Wedding Extreme.

by Aaron Drake

Celebrating Marriage Equality with an Adventure Ceremony

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For many couples their wedding day is already the beginning of a new adventure. For gays and lesbians who have a passion for travel (and a knack for creativity), it’s no surprise they would push the envelope even further with the how, when and where of getting hitched. Jeff Robertson and Jeremiah Pyant are the perfect example of one such couple. They celebrated their love and right to marry with an adventure wedding thousands of feet above the ground last year.

The couple married April 29, 2014. They were the winners of an ACLU contest called “My Big Gay Illegal Wedding,” which was intended to shine a light on the fact that depending on what state a same-sex couple was living in, they might not be able to get legally married. They could cross state lines and wed in a state where it is legal, but they would still return to their home state with little or no protections.

“This contest was fitting for us because it describes our daily lives,” Jeff says about their

decision to enter. “Jeremiah is a flight attendant and daily he flies from state to state, meaning our marriage status is forever changing as one moment we are legally recognized and it’s completely void the next.”

Five couples total were chosen as winners, Jeff and Jeremiah among them. ACLU gave each winning couple award money to create the wedding of their dreams—in a state where it would be recognized. This adventurous couple quickly put it to good use.

“Jeremiah and I used the $5,000 prize to travel to El Paso, Texas, nearing the border of New Mexico, where our marriage would be legal,” Jeff says. “We crossed the state line via helicopter—the wind in El Paso became too rough for the hot air balloon we were going to charter—and an officiant legally wed us thousands of feet above the New Mexico-Texas state line. Once landing safely in New Mexico, we celebrated with a small group of friends.”

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Shortly thereafter on May 19, ACLU planned a wedding reception in New York City for the winning couples at the legendary Studio 54. Another contest began allowing five more winners the chance for an all-expenses-paid trip for two to the wedding reception. To enter, contestants had to sign a petition supporting marriage equality in states where same-sex marriages were banned. Ultimately, Jeff and Jeremiah were able to deliver a petition with hundreds of thousands of signatures to the state capitol in Texas, their home state.

As for the couple’s love for travel, they attribute it for finding each other.

“We met when I was flying home from Atlanta to Milwaukee on business,” Jeff shares. “Jeremiah was the flight attendant that day and we exchanged numbers and emails at the end of the flight. After a few months of emailing and Facebooking, we planned to meet in Milwaukee. We fell in love at an Applebee’s on our second date!” Then before their own adventure helicopter wedding, they got engaged at El Dorado Royale Maya in Cancun, Mexico (watch their proposal video that went viral at http://youtu.be/tlOKQQdNjMw).

This year they celebrated their one-year wedding anniversary in London and Paris. “It was amazing to spend time seeing some of the world’s most beautiful sites with my husband of one year! The highlight of our trip was visiting the world-famous Love Lock Bridge in Paris, France. We wrote our initials and wedding date on our lock and then attached the lock to the bridge. We then threw our key into the river. Amazing to say the least.”

Following their lead, we took it upon ourselves to find out what other exciting ways trailblazing LGBTs could exchange their vows with a spike of adrenaline.

Fly Higher Than an Eagle

Just like Jeff and Jeremiah, who flew with Vertical Limit Aviation in Albuquerque, New Mexico,

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booking a helicopter is an option if you want to swear your love while hovering in the sky. Get married on an hour-long sunset tour or evening star tour while cruising over the lights of Downtown El Paso and tracing the Rio Grande along the border. Add flowers, chocolates and wine to make a toast. VerticalLimitAviation.com

Floating on Air

There’s nothing quite like the stillness of floating over the land in a hot air balloon—and few things that can be more romantic. With Hot Air Expeditions in Phoenix, Arizona, you can opt for a hot air balloon ride at sunset, and upon landing, enjoy a glass of champagne and wedding cake by candlelight underneath a million stars. It will be an evening to remember. HotAirExpeditions.com

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Aaron Drake is Executive Editor of Gaycation Magazine. He has contributed to The Advocate, Out Traveler, Man About World and Amtrak Ride With Pride. When he’s not writing and traveling the globe, you can find him at the beach, at the movies, or playing with his two mischievous dogs. Follow his travels and travails on Twitter and Instagram at @theaarondrake.

Jump For Your Love

This is probably the most adrenaline-inducing extreme wedding a couple could plan, but if your love is this extraordinary it’s the right option. Vegas Extreme Skydiving in Las Vegas lets you choose to have a quick ceremony before boarding, on the climb to jump altitude or at the drop zone after making the dive. It gives a whole new meaning to “taking the plunge.” VegasExtremeSkydiving.com

Sail Away

Sailing into the sunset is the ultimate happy ending. You can do just that with the Alii Nui charter and whale-watching cruise in Maui, Hawaii. Perfect for larger wedding parties, reserve this custom-built luxury catamaran and seal the deal while you coast over tropical waters with the sunset or whales breaching the waves as a backdrop. Afterwards you’ll feel like it was all a dream. AliiNuiMaui.com