At least 14 couples getting married at Vasaloppet's Winter Week 2019
Lovely news to get around Valentine's Day: All you need is love… and Vasaloppet! Getting married after finishing a ski race during Vasaloppet's Winter Week turns out to be a popular idea. So far 14 couples have notified that they're ready to say "I do" to each other during the world premiere of these ski-in nuptials in forefathers' tracks.
"It's so fun, we've had to recruit more priests for the Winter Week," says Matts Sandström, the vicar of Mora.
It started as an idea. Mora’s vicar Matts Sandström has colleagues who have arranged drop-in weddings around Sweden and it struck him that the deanery in Mora was a great location for wedding-hungry skiers, right at the Vasaloppet finish line. The Vasaloppet organization jumped at the idea and this year’s ski-in weddings went from idea to reality.
”Vasaloppet means so much to so many people. Training and skiing together makes it more than just a happening. At first we were worried we wouldn’t get a single couple but now we’ll be helping 14 couples tie the knot, which feels incredible,” says Matts Sandström.
Weddings will take place at several races during Vasaloppet’s Winter Week. For example two couples will get married after Kortvasan, Friday 22, and another two couples during Öppet Spår Sunday, February 24.
But the Vasaloppet Sunday, March 3, is most popular, just as expected. Vasaloppet itself is sometimes described as a metaphor for marriage. The community, hard work, peaks and valleys. Finally skiing through the classic finish line portal in Mora is euphoric in a way that can easily be likened to the feeling of saying yes to a beloved partner. So far seven couples have applied to get married after one or both of them ski the 90 km from Sälen to Mora.
”We know many couples would like to get married but never get around to it for various reasons. Now we can offer them a happy and relaxed way of doing it and the idea turns out not to have been too crazy, which we are, of course, very happy about,” says Matts Sandström.
For those who feel inspired it’s still possible to register interest in a ski-in wedding during Vasaloppet’s Winter Week. And for those who prefer being a bit more spontaneous there’s also several drop-in times where you can ski directly up to a waiting priest at the deanery, no registration required. Remember to bring your certificate that there are no impediments and your identification.
More information AT THE CHURCH OF SWEDEN MORA >
Upcoming events in the Vasaloppet Arena
Vasaloppet Winter Week 2019
Fri 22 Feb: Kortvasan. 30 km. Start Oxberg.
Sat 23 Feb: Tjejvasan. 30 km. Start Oxberg.
Sun 24 Feb: Ungdomsvasan. 9/19 km Start Eldris/Hökberg.
Sun 24 Feb: Öppet Spår Sunday. 90 km. Start Sälen.
Mon 25 Feb: Öppet Spår Monday. 90 km. Start Sälen.
Tue 26 Feb: Halvvasan. 45 km. Start Oxberg.
Fri 1 Mar: Stafettvasan. 9–24 km. Five-person teams. Start Sälen.
Fri 1 Mar: Nattvasan 90. 90 km. Two-person teams. Start Sälen.
Fri 1 Mar: Nattvasan 45. 45 km. Two-person teams. Start Oxberg.
Sat 2 Mar: Blåbärsloppet. 9 km. Start Eldris.
Sun 3 Mar: Vasaloppet. 90 km. Start Sälen.
Vasaloppet’s Summer Week 2019
Fri 11 Aug: Cykelvasan Öppet Spår. 94 km. Start Sälen
Fri 11 Aug: Cykelvasasprinten. 1 km. Lindvallen, Sälen (Open qualifier on Thursday)
Sat 10 Aug: Cykelvasan 90. 94 km. Start Sälen
Sun 11 Aug: Cykelvasan 30. 32 km. Start Oxberg
Sun 11 Aug: Ungdomscykelvasan. 32 km. Start Oxberg
Sun 11 Aug: Cykelvasan 45. 45 km. Start Oxberg
Sat 17 Aug: Ultravasan 45. 45 km. Start Oxberg
Sat 17 Aug: Ultravasan 90. 90 km. Start Sälen
Sat 17 Aug: Vasastafetten. 4,5–15 km. Running relay for ten-person teams. Start Sälen
Sat 17 Aug: Vasakvartetten. 19,1–24,2 km. Running relay for four-person teams. Start Sälen
