Skiing & snowboarding at Zell am See wedding
In early January 2019, I was asked by a good friend and amazing photographer if I was available to join her at a wedding in Zell am See. An Austrian town on Lake Zell, south of the city of Salzburg.
The wedding was set for 12 March but the couple, Gerry-Rae and Nick, still hadn’t nailed down their venue after initial teething problems with their original and first choice.
The couple were travelling to Austria for their wedding because they both absolutely love skiing and snowboarding.
Although many of their friends who’d join them had never been on a ski holiday before, everyone was excited by the venue! Up a mountain and only accessible by gondola (or skiing, of course).
Cat, the photographer from Wild Connections Photography, is a ski and adventure wedding specialist who spends much of her time climbing mountains and shredding up the slopes with her adventure-loving couples. So, I knew from the off that this would be no ordinary wedding.
Although we’d planned to ski on the day of the wedding with Gerry-Rae in her dress and Nick in his suit I also wanted to capture some of the build up towards the day as they relaxed on the slopes with some of their friends… so I went skiing (and filming) with them the day before as well.
Photos by Wild Connections Photography / @wildconnectionsphoto
The footage looks amazing but it hides another story. Soon after we’d filmed the first run we got caught in a huge wind and snow storm and were evacuated into a restaurant where we had to just wait it out until the bad weather blew over and the ski runs and lifts opened again.
There I found myself with the couple and Gerry’s Dad ‘Pop Pops’ drinking hot chocolate. It was a great opportunity to really get to know them and their story!
Eventually we made it down the mountain (although at times I never thought I would) in pretty bad skiing conditions but it was all very worth it.
That afternoon I took the opportunity to walk around Zell am See and film some establisher shots. Then get an early night ahead of a long day the next day.
On the morning of the wedding I woke up to find it had, as forecast, snowed overnight. It was beautiful but a whole new story leaving my footage of the town from the previous day pretty redundant.
Before joining the couple for their prep I retraced the previous days steps filming the new snowy scene and blue skies.
I’d been watching the weather forecast for weeks and it had never looked good. A whiteout in fact. Yet, Gerry-Rae and Nick lucked out with the most beautiful day and fabulous skiing conditions for their adventurous portrait session.
After a lovely intimate ceremony in the Rathaus/ Stadtgemeindeamt Zell am See where Gerry and Nick shared their vows with each other, the guests headed up to the reception venue at the AreitLounge. While the couple, Cat and I headed up the mountain for some skiing with photos and filming!
It was great fun and we were stopped numerous times by skiers wanting to take photos of the glamorous and cool couple.
We made our way down to the reception venue and warmed up with some traditional goulash.
The evening celebrations, set in the most amazing setting – designed and decorated by wedding planner Charlotte at Trouwen in Oostenrijk. And kicked off with a lovely three-course menu.
After the speeches Gerry and Nick surprised their guests with a choreographed dance to Nat King Cole’s When I Fall in Love, I was really impressed by their dancing skills. That was until Gerry-Rae really let loose on the dance floor and it became apparent very quickly that she is actually a trained belly dancer!
What a day, what a story… let’s take a little sneak peek.
If you fancy a wedding that’s just a little bit different then please have a
look at our Swiss Concierge page and we can work something out together!
