Thomas and Brett will be staying at ICEHOTEL – the world’s largest hotel made of snow and ice. This beautiful place is situated 200 km north of the Arctic Circle, in the heart of a winter wonderland. The surrounding wilderness makes an everlasting impression on every visitor with its vast open spaces and dense forests.
   The couple will stay a night in an Art suite. Each suite is unique, a space interpreted and designed by an artist selected by the Art & Design Group at ICEHOTEL.  

   In spring ICEHOTEL starts to melt and slowly returns to its source, the Torne River. In mid November, we start building a new hotel. No visit to ICEHOTEL is the same and each year our guests gather their own very unique memories of this ephemeral hotel.

   Most of our guests sleep one night in minus 5 degrees Celsius and several nights in warm accommodation. During the days and long into the night all guests, just as Thomas and Brett, participate in a range of activities. From dog sled tours to Northern Light tours by snowmobile, experience Sàmi culture, drive state-of-the-art Saab cars on the frozen river, search for moose on horseback, sculpt in ice or downhill ski in Björkliden, a beautiful ski resort just 1,5 hours drive from ICEHOTEL.

  Thomas and Brett will spend their first night in a Nordic Hotel Chalet, one of the options for warm accommodation at ICEHOTEL.

Blessing ceremony
Before the blessing ceremony takes place, Thomas and Brett will meet the priest for a private consultation. Hopefully this will be a moment that they both will remember for a long time since it is a moment of love, truth and honesty, the foundation for their relationship.

After the blessing ceremony, Thomas and Brett will head out on short reindeer sled tour before enjoying a delicious dinner at the award winning ICEHOTEL Restaurant.

Transport from the airport

After arriving to Kiruna airport, Thomas and Brett will be taking a more unconventional transfer to ICEHOTEL. Seated comfortable in a sled, a pack of eager dogs will take them through snow covered forests, over the frozen Torne River, in a fast pace. A short lunch break in a Sàmi tipi by an open fire, the couple will arrive at their destination – ICEHOTEL

Beyond winning this competition, the process involved in that win and the results from that win have dramatically affected our lives. While both Brett and myself are out to our friends and those close to us, the road to this point hasn’t always been open like it is now. It was easy to get support from those who already supported us, but the competition gave us courage, if not also an incentive, to make others aware of our lives and our relationship. This meant calling our relatives and family to explain everything. Far from it being an excuse to vie for temporary support, we sought a chance to be honest without a guarantee of reciprocity. Through all this work, we’re set to leave for Sweden with the full support of our extended family. That’s the grounding we’ve always needed to make this ceremony memorable; knowing we’ll come back with the same support that propelled us where we are now.

It’s still strange for Thomas and me to think that there are only two short weeks until our commitment ceremony. Academic and work life has kept us mostly distracted, but we’ve still been making preparations. In anticipation of our new permanent addition to each others’ families, I (Brett) decided to come out to my extended family, something I’d been putting off for years, and I was thrilled to find that they’re not only accepting, but very understanding and happy for us both. Thomas and I couldn’t have been luckier; with the support we’ve gathered, from those close to us and from our more global friends, we’ve been given opportunities neither of us expected for ourselves.

We’ve both become something like minor celebrities in our community, and we still have people we’ve never met coming up to both of us to offer congratulations. It really restores our faith in people to know that there are strangers out there pulling for us. With that kind of encouragement, our commitment is just that much more special.

With love,

Thomas and Brett

So much love – that’s what we’re mostly thinking about, when it comes to “Love is in the Air” contest. It’s unbelievable how many people helped us by voting for us and encouraging others to vote. It’s even more unbelievable how many people are still helping us. We really feel like a centre of huge, not only queer family where the only thing you get from people is love and support. Where saying “thank you” means nothing, because we owe them so much more.

There’re still a lot of things to do before the flight but with such a support we’re sure we’ll manage. Yesterday we’ve seen the projects of our wedding outfits prepared by great Polish fashion designer Michal Starost. Michal dresses up show-biz people and politicians, including BBC and CNN producers. Now he has decided to help us simply because he supports the idea of contest and found us worth helping. Talking about Michal we can’t mention fantastic wedding planners from Slubna Wytwornia who introduced us to him.

Michal Starost

Thanks to Anders and Christina from SAS we’ve also got one bridesmaid. We hope that Christina will agree to become the second one but we haven’t asked her yet so we are not sure what she will say

On Saturday we’ve got our hen night in café Amsterdam. We don’t know what will happen and we’re not sure if the pictures from it will be suitable for that blog but we’re prepared for the night and sure we won’t forget it for a long time. Or at least we hope that we’re prepared because when it comes to our friends you never know what’s going to happen.

