'A story for the ages': Meet the OKC couple who said 'I do' on board a Southwest flight

Pam and Jeremy Salda's relationship has been defined by taking chances.

The Oklahoma City metro-area pair first met when they matched on the dating app Bumble in August of 2020. Pam, 52, was just testing out the waters of online dating, and Jeremy, 49, was about ready to give up.

A few dates led to being "just friends," to starting a relationship the next May, to getting married onboard a Southwest flight to Phoenix when their April 24 elopement in Las Vegas was hindered by a canceled flight.

"It's just the way it was supposed to be," Pam said of their impromptu wedding ceremony. Pam is originally from Webbers Falls, and now lives in Yukon with Jeremy, who grew up in Oklahoma City.

After getting engaged in January, Pam and Jeremy set their destination wedding in Mexico for Aug. 7, the second anniversary of their first date.

When the federal mask mandate for air travel ended April 18, Pam joked that it made her want to get on a plane to Vegas and get married.

"And he's like, 'Are you serious?' It kind of was back and forth for a minute, and I was like, 'I think I am,'" Pam said. "And two hours later, we've got a hotel, flight, a dress and someone to watch the dogs."

Only telling a few friends and Jeremy's children, the elopement at a Las Vegas chapel was supposed to be something just between them. Fate had other plans, it seemed.

What led to the Saldas getting married 37,000 feet above Arizona?

Because their plane from Dallas to Las Vegas would land at 7:30 p.m. and their appointment, the last of the day, was at 9 p.m., the couple decided to travel in their wedding attire to save time.

Because of bad weather, their flight became increasingly delayed and then canceled.

An ordained wedding officiant, Chris Kligora, of Dallas, Texas, also was trying to get to Vegas and offered to marry them once they arrived, since they wouldn't make it to a chapel that night.

The three found empty seats on a Southwest flight to Vegas, with a stop in Phoenix, and took an Uber from DFW to Dallas Love Field, arriving at the gate with just moments to spare.

"It's like something that you'd see in a movie … I've got flowers in this hand, train of my dress in this hand, I'm running through security, he's got both bags," Pam said. "I wish I could see the footage from the airport, it's got to be funny."

While boarding, the captain noticed the Saldas' attire and asked if they were getting married in Vegas. Without having discussed the idea, Pam said they were, but they might just get married on the plane.

The flight crew was immediately on board with the idea, and the captain welcomed passengers to "Flight 2690, and the wedding of Pam and Jeremy," Jeremy said.

What does an in-flight wedding look like?

The flight attendants got creative, hoping to make the spur-of-the-moment nuptials something special.

A little toilet paper and Scotch tape became streamers, call lights lit up the now-wedding aisle and the officiant donned a sash of snack mixes and cocktail straws.

"It was like they'd done it 100 times," Pam said.

The entire flight cheered as Pam walked down the aisle to "Here Comes the Bride" playing over the intercom.

Jeremy had typed out the perfect vows on his iPad, while Pam characteristically went with her gut, using airline puns to express her devotion, like "Any turbulence, I'll weather with you."

A fellow passenger's last mini doughnut became the wedding cake, and a spiral notebook became the guestbook, which passengers passed around during the remainder of the flight.

"There was just all these sweet, sweet notes from people that we don't even know," Pam said.

Pam and Jeremy's dating relationship + engagement

If you've ever found a shiny piece of star confetti somewhere in Oklahoma City, there's a good chance it's a remnant from the Saldas' second date.

When the two first met, Pam told Jeremy she likes to spread kindness like confetti.

"So our second date … I bought two packages of star confetti," Jeremy said. "I say, 'We have to spread this wherever we go.' … There's confetti from that night all over Oklahoma City."

Though the couple hit it off immediately and had a series of great dates — at local favorites like Fassler Hall, The Collective, The Jones Assembly, Picasso Cafe and the Warren Theatre — Pam said she wasn't quite ready to settle down.

She asked if they could be just friends, and there was no way Jeremy was letting her out of his life, so he agreed.

The next May, after not seeing each other for months, Jeremy planned a "day of fun" to cheer Pam up. By the end of the night, Pam said she knew she was "in trouble."

Having been inseparable ever since, the Saldas will commit themselves to each other once more at a small wedding ceremony in Mexico this August. They look forward to celebrating with their friends and family, and a few new guests have been added to the list.

"Chris, the officiant, and his wife have already said they're going to come," Jeremy said. "We've been talking to some of the flight crew and they might come … We made new friends, lifelong friends, and you can't ask for anything more."

What Pam and Jeremy want you to take away from their story

Though their elopement was meant to be a private affair, Pam and Jeremy said the attention for their in-flight wedding-gone-viral has not been unwelcome.

Whether it was the passengers on the plane, or people who saw the story on the news or social media, the reaction from most people has been positive.

If their spontaneous wedding can make someone's day better, then Pam said it was all worth it. It feels as if the couple have thrown "about 10 million pieces of confetti" into people's lives, she said.

What the Saldas hope people take away from their story, both in how they ended up together and their elopement, is to embrace the unexpected.

"This wedding, so many things had to happen for us to get to this point," Jeremy said. "And we've embraced it every step of the way, and it's working out. Now we've got a story for the ages, that we'll be happy to tell for years to come."

This article originally appeared on Oklahoman: OKC couple Pam and Jeremy Salda get married on Southwest flight