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 Poster: A snowHead
Poster: A snowHead
My boyfriend and I have finally decided to tie the knot after 11 years! And what better way than to get 150 of our family and friends to fall around on skis for a few days!!

We are looking for any information on venues for weddings in the Alps. I have been pulling my hair out looking for any suitable places for a large wedding reception in the snow. I can find lots of venues that can cater for 20-40 people (and a few for up to 70) but nowhere that can accommodate the 150 guest we will have wink to ask. We are very open to suggestions but were originally thinking of Austria as we have been there a lot and really like the people, place and atmosphere.

Ideally we are looking for a relatively picturesque venu (although we realise with 150 guests a cosy chalet type place is probably not going to happen). We really want to be able to ski before and after our wedding and snow is really important to me for the wedding pictures so I guess we are looking for somewhere relatively snow-sure. We would plan for most of our guests to stay in pension/guest houses so the venue does not really need to have rooms for all these people - just a pretty reception room.

Any help would be gratefully appreciated. We have been looking for a venue since February and no joy as of yet. Thanks snowHead
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 Obviously A snowHead isn't a real person
Obviously A snowHead isn't a real person
I'm sure I remember seeing a sign advertising wedding receptions at Cafe Soleil in Serre Chevalier. Not sure what the capacity would be, mind you. I have a feeling snowangel. works there now so might be worth giving her a shout?
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 Well, the person's real but it's just a made up name, see?
Well, the person's real but it's just a made up name, see?
wl, Wow Shocked Shocked Shocked
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wl, What month of the year are you looking to get married? 150 in February is going to be impossible? Things to consider is that wiht that number a long weekend in my opinion will also be impossible as you cut across 2 business weeks. For any chance you will have to get married mid week as part of a Saturday-Saturday deal and that means 150 people taking best part of a weeks holiday, those with kids will think about the cost. Sorry to sound a bit negative but by the time you organise 150 on a skiing holiday let alone a wedding you will die of stress.
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 Anyway, snowHeads is much more fun if you do.
Anyway, snowHeads is much more fun if you do.
Yes but think of the bulk discount Very Happy
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wl, http://www.accorhotels.com/accorhotels/fichehotel/gb/mer/5627/fiche_hotel.shtml
May be able to help...
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 Then you can post your own questions or snow reports...
Then you can post your own questions or snow reports...
I went to a friend's wedding at Arosa in December 2003 - we all stayed the Tschuggen Hotel and the wedding ceremony was at a fantastic little church (Bergkirchli) http://www.picswiss.ch/Land10/GR-13-7.jpg high on the slopes with all guests and wedding party transported up there on horse drawn sleigh - don't think you'd get 150 in there though. Those from London flew in to Zurich and caught the train to Arosa.


Last edited by Then you can post your own questions or snow reports... on Fri 11-04-08 10:23; edited 1 time in total
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 After all it is free Go on u know u want to!
After all it is free Go on u know u want to!
Not sure of any of the details, but I saw a wedding party on the slopes at Zell am See at Easter.
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Frosty the Snowman, You are Irish why are you suprised!

wl, Could be worth looking stateside I know its an extra hassle but 1 Good exchange rate and 2 More places that would be able to cater for this king of thing Or Lake Louis in Canada Fairmont chateaux would take that wedding party no bother!

Seen an Irish Wedding in Saalbach Austria this year there was 100 in the Party and had the reception meal in a hotel dinning room at 4 before the main Dinner sitting and then headed out for a night on the town. I know alot of Austrian resorts have at least one wedding planner type person who will arrange everythign for you befor you get there have you tried the tourist offices in a few Austrian Resorts

Lech, Zurs, Zell em zee, Obergurgal?

Best of luck with the wedding and the planning
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Ordhan, Am I!!!!!!. That is good news, far better than being descended from a Cornish tin mining family that moved to the Durham coalfieds wink
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Would it not be prudent to maybe contact any of the bigger TO's, tell them what you are thinking of doing, and asking them to make suggestions? I would imagine that they would be very interested in a guaranteed booking for 150 people given the current specualtion about the economy.....I would imagine that you would also be able to negotiate a very good deal...
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 And love to help out and answer questions and of course, read each other's snow reports.
And love to help out and answer questions and of course, read each other's snow reports.
Frosty the Snowman, Sorry wrong snowHead Confusing you with someone else DOH
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 So if you're just off somewhere snowy come back and post a snow report of your own and we'll all love you very much
So if you're just off somewhere snowy come back and post a snow report of your own and we'll all love you very much
wl, there are a couple of specialist (ski/board) event management companies you could approach - depends on budget, but you might get some ideas. Jonpim is a "gasman" and those in his medical profession go en-masse to skiing orientated meetings. Maybe a PM to him asking if he knows how they're organised might also provide further ideas or lines of enquiry.

