When a couple decides to run away and elope in a foreign country, it is one of the most empowering and exciting decisions you can make as a couple. Seriously, eloping is… Intimate, freeing, intentional, thrilling, raw, unforgettable and takes the focus back to exactly what it was meant to be YOU TWO and your unconditional LOVE. Then you add in the adventure wedding concept and choosing Iceland as the country to explore, the decision becomes even more ALIVE and more PERFECT!
Taylor and Michael were lucky enough to find each other through their local inter-webs in their home state of Nebraska. They instantly connected on so many topics and when you see these two together, you cannot help but SMILE. Their energy is contagious and their love for each other beams off of them in all of their actions and words. Spending their days together gardening, doing volunteer work together, camping, and a dozen other amazing things together, they feel deeper in love adventuring together. After dating for 2 years, Michael proposed with a piece of sentimental family history in hand (his grandmothers wedding ring) and Taylor of course said yes!
These two were super excited to plan an adventurous elopement in Iceland with us in April of 2016 and we set out to plan a late summer wedding day (planning 17 months before for an elopement in Iceland is ideal). So come along with us today to relive their beautiful adventure wedding in Iceland!
Taylor and Michael’s Iceland elopement began at Hotel Grimsborgir around 5am (typical for our adventure weddings in Iceland). It’s always so lovely to see both the sun and moon out together! They woke up and got ready together in one of the hotel’s Luxury Suite (with private hot tub)! We highly recommend getting ready together on your wedding day as it really sets an intimate tone for the day. The lovely Taylor decided to go with a less traditional Iceland wedding dress and picked one that was of color and full of gorgeous beads, but still allowed her to hike and climb! And dapper Michael had some fantastic groom details from his custom suit, fun socks, to his grandfather’s cuff links!
After our Iceland wedding hair and makeup team finished dolling Taylor up for her adventure, our super jeep team arrived ready to embark! The truck was full of excitement as we headed to their Iceland wedding ceremony location! …and when we arrived to their secret waterfall, Taylor and Michael were speechless at how stunning (and crazy windy) it was! This was their private spot they would profess their forever love to each other!
Our favorite celebrant, Pastor Egill performed an incredibly unique Iceland wedding ceremony for them that morning in front of that beautiful mountain and offbeat waterfall! Taylor and Michael said their own vows to each other and wow-wee they were special!
After the ceremony, our Iceland wedding photo team explored the location with the newlyweds enjoying how dynamic the area was.
Taylor and Michael were drawn to Iceland because of the variety of the landscape. So having the chance to explore many different types or textures, tones and locations was just what they were after for an adventure wedding day! After escaping the crazy wind at the secret waterfall, we headed into an glacier outlet area where an ice cave was still sparkling (in summer, I know crazy!). They had to cross a few rivers to get there (both by foot, bridge, and jeep!) but it was worth it!
On the way to our next fabulous location we witnessed horses being herded from one area to another (Fun Fact: There are no “wild horses” in Iceland, they are all owned and cared for), so fun to see! Another off the beaten path waterfall was beckoning for them to explore it to create magical Iceland wedding portraits! This location rocks from a drones perspective too, our Iceland wedding photo team is always excited to fly it whenever we can!
Starting our Iceland adventure weddings so early, allows us to explore so many locations throughout the day. And there is always time for lunch! Who wouldn’t want a traditional Icelandic hot dog bbq (seriously, it’s a cultural thing here) during their elopement adventure? These two opted in and enjoyed the views at this stunning cave while our Iceland wedding planning team grilled them up!
The Iceland adventure wedding locations Taylor and Michael explored throughout their day were the perfect mix of some of the best locations. Although in Iceland we do not have huge peaked mountains like the Alps, but on the contrary, we instead have some stunning mountainsides that mimic paintings, blurring the line between reality and stories.
Always at some point (or several points) our local Iceland wedding photography team has in mind some “random” awesome spots to do throughout a clients adventure wedding day schedule. This was one and they are dying to go back! These two rocked the new Iceland wedding location!!
If you’re avid readers of our Iceland Wedding Planner blog, you know we are seekers of caves and secret waterfalls… It’s no secret! So when we can hit both or several in one day, our hearts sing! These two hiked with us to a super fun secret cave in Iceland. Hiking on your Iceland elopement day is such a fun addition to the day. You get this like “I earned” kinda feeling at the end of the day. And then when you get your Iceland wedding photos back you can relive that journey again together!
Late summer to early fall weddings in Iceland always have such dreamy sunsets where the light is crazy beautiful warm until it falls super fast. We were able to squeeze out the last bits of the sun…
Some might say our team specializes (or the best at) finding incredibly unique adventurous Iceland wedding locations and we might agree! =) Below is one of our favorite secret waterfalls from this past summer during Taylor and Michael’s Iceland elopement adventure!
The day stretched into the evening and the lovers found their way back to the hotel for a delicious dinner. They enjoyed it and each others company. Our Iceland wedding photography team setup a sweet little nighttime shoot and kept their fingers crossed for Northern Lights! These two got lucky! I mean who wouldn’t want romantic wedding photos under the Northern Lights and a chance to play with sparklers?! Taylor and Michael ended their night privately reading through “wedding day letters” that their friends and family sent with them (what a fun thing to do to still feel like your family is there with you, right?!) and hot tubing!
© 2018, Photos by Miss Ann / Iceland Wedding Planner, All Rights Reserved.