A ski-obsessed bride took her entire wedding party to the top of a 2,600-metre snowy mountain to say “I do” before running the 4km back dressed in her dress.
Laura Norcott, from Mere, Cheshire, has been skiing since she was a child and began teaching her now husband Robert Norcott, 34, just three months into their relationship.
Since then, they’ve hit the slopes regularly, so when Robert popped the question on the edge of the mountain in Les Arcs, France, in March 2023, Laura quickly began planning their ski-themed wedding day. .
The 31-year-old said she had always thought about getting married on a snowy mountaintop, but had only seen traditional Austrian weddings that did this.
So Laura, Robert and 32 wedding guests flew to Hohe Mut Alm, a mountain lodge in Obergurgl, Austria, to spend a week in the snow.
Laura Norcott, from Mere in Cheshire, took her entire wedding party to the top of a 2,600 meter snowy mountain to say “I do” before running the 4km back in her dress.
After hosting their bachelor parties over the holidays, the loved-up couple said “I do” overlooking the 8,000-foot-high mountains on March 14.
The equine physical therapist then skied down the 2.5-mile red and blue slope in her wedding dress with Robert while wearing her veil and holding her bouquet.
Incredible footage showed slope lovers racing down the icy slope with their wedding guests. Meanwhile, another clip showed the newlyweds holding hands as they slid through the snow.
Laura said walking the race in her wedding dress was “surreal” and a special moment for the couple.
Laura said: ‘I’ve been skiing since I was very young. My grandfather got us all into skiing, so my whole family skis.
“We’ve been to wedding venues several times during family vacations and seen people get married, but they were usually traditional Austrian weddings.
‘My husband and I met just over six years ago and three months later I dragged him on a ski holiday.
“This was my first time skiing. She loves the outdoors and is not afraid, so she learned it right away.
Laura (right) has been skiing since she was a child, so she started teaching her now-husband Robert Norcott, 34, (left) just three months into their relationship, and has hit the slopes regularly since .
Laura, Robert and 32 wedding guests flew to Hohe Mut Alm, a mountain retreat in Obergurgl, Austria, to spend a week in the snow.
The couple in love said ‘I do’ looking at the mountains at 2,600 meters above sea level on March 14
‘We have skied every season since then together with friends and family and last year I proposed on our ski trip with two of our friends to a mountain. The proposal was a total surprise.
“We’re not very traditional and we joked that the only way to get married was on a ski mountain and after we got engaged we wanted to see if this was possible.”
‘The place where we got married is a place in Austria called Hohe Mut Alm. It is a mountain restaurant on top of a gondola and is 2,600 m high and is the top of a ski slope.
‘We got married in the museum room which has an incredible window with views of the mountains. It was pretty special.
‘Then we made speeches and took photos up there, ate on the covered terrace and then we all skied down. The ski slope was red and blue and was about four or five kilometers deep.’
Laura said 12 of her guests skied down the mountain with her and Robert, while the “non-skiers” went down the slope in a Piste Basher, which is a snowmobile.
She said her dress had a long train, but luckily she was able to get to the end of the slope without tearing it.
Laura said her dress had a long train but luckily she was able to make it to the end of the slope without breaking it.
The couple got married in Austria at a place called Hohe Mut Alm, which is a mountain restaurant on top of a gondola.
The equine physical therapist then skied down the 2.5-mile red and blue slope in her wedding dress with Robert while wearing her veil and holding her bouquet.
Laura said 12 of her guests skied down the mountain with her and Robert, while the “non-skiers” went down the slope in a Piste Basher, which is a snowmobile.
Laura posed for a photo with her two bridesmaids, Megan and Sarah, on top of the snowy mountain.
Robert said he never imagined getting married on the slopes, but said he loved every part of their wedding day.
The bride posed with her bridesmaids Megan and Sarah on the morning of her wedding day.
For their honeymoon, the couple, who met on Boxing Day 2017, will head to Canada in July for the Calgary Stampede and hope to explore the Rocky Mountains as well.
Laura said: “I wasn’t sure what it would be like [skiing in a wedding dress] since my dress has a long train.
‘I had no idea how I was going to ski with it, but it was good. I felt him catch a couple of times on the back of my skis but luckily he didn’t break.
‘It was a lot of fun skiing. I simply forgot what I was wearing and enjoyed the moment.
“I got going with my poles and my bouquet and then I got rid of my poles and in the end I was left with my bouquet.
‘Guests who didn’t know how to ski came down the mountain on a Piste Basher, which is a large machine that clears the slopes and leaves them flat and level for skiing. “Everything was surreal.”
For their honeymoon, the couple, who met on Boxing Day 2017, will head to Canada in July for the Calgary Stampede and hope to explore the Rocky Mountains too.
Robert said he never imagined getting married on the slopes, but said he loved every part of their wedding day.
Robert said: ‘It was quite surreal and cool to get married on a ski mountain. I never thought I would get married on the slopes. Skiing down the mountain was probably the best thing for me as it was just fun.”