Want a really white wedding? Get your climbing boots on

BLUSHING brides should ditch the high heels and reach for their hiking boots if they want to marry at the latest offbeat venue.

Couples looking to take their wedding to new heights can now get married in Europe’s highest refuge, perched at 15,000ft above sea level on top of a glacier in the Alps.

For the first time, starting this sum- mer, it will be possible to tie the knot in the Capanna Margherita refuge, on the border between Italy and Switzerland.

There is only a brief window in which to hold the event – the weather is so extreme that the refuge is only open from June 17 to Sept 10.

Couples and their guests will need to be fit – the location can only be reached on foot and it takes around five hours to hike up. Brides-to-be can forget about flowing silk gowns and dainty bou- quets – down jackets, walking poles and boots with crampons will be the order of the day.

“First they will have to hike up to the Capanna Gnifetti refuge, where they will spend the night. Then they’ll set out at dawn the next day. There’s no path as such, it’s all ice, even in July or August,” said a spokeswoman for the association that runs refuges in the area.

But the panorama will make the long slog worthwhile – the refuge commands remarkable views of snowcapped Alpine peaks and deep valleys.

The marriages will be civil ceremonies and the refuge has capacity for 70 people, with wooden bunkbeds and communal bathrooms. There is, however, a cosy bar and restaurant serving hearty mountain food.

The option of people arriving by helicopter has been banned, to preserve the peace and quiet of the region.