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Couple Gets Married on Mt. Everest, but then the fell in love even more…
They say it was a long and difficult trek, but the photographs are proof that the event was worth it.
James Sisson and Ashley Schmieder have become the first couple to ever get married at the base camp of Mount Everest while wearing a tuxedo and wedding dress.
A self-proclaimed adventure wedding photographer named Charleton Churchill suggested that the couple get married on top of the highest mountain in the world.
Prior to Churchill’s suggestion, the couple had planned on doing something risky and audacious for their wedding, but they had not considered climbing the world’s highest mountain.
Schmieder initiated communication with the photographer one year in advance and began the process of formulating arrangements for the trip at that time.
The two individuals hired a guide and a support team to accompany them up the mountain, and in order to get themselves physically ready for the ascent, they went to the gym on a near-constant basis.
The group then took a flight from Seattle to Dubai in March, and from there they traveled to Kathmandu in Nepal.
They started the weeklong trek up the mountain with their bridal attire and other lightweight gear strapped to their backs.
We were very much like a family. Ashley is a tough young lady who really dominated the mountain track and kept up a solid pace the entire time.
“James is a wonderful man who looked out for Ashley and made sure that her requirements were met at all times,” adds Churchill.
In addition to that, he is a comedian who frequently made us laugh. It can be tough after a few days on a long mountain trek to retain a smile with all of the pressure and lack of supplies, but we did great.
On the other hand, it wasn’t all laughs and games; there were some legitimate obstacles to overcome along the road.
Churchill became ill with stomach poisoning, which caused him to have trouble falling or staying asleep. Sisson had started to suffer from what was known as the “Khumbu cough” around halfway through the trip.
“To say that this was an epic and amazing journey is accurate; yet, I would be negligent if I failed to mention that it was accompanied by some agony, uncertainty, worry, and anxiety, as well as physical pain,” Churchill said.
When one strives for something great, there is frequently a price to pay for that endeavor. There is no glory without the corresponding amount of suffering.
However, after eight days of strenuous hiking, they eventually changed into their wedding attire and exchanged their vows.
Even though they were both wearing wool long johns underneath their expensive getups, they were nevertheless forced to endure weather that ranged from -5 to -5 degrees Fahrenheit (-20 to -20 degrees Celsius) at an altitude of 17,600 feet.
Their Sherpa guides informed them that the mountain had fallen more snow on them during their expedition than it had throughout the entire winter combined.
In the end, everything was well worth it.
Churchill describes the experience as “wonderful,” “brief,” and “we grabbed a few shots before packing and getting ready to leave,” and he says this of the event.
“I had several different image concepts that I wanted to massage with them, but due to the circumstances, we only had a limited amount of time to shoot them in the subzero temperatures.
In spite of this, I believe that we did a good job of capturing James and Ashley’s wedding, despite the limited amount of time we had available to do so.
“Since they were eloping far away from their families, we did not have a minister there, but they did exchange vows and rings, and they spoke from the heart about how much they were going to pursue and love one other.
Knowing where we were at that time and how hard we had fought to get there, this moment was finally happening, and it was genuinely an awesome moment.
It was truly a moment of awesomeness. They were getting married in the midst of a symphony of mountains… Truly unreal.”
You may visit Churchill’s travel blog on the way here to view additional gorgeous wedding images he took.