comfortable in that environment so I knew it
would be a challenge, but one I was happy to take.”
Much like planning an airplane wedding, navigating the cabin of a
sold out Alaska Airlines flight that’s been transformed into a wedding
venue proved to be quite the experience. The photographer grabbed an
open jumpseat on the sold out flight and prepared to shoot the airplane
wedding in its less-than-ideal photographic conditions.
Photographer
Christina Frees said the passengers were “amazing” and supportive of
the mid-flight
ceremony. Credit: Christina Frees/Frees it in Time
Photography
“If you’ve ever been on an airplane you know the lighting is bad!
Like ’70s school bathroom bad,” she joked. “I prefer to shoot in natural
light and there was none to be had in that environment. It’s also not
the prettiest location.” With a 22-inch aisle, a full cabin and low
lighting, Christina explained, “It was a challenge but so fun!”
“My goal was to use my 85mm fixed lens to get beautiful close-in
shots focusing on the emotion of the bride and groom,” Christina added.
She managed to capture beautiful shots of the bride and groom walking
down the airplane’s aisle, getting married by friend and pastor Scott
Wetzel, and sharing priceless moments with Billie Jo and the rest of the
cabin.
The
bride and groom were greeted at their gate with signs and balloons in
Seattle.
Credit: Christina Frees/Frees it in Time Photography
When the plane touched down in Seattle, the bride shared with The
Knot that the airline had created a special welcome at the gate complete
with congratulatory signs, balloons and flowers. “The following day we
had a wedding reception in Snohomish, Washington for friends and
family,” she shared.
The bride and groom shared a piece of cake at the airport.
Credit: Christina Frees/Frees it in Time Photography
Though the couple are waiting for things to settle down a bit before
venturing off to Iceland for their honeymoon, Kristy did reveal one
regret about a project she hopes to start working on soon. “I am
designing custom fabrics to add comments, wishes and names of the ones
who witnessed our ceremony into a memory quilt,” she said. “My only
regret was not giving [the flight passengers] a way to stay in touch and
share their pictures, videos and thoughts with us.”
After the wedding, Kristy and Jim held a reception for friends and family.
Credit: Christina Frees/Frees it in Time Photography
So, if you happened to be on the momentous flight and witnessed
Kristy and Jim Larsen’s airplane wedding, share your experience with the
couple by using their unique hashtag #weddingflight461. We can’t wait
to see what others caught on camera from throughout the cabin!
