WHO wants sun-kissed beaches and palm trees when you can make the folks back home green with envy with a truly white wedding – and we’re not talking about the dress.
These days couples looking for a big day with a difference can opt to tie the knot in the snow – in Lapland while visiting Father Christmas, at a ski resort on a day off from the piste or at Sweden’s Ice Hotel.
Scantours said part of the appeal of these weddings is that they offer a serious occasion held somewhere that is unusual, without being wacky.
Managing director Ian Woolgar said: “One of our popular wedding venues is the Ice Hotel in Sweden. The appeal is the snow and the pine trees, but it is also an occasion that’s taken seriously.
“The chapel is properly consecrated and there is not more than one wedding per day. It is close to a traditional white wedding, but at the same time offers something different.”
Cosmos senior commercial manager Sara Gelder said weddings in Lapland around Christmas were proving popular, with couples often taking friends and family to enjoy the festive fun. “Groups tend to be in excess of 30 people,” she said.
Crystal and Thomson Ski product and marketing director Gareth Crump said Zell am See in Austria is the favourite for winter weddings, followed by Lake Louise in Canada, where couples interrupt skiing to say ‘I do’ on the slopes or by the frozen Lake Louise.
He said: “Ski weddings provide the ultimate romantic setting for a truly white wedding. Bookings are mainly from young people getting married for the first time. Sometimes they come alone, but we’ve had a party of 50 people.”
Read on to discover five of the best places to be white-on with winter weddings.
1. Levi, Finnish Lapland 
Tell me more: it’s the ultimate Christmas present – clients fly off to see Santa and come back with a new wife or husband. Cosmos offers weddings either in a chapel in the village of Sirkka, with transfers by horse and sleigh, or in a Snowdome deep in the forest, with the groom arriving on a snowmobile and the bride on a reindeer or husky sleigh. For the honeymoon, there is tobogganing, snowmobiling and skiing to pass the time.
Isn’t it cold? Very. Temperatures can fall to -26C and there is only about five hours of light each day. On the plus side, the nights can bring spectacular Northern Lights displays.
Sample product: a Cosmos Lapland church wedding package starts at £1,079 per couple, while the Snowdome costs from £1,189. The price includes the ceremony, administration, a cake, bouquet and button hole. A three-night break in Levi starts at £809 per person full-board at the Apartments Levistar, including flights.
2. Canadian Rockies
Tell me more: the home of grizzly bears is a favourite spot for skiing. But increasing numbers of British couples are also heading across the pond to say get married in the snow, on the edge of Lake Louise, which is decorated with a magical ice castle during winter – just perfect for romantic album snaps. Once clients have tied the knot, they can hop off to Whistler for a few days’ skiing, or head to Hawaii for some winter sun.
Isn’t it cold? Temperatures in the Calgary region average -2C in December and -4C in January so the bride and groom will need to wrap up well for their outdoor wedding.
Sample product: Kuoni’s Victoria Glacier Wedding on Lake Louise starts at £2,138 per person, which includes all administration, as well as a horse and sleigh ride to the lake and dinner for the bride and groom. Seven nights at the Fairmont Chateau on Lake Louise start at £971 per person room-only, including flights.
3. Zell am See, Austria
Tell me more: a favourite for skiing couples who tear themselves away from the slopes for a day to wed, although some brides and grooms-to-be manage to squeeze in a few runs on the morning of their wedding. Ceremonies are held in the registry office and couples usually head outside for the all-important pictures around the frozen lake or in front of the snow-capped mountains.
Isn’t it cold? Not too bad. February is the coldest month with temperatures down to -11C. December and March can be above freezing.
Sample product: Thomson’s Luxurious Zell am See Wedding Package includes a lunch or dinner, bouquets, button holes, wine, administration and a horse-drawn carriage to and from the ceremony.
Seven nights at Zell am See start at £495 per person half-board in March 2007 including flights from Gatwick and transfers.
4. Stowe, Vermont, US
Tell me more: couples can get married wherever they want in the resort, but Crystal offers the Green Mountain Inn in the centre of town. There are no residential requirements, but they recommend having the big day mid-holiday, so there’s time to sort out the flowers, see the venue, book the hairdresser – and fit in some skiing, snow-mobiling and ice-skating. The ceremony is conducted by a justice of the peace and takes about an hour so couples don’t have to give up too much snow-time. For those itching to get back, it’s a 12-minute ride to the slopes on Mount Mansfield and the ski shuttle bus stops outside the hotel.
Isn’t it cold? In December temperatures can plunge to -12C but it starts to warm up in February and March when the mercury can rise to -3C.
Sample product: Crystal’s Green Mountain Wedding Package costs £285 per couple and includes the ceremony and JP, a bridal bouquet, buttonhole, bottle of house champagne, cake and the services of a wedding planner. Seven nights at the Green Mountain start at £600 per person room-only in March 2007, including flights and transfers.
5. The Ice Hotel, Jukkasjarvi, Sweden
Tell me more: a night snuggled in a thermal sleeping bag on a bed of ice strewn with reindeer skins may be enough to shrink the wedding-night passion of most budding Casanovas, but it will be a night to remember. The hotel has ice rooms, ice suites and deluxe ice suites for those who want to be cold in style. Religious wedding ceremonies are held in the hotel’s ice chapel, which comes and goes with winter, just like the hotel – it is built new every November and melts in April. A Lappish gourmet dinner can be prebooked and morning brings a breakfast buffet and a sauna to rekindle the wedding fires.
Isn’t it cold? Bedroom temperatures average -5C, but when it gets cold outside it can fall to -9C.
Sample product: Scantours offers weddings at The Ice Hotel from £1,420 per person, twin-share. The price includes a one-night stay in Stockholm, two nights in an Aurora Cottage and the wedding night in an Ice Suite. The price also includes a ceremony in the Ice Chapel, administration, flights and transfers. Extras include champagne in the Absolute Bar from £60 and flowers from £65.