Good luck!
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 You know it makes sense.
You know it makes sense.
wl, Perhaps consider somewhere like Innsbruck - a big place with all the facilities you could need and plenty of skiing very close by for those that want it (even a new lift out of the centre now). Maybe have your ceremony somewhere like Igls or Seefeld or somewhere funky like up on the ski jump. Being a business city, Innsbruck can easily handle 150 people with differing durations and entertainment needs (some of your older party members would not want to ski or even enjoy the prospect of icy pavements in a ski resort). Salzburg can do the same but the skiing isn't as close (but still do-able in a day each day). 150 "for a few days" is a big ask for a normal resort hotel and I doubt you'll get offered anything decent.
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 Otherwise you'll just go on seeing the one name:
Otherwise you'll just go on seeing the one name:
SnowHead dingdong got married in Kitzbuhel this year - I think there were about 40 guests if I remember correctly? But he might be able to point you in the right direction for contacts/experience. Kitzbuhel would be good for a wedding I'd have thought - pretty town, lots of hotels/B&Bs and nice skiing.
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 Poster: A snowHead
Poster: A snowHead
wl, other thing to consider by the way is the air travel... with 150 people you might want to consider chartering your own aircraft! You'd probably be funding 2 empty legs but worth getting a quote anyway and doing the maths.
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 Obviously A snowHead isn't a real person
Obviously A snowHead isn't a real person
Oh and nearly forgot - congratulationswl! snowHead snowHead
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 Well, the person's real but it's just a made up name, see?
Well, the person's real but it's just a made up name, see?
Quote:

you might want to consider chartering your own aircraft!

It Celtic Tiger Ireland Everyone owns their own jet wink

wl, Congratulations by the way
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I knew you guys would come up with some good ideas! Thanks everyone. I'll start working on it. Just to answer a few of the questions above. I realise that the chance of getting somewhere in February is slim but if we pick somewhere relatively snow-sure we are hoping March might be possible. Most of my friends won't have a major problem doing Sat to Sat anyway and we aren't getting married until 2010 so at least we have a bit of time to plan. And I am one of those mean people who want a kid free wedding! Will PM those people as suggested above and maybe contact some of the TOs - although as a longtime DIYer I am loathe to give TOs any business but beggars can't be choosers I suppose. I love the idea of North America but from personal experience (friends getting married in Vancouver this summer) I know it puts a lot of people seriously out of pocket flight-wise so I don't think it's a runner. The two main resorts we have looked at so far are Zell Am See and Soll but no joy as of yet. We were thinking maybe Ischgl or St Anton also. I don't mean to sound like a princess but I want my wedding in a small enough village - which I realise is a big ask for such a large wedding party. However Innsbruck might be worth looking at. I might have to start picking unneccessary fights with my friends so I can knock some people off the guest list Toofy Grin Flight wise - that is a great idea. Also helps that my Dad works for in the business. God I am stresses already. Would anyone like to plan my wedding for me - you can come if you do!!! Very Happy Right, better go and do some research. Thanks a million everyone - all the above is extremely useful and I am really grateful.
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 Anyway, snowHeads is much more fun if you do.
Anyway, snowHeads is much more fun if you do.
The Corporate Ski Company

Momentum Ski

Mountain Leap Events

MUD Unlimited not a typical event manager, but they are based in Chamonix and may point you in the right direction.

Sunflower Events based in France

Weddings and Honeymoons Abroad

Wedding Guide has a section for weddings abroad
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I guess your really looking for an idyllic picture post card Alpine Village setting for this, so what I'm suggesting probably doesn't fit the bill.

CairnGorm Mountain can do the wedding / reception part of what your after for the number your looking for in the Ptarmigan at the top of the Funicular Railway. You could have the ceremony on the viewing terrace if your brave/mad (delete as appropriate) . They could also arrange transport to/from the mountain/valley and can turn the Ptarmigan around from daytime operation to Evening Dinning/Function by 6pm, which if your gunning for Mid February means you should be catching the last of the sunset as people gather to head up the mountain railway.

