Rough and rugged by nature, Iceland’s landscapes are impossible to forget! For example, you could easily see 15+ waterfalls in a day and they all look different from the other! Plus, the variety in types of scenery will always leave you wanting to explore more. Pretty good problem to have in choosing an adventure wedding location, eh? Doug and Allison, Texas natives are obsessed with mountains, waterfalls, and non-touristy locations. Totally making them ready for a wedding in Icelandic Highlands!
Finding Love at the Dog Park
Love is often stumbled upon when you are least expecting it and not looking for it. Certainly you wouldn’t expect to find your soon to be partner while walking your dog would you? As a matter of fact, Allison and Doug will tell you it can! These two just so happened to live in the same apartment complex that was nearby to a dog park. One day while Allison’s dog Dexter and Doug’s dog Steve met each other in the dog park. At the same time, Doug broke the ice and struck up a conversation with Allison.
As the relationship progressed, their love grew over their dogs becoming friends, a shared interest in traveling, being foodies, Texas A&M football games, and a loyalty to family. Shortly after a year of adventuring together, they took trip to explore the mountains in Colorado. From short hikes to long drives, they savored every single second together.
However, a bit of altitude sickness had hit Allison but she pushed through. Heading back down from the mountains and back at the hotel, Doug surprised her by proposing an lifetime of adventure! Turns out, he had the ring with him all day in his backpack but wanted to make sure she felt better first. Such thoughtful man! {{ High Five Doug! }}
Mountain Engagement to Planning an Iceland Adventure Wedding
Likely you might be wondering how these two went from living in Texas, engaged in Colorado, and into planning an adventure wedding in Iceland? Firstly, they initially considered the Alder Planetarium in Chicago. Soon they realized that venue would quickly turn into a wedding that was about everyone else and not them.
Having always wanted to go to Iceland, Doug casually suggested it! After some Googling on Iceland weddings, they found our Iceland Wedding Planner team and our experience focused adventure wedding concept. Fair to say they became excited about wedding planning again! Especially when they began our “date night” wedding planning process and seeing what their adventure wedding in Icelandic highlands could look like!
Iceland July Wedding
It was extremely important to Allison and Doug that they share their destination wedding with their 15 favorite loved ones. Yet the weren’t just seeking a typical day, they wanted an experience driven wedding in the rawness of real untouched Iceland with elegant details sprinkled in. Our team was thrilled to craft an experience they would never ever forget!
Allison and Doug’s wedding in Icelandic highlands began at 5am on July 7th. The evening before, everyone arrived safe and stayed together at the fabulous Scandinavian inspired, Hotel Klaustur in Kirkjubæjarklaustur. Arriving first, was our amazing hairstylist and Jean one of our photogs on our Iceland wedding photographer team. Allison was sporting two amazing Iceland wedding dresses that were sooo lovely! Boots for the adventure and stilettos for the Iceland wedding reception too!
Hustle and bustle was happening throughout the hotel as the group gotten ready for the wedding adventure. At 7:45am the bride and groom snuck in a first look before loading into the super jeeps with their adventure wedding “go bags” and guests in tow. An endless supply of positive vibes and excitement were flowing through the group. As they had no idea where they were be taken for the ceremony as the couple kept it a surprise… How freaking AWESOME!!
Wedding in Icelandic Highlands
Planning to have a wedding in Icelandic highlands comes with some unique challenges and most times no cell phone service. Luckily our Iceland Wedding Planner team expertly plans for all of those challenges, potential unknowns, and our super jeeps all come with capable drivers, 2 backup fuel tanks and radios.
Fortunately the weather was stunning this fabulous July morning as the bride, groom, and their 15 guests headed into the highlands. Upon arriving to the waterfall, the guests were in utter awe and could not believe such a stunning places existed! A stunning spiritual ceremony bonded these two to each other at this magical highland waterfall in Iceland.
Iceland Wedding with Bridal Party
Normally our couples do not have formal bridal parties so it’s nice switch up once or twice a year when they do have their VIP’s rocking it out with them! Doug and Allison had a mix of friends and family making up there bridal party. The freedom of having an adventure wedding in Icelandic highlands too allows you to explore until your heart is content! Your eyes will feast on how vivid the greens are, how lush and magical the area feels. For real it seems enchanted!
Iceland Drone Wedding Photographer
Sometimes when you plan a wedding with guests in Iceland, not all of the guests are a good fit for a full day adventure. Knowing this, Allison and Doug opted in to have a bail out jeep take those less adventurous folks back to the hotel after lunch. But our lunch stop was AMAZING! A crazy green canyon that doesn’t even seem real but it totally is! One of our other fabulous local Iceland elopement photographers joined Jean in shooting and took the the sky for Iceland drone wedding photos! EPIC sh*t!!
Unique Highland Waterfall in Iceland
Once upon a time, about 8 years ago I went looking for a highland waterfall I once saw in an obscure book onI Iceland. Sadly, the month I came highland road we needed to take was still socked in (should have been open compared to previous years) with heavy snow and deemed CLOSED (not impassible, which is different) and folks entering would be heavily fined. The next year I tried again, found it, marveled over it, and almost peed my pants as we crossed the quick sand glacier river which was significantly higher than usual!
Since that day, this waterfall has become our unicorn. Looking at it you’re like how in the world am I lucky enough to experience this place! And having a wedding in Icelandic highlands it’s almost like the crown jewel of the day because there is so much to explore and experience here. Allison, Doug, and their VIP’s which continued the day with them were stunned and enjoyed every single second here adventuring!
Going to Another Planet
Legendary mountains are throughout the highlands of Iceland. Some people save up their entire lives to plan a trip here to witness them or climb them. Seriously this place is one of our favorite mountains in Iceland, the next location on the adventure wedding timeline looked even more mysterious than normally because of how dry this past summer has been. Therefore, the newlyweds loved exploring this area running around in the black sand hand in hand!
Secret Waterfall Wedding Photos
Keeping a secret is only a good idea when our team takes you to locations during your wedding in Icelandic highlands! Secret waterfalls are endless throughout these areas if you know where to look for them and you better believe we do!! On that same note, to this point, we had only taken one other couple to this secret waterfall but for privacy reasons we did not post their wedding 😉 So in theory Allison and Doug are the first couple you’ve seen go to explore the fascination of this place!
Exploring during an Iceland Adventure Wedding Day
Earlier we alluded to that every single waterfall in Iceland is different and comes with it’s own unique traits. The last waterfall on Allison an Doug’s adventurous wedding in Icelandic highlands was a shorter wider waterfall that runs kinda multi-dimensional!
Hotel Klaustur Wedding Reception
The entire group got back to the hotel around 6:30pm and had a bit of time to rest and refresh. Next, they were cordially invited to an elegant reception with mountain views. Romantic candles, eucalyptus, galvanized charger plates and delicate menus set the theme for the luxurious portion of the evening! Along with that was a 3 course meal carefully crafted by the delicious Klaustur Restaurant which ended with an American style wedding cake and a traditional Icelandic wedding cake too!
Oh my gosh, so are you totally INSPIRED by Allison and Doug’s wedding in Icelandic highlands? Us too!! Maybe you see yourself doing something similar on your adventure wedding day? Lastly, if so feel free to contact us to get the conversation started!
© 2019, Iceland Wedding Planner, All Rights Reserved.