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In fierce conditions, couple gets married on Mt. Everest with unbelievable photos

(Photo: Charleton Churchill/charletonchurchill.com)

As the temperature hit as low as -5 degrees, two hikers used the last of their energy to stand proudly amid snowy peaks as they became the first couple to exchange vows in a wedding dress and tux on Mount Everest.

North Californians Ashley and James Schmiege's journey started with a 15-hour flight out of Seattle-Tacoma Airport. After arriving to Nepal's capital Kakthmandu, a twin-engine plane brought them near Mt. Everest's base camp.

They trekked for three weeks with wedding adventure photographer Charleton Churchill and a guide to Mt. Everett base camp in March. Churchill shared the viral photos with KIRO 7 News.

“Now, saying this was an epic and amazing trip is true, but I would be remiss if I didn’t share it came with some suffering, doubt, fear, anxiety and physical pain,” Churchill wrote on his blog. “Oftentimes, when striving for something great, there’s usually a cost. There’s no glory without suffering.”

Despite weeks of preparation, it looked as if the couple might not be able to follow through with the wedding because of the toll the altitude was taking on their bodies. James, in particular, developed a bad case of "Khumbu cough," which worsened and became deeper the higher they ascended.

"The night before Everest Base Camp, at Gorak Shep, 16,942 feet ... James woke up catching his breath, feeling like he was suffocating," Churchill wrote. "We searched for our guide around midnight and the doors were locked to the lodge. We threw small rocks at windows, whispering loudly. I walked around this lodge, trying to find a way to get in, and found a back door into the kitchen that was open and finally found him. Our guide and another Sherpa hooked up the oxygen mask/tank to James, and he slept on oxygen for the remainder of the night."

But the couple persevered, hiking four to eight hours each day. They arrived to base camp with 1 hour and 30 minutes to eat, get married and then get on a helicopter.

Churchill shared that the only noise surrounding them during the shoot was the wind whistling around the mountain top and the rocks crunching beneath their boots.

“James and Ashley exchanged vows at Mt. Everest Base camp right in front of the famous Khumbu ice-fall, where people use ladders to maneuver over crevasses, and with the beautifully carved Nuptse Face in the backdrop. Their epic wedding was surrounded by all these famous mountains. It was beautiful, short and we captured a few photos before packing and getting ready to leave,” Churchill wrote.

The helicopter was delayed until the next morning because of weather, but they soon found themselves back on a bus, warmed up with memories of the mountains.

Churchill has since shared their adventures on Instagram, where Ashley first reached out the photographer about her wedding. Thousands have been moved by their story.