The Top 10 Most Unusual & Unique Wedding Venues

Traditional church weddings have been going out of fashion for years, just like Christianity in fact, now almost every city park, ranch, stately home or medium sized hotel in the western world seems to have a wedding licence. The 'special day' is of course supposed to be special for the two individuals getting married and not necessarily for their families or friends, so why not make that venue the location of your dreams? Those dreams may differ significantly from the ideals of others, in fact often others will just find them plain strange, so lets take a look at some of the most common wacky or unusual wedding locations!

10. In Sub Zero Temperatures!

A recent popular trend has seen people getting married at below zero temperatures in Ice Bars! The Absolut Ice Bar in London is just one of a few European Ice Bars which have registered as a venue for weddings and has seen people exchange vows! I'm not sure whether the bride and groom have to wear gloves and get over sized wedding rings or not, to be honest I have never been in an ice bar so I couldn't tell you!

Getting married at a McDonald's restaurant doesn't sound like my idea of an ideal wedding, but it is certainly unusual so has to make the list! In March 2006 Trisha Esteppe and Tyree Henderson exchanged their vows at a McDonald's near Dayton, Ohio, the fast food joint was also their place of work and is where they first met in 2003. Perhaps even more unusual is that unsuspecting customers were still placing orders, and many of their 'guests' were actually stood serving big macs behind the counter whilst the ceremony took place. The couple described the wedding as 'romantic' whilst the Reverend described the wedding as 'just wonderful'. In fairness, the Reverend was obviously getting his fee - just as wonderful as any other! I haven't been able to ascertain whether Ronald McDonald could make the ceremony.

This one probably surprised me more than the Mount Everest weddings. Apparently Zoo's around the globe have been diversifying and doing a roaring trade in weddings, with couples wishing to get married amongst animals. One such zoo to offer these ceremonies is Chester zoo in England, where couples are wed in on site conference centres before the special couple and their guests are treated to an after hours tour of the zoo. I guess that any potential zoo brides should consider the possibility of economising when choosing their wedding guess, in case the animals decide to fling shit at it.

Virgin Airways gained some invaluable publicity in 2007 when Virgin America marketing director Dimitious Papagonas and his partner Coco Jones were wed on the airlines first ever flight to famous wedding city Las Vegas. Not one to shirk an unusual photo opportunity, the wedding was officiated by Billionaire virgin tycoon Sir Richard Branson!Guests sat at either side of the 'aisle' and watched as bride Coco walked down it to the song 'Love Is In The Air'. The lucky couple are not the only couple of have been married on a plane, with a number of American couples hiring planes for their weddings since! Perhaps the major benefit of this wedding was the fact that the couple and their guests landing in Las Vegas, saving time before the honeymoon!

People getting married underwater is now so common that I cannot even really refer to it as 'unusual', but why? They are all diving fanatics of course! If you are planning to get married underwater, then you should certainly not choose the murky, cold, and dirty water around the UK coast near me, but instead head to some coral reef of some description. A number of Diving companies now offer the services, each of which have their own diving priest/vicar/rabbi. I don't really have much more to say about them, as I know nothing about diving and the associated technicalities, perhaps all I can really say is "each to their own". I certainly wouldn't accept an invite to such a ceremony!

Putting the Ice-bar wedding to complete shame (to be honest, I am hoping to find an unusual wedding venue to replace that one!) were Alexis Fredrick and William Browning who exchanged vows at the North Geographical Pole during an expedition in April 2009! I'm not sure whether they were the first couple to do so, but I certainly couldn't find reference to any similar ceremonies! I don't have too much more to say about this one, the video to the right explains all you really need to know!

Two wealthy space fanatics made the headlines in June 2009 when they became the first ever couple to be married in zero-gravity conditions. The bride wore earrings shaped like planets, and the groom wore cuff links shaped like spacecraft, and the wedding party (see picture) attended in blue jump suits! The wedding took place in a modified Boeing 727-200 aircraft operated by Zero Gravity Corp, a company which offers weightless flight experiences by flying thousands of metres about the gulf of Mexico (but not quite in space). The ceremony for the New York based couple was officiated by company co-founder Richard Garriott, also a registered notary. The couple just about managed to kiss, and did not drop the wedding ring, although there was great confusion when the wedding ring of one of the guests floated into their paths. It is not known how much the ceremony cost, but I am sure Zero Gravity Corp will quote you a (hefty!) price!

A Nepalese couple hit the headlines in 2005 when they became the first people ever to marry at the top of Mount Everest. This basically involved climbing to the peak, taking off their oxygen masks for a couple of minutes, having a quick kiss before putting their masks back on and heading off back down! The couple spent just 10 minutes at the top. Perhaps wisely, the couple kept their plan secret in case they didn't reach the peak. Due to strict religious requirements, the couple held another ceremony with friends and family a few days later. Although nobody has yet replicated this wedding, it is possible to book a wedding on the slopes.

A British couple intrigued the world in August 2008 after getting married, whilst strapped to the wing of a plane! The groom was strapped to the wing of one plane, the bride on the wing of another, whilst the vicar was strapped facing backwards on another. In fact it wasn't the first ceremony of the type to take place in Britain, as the 67 Methodist minister George Bingham was called upon after having officiated a wedding in similar circumstances 7 years prior! 100 guests watched from the ground and listen to the vows on loud speakers, rings were exchanged in a reception hall before take off.

This one hasn't actually happened yet, but Richard Branson wants it to happen, and so it probably will. The slightly eccentric thrill-seeking British billionaire, owner of Necker Island and founder of the Virgin empire, is one of those at the forefront of trying to push forward commercial space flights. Having already married a couple on one of his Virgin Airways flights (see number X), and with a couple already having been married in zero-gravity (see number 4) he has signalled his intention to find a willing couple to get married in space. The global financial crisis seems to have put his commercial space flights on hold, but Branson is never one to pass on the opportunity for the ultimate in global self-promotion. Expect to see the first space wedding within the next few years!