Some brides pack their wedding dress away for safe keeping after they’ve walked down the aisle — but not Kristan Green.
About a week before tying the knot she got the idea that it would be fun if she and her husband-to-be, Brook Hoskins, climbed the face of Pulpit Rock in full wedding attire.
“We were looking for a unique place to have wedding photos taken and we’d wanted to climb the face of Pulpit Rock since we moved here, and it just seemed like the perfect way to combine the two,” explained Green, who has lived in Nelson for just over one year.
“We’ve been so incredibly inspired by the mountains. They’re a big part of the reason we came here and we thought it would be great to make them part of our wedding day.”
Green borrowed climbing equipment from Valhalla Pure, where she works, and a few days before the wedding she and Hoskins went up to Pulpit for a practice climb to get a feel for the route and find the best spots for the photographers to capture the moment.
Then on Friday, August 2, after their wedding ceremony in Gyro Park, they returned in their suit and gown. Green had to modify the top of the dress to climb in it. She cut off the cap sleeves and added a halter-style tie around her neck, to give her a wider range of motion for her arms. After attaching her veil to a white climbing helmet, the newlyweds were ready to climb.
“It looked like it was going to rain, but just as we got to the base the clouds parted and sun came out for us,” Green said.
From Nelson, people could see Green’s white dress going up the mountain. The entire wedding party hiked the trail and met the bride and groom at the lookout for photos.
“We were quite the spectacle. It’s not something you see everyday,” Green said.
On the hike down, it started to rain and the back of Green’s dress got covered in mud.
“I knew the dress might get ruined; but once it dried I just shook out the dirt,” Green said. “I like to tease that organza would actually be really great for outdoor gear and climbing apparel — the material cleaned up quite nicely.”
Besides a few tears from the rocks, the dress is still in good condition. Green said she might end up keeping it after all.
“It’s even more special now that I’ve been rock climbing in it.”
Read another Kootenay bride story from this summer by clicking here.