Daring duo walk wings to tie knot

Sealing their wedding vows with a kiss wasn't immediately possible for a daring British couple who chose to marry on top of the wings of three planes yesterday.

British newspaper The Daily Mail reported that groom Darren McWalters, 24, stood on the top wing of a biplane while his bride Katie Hodgson, 23, flew alongside on the wing of an identical aircraft - dressed in full bridal gown.

Rev George Bringham flew ahead of the couple on the wings of a third aircraft and married the Lancashire couple over an airborne communications system, 1,000 feet above the ground.

The ceremony was played through loud speakers at RFC Rendcomb Airfield, Gloucestershire, to the congregation waiting on the ground below.

Jets of white smoke fired from the back of the aeroplane as the couple from Leyland exchanged their vows in mid-air.

McWalters said the couple got engaged in the Brazilian rain forest, and he wanted a wedding blessing that would top his proposal.

"It was unbelievable. Looking down and seeing my family and friends below was just incredible. I'm lost for words."

Hodgson said when she was a young girl she never imagined she would get married on the wings of a plane.

"As I got older I became more adventurous. I bring the adventurous side out of Darren - he used to be scared of heights."

Rev Bringham, 67, said he was not scared in the slightest by the experience.

"I did this before, about eight years ago. It's certainly the most unusual wedding I've ever done.

'The only hairy moment was when I thought my goggles were about to come off."

The couple exchanged rings inside the reception hall at the airbase before sitting down for a private dinner and party.

They were flown by formation wingwalkers Team Guinot.

For pictures of the daring duo, click here.

- © Fairfax NZ News