On August 10, 2003, the world witnessed something that had never happened before: a wedding between two people who were in completely different places. Ekaterina Dmitriev, standing in Texas, married her fiancé, Russian cosmonaut Yuri Malenchenko, who was orbiting the Earth aboard the International Space Station (ISS).

The ceremony took place through a live satellite link between the ISS and NASA’s mission control in Houston, after Malenchenko’s stay in space was unexpectedly extended.

To mark the big day, Malenchenko wore a bow-tie over his space suit, while Dmitriev wore an ivory wedding gown and posed with a life-sized cardboard cutout of her groom at NASA’s Johnson Space Center. “As Yuri was further away, he was closer to me because of the communication we have,” Dmitriev told The New York Times.

Initially, the couple planned a large wedding on Earth with 200 guests. But when Malenchenko’s mission was extended, they decided to exchange vows in a creative way, connecting space and Earth for their special moment.

Walking down the aisle to a David Bowie song, Dmitriev blew a kiss to Malenchenko through the video link, which he returned with a smile. Another astronaut aboard the ISS even played the wedding march on a portable keyboard to make the occasion more memorable.

Malenchenko returned from space in October 2003 to finally reunite with his wife. While his wedding was allowed, Russian space officials later decided to ban other cosmonauts from marrying while on a mission.

“An orbital wedding reflects mankind’s desire and need to go one step further,” Dmitriev said after the ceremony, words that summed up this truly out-of-this-world love story.

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