Switzerland is one of the most favorite countries for a destination wedding among couples from all around the world. It’s a country with a long and rich history and stunning landscapes wherever you look. For the past few years, we had an opportunity to document Swiss Alps weddings and elopements at some of the most beautiful places we have ever seen. Switzerland is like that, at the moment you think you saw everything, it throws something even more beautiful at you.
Switzerland is a country of adventure and we can’t wait for the next opportunity to visit it and explore it further. From the point of our job as wedding photographer and videographer, the Swiss landscape is something out of this world and one of the most beautiful wedding backdrops you can ever imagine.
We have decided to write this Swiss Alps wedding guide to ignite a spark of imagination and your daydreaming about the alpine wedding experience. Or maybe you already decided to get married in the Swiss Alps and now you are searching the online world for inspiration to start planning a wedding of yours. Either way, we believe this guide will help you to plan and organize your Swiss Alps wedding and the photos and videos we took in pristine alpine nature will make you wish your wedding to come as soon as possible.
Welcome to the Swiss Alps
The Swiss Alps are one of the most breathtaking mountain ranges in the world, and the most famous one in Europe. They stretch through a few central European countries and form truly a magnificent landscape in each of them. And it’s not only the mountains and mountain peaks that make the Alps so beautiful. There are rivers, glacial lakes with some of the most incredible colors you’ll ever see, meadows full of flowers in the spring, waterfalls, and streams… All these made Switzerland and the Alps among the most favorite places among young couples, whether it’s just for a visit and vacation or for something more, such as a wedding.
Switzerland also has some of the most charming and picturesque villages you’ll ever see and once you visit them, you’ll notice how perfectly they fit within the alpine landscape. There are many luxurious resorts nestled among the mountains or in the valleys and these are perfect for your stay in Switzerland. The great thing about Switzerland, when it comes to weddings and elopements, is the organization and accessibility of almost any place in the country. Swiss transportation system is among the best ones in the world and it consists of many different types of transportation – trains, funiculars, cable cars, buses…
The Swiss Alps are the perfect setting for different kinds of weddings and we’re sure you won’t have any trouble finding a perfect venue for yours.
Swiss Alps wedding and elopement photographer and videographer
We are Andrea and Mario and we have been in the elopement and wedding photography and videography business for years now. Through time we have specialised in elopements and weddings in nature since we are nature addicts and love to spend every free moment in exploration and adventure. From this point, Switzerland is our dream come true and an opportunity to blend our 2 loves – perfect landscapes and documenting the emotions of a wedding.
Related: Switzerland Photoshoot for Couples
Although we have specialized in outdoor wedding photography and videography, we still document all types of weddings, whether they include nature or not. In the end, photography and videography are just means of preserving memories and they don’t differ from setting to setting. Switzerland is full of places for conventional weddings too if that’s something you seek to have. Our photography and videography style is focused on natural moments and genuine emotions and we try to document moments as they happen in front of our cameras.
We document elopements all across Europe and in different landscapes, but Swiss Alps weddings will always have a special place in our memories.
Related: Our Ultimate Switzerland Elopement Guide
Reasons to get married in Swiss Alps
Breathtaking Natural Scenery:
The Swiss Alps are a stunning landscape famous for its mountains, lush valleys, serene glacial lakes, and rivers. All of these provide a great backdrop for your wedding photos and a beautiful setting for a wedding ceremony. Whether you choose mountains or valleys, the Swiss Alps wedding will be an experience you’ll never forget.
Related: Zermatt Matterhorn Elopement Wedding Guide
Unique Venues and Settings:
Swiss Alps offer many different wedding venues ranging from luxurious resorts and charming chalets to outdoor spaces surrounded by nature. Choosing the right venue for your Swiss Alps wedding reflects the personality and vision of you and your partner and having so many options is a huge plus when it comes to weddings.
Related: Ulitmate Guide to Elope in Dolomites
Exceptional Privacy and Seclusion:
The wedding is a private event and it’s always great when your wedding is happening away from other tourists and other curious eyes. The Swiss Alps are a huge landscape and it’s not hard to find a place where you’ll be relatively alone. This is especially important for the ceremony since it’s the part of the wedding where you really want to be alone with your partner and your guests.
