Jul 1, 2003 | Marmot, Summer 2003

Marriage Vows… Mountain Style!

“With this ring, and this spectacular alpine setting, I thee wed.”

While such a vow may never have been uttered on the peak, Mount Washington is becoming more and more popular with people tying the knot.

“In the past couple of years, with Raven Lodge, we’ve seen a lot more people come up and do that,” says Bev Badke of Alpine Accommodations. “It’s a beautiful place to have a wedding.”

And here’s another trend: people getting married on the mountain don’t necessarily have any connection to Mount Washington – they just love the setting. “At first it was people that have a strong connection with Mount Washington, but now it’s a wide variety,” Hounsell said.

Most people get married in the summer, although a few have chosen to marry in the winter months. “We have had people get married out on the slopes with their skis and snowboards,” he said.

The peak is a wedding photographer’s dream: the bride and groom can pose with mountains in the background, or up the chairlift with Georgia Strait and the Comox Valley stretching below.

“I think that’s why people are starting to come up,” he said.

The mountain already has six or seven receptions booked for the summer, and some for next year, too. Receptions are an area Joanne Johnson, the Resort’s new Catering Co-ordinator, wants to concentrate on, he said.

Badke says aside from honoring some rather unique needs – “they often request ironing boards and things people usually don’t ask for” – she doesn’t have much to do for wedding parties. “We just do our part to make it less stressful for them. We try and make sure everything’s perfect – it’s their day.”

More from this Issue