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LONDON — Wendy Glover was joking when she suggested to her afraid-of-heights fiance, Simon, that they say their vows on the London Eye, the landmark Ferris wheel across the River Thames from the Houses of Parliament.
“Straightaway, I said, yeah, that would be a fantastic idea, as long as I could go on it first to make sure I was OK,” Simon Glover said.
They’re one of about 250 couples who have married on the Eye, a modern London icon since it opened as part of the city’s millennium celebrations. The local registrar’s office provides an officiant, who begins the ceremony as soon as the couple and guests — up to 25 people — step into their transparent, enclosed capsule for the 30-minute ride around.
At the top, 420 feet above London, the two are pronounced husband and wife, or civil partners under Britain’s statute for same-sex couples. There’s time for champagne and a little celebrating before the return to solid ground.
An unusual venue is an increasingly popular way to add spice to a wedding. Modern nuptials have been performed on mountaintops and glaciers, on skis, underwater (in scuba gear), on sandbars, while skydiving or on safari.
For Americans, celebrations far from home are the biggest wedding trend of the past two decades, said Carley Roney, editor of the Web site TheKnot.com. Europe is increasingly popular, she said, boosted by celebrity weddings like Madonna’s 2000 affair in the Scottish Highlands and Tom Cruise and Katie Holmes’ extravaganza near Rome last year.
The Caribbean is the biggest destination for American couples looking to say “I do” overseas, followed by Italy, Roney said. Britain is also popular, particularly for traditional ceremonies in scenic countryside locales.
“Couples are desperate for ways to make their wedding that little bit different, to have it have a personality,” she said. “Getting married in a far-off location or up in the sky is just that — it’s something very memorable, it’s a personal stamp, and it will get you talked about.”
The Glovers said that because they’re not religious, they knew a church wedding wasn’t for them. And since they were living in Cairo until a month before their big day, in May 2006, they wanted someplace that would help them organize the event, which the Eye does.
“We’re not particularly conventional people,” said Wendy Glover, 28, who works for a communications company. “Getting married in a hotel, or a registry office, it just wasn’t for us. Once we’d seen (the London Eye), it kind of grew in our imagination, and it became a fantastic idea.”
Some guests were a little nervous boarding the Eye’s capsule, which was festooned with flowers. But because each pod is enclosed and moves slowly, there’s little sensation of height — just amazing views.
“For Londoners and people who have taken London into their hearts, it’s quite breathtaking,” said Liz Edwards, an Eye spokeswoman.
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