A guide to planning a magical desi wedding in the snow-capped mountains of Switzerland

When planning their dream wedding, couples seek to push the envelope by choosing exotic venues or never-before-seen themes for their ceremony. While you may have considered a cliché beach wedding; how about a snowy destination wedding in the Alps? Having your stunning mandap at a height of 2,222 metres set against snow covered mountains and a gorgeous landscape may seem like an impossible dream. But fashion influencer Sonam Babani and her now husband Neil Sanghvi managed to achieve precisely this.

The duo chose a luxury ski chalet in Zermatt, Switzerland for their sojourn and tied the knot by the stately Matterhorn peak. If you’re fascinated by such a destination wedding, here’s a guide to plan your own ceremony amid snow topped mountains.

When in the mountains and surrounded by snow, you have the perfect opportunity to plan some glorious pictures with your beau. Have your photographer devise themed shoots that let you make the most of your icy location. Themes like snow queen, swan lake and even a Christmas themed photography session may be apt for your pre-wedding pictures.

A conventional wedding is one where the groom drives up on a horse surrounded by your baraat. However, when in the Alps you have an opportunity to do something offbeat. So, simply arrange to ride up in a horse-drawn sleigh and if you’re lucky, perhaps you’ll have horses named Prancer, Dasher and even Rudolph driving your sleigh.

You may be tempted to have classic flowers used in most desi weddings such as lilies, marigolds and roses or even Tuberoses flown in for your ceremony. But it is more prudent to have your wedding planner, decorator or florist suggest some locally available seasonal blooms that may be apt for your ceremony. For the uninitiated, weddings in Switzerland use Edelweiss, Alpine Rose, and Blue Gentian for they are popular in the region as a symbol of love.

Using such seasonal blooms for mandap and aisle décor is recommended mainly to preserve the freshness of the flowers, as having flowers imported may mean they wilt before or during your nuptials.

As snow-covered roads ensure that transport vehicles cannot access your venue, should you crave a wedding atop a snowy hill or mountain, then you need to get more creative. This is exactly what Sonam and Neil seem to have done for their nuptials as they had helicopters transport the décor elements and other paraphernalia to the icy site.

One of the worst times to plan a Swiss wedding would be in the height of winters as this would be a time when hotels and resorts are snowed in. With the chance of blizzards and icy roads, lots of places may be inaccessible by road during the winter months. Average temperate is 14 degrees Celsius in May, although Zurich does see over 10 days of rainfall even in May.

So, you must time your wedding in a way that you visit in the warmer months such as May when the weather isn’t too cold nor too sunny. 

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