Adventure and Activities:
Destination weddings are the experience that lasts for the entire stay in a foreign country. Your Swiss Alps wedding might last for just one day, but you have more days to fill with joy and adventures before you return back home. That’s another great side of Switzerland, it offers you a multitude of options when it comes to adventures and activities you can do during your stay. From some of the best hikes in the world to paragliding, helicopter rides, ziplines… If there are other guests attending your wedding in the Swiss Alps, they too will appreciate these things to see around and experience for themselves.
Related: Our Guide to Elope in Lauterbrunnen
World-Class Hospitality and Cuisine:
Gastronomy is yet another important aspect of each wedding. It’s always nice to have an opportunity to try local food and indulge yourself in tastes you have never tried before. Switzerland has a long tourism tradition and as such it’s famous for its hospitality and well-developed all aspects of tourist offer. The Swiss Alps region is also famous for its culinary delights such as fondues, wines, and some of the best chocolates you’ll ever try.
Easy Accessibility:
The Swiss Alps might be high and harsh terrain and you would think that transportation in such a landscape would be hard if not impossible. But the truth is quite the opposite. Switzerland has some of the best and most efficient public transport systems in the world. It consists of trains, cable cars, boats, buses, funiculars… There is almost no place in the Alps you can’t reach through some of the mentioned types of transport. This fact is extremely important when it comes to planning and organization of your Swiss Alps wedding.
Year-Round Beauty:
A great thing about the Swiss Alps is that they are beautiful in every season and each of them has its own peculiarities and colors. Summers are full of lush green landscapes and vibrant colors of surrounding landscapes while winters are full of snow that creates a real wonderland vibe. Whatever season you choose, you can’t miss with Switzerland.
Related: Plan Your Perfect Proposal in Switzerland
Cultural Richness and Traditions:
Implementing the local culture and traditions into your Swiss Alps wedding car adds an authentic touch to your celebration. There are many Swiss traditions that can make your wedding more unique such as music and dances which will create the unforgettable atmosphere you and your guests will love.
Romantic Atmosphere:
There are not many landscapes as romantic as the mountains. There is simply some peculiar kind of romance that can be found only in the mountains. It probably has to do with the serenity and peace one finds only at such majestic places. The Swiss Alps offer a truly unique atmosphere for celebrating love.
Memories to last:
Destination weddings are the kind of events that leave a strong impression on people and your Swiss Alps wedding will surely leave lasting one on you and your guests. A destination wedding is an investment in the most precious things in this world – experiences and great memories.
Reaching Switzerland and traveling through it (SwissPass)
As we already mentioned a few times in this Article, Switzerland is famous for its efficient and reliable public transport system. Reaching Switzerland is easy from whichever country you come from. Arriving by airplane is the best and most convenient way and the most famous airports in Switzerland are Zurich, Basel, and Geneva. All of these are well connected with many other airports. Once you land at any of these, you’ll have to travel a bit before you reach the heart of the Swiss Alps.
You have 2 main options when it comes to traveling through Switzerland. One is to rent a car and enjoy driving through unique landscapes at your own pace and enjoy the freedom this offers you. Another option is to use public transport which is absolutely fantastic (we know we repeat ourselves) and you’ll easily reach any place in Switzerland with it. Either of these choices is perfectly fine and we tried both of the given options when we were travelling through Switzerland. Both of them were equally great even though we are more for the public transport option because it’s one of the aspects of Switzerland you need to try.
The train is the most famous transport service in Switzerland and the whole country is full of network lines, some of which climb to the higher part of the Alps. In addition to trains, Switzerland has an extensive network consisting of bus lines, trams, boats, cable cars, funiculars… A great investment, when it comes to public transport all across Switzerland, is the Swiss Travel Pass. Once bought, it gives you free access to almost all means of public transport all across Switzerland. In addition to Swiss Pass, many regions have their own passes which include even more rides, some of which are famous for every given region.
If you are looking to have your Swiss Alps wedding at a place not covered by public transport, then a helicopter ride is a great way to reach it. There are many places where you can start your helicopter ride and these rides are among the most scenic experiences you’ll ever have and a great addition to your wedding in the Swiss Alps.
