06-Aug-2008, 09:00 AM
I've never heard of them but Merlin Grove is a newish area I think, behind St James' Church off Slater Lane.
A couple have tied the knot in mid-air strapped to the wings of a bi-plane.
Dressed in their full wedding finery, daredevil duo Katie Hodgson, 23, and Darren McWalters, 24, of Merlin Grove, Leyland, near Preston, were married as they soared 1'000 feet in the air.
Flanked by excited friends and relatives, on Tuesday afternoon, the couple strode down the aisle before taking their vows.
But instead of a church and alter, they walked down a runway before being strapped to the back of two biplanes.
Rev George Bringham flew ahead of the couple on the wings of a third aircraft and brought the couple together in holy matrimony over an airborne communications system.
The fun loving couple said a traditional wedding was not for them and leaving their friends and family 1,000ft below to get hitched in the clouds has been the perfect start to married life.
The wedding took place in Gloucestershire after the couple won their dream wedding in a competition and it was due to take place at midday but was delayed until 2pm due to bad weather.
Fitness Instructor Mr McWalters said: "We got engaged in the Brazilian rain forest and I wanted a wedding blessing that would top my proposal.
"It was unbelievable. Looking down and seeing my family and friends below was just incredible.I'm lost for words."
The new Mrs McWalters said when she was a young girl she never imagined she would wed on the wings of a plane.
She said: "As I got older I became more adventurous. I bring the adventurous side out of Darren - he used to be scared of heights."
Fearless Rev Bringham, 67, said: "The only hairy moment was when I thought my goggles were about to come off."
A couple have tied the knot in mid-air strapped to the wings of a bi-plane.
Dressed in their full wedding finery, daredevil duo Katie Hodgson, 23, and Darren McWalters, 24, of Merlin Grove, Leyland, near Preston, were married as they soared 1'000 feet in the air.
Flanked by excited friends and relatives, on Tuesday afternoon, the couple strode down the aisle before taking their vows.
But instead of a church and alter, they walked down a runway before being strapped to the back of two biplanes.
Rev George Bringham flew ahead of the couple on the wings of a third aircraft and brought the couple together in holy matrimony over an airborne communications system.
The fun loving couple said a traditional wedding was not for them and leaving their friends and family 1,000ft below to get hitched in the clouds has been the perfect start to married life.
The wedding took place in Gloucestershire after the couple won their dream wedding in a competition and it was due to take place at midday but was delayed until 2pm due to bad weather.
Fitness Instructor Mr McWalters said: "We got engaged in the Brazilian rain forest and I wanted a wedding blessing that would top my proposal.
"It was unbelievable. Looking down and seeing my family and friends below was just incredible.I'm lost for words."
The new Mrs McWalters said when she was a young girl she never imagined she would wed on the wings of a plane.
She said: "As I got older I became more adventurous. I bring the adventurous side out of Darren - he used to be scared of heights."
Fearless Rev Bringham, 67, said: "The only hairy moment was when I thought my goggles were about to come off."