A few years ago my wife-to-be and I found ourselves stood before a vicar, in a village church, for a traditional wedding ceremony.
Except that the village was in Lapland.
Some of the traditions were Swedish.
And the church was made from ice taken from the River Torne.
We’d always wanted to visit the Ice Hotel, but never managed it. So when it came to choosing a wedding venue, and on discovering the hotel also had an Ice Church, there was only one option. I won’t bore you with all the details except to say it was an amazing day, I managed to lose my ring (and find it again) and the bride wore white, but here’s the relevant bit…
The day after our ceremony we discovered more about the history behind the church itself. It was first built at the request of the parish vicar. His idea was that instead of trying to encourage people to go to church, he would take the church to the people. So by using the river’s water – a source of life itself – he had a church built out of ice next to the hotel, and reached a much larger audience while retaining Christian traditions.
The church now holds over 100 weddings and ceremonies each winter and spring, and then each summer, that year’s church melts back into nature. Just leaving behind special memories with all who visited. How pure is that?
As well as being a beautiful celebration of belief in nature and humanity, what a genius way of standing out and reaching a wider audience.
