Wedding at ski resort / in the snow?

[luvthemstrawberries]

Just would like some stories, advice, things to look out for, or special circumstances for anyone who''s had or been at a wedding in snowy circumstances or at a ski resort setting. I am looking at this January, and I think it''d be so much neater to be in a snowy setting - instead of just around where we live, where it will just be really cold, but it never snows. And I think the views in the mountains would be so much better too.

Biggest concerns I have are about family traveling - I have a feeling some of my family would not come because of having to drive in snowy conditions, and because the price of lodging at resorts is much more expensive. And because it''d be 4-6 hours away. I''d just hate to not have some of my family there just because of where I chose it to be instead of around here.

 

[mimzy]

my fiance and i dreamt of this....treking out to the middle of the woods in the middle of the nite in the snow....still makes me wistful to think of it!

we ultimately decided that it wasn''t practical, and even after toying with the idea of eloping with immmediate family and then having a regular wedding afterwards, we decided it wasn''t worth it.

BUT i bet that out west there are a lot of places that cater to weddings that make it practical driving in the mountains can be a little tricky, especially for older people traveling alone, but depending on the size of your guest list you might be able to do some sort of shuttle service maybe? as for lodging, there are usually more budget friendly accommodations near the larger resorts.

i guess you just have to figure out your priorities.....having your family there or having a snowy mountain wedding (i''d be so tempted toward the later!) could you feel your family out to gauge how they would feel about it?

 

[vita*dolce]

if that''s what you want to do, you should do it! the people you love and who love you will be willing to travel 4-6 hours for your wedding! it''s one of the biggest days of your life!! i think it sounds beautiful!

 

[purrfectpear]

I don''t know about your family, but your friends may think twice.

A very close friend from work is getting married and I was really looking forward to the wedding. Then she decided to have it at Mammoth.
Sorry, but I''m not putting on chains to watch her get married

 

[Keepingthefaith21]

Ultimately it''s up to you to decide what is very important to you in terms of people who can attend due to the location.

One word of caution, though, make sure you want to be planning a wedding that is 4-6 hours away. Keep in mind all the trips to meet with vendors and coordinating drop off of all your materials needed for the big day are going to be 4-6 hours away for you too!

 

[marchswallowbird]

Depending on where they live, a lot of people are uncomfortable driving on snow/ice, and risking driving in whiteouts that could blow in. They may not have chains, nor want to go buy them, or want to shell out the $$ to have somebody put on the chains if they don''t know how. Plus if they are not used to snow, they won''t have the clothes, won''t know what to wear, etc. etc.

That said, I think a snowy wedding could be gorgeous. I would ask your parents and some of the older people whom you would really want to be there (grandparents, etc.) and see how they feel about it. Just know that you would still run the risk of people not being able to make it if a bad storm looms, or people chicken out.

 

[Gwyn]

Being from new england, i LOVE snow and thought heavily about planning out event back home in the winter. But the weather can be so unpredictable that we decided it was not a smart move. Plus I really wanted a strapless dress and i thought that it might be a little odd to take pics our in the snow and me with nothing on my shoulders.

I know I have seen pics of a winter wedding but I have not attended one before. Now that I am out in southern california i probably never will. *sigh*

The travel is definitely something to consider. it would be a shame to have people that couldnt make it because of a storm or something, especially after paying for them all. Plus, driving home at night is tougher in the winter, so people may feel like they had to stay the night and then not come because of added costs.

I would go to one though, as long as there wasnt a storm. then again, i am young and usually end up getting a room for weddings so I can party to the wee hours

One thing to think of, i know mountains over here have fake snow that the make for skiers and such. that might be a way to get the snow look without the hazardous driving conditions. not sure what resorts by you do. Even in NH they make fake snow when we have warm winters. something to think about.

 

[Gwyn]

Just surfing the net and found this crazy picture!

The author writes...

My friends Jen and Jim decided to have their wedding in the Winter, real Winter. By “real Winter” I mean the middle of February, on a mountain in Stowe, VT. If you know them it will all make sense.

When Jen told me where an when her wedding was going to be I thought she was crazy. Well, actually knew that she was crazy before then and had much supporting information to that effect. I just didn’t think that she was crazy enough to have her wedding on top of a mountain. She was. This was a small wedding and about 35 people watched Jen and Jim exchange their vows, take their gloves off and change rings. Now all of us took the gondola up the mountain and a few decided to sky down, including the bride and groom, in their traditional wedding attire (that would be a white dress and a tux for those who aren’t getting the cue). At least her dress matched. Following, the reception was at the Trapp Family Lodge (think “The Sound of Music”) and had Jen’s hand all over it.

I’ve been to my share of weddings, some where more traditional than others, but all of them suited the bride and the groom in some fashion. I’ve found the ones that I enjoyed the most show something unique about the couple. For example, my friends Dan and Beth went off in a canoe and the attendees threw fish food. Another wedding I went to was Pagan and the wedding party wore all Renaissance grab (guests were encouraged to participate). Both of those were outside weddings, but in the Summer. Take a memo, Summer, reasonable, Winter, crazy.

