It Started with a Barf Bag and Ended with Love
Leslie and B.J. on their wedding day (Angie Moon)
Who: B.J. Fife & Leslie Fife (Rensi)
Where we met: On a plane from Nashville, Tenn., to Los Angeles
When: 2008
Relationship status: Married on Sept. 19, 2014
Six years ago, B.J. was boarding a plane from Nashville to visit his friends in Los Angeles. I was also heading to Los Angeles for a bachelorette party. Luckily the stars aligned, and my flight to L.A. had a layover in Nashville. When B.J. boarded the plane in Nashville, he spotted an open window seat right next to me and asked if he could squeeze into the open window seat. I happily obliged (I thought he was cute.), and he took the seat next to me.
The National Geographic magazine with an ape on the cover that B.J. was holding was all the conversation starter that I needed. I love NatGeo, so it was the perfect way to break the ice. With that said, the free drinks the very nice flight attendant was serving helped heighten the event. After four hours of nonstop fabulous conversation, my friend who was also sitting with us suggested that B.J. and I exchange email addresses… on the barf bag.
Related: On the Wings of Love — Couple Gets Married on Southwest Airlines Flight
Leslie and B.J. reunited after meeting on a plane two years earlier. (Leslie Fife)
A week later, B.J. emailed me, and this was the beginning of almost two years of friendly emailing back and forth. I lived in Delaware, and he in Nashville, so it was the best way for us to keep in touch. Eventually emailing led to instant messaging, which led to old-fashioned phone calls. Finally, I got up enough nerve to ask B.J. to meet me and my family at our house in Rehoboth Beach, Del. To my surprise, B.J. said yes! Then I got nervous, so I proceeded to fill the entire house with my friends just in case B.J. ended up being crazy.
Related: A Layover Worth the Wait — This Couple Met at an Airport in Uruguay
To my relief, the sparks that flew on the Southwest Airlines plane two years earlier were still there, and we decided to try a long-distance relationship right after that weekend. After a year and a half of flights and weekend visits, I finally moved to Nashville and got a job, incidentally at a travel agency.
Two years later, B.J. finally popped the question at the same beach where we reunited after our first flight together.
The couple flying to their wedding on Southwest Airlines, the airline they met on! (Leslie Fife)
We got married at the same beach last September, and it was a beautiful day filled with lots of support and love. Oh, and we of course served Southwest Airlines peanuts to pay homage to how we met!
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