Winter-white wedding for China's ice brides

China's annual Harbin Ice Festival provided a spectacular backdrop to almost a dozen couples looking to tie the knot.

Brides and grooms take part in a wedding ceremony as part of the 16th Harbin International Ice and Snow Festival in Harbin, northeast China's Heilongjiang province on January 6, 2015. (FRED DUFOUR/AFP/Getty Images)

They could be forgiven for having pre -- and post -- wedding jitters.

Nearly a dozen couples braved temperatures as low as minus 20 degrees in northern China to exchange vows in the unique environs of the Harbin Ice Festival.

The annual winter event attracts thousands of tourists from across the country and abroad.