The American state of Alaska was one of the last to join the Union, and despite its cold tundra, this enormous state has proven itself to be a popular destination for American vacations and even weddings. While Alaska cannot offer the warm beaches or oceans of Florida, California, or Hawaii, this state is still one of the most popular in the Union for vacations and weddings alike, and an Alaska glacier wedding can be a great place for a summer outdoor wedding for those with a taste in adventure and exotic lands. What else might a guest expect to find in this frozen state?
Vacations Today
To escape the tedium and stress of work and everyday life, many Americans take vacations every year, and they often travel to places further away than 50 miles from where they live, taking plans, trains, and buses to all sorts of destinations. Hawaii, Florida, and California are among the most popular places to visit due to sunny beaches, local cuisine and culture, and more, but for those with a desire for more exotic and rugged vacations, Alaska beckons as a fine place to see something new and get away from everyday life. In fact, while Alaska might at first seem like a miserable and remote place to visit, many Americans have come to the opposite conclusion after vacationing there. Many who come back from Alaska report a high level of satisfaction from their trip and would want to go there again, and very few Americans come back from their Alaska vacation disappointed. Clearly, a vacation spot does not need sunny beaches to be appealing and fun if the guest knows what to look for.
What Alaska Offers
Outdoor weddings are popular among Americans today, and different settings can create the tone and style for a wedding like that. Hilltops and beaches are some of the most common outdoor wedding venues, and rustic settings like a farm or orchard are popular as well. But an Alaska glacier wedding (probably in summer) is not only a novelty, but takes advantage of the state’s natural beauty and remote location for privacy for those who want it. An Alaska glacier wedding can be organized in a similar fashion to other outdoor weddings. The wedding party can find and book the exact location and set a date, and they can include this in the invitations for all guests. Guests can fly in to Juneau or Anchorage or other cities and book lodgings in hotels there, and they can find transport to an Alaska glacier wedding for the ceremony of a lifetime. For actual Alaska residents, this may be more convenient, since flying to Alaska from the “lower 48” can take awhile and might be implausible for some guests. Juneau or Anchorage brides and grooms may have chosen an Alaska glacier wedding as their first choice of outdoor ceremony.
Alaska can be a gorgeous wild state for an Alaska glacier wedding, and this vast wilderness offers much more for guests, mainly for those who love the outdoors and “roughing it.” Sports such as dog sledding, hiking, ice fishing, and big game hunting are all possibilities in this northern state. Those who are looking forward to a more rugged adventure can pass over Juneau or Anchorage and instead rent a cabin out in the wilderness for an authentic experience, and they can go ice fishing, big game hunting, or dog sledding as they like (following laws and paperwork, of course), and Alaska’s great wilderness can be explored privately. And for those who cannot handle the rugged outdoors, Alaska can still be a grand adventure by visiting the cities and even getting helicopter tours to see the state’s vast terrain from above.
Booking a helicopter ride should be done well ahead of time (and may be easier if visiting during the off season), especially if someone is visiting during the busy season, and glacier helicopter tours are a safe and fun way to see what Alaska has to offer. A small group can all ride in one helicopter and wear headsets so that everyone can hear what the tour guide is saying, and guests can learn more about the history and science of the state around them.
