An Austrian man said that after his girlfriend of five years kept dropping hints that she wanted to get married, he decided that not only would he propose, he’d also surprise her with a wedding.
Jürgen Bogner told ABC News that it didn’t help that Nathaly Eiche’s “girlfriends got married in the last month and in the last year. I knew it was something I had to do.”
“I wanted to do a big thing,” he added. “Because you only do this once in a lifetime and in my opinion it has to be great. It’s the best day of your life.”
So with the help of Austrian Airlines, Bogner, 36, planned to not only propose but have a surprise wedding during their flight to Athens, Greece. Eiche’s best friend Petra kept the bride-to-be busy, while Bogner arranged their nuptials.
He secured an engagement ring, the wedding gown, the bridal bouquet, the wedding bands, a violinist and an officiant to perform the ceremony.
Eiche said she had no idea what was happening when she boarded her flight, thinking she was going on an average vacation and not her honeymoon, until she heard singing.
“The people in front of me starting singing Bruno Mars’ ‘Marry You’ and they started looking at me,” she told ABC News. “But I didn’t realize this was meant for me.”
Soon she would figure it out when she stood up and saw her now husband standing there with other passengers whipping out their phones to capture the proposal.
“Then he said, ‘OK, let’s make this day even more special and let’s get married right now on the plane.’ And I was like, ‘Yeah! Of course! Let’s do that,'” Eiche recalled.
Bogner told his bride-to-be that the only thing missing was their family members, but he had thought of that too. They were hiding in the back of the plane.
“It was unbelievable,” Eiche, 28, said of the surprise.
During the actual wedding ceremony, Eiche’s father was able to walk her down the aisle. Well, kind of.
“There wasn’t much space so we couldn’t walk next to each other,” Eiche explained. “So he walked behind me and took care of my dress.”
Bogner also arranged for the unknowing passengers to receive a party favor after their ceremony was completed and even enjoy a glass of champagne.
After the ceremony, the newlyweds were able to head to the cockpit and take photos with the captain and first officer, who congratulated them.
“It worked out. He did a really good job. I had no idea,” the bride said.
(ABC)