I'll admit that Aviemore doesn't quite fit the charming Alpine Village you might have in mind, but it's in a spectacular and scenic setting at the heart of a national park and there is certainly several large hotels which either separately or together could handle accommodation for your group, and not being package holiday driven is less dependent on Saturday to Saturday week stays.

You want it to be snow sure, if the snow part is for wedding photos if there isn't snow at least up top on CairnGorm in mid Feb it would be a MAJOR Shock, there has only failed to be skiing in Mid-Feb once in the past 20years (1998). There is a degree of gamble on the weather front, but only severe blizzards on the Access Road would present a problem to a private event, the Funicular is more than capable of running in triple digit wind speeds (in mph Twisted Evil ) - though that might rule out wedding photos on the viewing terrace! Laughing

I'm sure it would be possible to arrange a back-up plan, CML have done so for a number of events staged in the Ptarmigan, but mid Feb often brings fairly settled high pressure dominated weather to Highland Scotland and the risk of bad weather needs to be offset against the possibility of a truly stunning star and moonlight crisp winters night. I don't know how many of your party actually ski or board, but for those that don't esp travelling up a Funicular Railway to near the top of a mountain will be a fairly unique event on it's own, and not something people generally get the chance to do on the 'Gorm.

An alternative might be to hold the wedding in a Castle or large country Lodge (that is sufficiently castle like to tell your mates your getting married in a Highland Castle) and then grab a few days skiing.

Just something different to through in the pot.

Some info from the old website:

http://www.cairngormmountain.com/website/main.asp?pg=15
http://www.cairngormmountain.com/website/main.asp?pg=87

New website - contact details: www.cairngormmountain.org.uk



Ptarmigan Restaurant Viewing Terrace late afternoon Hogmanay (Dec 31st) 2007.
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 Then you can post your own questions or snow reports...
Then you can post your own questions or snow reports...
wl,

Pretty/romantic + snows sure = Zermatt.

I'm sure weddings are well catered for, with minimum of red tape, on the Nevada side of Lake Tahoe.

Congrats!

snowHead
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 After all it is free Go on u know u want to!
After all it is free Go on u know u want to!
wl, Hi,
Congratulations, If you fancy Zell am See have a look at the "Hotel Heitzmann." plenty to do in Zell for the guests if they dont ski. I was in zell from the new year till the end of march , and the Heitzmann had wedding parties most weeks. I spoke to a few of the guests at various weddings and they all said the Heitzmann was v. good.
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Get married in the summer! Tignes? LDA? Bormio? (Is there still summer ski-ing at Zermatt?)
Far easier to sort out accommodation and less probs with weather/travel.
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Although I haven't been there yet, the EoSB will take 100+ Snowheads to stay in the Oxalys at Val Thorens as far as I understand we are not filling the hotel and the resort has others - could this be possible location?
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wl,

first up congratulations.

You might want to consider Arc 1950? (declared interest - owner)

However with the benefit of that personal knowledge. I can say that it does have the charm (some say faux, ... but hey, I think they're jealous!) of a well thought out yet compact and car-free village, as well as some of the best accommodation and ski-in/ski out snow-sure slopes in the Alps.
Most importantly however, it also has the capability for hosting conferences and seminars within large, purpose built rooms / spaces, as well as all the facilities you would expect in a 4* / 5* resort. So a wedding reception would be a breeze.

It also has an in-house company whose sole role is to design and manage 'corporate events', which quite honestly, 150 people would probaly qualify as!

Direct links to Bourg by train from St Pancras, as well as drivable and good air connections means that it would be accessible for your guests at a reasonable cost.

Contact details for Cameleon, the arrangment company, at http://www.arc1950.com/en/c_commerces.php?id=41&id_c=8


But whatever and wherever, you'll have a great time: , enjoy!!
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 And love to help out and answer questions and of course, read each other's snow reports.
And love to help out and answer questions and of course, read each other's snow reports.
Megamum wrote:
Although I haven't been there yet, the EoSB will take 100+ Snowheads to stay in the Oxalys at Val Thorens as far as I understand we are not filling the hotel and the resort has others - could this be possible location?


wl wrote:
Ideally we are looking for a relatively picturesque venu


Hmm. Val Thorens picturesque? Try Austria wink
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 So if you're just off somewhere snowy come back and post a snow report of your own and we'll all love you very much
So if you're just off somewhere snowy come back and post a snow report of your own and we'll all love you very much
Elizabeth B, Laughing Laughing you're not wrong there! Val T would not be top of my list of places to get married.
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 You know it makes sense.
You know it makes sense.
cathy wrote:
Elizabeth B, Laughing Laughing you're not wrong there! Val T would not be top of my list of places to get married.
Blimey, me neither! Shocked
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 Otherwise you'll just go on seeing the one name:
Otherwise you'll just go on seeing the one name:
you skiing friends will love you your non skiing friends are going to hate you.

chateauu whistler?

oh and don't marry him, marry me
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 Poster: A snowHead
Poster: A snowHead
Winterhighland wrote:
I guess your really looking for an idyllic picture post card Alpine Village setting for this, so what I'm suggesting probably doesn't fit the bill.

