A Wild Winter Wedding in Tyrol

The ceremony for this winter wedding takes place on a snow-covered hillside overlooking the majestic Tyrolean peaks. Amid curious alpacas, playful little goats, and the shy glances of the deer in the wildlife park, an atmosphere straight out of a winter fairy tale unfolds. The wedding officiant takes the couple on a very personal journey, speaking about their shared highs and lows—and about the deep bond between them. The ceremony culminates in a touching handfasting ritual, tears of emotion included. Amid this special atmosphere, the two gaze into each other’s eyes again and again, tenderly and dreamily—a moment full of fervor. And then: a loud bleating of goats from the nearby barn breaks the silence. The couple’s loving glances give way to hearty laughter—a ceremony as genuine and warm as Tyrol itself!

A special Blickfang in the wintry-white setting is the wedding arch, adorned with dried flowers, grasses, and real feathers. The feathers come from peacocks, owls, and other bird species that call the wildlife park home—a unifying theme that runs lovingly through the entire concept. The bridal bouquet also picks up on this idea.

The bride wears a delicate two-piece gown with floral lace and a deep back neckline—romantic, modern, and wonderfully understated. Her groom complements the look with a gray suit, a checkered vest, and a bow tie—classic with a twist! After the ceremony, the style-conscious couple invites guests to the log cabin, where warm furs, blankets, and a charming outdoor bar with humorously named drinks await.

The combination of down-to-earth charm, a love of nature, and warmth makes this “wild winter wedding” a truly special moment. And it shows that Tyrol has everything it takes for a dream wedding—even—or especially—in winter.

The concept behind this photo shoot is simply based on the idea of showcasing an authentic outdoor wedding ceremony in winter. Most weddings still take place in the summer, even though the cold season in Tyrol has so much to offer—from unique locations blanketed in snow to fantastic backdrops that make for one-of-a-kind photos! For this shoot, we wanted a special location to showcase as many facets of Tyrol as possible—the nature, the mountains, and their animal inhabitants. The wedding ceremony depicted wasn’t meant to be merely staged, so as an independent officiant, I met with the couple beforehand, and they shared wonderful stories with me about themselves and their relationship. This allowed me to create a short but authentic ceremony for Laura and Christoph (the models). As a result, all the emotions captured in the beautiful photos and the video footage were genuine and real. And this was especially important to us—that the concept of this shoot wasn’t just staged, but that you could feel the genuine emotions behind it.

Special Features of the Photo Shoot: This shoot was simply meant to showcase an outdoor wedding ceremony taking place in winter (rather than in summer, as is customary) in our beautiful state of Tyrol. Tyrol has wonderful locations for outdoor weddings to offer—and not just in summer. In winter, the mountain landscape, blanketed in soft white snow, takes on a completely different look—not just in person but also in photographs—and we simply wanted to highlight this unique aspect with this shoot. One of the challenges was to capture a harmonious image together with the animal residents of the wildlife park without scaring them away amid all the commotion. Fortunately, we succeeded thanks to great teamwork from everyone involved—and especially thanks to the help of an experienced staff member from the wildlife park named Janinen, who accompanied us that day. It was so much fun to shoot amidst the curious stares of the alpacas and llamas, the playful exuberance of the little goats, and the proud gazes of the stags and does. I’d like to highlight one special detail in the design of the bouquets and the floral decorations on the wedding arch. We incorporated feathers from peacocks, owls, and other birds that call the zoo home. We simply wanted to create a beautiful unifying theme throughout the entire concept. As the title suggests, it was “A Wild Winter Wedding”! For me, both personally and as a wedding officiant or independent celebrant, planning a shoot like this was something very special, since I had no prior experience organizing anything like it. This sparked a new passion in me to plan such wonderful shoots more often—but only with such magnificent service providers as mentioned above. No matter how perfect the planning of a photoshoot may be, it only becomes something truly special thanks to such unique and lovely people! I’d especially like to highlight this uniqueness, this teamwork, and these people.