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Whistler gets people in the mood for romance

Romance of the mountains blooms on Valentine’s Day Whether it's on snowmobiles or skis, in swimming pools or atop high mountains next to glacial lakes, or even among the trees in Khyber's Pass, there is something about Whistler that gets people

Romance of the mountains blooms on Valentine’s Day

Whether it's on snowmobiles or skis, in swimming pools or atop high mountains next to glacial lakes, or even among the trees in Khyber's Pass, there is something about Whistler that gets people in the mood.

It might be the sheer beauty of the place that gets the romantic juices flowing. Or perhaps its the extreme thrill of the mountains that makes the sparks fly.

Then again, it might just be cupid working his particular brand of magic that makes Whistler one of the hottest places to get married, especially around the most romantic day of the year, Valentine's Day.

"You are a very small part of the universe (here) because there is such a lovely lot around us," said Florence Petersen, who has been a marriage commissioner in Whistler for 14 years now. "It grips you. It really does. It has a magic that you feel a part of."

In her 14 years as a marriage commissioner here, Petersen has married 896 couples. She can testify to romantic pull that Whistler has on couples in love.

And while she said that each wedding is different and special in its own way, one in particular stands out in her memory as a wedding that simply captured this Whistler magic.

This wedding took place on Alta Lake where all the guests were tied together on various watercrafts. Some were there in canoes and kayaks; others were floating on surfboards, paddle wheelers and river rafts.

"I must say that I was a little apprehensive as to how the atmosphere would be because I didn't want it to be kooky," she said. "It was four o'clock in the afternoon and we were in a twilight sort of mist down in the south end of Alta Lake and it was very reverent. It was interesting how everyone settled in to give focus to the wedding."

That Whistler magic that she talks about gets even more powerful as Feb. 14 draws near.

In fact in the year 2000, wedding planner Linda Marshall, owner of Whistler Wedding Planners, had seven weddings on Valentine's Day alone. This year she has two weddings on the 14 th .

Those two weddings involve American couples who are already married. The wives are surprising their husbands with a renewal of their vows while the families holiday in Whistler.

"It sure beats giving somebody flowers or chocolates" she said.

Most of Marshall's clientele are from the American Northwest. She estimates that about 80 per cent of her business are couples from out of town.

In fact, many couples combine their wedding days with their holidays. And they come from all over the world to tie the knot in Whistler.

"Sometimes (the couples) say that they've met here," said Petersen. "Or they've maybe been here on a convention. Sometimes some of them have bashed into each other skiing on the hill and they've helped each other up and gone for coffee and that's blossomed into a romance. And they've come back a year or two later to be married here."

Petersen, who used to perform about 100 weddings each year, has two more weddings coming up on the weekend after Valentine's Day. February, she said, is a busy time of the year for marriage commissioners in Whistler.

Many like the idea of marrying on Valentine's Day not only because it is the international day of romance but also because it's a landmark date.

"It's easier to remember you wedding day!" said Jennifer Villard, another Whistler marriage commissioner. "I did three on Saturday because the date was 02.02.02. I know there were several weddings that day."

Landmark days like Valentine's and New Year's also tend to be very popular choices because they mark an occasion.

Villard also has her share of romantic moments after being a part of 60 weddings in the past 13 months as a marriage commissioner. From being heli-lifted on to the peak at Mount Currie, to the swimming pool at a big hotel, she is fairly adaptable to the romantic whims of lovers.

In the latter case the bride was eight and a half months pregnant and the pool was where she was the most comfortable.

Whereas a swimming pool can be the right place for one couple, others choose any number of areas in Whistler's vast outdoors.

"I've been on top of about every important mountain around here and up to some of the high lakes," said Petersen. "In the winter you get out in the snow and sink down to your hips, and in the summertime you're out in a meadow of flowers. It's just terrific – a really great experience."

According to Petersen, some of the other romantic hot spots here, besides the mountain peaks, are Rainbow Park and Lost Lake Park, Brew Creek Lodge on the way to Squamish and Edgewater Lodge on Green Lake.

"Outdoor weddings are very popular here in all seasons," she said. "People come from all over the world and they come for a week or two's holiday.… They don't want to miss a day's skiing and so they are often married early in the morning and then ski all day. Or they ski all day and we meet them at the top of the mountain at the end and they ski off into their future."

In the outdoors, sometimes you need to improvise and often a snowboard is flipped upside down to act as a makeshift-signing table with two people holding each end.

Villard even recalls one wedding where not all the guests made it to the ceremony. That wedding took place in Khyber's Pass.

"We actually lost one of the members because it was foggy on the way over there," said Villard.

She talks about that Khyber's Pass incident rather off-handedly, as though tying the knot out of bounds is a regular occurrence. Then again, for Whistler marriage commissioners, weddings are hardly your run-of-the-mill regular affairs.

They have to be ready at a moment's notice for some of those vacationing guests who get swept up in the Whistler magic and decide to elope on the spot.

Sometimes they get a phone call in the morning with a request to perform the ceremony that same afternoon. Adaptability and warm clothes are just part of their job.

And as for that missing wedding guest lost in Khyber's Pass. Well, she never made it to that wedding.

"I think she was down in Dusty's," said Villard.