CairnGorm Mountain can do the wedding / reception part of what your after for the number your looking for in the Ptarmigan at the top of the Funicular Railway. You could have the ceremony on the viewing terrace if your brave/mad (delete as appropriate) . They could also arrange transport to/from the mountain/valley and can turn the Ptarmigan around from daytime operation to Evening Dinning/Function by 6pm, which if your gunning for Mid February means you should be catching the last of the sunset as people gather to head up the mountain railway.

I'll admit that Aviemore doesn't quite fit the charming Alpine Village you might have in mind, but it's in a spectacular and scenic setting at the heart of a national park and there is certainly several large hotels which either separately or together could handle accommodation for your group, and not being package holiday driven is less dependent on Saturday to Saturday week stays.

You want it to be snow sure, if the snow part is for wedding photos if there isn't snow at least up top on CairnGorm in mid Feb it would be a MAJOR Shock, there has only failed to be skiing in Mid-Feb once in the past 20years (1998). There is a degree of gamble on the weather front, but only severe blizzards on the Access Road would present a problem to a private event, the Funicular is more than capable of running in triple digit wind speeds (in mph Twisted Evil ) - though that might rule out wedding photos on the viewing terrace! Laughing

I'm sure it would be possible to arrange a back-up plan, CML have done so for a number of events staged in the Ptarmigan, but mid Feb often brings fairly settled high pressure dominated weather to Highland Scotland and the risk of bad weather needs to be offset against the possibility of a truly stunning star and moonlight crisp winters night. I don't know how many of your party actually ski or board, but for those that don't esp travelling up a Funicular Railway to near the top of a mountain will be a fairly unique event on it's own, and not something people generally get the chance to do on the 'Gorm.

An alternative might be to hold the wedding in a Castle or large country Lodge (that is sufficiently castle like to tell your mates your getting married in a Highland Castle) and then grab a few days skiing.

Just something different to through in the pot.

Some info from the old website:

http://www.cairngormmountain.com/website/main.asp?pg=15
http://www.cairngormmountain.com/website/main.asp?pg=87

New website - contact details: www.cairngormmountain.org.uk



Ptarmigan Restaurant Viewing Terrace late afternoon Hogmanay (Dec 31st) 2007.


... and the Bride wore Goretex
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 Obviously A snowHead isn't a real person
Obviously A snowHead isn't a real person
try http://www.ski-2.com they do weddings in champoluc italy
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 Well, the person's real but it's just a made up name, see?
Well, the person's real but it's just a made up name, see?
Hi all. Thanks again for all the wonderful posts - I can't say enough how helpful you have all been. Nothing decided for definite as of yet but think I am on to something in Zell Am See. Sure I'll update you when it is more definite. Haven't ruled out the idea of Scotland though but at the moment I am trying to follow one lead at a time to avoid total brain meltdown!! To ask another (probably controversial question, especially given this year's weather) but what month would people recommend. January, February or March?? My thinking is that February is probably most snow-sure but also the busiest time which may make finding accommodation for our guests difficult. January or March could be low on snow but then that theory was blown out the water a bit over the past two years! I am almost afraid to hit 'Submit'!!!!
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wl, I'd avoid Jan for a wedding (likely to be cold), and Feb (likely to be busy) so that leaves - March! Good chance of sunny spring conditions, and still pretty snow-sure if you pick a nice high resort. You could even consider April (would have been excellent this year snowHead ).
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 Anyway, snowHeads is much more fun if you do.
Anyway, snowHeads is much more fun if you do.
wl, March has become almost as snow sure as any other time of year the lower slopes might have less snow but it is still fairly snow sure plus I think the lake is Zell freezes from Mid Januare to the end of March? I am open for correction though
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The lake in Zell had melted by mid March this year, and IIRC didn't freeze at all last year.......but March is the time that I would suggest. Snow was in abundance a couple of weeks after Easter, but not at resort level.
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