I’m thrilled to welcome Cat to Amulet Weddings & Events today. Owner of Wild Connections Photography Cat is a talented photographer and blogger based in Austria with a true love for adventure. Sharing love for stunning landscapes and magical Wedding locations, Cat is right up my street. She is a fountain of knowledge, regularly travelling the world exploring unique destinations to share with us all!
Over to Cat to share her Five Mountain Wedding Planning Tips….
Alpine vistas scream adventure and romance to me. But perhaps that’s why I left the UK and moved to live in the Austrian Alps.
If you agree with me, you’re probably considering a mountain wedding. Your dream is to stand on the top of a mountain with your best friend with the world beneath your feet and say your vows to one another surrounded by one of nature’s most magnificent masterpieces.
If you’ve spent time in the mountains before, you probably know what to expect, and how to prepare. But for your wedding guests, this might be their first experience of alpine environments. So in order for you (and your guests) to have the best possible experience on your wedding day, here are five tips to help in planning your mountain wedding.
1. Pick Your Location With Your Guests In Mind
If you’re planning a destination wedding, rather than an elopement, look at how easily accessible a potential venue will be for your oldest or youngest guests, or any guests with disabilities. In the alps there are so many stunning locations in the mountains to choose from. And while some of them require hiking or skiing to, there are others that you can take a cable car up to and still feel like you’re out in the wilderness.
2. Will You Need To Finish Early Or Book Rooms On The Mountain?
Lots of mountain huts are only accessible during the running times of the cable cars. This means you might need to end your mountain celebrations around 4pm when lifts normally close and continue your celebrations down in the valley. Your other option is to find a mountain hut that also has bedrooms so that you can stay the night up there. Just remember that you might also need to pay extra for your vendors to stay up there with you if you want to have them there in the evening.
3. Educate Your Guests
A wedding at altitude is a unique experience and you want it to be unforgettable for everyone in a good way. Making sure your guests are prepared is vital, and the best way to do this is by sending extra information out with your invitations or by creating a wedding website. What things should they know? Teaching them about how the sun is stronger at altitude (even when it feels cold) and that alcohol has a stronger effect on the body causing you to get drunk (and dehydrated) faster is really important. I would also recommend asking them to wear appropriate footwear for the terrain as the last thing you want is a sprained ankle from someone who insisted on wearing stilettos in the snow.
4. Prepare For Extreme Weather
In the mountains the weather conditions can be rather exaggerated, and you may even experience four seasons in one day. The sun is stronger, the rain is harder and the wind is wilder. But that all adds to the drama of the location, as long as you are prepared for it. Bring sunscreen, an umbrella, sunglasses, and a warm jacket just in case. For winter weddings don’t forget gloves or mittens too. Even if you take them off for your pictures.
5. Plan Your Portraits Carefully
Depending on the time of year, and the time of day of your wedding, talk with your wedding planner and your photographer about when is the best time to do your couple pictures. As a photographer, I usually request couples schedule 1 hour for their portraits. But for weddings in winter when it can be below freezing, I often suggest having 2 shorter sessions. Whilst this is less ideal, it helps keeping everyone warm and comfortable. Many photographers will request to shoot portraits around golden hour which is just before sunset, but those who are not experienced in mountain weddings don’t always realise that sunset might not be possible as the sun may go behind the mountains before it sets, and from then it gets dark quite quickly
About: Cat is a adventure wedding photographer and blogger with a love of all things wild and adventurous. A British expat, her love of the mountains led her to the Austrian Alps where she lives with her husband. Whilst living in Austria she started Wild Connections Photography for couples looking for an alternative to traditional wedding photography, and in 2017 she started the adventure wedding and travel blog We Are The Wanderers.
My bespoke luxury wedding planning service enables me to tailor your intimate destination wedding in Austria perfectly to you as a couple, which is ideal for couples seeking outdoor adventure in comfort and luxury. My partners in all regions have been handpicked along with many other properties across the region. For more information on my bespoke planning services click here!
If you’re ready to embark on a truly unforgettable adventure and plan your wedding in the Austrian Alps, get in touch!
~ Nadia
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