Swiss Alps wedding venues
One of the most important aspects of every destination wedding planning and organization process is finding the right venue. One of the most famous wedding locations around the world are the ones which have many wedding venues options. The Swiss Alps region is full of different venues for all types of weddings – intimate, large, elopements, adventure weddings…
There are many outdoor venues that can host your wedding ceremony and there are luxurious resorts for couples seeking such an experience of their Swiss Alps wedding. Most of the Swiss Alps wedding venues have stunning views of the nature surrounding them and most of them have many weddings each year so you can rest assured that every detail of your wedding will be taken care of.
No matter which of the venues you choose, it’s important to book it well in advance, as early as possible. This is important when it comes to Swiss Alps wedding venues such as luxury resorts, mountain lodges or any other indoor type of venue which you might want your wedding to be held at.
When it comes to the outdoor venues (for ceremonies), most of these don’t require any kind of booking and the only important thing is to explore what kind of weather conditions are usually present at the venue at the time of your preferred wedding date. For example, you might want to get married near a glacial lake in May, but that lake might still be frozen at that date and it doesn’t look anything like the photos you saw online.
Best time of the year for wedding in Swiss Alps
Another very important aspect of your Swiss Alps wedding is choosing the right time of the year for organizing it. Each of the seasons in Switzerland brings its own charm and set of considerations and you could say that the Swiss Alps are great for weddings all year round.
Spring (April to June):
Spring in the Swiss Alps is the time of awakening of nature. Snow slowly begins to melt and temperatures start to rise. In a sense, Spring provides a balance between winter landscapes and green landscapes of summer. Early Spring months can still be snowy and the closer you get to the summer the warmer and greener it gets. Another great aspect of the early months of Spring is the fact that there are fewer crowds than during the later months.
Summer (July to September):
Summer is the busiest season in the Swiss Alps and each year many visitors visit them in search of stunning alpine scenery and warm temperatures. Summer is the best period if you are planning on having an outdoor Swiss Alps wedding. Summers also offer many different activities, more than any other season in the Swiss Alps and this is great for weddings that include other guests since it means that they will have many things to do and see. It’s very important to book venues well in advance for summer wedding in Swiss Alps.
Autumn (October to November):
Autumn brings a colorful transformation to the Swiss Alps and the landscapes are painted in the most vibrant hues. It’s also a season with fewer tourists and great one if you’re seeking to have a private and secluded experience of your Swiss Alps wedding. The temperatures start to fall and they get lower closer to winter. Autumn also offers great opportunities when it comes to wedding photography and you can get that unique moody feel of the photo and video materials.
Winter (December to March):
The Swiss Alps in winter are a real snowy fairytale and your wedding can be a fairytale too. The whole region transforms into a winter wonderland with a festive atmosphere everywhere. Winter Swiss Alps weddings are very romantic and offer unique opportunities for winter activities. On the other hand, it’s very important to be prepared for cold temperatures and there might be some travel disruptions due to the snow.
Logistics and Planning of Your Wedding in Swiss Alps
Planning is the most important part of the wedding process and it’s crucial that you do it impeccably to ensure the best possible wedding experience for you and your wedding guests. The planning process is especially important if you are organizing a larger wedding in Swiss Alps, one that has more than 10 guests attending it.
As we already mentioned above, it’s very important to book a wedding venue as soon as possible because of the popularity of the Swiss Alps when it comes to weddings and elopements. This is especially important if you plan to have your Swiss Alps wedding in the summer months.Transportation is yet another aspect you should think about. Having a wedding in Switzerland means that transportation won’t be troublesome to deal with. Still, this needs to be planned carefully, especially if you are having a wedding away from the place where you and your guests have accommodation.
It’s also important to be mindful of weather since mountain regions such as the Swiss Alps can have sudden changes in weather conditions. Consider hiring the services of a wedding planner if you plan to have a larger wedding in the Swiss Alps. Wedding planners will be able to assist you with all the questions you might have and will coordinate all the vendors so you don’t need to worry about that aspect of a wedding.
If you are eager to have an outdoor wedding in Swiss Alps like many couples do, it’s important to have backup indoor location too in case of severe weather conditions. When we work in Switzerland, we always like to reserve a few days for each Swiss Alps wedding so we can choose the best possible weather conditions.
Can you get legally married in the Swiss Alps?