What else? We’ve almost got all the documents we need, our flight schedule is nearly confirmed. Before flying to Stockholm we will spend one day (and one night –thank to SAS!) in Copenhagen and hopefully visit the mayor of this beautiful city who also supported us in the contest. We can’t wait to see Stockholm, New York and Los Angeles and be a part of this great love trip SAS is preparing for us. Talking about New York, in Poland you need a visa to get to the USA. It usually takes about two weeks to get it but in our case it took only two days. When we phoned US Embassy to make an appointment it seemed like that they already know about the contest (just from the medias) and are awaiting us. The consul was also thrilled about the news that there was US version of “Love is in the Air” and that Brett and Thomas are coming to Europe. “So it’s kind of foreign exchange” – he said.

Gosia as Polish pop-singer Doda in one of the shows of our cabaret Barbie Girls (first Polish queer cabaret)

Ewa playing poker in one of her cowboy hats

OK, folks, that’s all for today. We really can’t promise pictures from hen night but stay tuned. Who knows what’s going to appear next time!

Hugs!

Gosia & Ewa

We are very proud to announce that “Herr von Eden” will exclusively be dressing us up on our love trip. We are very excited about this as we are huge fans of the Label and their fashion.

The label is based in Hamburg but there are also stores located in Berlin, Cologne and Munich. We are looking forward to the fitting where our dear friend and stylist Frank Wilde will help us arrange and compile the perfect looks for the wedding and all the other events in Stockholm, New York City and Hollywood. We will be filming a little during the try-on so you might catch a short glimpse of our wedding outfits.

You might also want to check out the website: www.herrvoneden.com. There you will definitely find some of the outfits we will be wearing on our LOVE TRIP

Have a nice day!
ALEKS & SHANTU

Earlier today, SAS’ two In-flight concepts managers Claes Karlsson and Alexander Lund were on-hands at the catering firm Gate Gourmet at Stockholm-Arlanda airport to confirm the logistics for the Love-menu.

As with all food onboard SAS, also the Love-menu will be ecological and use produce that is close-to-market. Claes also got to sample all the food and decide on the lay-out of which it will be presented onboard.

The wedding menu will start off with canapés: Reindeer, horseradish, lingonberries

The starter is Whitefish roe with sour cream, lemon and red onion with warm, toasted bread.

Claes presents the tray with the starter.

The main course is Gotland lamb (lamb from a Swedish island), served with roasted root vegetables , potato purée and rosemary jus.

For this unique flight, we’re also presenting a special Love is in the air cocktail, which Claes has designed. We won’t give away the special ingredients just now, besides the sweet cloudberry taste. And of course we will finish off with a wedding cake, but we won’t show that until the wedding day ; )

First of all we would like to use this opportunity to thank everyone who gave us their vote. You have made a dream come true and made us one of the happiest couples on this planet.

We also want to thank SAS for giving us the chance to write here on the LOVE BLOG and to share this great experience with you. Since you got involved by giving us your vote, we will make it possible for you to stay a part of it and get exclusive sneak previews of the wedding preparations. We will take you with us on the wedding itself and the events connected to the wedding. Through the LOVE BLOG you will join us on our journey from Berlin to Stockholm then to New York and to our honeymoon in West Hollywood.

There are 25 days left till we head to Stockholm for our LOVE TRIP. Lots of things still need to be organized and we are getting more excited every day as the wedding gets closer.

The list of friends who will join us on the trip is also complete and we are so happy to have all these fabulous people with us. There will be no other flight that deserves more the name: LOVE FLIGHT than the SK903 on December the 6th from Stockholm to New York City.

Shantu and Sherry Vine

On Saturday we celebrated Romy Haag´s 50th stage anniversary. Sherry Vine also came from New York for some shows and Gloria Viagra, one of our best men, was also there. We have already made some plans for our stay in the BIG APPLE. This is going to be awesome!

So stay tuned for more details!

BIG KISS from freezing Berlin
ALEKS & SHANTU

Sherry Vine, Romy Haag and Gloria Viagra

Daniel, Aleks, Oki, Sherry, Shantu and Frank

Leading floral and event designers Geranium Lake Flowers is to make the wedding reception in New York on December 6 even more extravagant. Geranium Lake Flowers will provide boutonnieres, wedding flowers and floral décor for a special wedding banquet and rehearsal dinner that will take place on the same evening the Love-flight arrives in New York.

“I am honored to be involved in such an important event,” says Kim Foren, founder and owner of Geranium Lake Flowers.  “I believe that every couple in love should be able to enjoy a gorgeous ceremony, and I hope my flowers will help make their special day even more memorable.”

