When romance on the piste leads to true love, and your passion for wintersports is matched only by your passion for one another, then the next stage in the relationship could be to propose on a chairlift and tie the knot at the top of a snow-capped mountain.

For any keen skier or snowboarder, combining a winter trip with a truly white wedding and honeymoon on the slopes must be a dream come true. However, planning to get hitched on a mountain will take some organising, particularly as the possibilities in Europe are limited. In France, you need proof of residency and local witnesses, which only makes sense if you are planning to spend a couple of months living in a ski resort before the wedding. This also allows plenty of time to practise saying your vows in French and to understand what they mean. Austria and Slovenia both offer weddings to overseas travellers, although services must take place in a traditional registry office, not at the top of a mountain.

Not surprisingly, therefore, tying the knot at your own choice of secluded mountain peak means crossing the Pond. The North American way is certainly simpler than Europe and in most resorts you can literally do it anywhere. Snowy white weddings are big business, and promotional brochures are packed with typical American hyperbole promising the most wonderful day of your life….

The British wintersports favourite of Banff, Canada is also a favourite with those wanting to get married. As well as offering the most incredible scenery in the West, Banff prides itself on its user-friendly wedding legislation – or as local wedding commissioner Rick Kunelius puts it: “No blood tests, no waiting period, no registered locations.”

As a former National Parks warden, Rick knows every inch of the terrain and offers weddings on a mountain top, a glacier, a lake or even heliskiing. He promises the ceremony will always maintain a sense of dignity and solemnity, but he’s happy to include a bit of frivolity as well. “I am willing to go almost anywhere to perform a marriage ceremony, just as long as there’s room for two witnesses and myself,” he says. For more information on Banff weddings, visit www.kunelius.com or www.carmichaelphoto.com.

South of the border in California’s aptly-named Heavenly Valley, you can ski or snowboard to your choice of secluded spot overlooking the majestic, cobalt-blue waters of Lake Tahoe and then take your vows. After the short ceremony, you are invited to make your first tracks as husband and wife, preferably holding hands – remembering to turn at the same time of course (failure to do this may lead to the first marital disagreement). The package costs from $799 ($899 on Saturdays), and includes the licence (no blood test), notary fee, a wedding certificate, 30 ceremony photos and four lift passes – one each for the wedding couple, minister, and photographer. An extra $175 buys you a professional video. In case of bad weather, a further $100 will secure you a chapel backdrop. Oh, and you’ll also need to stump up $100 for the confetti clean-up. Contact the Lake Tahoe Wedding and Honeymoon Association (www.tahoeguide.com) or try www.skiheavenly.com.

If your dream is to say “I do” among snowflakes and pines, wearing skis, snowshoes or even cross-country skis (which sounds far too much like hard work), look no further than the romantic Teton Mountains in Wyoming. Winter Adventure Weddings in Jackson Hole will arrange the whole event from accommodation to flowers, and provide a dog sled or horse drawn sleigh for those couples who aren’t so keen on wearing skis with a bridal gown and morning suit. More details of an “intimate wedding in your own winter wonderland” are available on www.swopephoto.com, or for a specific location, take a look at the facilities offered by the Wildflower Inn at Jackson Hole (www.jacksonholenet.com).

Colorado’s ski resorts are into the wedding business in a big way. Vail, Aspen, Beaver Creek and Arrowhead Mountain all promote a variety of restaurants and venues that can be used for wedding ceremonies, including special decks on each mountain with spectacular views of the ranges. Worth looking at is www.powderhorn.com, which promises (in the way that only Americans can) to “make your day as unique and special as the one you love”.

In the A-list hang-out of Telluride, one of the most fashionable places to be seen getting hitched is Allred Lodge which claims to offer a truly Cloud 9 experience. Perched at 10,535 feet at the top of the gondola, this exclusive timber and stone restaurant affords stunning views of soaring peaks and the twinkling lights of the historic town below. Check out www.visittelluride.com and start saving.

And finally, the ultimate winter wonderland wedding ceremony comes courtesy of PureWest Adventures. This one will keep you the centre of attention at urban dinner parties for the rest of your married life. Adventurous couples board a Cessna 185 ski-plane and fly over the Continental Divide to one of the vast icefields that serves as the backdrop to the ceremony. Vows are declared at around 9,000 feet, surrounded by 11,000 foot mountain peaks (which should make you breathless, even if looking into the eyes of your loved one doesn’t).

After the ceremony, you re-board the skiplane and continue the scenic air tour through the Rockies. The whole trip lasts two hours and costs $200 per person – maximum four passengers including bride, groom and Justice of the Peace. Wow factor 10/10. Go to www.purewest.com/adventures to find out more.

The excitement and romance of a mountain wedding may well seem more alluring than popping down to the local registry office followed by a family knees-up at the rugby club. However, saying your vows at altitude is not necessarily the passport to many years of wedded bliss, as model Christie Brinkley found out. She married Richard Taubman in 1994 at the top of 12,000-foot Telluride Mountain. Their spectacular exit from the ceremony on skis was surpassed only by their spectacular divorce eight months later.

Mountain wedding travel planner:
Fly to Calgary for Banff from £396. For Lake Tahoe, fly to San Francisco from £310. For Vail, Aspen, Beaver Creek and Arrowhead, fly to Denver from £310, and for Telluride fly to Montrose County from £337. For Jackson Hole, fly to Jackson Hole airport via Chicago from £335. All prices are return per person, including taxes, departing from Gatwick or Heathrow, and can be booked online at www.airlinewarehouse.com or call 0121 508 5000.

Thomson Ski (www.thomson-ski.co.uk) and First Choice (www.fc.ski.com) both feature wedding packages in North America and Austria.

Ski Travel Insurance for the trip was provided by
Accomplish travel insurance