Unfortunately, unlike many other European countries, you can’t legally get married in Switzerland unless you have a residence in this country. However, this doesn’t mean you can have a wedding ceremony, it just won’t produce a legally binding marriage. If you ask us, it’s a good thing since you won’t have to deal with bureaucracy and collecting paperwork usually necessary for each legal destination wedding.
Most of the couples getting married in Swiss Alps choose to have a symbolic ceremony and deal with the legal part of the marriage in their native country. Symbolic wedding ceremonies are easily personalized and tend to be much more creative than legally binding ones. There are no specific rules for the symbolic wedding ceremony and you can easily incorporate traditional elements of Swiss culture into it.
Symbolic wedding ceremonies are usually conducted by symbolic officiants, but there are many examples where some of the friends or family act as the symbolic officiant. Finally, in the case of elopements, many couples choose to go without any officiant and just exchange vows at a particular venue.
Swiss Alps wedding cost
In this section, we’ll discuss a wedding in Swiss Alps price ranges. Please not that this is only an estimate and the prices have changed rapidly in the past year or so. However, we’ll do our best to update these prices regularly as we gain new insight into the price ranges. We think that these price ranges might be helpful insight for your wedding planning process.
Wedding Planner: $2,000 – $6,000
A help of a local wedding planner can be very valuable, especially if you are planning a Swiss Alps wedding with more than 10 guests. Wedding planner assists you in every phase of wedding planning and organization and their price depend on the level of service you require for your wedding.
Photographer: $2,500 – $6,000
Photography is an important aspect of every wedding and elopement because, apart from your memories, photo materials of your wedding are one of the rare things that will stay with you after your wedding is done. Prices of photographers vary according to the photography package you choose and the experience of the photographer.
Videographer: $2,000 – $5,000
Similarly to photography, videography is another aspect which documents your wedding events in motion. It’s a great addition to photography and price of a Swiss Alps wedding videographer will vary according to the experience of the videographer and complexity of the video you want to have of your wedding day.
Hair and Makeup: $200 – $800
For hair and makeup services, prices can vary based on whether the artist is coming to your location, the complexity of your desired look, and the reputation of the artist.
Florist: $500 – $3,000
Flowers can add a significant cost, depending on your choice of blooms and the complexity of the arrangements.
Transportation (Helicopter Ride): $1,500 – $4,000
A helicopter ride to your venue can provide an unforgettable experience. The cost of the helicopter ride will depend on the distance and duration of the flight.
Dinner Cost: $100 – $300 per person
The cost of dinner depends on your choice of catering or venue package, the number of guests, and the type of food and drink you want to serve.
Symbolic Officiant: $500 – $1,000
A symbolic officiant can help to personalize your ceremony, making it a unique and memorable experience. We already mentioned that legal ceremonies are not so common when it comes to destination weddings and most couples choose to have a symbolic officiant for their Swiss Alps wedding.
Miscellaneous Costs: $1,000 – $5,000
Don’t forget to add any extra costs such as decorations, wedding attire, music, and any additional entertainment or activities you plan for your guests.
Total Estimated Cost: $11000 – $35000
This range provides a rough estimate for a wedding in Swiss Alps, but it’s important to remember that prices can vary based on your specific choices. It’s always a good idea to get quotes from specific vendors to create a more accurate budget for your wedding.
Alpine culture as part of your wedding
Incorporating parts of local culture and traditions is a great thing you can do when planning a destination wedding. It adds a unique and authentic touch to each wedding and makes the celebration experience your guests will love. Switzerland is famous for its rich traditions and you can easily implement some of the aspects of Swiss culture into your wedding in Swiss Alps. These can include local delicacies of a particular region where your wedding takes place, to traditional Swiss music or folk dances. If you are seeking a truly unique experience, consider arranging a traditional Alphorn performance to be a part of your wedding.
Including a local culture in your wedding helps you and your guests to connect deeper with a region of the Swiss Alps.
Let us make you memories of a lifetime
Finally, we are reaching the end of this journey through some of the most magnificent landscapes of our planet. We’re sure this article provided you with valuable insight and things to think about when planning your Swiss Alps wedding.
Explore the rest of our website to learn more about us and read other resources we have regarding elopements and weddings in Switzerland. If you love our photography and videography style, feel free to reach out and share a vision of your Swiss Alps wedding with us. We’re always in for mountain-themed wedding and we would love to be a part of your love story and make you memories to cherish for a lifetime.
