Couple ties the knot at Saint John Airport before honeymoon

With a destination wedding planned and the problem of sorting out the official forms, a local couple decided to get married at the Saint John Airport Saturday before jetting off.

Brad and Tiffany Iliffe are now at a resort in the Dominican Republic. The couple have a wedding ceremony planned for when they arrive at their Punta Cana resort, but before they left, they tied the knot in the airport waiting room.

They have a more elaborate ceremony planned at their resort. But Tiffany Iliffe said with the ceremony in the airport, the pressure is now off.

"I think the one down there will be more of a breeze, and we won't be so nervous," she said.

Family friend Kim McCurdy officiated the ceremony and came up with the idea for the location.

"We joked about marrying them on the plane," said McCurdy, who isn't one of the lucky ones flying south. The lawyer said the original plan was to hold the civil ceremony at her Grand Bay-Westfield home, but spring flooding nixed that idea.

McCurdy said many couples aren't aware their destination marriages often leave them with paperwork back home. "Many people will have a civil ceremony performed either before or immediately after their trip," she said. But none have ever decided to exchange vows in the Saint John Airport.

The airport's interim CEO and President Angela McLean said she was surprised when she was called a few weeks ago to book the airport. After around 60 years of getting people to various destinations, McLean said no one has ever asked to be married there.

"Wouldn't you say it's the model of efficiency?" McLean asked. "Get married and jump on a plane headed off for your honeymoon."

McLean isn't sure if the waiting room wedding will spark more interest, but friend of the bride Kristin McCurdy, who is also an events planner, said non-traditional weddings like this are becoming more popular.

"It's really becoming a trend where you see kind of weddings popping-up in unconventional places" she said.

The trip also happens to be a big deal for Tiffany Iliffe's parents. Brenda Lee and Lorne Evans were married 30 years ago this May. Celebrating down south, kicked off with a wedding, makes the voyage only Lorne's second flight ever all the more special.

Plus, there's the added bonus of attending the first wedding at the airport, said Brenda Lee.

"It's something for history, right?"