Geranium Lake Flowers has won numerous awards and citations for its work on weddings and special events.  Willamette Week, Portland Monthly, Portland Bride and Groom and Oregon Bridal have all named Geranium Lake as the Best Florist in Portland. Owner Kim Foren has made a national name for herself, traveling coast to coast to provide exceptional floral design for events all over the country, and has built a list of celebrity clients. We’re very excited to have them part of this project and we know they will be part of creating a beautiful and unique event.

At the event in New York, all three couples will meet for the first time, Aleks and Shantu, Ewa and Gosia and Thomas and Brett.

Whether you are the winner of an unforgettable wedding and honeymoon experience in Sweden, or if you are planning a weekend in Stockholm with your sweetheart – we’ve gathered a few tips for an exciting romantic experience!

Restaurants
Torget – Popular, baroque and reliably tasty. Queen of the Gamla Stan scene!
Momma - Relaxed, local meeting place that feels like home. Situated in the bohemian district SoFo, Södermalm.
Brasserie Le Rouge – Paris, Burlesque and lots of red velvet. Flowing romance with a touch of humor.
Mälarpaviljongen – Stunning views, floating pontoon deck and delicious food. The place to be during summer.

Cafés
Chokladkoppen – Cozy little café at idyllic Stortorget Square, not far from the Royal Palace in the medieval Old Town.
Flickorna Helin & Voltaire – The romantic building, heavenly pastries and discreet location on picturesque Djurgården beside a pleasant walking track make this café the perfect place for a rendez-vous.
Copacabana - Charming, bohemian and located by the water. Renowned orange-chili hot chocolate!
Fåfängan – This outdoor café on Södermalm has been a popular place for romantic picnics since the 1700s and offers spectacular views of Stockholm.

Places
Millesgården – Located on a serene cliff top overlooking Lake Värtan and chock full of monumental replicas of Carl Milles most stunning, often erotic works. The terraced garden is especially magical at sunset, when his world-famous Angel Musicians and Hand of God dance against the orange-streaked sky.
Stockholm from the water – Seeing Stockholm from the water is an enjoyable must. Fortunately, there are many tours to choose from depending on your interests. Do not miss the romantic archipelago! This magnificent maritime landscape of more than 30 000 islands, islets and skerries, of just some one thousand are inhabited, is unique in the world.
Monteliusvägen – A scenic walkway along the heights of Södermalm with postcard views of  Riddarfjärden, Kungsholmen, the City Hall and Old Town. A popular place to get engaged.

Check out www.stockholmtown.com/gay-lesbian for the latest news, events and updates on LGBT Stockholm!
Become a fan of gay and lesbian Stockholm at www.facebook.com/stockholminfullglory

We are very pleased to announce that the famous Scandinavian luxury lifestyle brand Georg Jensen are donating wedding gifts to the three couples. They will all receive a beautiful mirror-polished centrepiece that adds a dramatic dimension to home decoration.

The MASTERPIECE designed by Verner Panton and has just been released this month.

“Georg Jensen has since the establishment in 1904 been a destination for luxurious and timeless wedding gifts worldwide. Every year, we help thousands of couples, their friends and families find those unique jewellery, watch and interior design products, weather it’s the engagement ring, the wedding bands or the cutlery they put on their wishlist for the wedding celebration. With this heritage in mind, it was obvious and also an honour for us to congratulate the 3 winning couples with wedding gifts from Georg Jensen”.

CONGRATULATIONS to the German gay couple Aleksandar Mijatovic and Shantu Bhattacherjee, who will become the world’s first same-sex couple to get married in the air onboard Scandinavian Airlines’ flight SK903 on December 6 between Stockholm and New York. The guys received a total of 81,640 votes, making them the winning couple of SAS’ Love is in the air competition.

The couple managed to get so many votes through effective social media campaigning all over the world, which led to 536,000 links on Google.

Aleks & Shantu met over seven years ago at a party in Berlin and have been together ever since.  Aleks says that what he loves about Shantu is that “after 7 years I still have butterflies in my stomach when I look at him. And I love the fact that I always feel that I am in a team and that I can rely on him and trust him unconditionally.” Shantu says that “I love the fact that Alex completes me throughout and gives me the feeling that I don’t need anything else at all.”

We are all inspired by the love between Aleks and Shantu, and look forward to welcoming them onboard SAS to celebrate their wedding in December.

To see Aleks & Shantu’s entry in the competition, click here.

To visit Aleks & Shantu’s Facebook page, click here.