A couple are left stunned when Sir Richard Branson crashes their Las Vegas wedding

A couple were left stunned when Sir Richard Branson crashed their Las Vegas wedding.

Malcolm and Jacqui King-MacKinnon had expected an Elvis impersonator to perform the ceremony in the American city last week.

The couple, who work as Virgin Atlantic crew members and met while working together on a flight in 1988, said they were “gutted” when Sir Richard broke off the renewal of their wedding vows.

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Dressed in a red blazer, black shirt and matching sunglasses, the Virgin Atlantic founder walked into The Little White Wedding Chapel and told the lookalike: “Wait, that’s my job.”

Sir Richard then officiated the ceremony himself in a surprise event organized by Virgin Atlantic as part of their 40th anniversary celebrations.

Malcolm and Jacqui, who live in Heswall, Wirral, first met on a flight from Gatwick Airport to Newark, New Jersey, in 1988.

After seeing Jacqui in her iconic red uniform, Malcolm offered to help her with her bags. After forty years, the couple is married and has two children.

Malcolm and Jacqui were in Vegas while working on the airline’s new route between Manchester and Las Vegas, which launched earlier this month. The ceremony was attended by fellow Virgin Atlantic crew members and the company’s CEO, Shai Weiss.

Speaking afterwards, Malcolm, who works as a flight services manager at Virgin Atlantic, said: “I had no idea the boss was going to turn up, I was absolutely blown away.

“My heart was beating fast. There was a lot of emotion in the room, it was a great moment.”

He added: “They call it love at first sight, but for us it was love at first flight. Today was incredible and means so much to Jacqui, our daughters and me.

“Virgin Atlantic brought us together and gave us opportunities to explore the world and create countless memories that we will cherish forever. We look forward to continued celebrations and many more years together in heaven and beyond!”

Sir Richard Branson said: “Our incredible people are what make Virgin Atlantic so special – they’re mavericks, trailblazers, kind and fun. Celebrating two of those people who have been with us since day one was an honor.

“Malcolm and Jacqui’s love story began at Virgin Atlantic, which is part of their family. They are also proof that we have been bringing people together for the moments that matter for four decades – in a way that only Virgin Atlantic can. “

Before joining Virgin Atlantic in 1984, Malcolm, who is from Troon, Scotland, worked as a welder on oil rigs in the North Sea.

He recalled: “I remember coming outside after a hard night shift and looking up and seeing this plane and thinking, ‘There’s got to be more to life than this.’

“I was making a lot of money, but it wasn’t me. I’ve always liked to travel, but I had no idea what I was going to do.”

He had a successful interview for a flight steward position with Virgin Atlantic, which was just taking off from Gatwick Airport.

Malcolm says he was “a lonely boy running around having fun” before he met Jacqui in the staff car park at Gatwick Airport in April 1988.

After seeing Jacqui, who is the daughter of Tranmere Rovers legend John King, get out of the car in her Virgin Atlantic uniform, Malcolm offered to help her with her luggage.

“The rest is history,” Malcolm, 64, said. “We had a few drinks that night and got on famously. Looking back, it was love at first sight.”

They married in St Lucia in 2004 and now have two daughters together, Niamh, 20, and Freya, 18. Following the birth of their daughters, childcare commitments meant the couple could not fly together until earlier this year year, when they allowed to fly. together from their base at Manchester Airport to Barbados.

Among his career, Malcolm mentions being the supervisor of a plane that flew dozens of hostages out of Jordan during the 1990 Gulf War.

“There was a lot of tension in the air,” he said. “Everything had to be done quickly.

“It was get in, get out, close the deal quickly, then close the door and go. I was on the ground for 50 minutes.

“I could see soldiers holding them back until the deal was done. When the last hostage jumped on them, I could see the anxiety on their faces.

“As the plane took off, I remember looking out the window and thinking, there’s a fighter jet over there, what’s going to happen here?

“We could have easily been thrown out of the sky.”

Malcolm and Jacqui will enjoy a second honeymoon on a Virgin Voyages cruise later this year.