 

[MishB]

We got married in Vail, Colorado in February (2003), it was gorgeous. But we are both very keen skiers so it is our natural habitat!

 

[diamondfan]

I think you can do a stunning winter wedding but you might end up with people being scared to travel or not physically being able to get there due to inclement weather. But it seems like it could be just amazing.

 

[luvthemstrawberries]

Haha I love that picture - all the guests look like they''re freeeeeezing!!

You all are touching on my exact thoughts. I LOVE the idea of the snow. We both love to snowboard - we''re not exactly great at it yet, but we love the cool months and snow and just being outside. We live in central North Carolina, so it doesn''t snow much down here. But when it''s just even an inch, haha we love it. So I thought a wedding in the snow (more than an inch!) would be so neat, and so different than the norm!! But I do fear some my family in the same area of the state would shy away from coming because they''d be scared to drive. And especially scared to drive back at night, which would mean they''d have to pay to stay, which would make some of them not come at all.

I was thinking about either using a ski resort in the mountains of NC (most of them have to produce snow unless it happens to be a great winter, which usually doesn''t happen) or in West Virginia. Thing about WV is it''s usually got a lot of real snow, and I would really worry about the driving conditions. But from what I''ve heard, they''re so used to the snow that the roads are kept clean all the time. But I guess a random storm would mess that up... ahhh decisions!!

I guess I could always just have a winter wedding here near home, but there would be no snow, just bare trees and frozen ground to look at haha. Guess I could create a winterland inside, but I much prefer the natural landscape views.

 

[luvthemstrawberries]

MishB - are you from the Vail area? And is your family near there, or did you have a lot of guests traveling? Do they generally keep the roads clean in areas that are that busy during the winter season? I''m just trying to feel out if it was an easy feat or if you lived far away and had a lot of distance planning to do. Oh, and how long did you have to plan it?

 

[MishB]

Date: 9/26/2008 8:41:11 AM
Author: luvthemstrawberries
MishB - are you from the Vail area? And is your family near there, or did you have a lot of guests traveling? Do they generally keep the roads clean in areas that are that busy during the winter season? I''m just trying to feel out if it was an easy feat or if you lived far away and had a lot of distance planning to do. Oh, and how long did you have to plan it?

No, we are both Australian! I have family who live very near Vail, our parents came out to meet us, and we had some other family who were also in the States who came along.

It really was very relaxed and casual, we skied until about 3pm, went back and got dressed (I wore a winter white pant suit and a knee length wool cashmere coat) then met everyone at the top of the mountain, had the ceremony, photos, wine and snacks, then went back to my relative''s house, where we had a fabulous cocktail party with alaskan king crab legs, chateaubriand, and fabulous french wines. We ended the night in the outdoor hot tub (just us) drinking Moet out of the bottle.

The only thing we pre-organised before we left was the celebrant. It was totally marvellous and stress-free.

However, I know someone else through a ski website who had a big wedding in Vail, I will try to find the link to her photos etc.

 

[luvthemstrawberries]

Thank you all so much for the responses!!

Wow MishB, that sounds so wonderful!! And exactly, stress-free! Please do let me know if you find anything about that other wedding you knew of.

 

[gtn]

I love the idea, but I know that this would be a bear to achieve, especially if you have lots of fuddy-duddies who might not want to trek in the snow. If you have a small enough wedding, you could rent a cabin for a week and make sure everybody gets there early and then stay after so you don''t have to worry about people driving the day of.

 

[sparkly_stars]

PS. I''ve been reading your threads too- I don''t see a lot of brides post about winter weddings hehe.

In your case, is the only option to get snow to go to a ski resort? Ultimately, I would talk to the ones you LOVE and want there and see how they feel. I realized I couldn''t invite or have everyone there (nor was everyone excited or thrilled by our idea) but those I loved were happy with my ideas!

I talked to my wedding party- and a) they dont know but I''m knitting each a personalized scarf...and b) they are all willing and wanting to take pics without jackets haha.

furthest any of my guest will travel is 30 minutes,and we''ll have room to accommodate - but I think in the events of traveling 4 hours away...I''d send out the invites, and talk to the ones you want there (and MUST have). I think if you did your dream wedding, you could maybe do a later reception (week later?) back home...and before then enjoy the mountains and go snowboarding together (mini honeymoon?)

 

[Blackpaw]

Hi strawberries!! Love the idea of a winter wedding. My SO and I want to do this, at a ski resort more particularly but have the same concerns as you about family/friends being willing to travel.

And like MishB were Aussies so it really is quite a distance. Mainly its my grandparents im concerned about - im not so fussed on having lots of people there but my grandparents i simply have to have you know. And of course ski resorts arent necessarily elderly friendly...

