Skydiving spouses cause a stir in Hazelton

HAZELTON, Pa., Dec. 17 (UPI) -- In an end to an already unorthodox Hazelton, Pa., wedding, the bride and groom jumped from an airplane nearly two miles above the snow-spattered ground.

Jeanie and Jamy Knittle, both 30, were married by Mayor Lou Barletta at Hazleton Municipal Airport before separately skydiving from 10,000 feet, where skydiving expert Don Kellner said the temperature was around zero, the Hazelton Standard Speaker reported Monday.

"It drops about three degrees for every 1,000 feet you're up in the air," he said. "And they were free-falling at 120 mph -- maybe a bit more" until the airfoil opens.

Barletta called the ceremony perhaps one of the most unusual he has performed.

"I've married about 200 couples before this and this certainly wasn't your typical wedding," he said.

Barletta said the skydive about 45 minutes after the ceremony made the marriage unusual.

"I'm sure my wife would like to see me jump out of an airplane -- without a parachute," he joked.