Can you get Married in Antarctica?
Why yes you can.
An Antarctica elopement is the most Unique, intimate, and romantic experience I can imagine.
Antarctica is easily the most beautiful place I have ever been. It is also the coldest, windiest, most remote place on Earth. It contains 90% of the world's surface water, and 60% of its total fresh water supply. Despite that, it is also the driest place in the world. It is a land of peace, designated for science and controlled by an international treaty. Both military and industrial activities are banned.
But Antarctica is so much more than that.
When you step off of your boat for the first time, as you stare at the majesty, at the immensity of the seventh continent, you are confronted with the fragility of your own humanity. Antarctica is the way the world should be. The way the world could be if a certain great ape didn’t develop a giant frontal cortex and decide to pave over paradise.
In this world made of ice, wildlife is everywhere. Penguins roam free, unperturbed by the people that come to photograph them. Why should they be? They haven't yet learned to fear the apex predator. They waddle about past giant brown sea lion blobs, both awkward and graceful, somewhat curious, somewhat confused, mostly they don’t take any notice of you. They slip and slide, and fall and fight over pebbles on a beach made of pebbles. Whales leap through the still waters, while icebergs, those glowing ghost ships of translucent blue, sail silently by. Water, ice, rock, waves, snow, wind, moss. Terrible storms, terrible stillness.
It is wild, it is beautiful. It is right. I think that is the feeling that people respond to when they go to Antarctica. The haunting grandeur of a land dressed eternally in white is overwhelming at times. It is a place where non religious folks feel something spiritual, something more. It is authentic. It is free. It is truly humbling.
"And suddenly reality is no longer distinguishable from a dream. We have anchored in what I can only describe as the most beautiful bay I have ever seen. The intricacies of language flee in the face of the ethereal grandeur surrounding me. From the mist capped glacial rocks to the still iceberg strewn waters, it is simply pristine stark beauty. I am facing the 7th continent at last. Antarctica, you are so much more than I imagined. The snow, the splendor, the immensity, in this world of ice, and here I am wrapped in a plush fluffy robe, slippers on my feet, a warm woolen blanket on my lap, reading my novel, but actually for once unable to read. The tranquility, the harmony, the sense that everything fits together in an intricately balanced circle of life. We are intruders here peering in at a sacred ritual. I scan the water for more whale activity or penguins leaping as if propelled from the water. Giant petrels glide majestically in and out of the perennial fog. The tops of the mountains blend into the sky. I can’t distinguish land from water from air, a seemlessly glistening gradient of gray. They belong intertwined together here in this last lost lovely land. World actually. It is its own other world. My eyes fill with tears for the beauty, the longing, the aching to be a part of this. To know that this is once what the whole world was. I promise myself that I will come back. "
Yes I am quoting my own journal from when I was there.
Imagine getting married in Antarctica.
Imagine glaciers, timeless rivers spilling down the rugged purple mountain rocks, inching forward in a time unknown to humanity, as your wedding venue.
Imagine the white and silver and gray and sleet colored water, all of it mixing and mingling, as your color palette.
Imagine icebergs, those beautiful majestic floating ice palaces sailing the seas in all their translucent glory, the sun and the sea conspiring to turn them the most beautiful shade of blue imaginable; glacial blue, as your wedding decorations.
Imagine penguins, all dressed up in their finest tuxedos, there to cheer you on as your wedding guests.
Imagine getting married in the most remote, isolated place on Earth, where you two will be the only ones for thousands of miles.
Imagine toasting champagne under the midnight sun as you dance in the snow surrounded by icebergs for your first dance.
Imagine.
Ok ok ok, that sounds like a life changing experience, but what are the logistics?
There are four ways to get to Antarctica.
- Take a cruise. This is by far the most common way to get to Antarctica, and the way that I went in 2023 / 2024. Cruises last between 9 and 28 days. They can go as far as the Arctic circle, though most never make it past the Antarctic Peninsula. You have options to visit the Shetland islands, Falkland islands and South Georgian Islands. You will make landfall everyday, weather permitting.
- Take a flight. This unlocks lots of options. You can discover the vast interior of Antarctica or go further than Shackleton and make it to the South Pole! You can choose to join preset trips, or charter your own flight.
- Charter a sailboat. We met a guy who had chartered a sailboat with his friends to sail around Antarctica in search of waves to surf. They had an amazing time, though surprisingly the surf was pretty flat. If you have the resources this would definitely be my recommendation.
- Work at a research station. You don't have to be a scientist, but it helps! If you choose this option, you will be based at one of the research stations for around 6 months. Honestly, I did consider this, and after having gone, I kind of wish I had done it. I guess it's not too late!
More importantly, how much would something like that cost?
Well, an Antarctica elopement is definitely not going to be the cheapest place to get married. But, it can also be way less than you think. While most retail cruises start at $10,000+ per person, and preset flight trips starts around $12,000+, my husband and I went for a total of $7500, or $3750 each. This was on a luxury cruise for 11 days that included all food, alcohol, parkas, an amazing room with a private balcony, hot tubs and a sauna.
How do you ask?