MishB Id love to hear more about your wedding, and this other wedding you may have pics of - we''ld love to get married at Vail too, its such a gorgeou s mountain, and snowboarding til 3 is just our thing

 

[MishB]

Date: 9/27/2008 7:28:59 PM
Author: Blackpaw
Hi strawberries!! Love the idea of a winter wedding. My SO and I want to do this, at a ski resort more particularly but have the same concerns as you about family/friends being willing to travel.


And like MishB were Aussies so it really is quite a distance. Mainly its my grandparents im concerned about - im not so fussed on having lots of people there but my grandparents i simply have to have you know. And of course ski resorts arent necessarily elderly friendly...


MishB Id love to hear more about your wedding, and this other wedding you may have pics of - we''ld love to get married at Vail too, its such a gorgeou s mountain, and snowboarding til 3 is just our thing

Do it! Do it! You''ll never regret it. We are both ''lucky'' if you can call it that, that we both have small families, no grandparents left so there weren''t a lot of people to leave out. We did have announcements sent out while we were away with an invitation to a back home party that lots of friends and other relatives came to.

My stepfather was 76 at the time of our wedding, but he still skis regularly (even now at 82) and he is very familiar with Vail, so he wasn''t a problem, but hubby''s father struggled a bit with the conditions. Somewhere like Vail is a better option than most though, you can get to the top of Eagle''s Nest (where we got married) with only walking on about 6 metres of snow, all the pavements are cleared and it is quite pedestrian friendly at Lionshead, as you will know. With central heating everywhere, they will stay warm. What can be a big issue though for older people is the altitude.

Keep in touch if you decide to do it, I am not sure whether our celebrant is still around the area, but I can find out. At the time he was working as lifty in Vail. He bumped a chair for us during the day and called out ''am I still marrying you at 5??'' We got a few curious looks.

The actual legalities were so easy, it was laughable, we went into the county office in Avon a couple of days before to get a licence, it cost $10 I think, and that was all we had to do.

We didn''t have a professional photographer, but that would be easy to arrange. We organised the mountain photographer to come along though, so we could have a few nice ''formal'' pictures to put in frames. They took quite a few good ones, so between those and the pictures that guests took we have quite a nice little album.

We were going to have the ceremony on the deck at Eagles Nest, but they hadn''t shovelled it, and it was under about 2 feet of snow, it was a powder day. And it was about -15 degrees, so we ended up having the ceremony inside the Blue Moon in a little side sun room they have. The staff were lovely, and so excited - Aussies, and a wedding, they thought it was great.

We''ve been back a few times at the same time of year, and always have dinner at the Blue Moon on our anniversary.

 

[MishB]

OMG! You''re Footloose''s mum! I read that thread, big hugs to you!

 

[luvthemstrawberries]

Well FI and I have actually been talking for a few days, and we both are really liking the idea of a destination wedding (maybe somewhere in the snow!) with just my parents, my brother, and his mom and stepdad. Very small and personal.

We''re very adamant about the importance of the ceremony, so we don''t want a lot of people there who don''t support us (i.e. some of his "family" and some of my "friends" - very loose terms) that we''d have to invite if we open any doors to a semi-averaged sized wedding. As most of you know, most guests are just at weddings for the reception anyway - there''s no interaction with people at the ceremony - all they do is sit and watch! So we''re thinking of a far off wedding somewhere, then go on our honeymoon, and have a party when we come back!

Then we can have everyone there, because there are friends and extended family we both want to celebrate with. And we''d have more time to plan the party and there''d be less to plan for the wedding cermony. Any thoughts on that??

MishB, what a great picture! Looks like you had a wonderful time.

Blackpaw, so are yall actually going to use a ski resort, or have you foregone that idea?? I''m the same way with my grandparents - very close to all of them and would like them to be there. Don''t know how that would go though with the idea above - I''d like them at the ceremony, but maybe the "reception" party could still be very personal.

 

[sna77]

I love the idea. Sitting slopeside with friends is one of my favorite pasttimes... I think its orginal, and could be a great time... Hoping one of my friends has a ski wedding now, just so i can go.

 

[Blackpaw]

Argh sorry i havent replied - travelling travelling you know! MishB your wedding picture is gorgeous

that''s just the sort of thing we wanted! Strawberries we''re still not decided on where we''ll get married. In fact we''re arent engaged yet - our timeframe is dependent on travel/jobs and cash. But the snow wedding is our dream, and thailand is our backup. My only concern is my grandparents, i would hate for them to slip and hurt themselves or something because we dragged them to North America for our wedding!!

MishB its so fantastic to hear though about your thoughts on Vail as an option for guests. And on the ease of organising a license etc. I love the lifty story - that''s my kind of celebrant

ill definitely keep in touch about it, I have more hope that it may be possible now!

Strawberries I think you would have a great wedding in the snow - i try to remember when SO and I are discussing it that above all its about us and what represents us and the commitment we''re making, so it should reflect us - sounds like a snow wedding is right up your alley

And yes I am footloose''s mum!! He''s such a sweetheart, thank you for remembering him Mish