Ice Cave Elopement Adventure: Ashley + David

When you think about the best winter elopement locations, what is an epic spot that comes to mind?  Is it experiencing a winter wonderland in Lapland?  Surrounded by icebergs in Greenland?  Or is it an adventure wedding in Iceland, where you will have an endless variety of landscapes to choose from?!  Ashley and David felt the ultimate destination wedding location for them, would be to have an ice cave elopement adventure in Iceland!  Today we are super duper excited to share with you their Iceland elopement in a natural (not man made) ice cave, but first let’s learn more about them and their oh-so amazing love story!

If you’re a weekly follower of our Iceland Wedding Planner blog, you know how much we LOVE a good meeting story.  And oh man, Ashley and David’s takes a cake for us right now!  So here we have Ashley who is from Ontario Canada and we have David who is a native New Zealander.  These two adventurous folks decided in their home countries separately to book a Contiki trip in the fall of 2013.  Which by the way… Where the heck was this company when I was single?!  Brilliant freaking idea to be independent, meet fellow travel junkies (between 18-35 years old), and possibly meet the love of your life!  They traveled around the world together for 3 weeks and decided they had to see more of each other despite being on different hemispheres.  After a whirlwind trip in meeting up for New Years Eve in Australia, they decided one of them had to move to keep the magic going!  David found his way to Canada 😉

These two lovers have travel as part of the core foundation of their relationship, not just a hobby.  They crave new adventures and pushing each others limits.  After all, isn’t it often said that “life begins outside of your comfort zone?”  #truestory  Ashley and David during their years of dating found their way on multi week trips to Bali, Thailand, Egypt, Bahrain, New Zealand, the list is endless!  They are into more extreme sports too like heli-hiking, snowboarding, ice fishing, mountain biking, etc.  One might say they were destined to have an adventure wedding in Iceland!

After a surprise proposal one night, they began brainstorming how they saw their wedding day going… After initial research locally in Canada and New Zealand, they just didn’t find themselves brimming in excitement like they thought they would be.  That is until they found our Iceland Wedding Planner website which focuses on adventure weddings and luxury elopements.  They fell in love with Trishia + Chris’ ice cave elopement that had happened the year prior and just had to contact us!  March is prime ice cave elopement time in Iceland so that is the time Ashley and David for sure wanted to come because an ice cave was a “must have.”  Enough anticipation… Let’s have a look into their Ice Cave Elopement in Iceland!

Beginning the Ice Cave Elopement Adventure:

Even during the wintertime, our adventure weddings in Iceland begin at a very early hour so we can make use of every single second of daylight!  So at 5am, the lights came on at one of our favorite Iceland wedding hotels, Icelandair Vik.  Our fabulous Iceland wedding hairstylist Birna, arrived and started on our lovely bride, Ashley.  The awesome Iceland wedding photography team and video team (Veiled in Motion) were already hard at work capturing the details too!  Oh la la and Ashley’s dress was so rugged yet elegant!  She wanted to have an Iceland wedding dress that would last through all conditions from climbing into an ice cave for their elopement to a dress that would still look lovely despite the crazy weather conditions.  She also had two sets of shoes (not only a gorgeous gal but a really smart one too!).  One for dinner later that night and of course a durable pair of boots to hike in snow, slush, or rain!  Being from Canada, she knew what she might be in for during an Icelandic winter!

As 6:30am came, it was time for our Iceland makeup artist to begin her magic… And by magic I mean her magical waterproofing abilities!  There is a reason why we only use the ladies we do (and the cosmetic line we do) so ensure our adventure wedding brides are stunning from start to finish of their 12-17 hour day! Come hail or high water!

Iceland Elopement Groom Details:

Now David, our GQ Kiwi groom…. I think our team could have listened to his accent ALL DAY LONG, no joke!  With his handsome accent and looks also came an impeccable style for his ice cave elopement.

Get Ready Together for Your Iceland Elopement:

Getting ready together is an intimate experience to have before you begin your Iceland elopement.  Ashley and David finished up getting dressed just as the blue light started to change to sunrise.  Our Iceland wedding super jeep team was ready downstairs to greet them!

