On Valentine’s Day in Revelstoke, love is in the air and on the slopes.
For the last several years, Revelstoke Mountain Resort (RMR) has hosted a mass wedding ceremony at the top of the Revelation Gondola on Valentine’s Day. The ceremonies started at 11 a.m. and ran until 2 p.m., leaving enough room for almost 20 couples to tie the knot. With the sun out and the skies clear, more than 100 people gathered at the Mackenzie Outpost for the event.
With the whirring sound of the gondola, mountaintops in every direction, and sunshine bouncing off of the snow, RMR’s Valentine’s Day wedding event was a hit.
By 11 a.m., the lineup was then length of about ten cars, and was almost back to the gondola.
The lovers lined up, eagerly awaiting their turn, all the while cheering for the newlyweds ahead of them. Some folks wore their finest ski and snowboard gear, others wore traditional wedding outfits, including suits and dresses. Still others combined the two, as one person tucked their white veil under their toque.
Iris Gonçalves and Jack Haeger said their vows around 11:30 a.m.
“It’s just amazing out here today,” said Haeger, as he beamed at his wife.
Gonçalves is Portuguese and Haeger is American, from California. After spending the last six months in Canada the two saw the ad for RMR’s event and jumped at the chance.
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“We’re like, ‘hell yeah, this is the way to go,’” said Gonçalves with a smile.
Gonçalves was one of the brides who opted for a wedding dress at the mountain. Her sleeveless white dress offered little in the way of warmth on the big day, but despite that she said she wasn’t cold. Instead, standing up there she basked in the words of the officiant.
“The speech that she gave us was so beautiful. She really took the time to make us special. And that’s impressive. Because she’s marrying so many people. She’s putting her heart and soul on each one of them. And I’m really grateful for that,” said Gonçalves.
Although they shared their special day with many other couples, Haeger figures it was still the best they could’ve done.
“If we had had our own wedding and hired somebody, I don’t know if it would have been this beautiful,” said Haeger.
There were no cars with streamers to shuttle Haeger and Gonçalves away from the venue, but they did bring their snowboards. Asked if they’d be riding off into the sun, the two looked down at Gonçalves’ long dress before explaining they’d have to do a quick download on the gondola to get their gear.
Their honeymoon? A chairlift for two and some laps in the sun.
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@ZacharyDelaney
zach.delaney@revelstokereview.com
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