Real Weddings

Sarah and Nigel’s Real Life Wedding

Sarah and Nigel

December 1999

How did you meet?
We met in Italy on a skiing holiday. We sat across the dinner table in Courmayeur, Italy on Christmas Day.

Describe the marriage proposal.
I was working at my home-office desk and said, “So, do you want to marry me then?” Nigel said, “Oh, OK.” I said “Oh (un-publishable)” and “OK, I need to finish this…” (work I mean).

 

How long did you spend preparing for the day and how was it?
It was all a surprise to Nigel, until I got home at midnight on November 30th and told him we were flying out to Canada in five hours time and getting married. (I’d booked it all over the Internet!!). We rang the parents the day before and told them where we were, so they could cry into their hankies at the appropriate time. My best friend and her husband flew over and joined us. I couldn’t have wished for a better day.

What type of wedding ceremony did you have and where?
We had a civil ceremony on top of Big White Mountain in Kelowna, Canada. We stayed in a log cabin on the mountain and appeared on a local radio station (who were broadcasting from the mountain that day). The guys on the mountain were great. They got us up to the top, we got married in our ski boots and signed the register at the top, watched by the ski patrol, then our witnesses were snow-mobiled down to the bottom and we skiied down together. And as the mountain was called Big White, my mum can still claim that her eldest had her “big white wedding”!

Where did you hold your reception and what was it like?
In Snowshoe Sam’s, the best bar in western Canada, with my husband, my best friend and her husband, the friend that I made over the Internet whilst planning the wedding and her partner. It was great. We got drunk on Champagne and beer!!

Thinking back to the ‘big day’ what things did you especially enjoy?
Waking up at 0600 and walking up the mountain to find somewhere to get married. Then, after the ceremony, stopping halfway down the mountain, whilst we skied down and it just being the two of us. Looking into Nigel’s eyes, whilst saying my vows and thinking, this is just what I wanted to do.

Is there anything you’d change, with hindsight?
Nothing.

What advice would you give to couples currently planning their wedding?
Remember that this is your day, the marriage is between the pair of you – it’s nothing to do with your family and friends, so make it something special that you will always remember (for good reasons) for the rest of your lives.

 

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