HomeMy WebLinkAboutThe Citizen, 2002-02-13, Page 17Sealed with a kiss
Neil Schade and Ruth Sauve seal their sky-high wedding
with a kiss. The couple took to the air over Winnipeg to be
married last April.
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THE CITIZEN, WEDNESDAY, FEBRUARY 13, 2002. PAGE 17
./A;, . 2002
Couple takes to the skies for second wedding
By David Blaney
Citizen staff
The location of the wedding
ceremony is one of the first
decisions made by a bride and
groom. Some couples decide to
have a church ceremony. Others
parents' homes and gardens.
Some couples however decide to
start their married life off with a less
usual location. Neil Schade and
Ruth Sauve were definitely in this
less traditional category. The
Brussels couple found their ideal
location between 12,000 and 13,000
feet above Winnipeg, in a
Beechcraft King Air aircraft.
The idea of a wedding in the sky
had always. been a dream for
Schade. His first wife had opted for
a traditional church wedding and
had turned down his suggestion that
a Beechcraft 18 would be the ideal
location. When he asked Sauve,
however, she was happy to agree.
Schade's son, Kent, is the head of
maintenance for Skyward Aviation
in Winnipeg. When his father
inquired if the sky-high wedding
was possible Kent immediately
went to his employers. They
initially offered the plane at half its
usual rental price but the owner of
the firm quickly decided to provide
the craft for free.
With the technical details settled
all that was left was to literally take
off on their new life. On April 21,
2001, with a former naval aviation
instructor at the controls, two
ministers in attendance and several
friends and relatives along for the
ride, they lifted off.
At 13,000 feet the pilot throttle
dthe engines back and went into a
gentle glide. As Schade says, "By
12,000 feet we were married."
The couple's seats had been
reversed so that they were able to
face their guests. "It was nice," said
Sauve, "everyone could hear every
word."
Whenever he is asked about the
lack of music at the ceremony
Schade is quick to tell you that he
had all the music he needed, "the
hum of two Pratt and Whitney
engines." What is ironic about the
musical hum was that it came from
the two engines, which had been
installed in the plane by Kent
Schade.
Schade admits with a grin that he
did not get his own way with all the
wedding arrangements. Sauve
vetoed his suggestion, that an ideal
way to end the ceremony would be
a parachute jump.
After a landing described as,
"smooth as silk" by Schade the
couple celebrated their novel
wedding at a reception in the pilots'
lounge. Sauve has her own take on
her unusual second wedding.
"Everybody had somuch fun," she
says, "it was wonderful."
When the couple returned to the
hangar the next day to thank
everyone for their help, they found
another surprise awaiting them. A
helicopter pilot who was a friend of
Kent Schade took them on a flight
around Winnipeg as his wedding
present. "He even let me fly the
machine for a while," said Schade.
"I couldn't have been too bad, Ruth
only grabbed the bar once."
Their unique wedding proved that
a second marriage when you are
over 70 doesn't necessarily mean a
quiet ceremony in the church parlor.
Now one is left wondering what
the couple might decide is a great
way to celebrate their first
anniversary.