Couple, Who Met and Fell in Love on Base in Antarctica, Returns 12 Years Later for Wedding Ceremony

Mara Virginia Schmid and Franco Paolo Ormaechea first met in 2014 while stationed at Esperanza Base in Antarctica and fell in love.

NEED TO KNOW

• Mara Virginia Schmid and Franco Paolo Ormaechea first met in 2014 while stationed at Esperanza Base in Antarctica and fell in love shortly thereafter

• Though they held a civil wedding in 2017, they had a second ceremony in Antarctica
• The couple was joined by their two daughters, their officiant and their orange parka-wearing guests for the emotional moment

A couple found love at the edge of the world, and returned more than a decade later to tie the knot in a religious ceremony.

Mara Virginia Schmid and Franco Paolo Ormaechea — a scientist and first sergeant from Argentina, respectively — were stationed at the Esperanza Base in Antarctica in 2014. Surrounded by the icy landscape and frigid winds, the pair met and formed a connection, per CNN and Worldwide Antarctic Program.

The couple tied the knot three years later in a civil ceremony, though they yearned to hold a religious ceremony in the place where they first fell in love. Schmid and Ormaechea — who have a blended family of six, including their two daughters and Ormaechea’s twin sons — kept the idea on the back burner until, many years later, the perfect opportunity for them to return to Antarctica finally arose.

Ormaechea requested another assignment at Esperanza Base, and ultimately he was offered the job, per CNN. Twelve years after sparks first flew, the couple headed back to where their love story started.

Tying the knot in one of the most remote locations in the world presented a set of unique challenges, like ensuring their officiant got to the base safely via an “icebreaker,” CNN reported. The weather also proved to be exceptionally temperamental, and those on the base had many other duties to attend to.

But Ormaechea and Schmid found a way to make it work. The bride and groom recited their vows in the San Francisco de Asís Antarctic Chapel, surrounded by a few friends (most wearing orange parkas) and their two daughters, Alma and Luna, and they formally recognized their religious union.

“Amidst the ongoing activity, with deployed resources and logistical tasks, the ceremony was experienced as a unique moment, a pause charged with emotion in the midst of the campaign’s dynamics,” Worldwide Antarctic Program wrote in an announcement following the wedding.

After the ceremony, Schmid and Ormaechea held a small celebration.

“The kitchen team, who are awesome, made a spectacular three-tier wedding cake,” Ormaechea said in Spanish, later translated by CNN.

He added, “So there was a small toast with those who were there, with those who could participate, because the rest were handling the base’s loading and unloading logistics.”

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Along with their two daughters, Schmid and Ormaechea are scheduled to remain on Esperanza Base through December, CNN reported.