March Elopement in Iceland:

One of the tricky things about having an elopement in Iceland during March is that you could have a blizzard, wicked rains, crazy winds, or a mix (hail), who knows.  You need to be prepared and embrace it all.  Ashley and David were ready for anything and everything!  Our 46” tire Eco-liner Super Jeep tested us all that morning as we blazed our trail into the secret glacier area, so much that we all got to experience what it’s like to get stuck in crazy deep slush!  If your super jeep guide has never gotten stuck before, he’s not a true super jeep guy!  Getting stuck for about an hour just added to the experience factor.  It gave our Iceland Wedding Planner team an opportunity to entertain our couple, Pastor, and Iceland video team fun folklore stories, jokes, and play bartender (with shots of “Black Death” aka Brennivín)!  Morale of the Story:  Iceland winter conditions are very unpredictable, so be sure to build time into your adventure wedding day schedule for any weather condition delays.

Iceland Elopement at a Glacier:

Deciding to have your elopement in Iceland at a glacier opens a lot of thrilling options in wintertime.  Specifically our secret side of a glacier does not have any tourists, has amazing shaped mountains, and more often than not many ice caves to explore in Iceland!  Depending on the weather conditions at this glacier you may or may not need to strap on crampons.  This specific day, Iceland Wedding team did not need to have them on, our safety team just set climbing ropes as a precaution.  So after a short walk from the jeep Ashley and David were on their way to get inside for their ice cave elopement!

Ice Cave Elopement Ceremony:

While the elements outside were fierce, Ashley and David were warm, dry, and cozy inside of their private ice cave in Iceland.  Pastor Egill held such a beautiful Iceland wedding ceremony that connected the couple not only to Iceland but to the dramatic ice cave itself.  I mean let’s stop and think about how special it is to be married inside of an ice cave for a second… A couple gets married inside of a space that will cease to ever exist ever again (because it will melt away when summer comes).  It’s probably one of the most unique elopement venues in the world, I know for sure it is for Iceland weddings!

Iceland Wedding Photos in an Ice Cave:

On every travel junkies bucket list is exploring an ice cave.  So it was fitting that during Ashley and David’s ice cave elopement they adventure all around it for Iceland wedding photos!  Special Note: At all times Ashley and David were safe (they wore helmets as needed to go through sketchy parts of the cave) compliments of our thorough safety team.

Iceland Mountain Elopement Photos:

Having a variety of textures and tones during your elopement in Iceland is important!  One of our Iceland wedding photographer and video teams favorite stops during the day was exploring a gorgeous ridge line with an awesomely shaped mountain behind!

Iceland Elopement Luxury Picnic Lunch:

An important part of an adventure wedding is making sure everyone stays fueled for the day!  We encourage our couples to have a traditional hot dog BBQ  for several reasons… 1- A hot meal makes a world of difference on a challenging weather day (hello second wind!) 2- This is a cultural tradition you can experience!  The normal “travel around Iceland” food for Icelanders is having a hot dog (with all the toppings), a Prince Polo candy bar and a Coca Cola!  3- They are made with lamb meat (not like the dirty American hot dogs you’re likely cringing at the thought of).  Then add in a private cave (Hjörleifshöfði) our team has access too mixed with a little luxury during your Iceland elopement and you have the perfect lunch!

Frozen Waterfall Elopement Photographs:

In March in Iceland, sometimes you can find fully frozen (or partially) waterfalls!  It’s such a fun thing to explore during your elopement adventure in Iceland!  Plus they also make such a beautiful natural backdrop for Iceland wedding photos!

Private Black Sand Beach in Iceland:

One of the most unique places we have ever witnessed in Iceland is a private black sand beach that has a black lava rock waterfall also on it!  It’s shocking to see and so amazing to experience!  As the daylight turned to night, Ashley and David found their way to discover that amazing place together and enjoyed ever second!

Iceland Luxury:

At the end of an adventurous elopement in Iceland it’s amazing to end it with a beautifully decorated table for two!

Iceland Ice Cave Elopement Wedding Video:

Our talented friends Veiled in Motion created a sweet Iceland wedding teaser video of Ashley and David’s elopement we would love to share with you!  See the full Iceland wedding film HERE.

© 2018, Your Adventure Wedding / Iceland Wedding Planner, All Rights Reserved

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