Feeling a bit strapped for cash this autumn (I’m sorry, but September 1^st marks the end of the summer in my book) but intend on getting hitched before Christmas?

Are you gay/lesbian and understand social media? Would you like to have an all-expenses-paid wedding, thousands of feet above the Atlantic Ocean?  Fancy a honeymoon of two nights in New York at an exclusive Manhattan hotel with a second wedding reception, followed by a flight to California with a further three nights at the Andaz West Hollywood hotel and a business flight back home?

SAS (no, not the Special Air Service regiment of the British Army- the Scandinavian airline) are attempting to organise the world’s first airborne same-sex marriage on December 6. For American based readers, SAS are offering December 7 flights to Sweden, where one wedded couple will be taken for two nights at the Ice Hotel in the northern part of the country, followed by three nights in Stockholm.

If you tick all of the aforementioned criteria – and quite fancy going into the record books of marriage history at the same time- then this might be the competition for you…

This really is the social media driven wedding with all the trimmings- albeit up in the clouds, and with the possibility of turbulence mid-ceremony. The flight includes a reception, a complete menu and cake, and a ready-made congregation of travelling passengers (consisting of the couple’s guests and selected media). I’m not sure how the bouquet will be tossed back across the aisles, but I’m sure they’ll think of something.

To take part in the competition, couples need to create a profile with SAS and upload either a video of up to two minutes or three diferent photos, answer some questions and attach an introduction about their life. And then it’s down to the marketing- whether the couple decide to constantly nag their friends and family, engage in a Twitter/Facebook/YouTube campaign or any other form of social media activity, is entirely down to them. But ultimately the couple with the most votes gets married on cloud nine.

As long as the winning couple do not mind their wedding day turning into a big PR publicity stunt, it could be a perfect pre-Christmas present. It’s certainly got the Stephen Fry seal of approval. But a few words of warning.

To start with, this is certainly one wedding you couldn’t afford to be late for. For Wagner’s ‘Bridal Chorus’, read Stockholm Airport’s ‘Last Boarding Call.’ For the chaplain/registrar’s opening welcome, the winning couple will have to make do with the head steward’s familiar refrain:  

“Before we take off for this wedding flight SK903 from Stockholm to New York, please take a moment to pay attention to this very important safety video, which will inform you what to do in case of an emergency…”

And as for backing out at the last minute… Geronimo?!