CLEVELAND — Airports are so often the scenes of “hellos” and “goodbyes.” Saturday, one local airport was also the sight of “I do.”
At 3:30 P.M., Michelle Belleau and Ron Peterson tied the knot at Cleveland Hopkins International Airport, and not just at any spot.
They wed at Baggage Claim 6. It is the exact place where they met on a wet April day in 2007.
Michelle said her boss had asked her to pick up Peterson on a flight from Los Angeles.
“Not happy about doing it,” she said. “But I did, and I’m standing there, soaking wet hair.”
Ron spotted her right away as he came down the escalator.
“There she was. All six foot of her with pink heels and a trucker hat,” he said. “It was a very good impression, all I could think of was whoever she belonged to was pretty lucky.”
Michelle said they have talked every day since.
The couple went on to spend two years in a long-distance relationship, often flying Southwest Airlines, and meeting up in different cities.
Michelle eventually moved to LA, where the couple now has two girls.
Last summer, Ron asked Michelle’s father for permission to marry her.
“He said, ‘Hell yes!’ And so, I went back in and told her I didn’t want to be her boyfriend anymore, I wanted to be her husband,” Ron said.
The only thing left was a location for the wedding. Baggage Claim 6 seemed obvious.
“It just seems like if it had happened any other way, we wouldn’t have had the same chemistry. Like if I hadn’t been the one to pick him up, he would’ve been with a different group of people and maybe we wouldn’t have gotten to know each other that way,” Michelle said.
On Saturday, Southwest will supply decorations and serve airplane snacks at the ceremony. They will also shut down claims 6 and 7 to make room for the couple’s 125 guests.
It all gives new meaning to a destination wedding.
“Me being there at Baggage Claim 6, it led to 12 years, two children and a future,” Michelle said.