Sorrisniva Arctic Wilderness Lodge

Sorrisniva sits on the banks of the Alta River in Finnmark, high in Arctic Norway and about 20 km from Alta. The Arctic Wilderness Lodge is open all year, with 24 rooms and suites, most with floor to ceiling windows over the river and the wild country beyond.

In winter the place changes completely. The Igloo Hotel next door is rebuilt each year with a new theme, built by a team of ice artists, and it opens from late December to the end of March. It has its own ice chapel and ice bar, so you can marry in ice and sleep in it too.

Weddings run all year. In winter the ice chapel is the ceremony, and in summer you get the midnight sun. Civil ceremonies are offered year round, and a Lutheran wedding is possible if the local priest agrees.

Dinner is in the Lavvu Restaurant, which seats 125, with a menu designed with you, plus dancing before and after if you want it. The team can arrange a photographer, flowers, a hairdresser, the cake and an organist. Ask the team about pricing, timings and the paperwork for a legal wedding in Norway.

The lodge sleeps up to 50 guests, so a wedding of that size can stay together on the river. In winter, guests can add a night in the Igloo Hotel, and couples can pair the igloo suite with a lodge suite. Ask the team about hotels in Alta for a bigger list. Maku, the lodge's fine dining restaurant, cooks a seasonal Arctic menu of reindeer, moose and wild berries in an open kitchen.

Around the wedding, guests can chase the northern lights, head out on snowmobile safaris or take a river boat trip. Fly to Alta from Oslo or Tromsø. A shared minibus runs from Alta airport, booked a day ahead, and private transfers can be requested.