Stay up to date with notifications from The Independent

Notifications can be managed in browser preferences.

The ice bride

By Adam Jacques

Sunday 15 June 2008 00:00 BST
Comments
Louise and Chris got married in an igloo in Lapland
Louise and Chris got married in an igloo in Lapland

Your support helps us to tell the story

From reproductive rights to climate change to Big Tech, The Independent is on the ground when the story is developing. Whether it's investigating the financials of Elon Musk's pro-Trump PAC or producing our latest documentary, 'The A Word', which shines a light on the American women fighting for reproductive rights, we know how important it is to parse out the facts from the messaging.

At such a critical moment in US history, we need reporters on the ground. Your donation allows us to keep sending journalists to speak to both sides of the story.

The Independent is trusted by Americans across the entire political spectrum. And unlike many other quality news outlets, we choose not to lock Americans out of our reporting and analysis with paywalls. We believe quality journalism should be available to everyone, paid for by those who can afford it.

Your support makes all the difference.

Louise O'Mara, 22, a trainer for Samsung, wed Chris McQuade, 24, a plumber, last December

We both knew we didn't want to get married in this country; it's expensive, and the church thing didn't appeal. And somewhere hot would've felt like a holiday rather than a wedding. After we saw Lapland in a brochure, we just thought, "Wow"; 17 of us went – mostly family as none of our friends could afford it.

The wedding was at 5pm, so during the day I went to the hairdresser while my family went to elf school. A ride on a sleigh took us to the igloo. It was -12C, but I was too excited to be cold. I had a wedding dress on and a little jacket. Everyone else wore thermals.

It looked like Pingu's igloo but much bigger. Inside, the ceiling was studded with sparkling lights and at the end of the snowy aisle was a raised, iced altar, lit up. The ceremony was only five minutes – just an exchange of vows – which was good, as it was chilly.

There was an ice bar in a separate room, with ice stools and ice tables. We drank pink champagne in glasses with sharp ends that you stick in the snow.

My feet were going numb towards the end, though, as were Chris's fingers. But I was too excited to care. We had a quick dance outside on a slippery, frozen dance floor, then got a sleigh ride through this wooden wilderness back to the hotel. It was magical.

Join our commenting forum

Join thought-provoking conversations, follow other Independent readers and see their replies

Comments

Thank you for registering

Please refresh the page or navigate to another page on the site to be automatically logged inPlease refresh your browser to be logged in