A bride and groom were kicked off a flight while on the way to their own wedding.

Michael Hohl and his bride, Amber Maxwell, were on their way to Costa Rica for the wedding of their dreams.

After a stopover at George Bush Intercontinental Airport in Houston, Texas, the couple – who were also travelling with friends – were the last to board the flight, operated by United Airlines.

When they arrived at their allocated seats, 24B and 24C, they noticed a man was spread across their row, napping. Not wanting to wake him, the soon-to-be-married pair moved to seats 21B and 21C, which were empty.

It was then, they say, they were removed from the plane by a US Marshall.

"We thought not a big deal, it's not like we are trying to jump up into a first-class seat," Michael Hohl told KHOU News.

"We were simply in an economy row a few rows above our economy seat."

According to United, the rows where the couple had moved to are classified as "economy plus", an upgrade from their economy tickets.

When the engaged pair were told about the difference in seat prices, they asked a flight attendant for an upgrade. They were told they needed to return to their original assigned seats.

Michael said they complied with the request, but that soon afterwards, a US Marshall boarded the plane and told them they had to leave the flight.

"They said that we were being disorderly and a hazard to the rest of the flight, to the safety of the other customers," Michael said.

United Airlines - who have experienced a spell of bad press following a video of a man being forcibly removed from an overbooked flight going viral - say the pair did "not follow crew instructions" and "repeatedly" attempted to sit in the upgraded seats.

"These passengers repeatedly attempted to sit in upgraded seating which they did not purchase and they would not follow crew instructions to return to their assigned seats," a statement from the airline said.

"We've been in touch with them and have rebooked them on flights tomorrow."

Luckily for Michael and Amber, they will still be able to make it to Costa Rica in time for their Thursday nuptials.

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They did, however, say they would never fly with the airline again.

"I think customer service and the airlines has gone real downhill," Michael said.

"The way United Airlines handled this was really absurd."

As the news of their incident spread across the world, Amber said that the incident had added to the "stress and anxiety" of planning a wedding.

"We calmly and politely exited the plane when asked. We where than belittled by United staff that laughed and snickered at as I was crying," she wrote on Facebook.

"I would like to try and enjoy my wedding as I only plan to have one...I have enough stress and anxiety over planning a wedding yet alone all of this happening."