Clifftop Wedding: Tyler + Brandon

Is there anything more magical than standing on top of a cliff in Iceland professing your lifetime love to your partner?! Well, maybe having 80+ of your favorite people witnessing and supporting you! This was exactly the case for Tyler and Brandon. Therefore, come along with us today as we share all of the fabulous details of their clifftop wedding in the Highlands of Iceland!

Brandon & Tyler

These two are a genuine #powercouple! From the moment they connected they realized their long term dreams aligned directly with each other. After all, when you know you know! Therefore, these two began building a life together including building a little family too! In fact, their pups Stella and Lana keep them on their toes. Their days are filled with encouraging each others careers, passion projects, entertaining their loved ones, and traveling the world adventuring together.

Further, way back in 2018, these two reached out to us inquiring about an adventure wedding in Iceland. But plans to build their dream house and investment property put that dream on ice for a bit. Then in July of 2020, they reached back out ready to begin the next phase of their lives together. Anyhow, we could go on and on with how amazing these two are together but we will let you witness it yourself through their clifftop wedding journey below…

June Wedding in Iceland

Oh la la let’s get talking about having a June wedding in Iceland… Normally June in Iceland is the official start of summer in Iceland. However, this past winter the weather in Iceland was the worst we’ve had in a century. From storms that closed the main road to low temperatures and at times limited sunshine. Meanwhile, when spring came it had a hard time melting the massive amounts of snow left behind. Read more about how that plays into their story as the day unfolds.

Next, that fabulous June 10th morning began around 6am at Hotel Stracta. The gentlemen got ready together and our Iceland wedding photographers were hard at work capturing all of their lovely details. Luckily, Tyler and Brandon brought some sunshine from the Midwest for their clifftop wedding adventure too! Around 8am the VIP group of 20ish folks, grabbed their “go bags” and loaded into the super jeeps for the day. Additionally, the rest of the group would load for a half day adventure around 12:45pm. Being able to split the group up offered the grooms a more intimate experience with their guests.

Forest Waterfall Exploration

If you’ve done research about our tiny island in the North Atlantic, you might know trees in Iceland are limited. And where they are growing they are not very tall. For instance, the tallest tree in Iceland is just under 100 feet tall (30 meters and 15 cm as of September 2022). Because the group is split up, the clifftop wedding ceremony will take place during the second half of the day. Therefore, the core group would delight in exploring on the way. And first up is a forest waterfall, or least by our standards it is! A stunning waterfall surrounded by birch trees and sheep!

Canyon Hike

Trekking on your wedding day in Iceland is not only an ideal way to get more connected to nature but also each other! In those moments, you’re making memories you’ll look back on and be amazed over. So before Tyler and Brandon’s clifftop wedding, these two and their guests hiked in and around a private property canyon!

Glacier View Cave Discovery

Rolling through the Icelandic highlands in super jeeps is so flipping exciting! The sights, sounds, and geology that awaits you is seriously addicting. You’ll walk away with feelings of always wanting to discover more. Meanwhile, the next location on Brandon and Tyler’s clifftop wedding agenda was experiencing a cave that comes along with a glacier view and crazy cool rock formations!

River, Cave, and Kisses!

Lunchtime brought the group to a river cave. Here they ate packed lunches handmade by the grooms and were surprised by the iconic 180 degree views. Truly a perfect midway point to their clifftop wedding adventure! After lunch was enjoyed, the grooms took to discovering more of the riverbed landscapes for some fabulous Iceland wedding photos!!

The Mountain Pass Mission

As we alluded to earlier, when June arrived this year, the majority of highland roads remained closed throughout the island. In fact, some areas did not open until the middle to end of July, like 3-6 weeks late! The gents knew in selecting this crazy awesome highland area that there would be a chance of needing to “plan b” sections of the day. Why? Because there are many steep switchback turns within this route that can be quite challenging to get through in late fall and spring break.

Firstly, if you know anything about our team, you know we work in solutions. Secondly, we scouted the area days before to develop a plan on how we were going to get 10+ trucks through these passes. Thirdly, when our scouting trucks had to spend time winching up with a snow anchor. However, we knew the current action packed schedule would not bode well for this.

Fourth, the next option was digging but then we quickly realized how deep it was to the bottom and with the hard packed ice it would take days, not hours. Therefore, the final solution was to get a 20 ton excavator up there to open up the tricky parts. It was a serious investment but our teams made it happen! Also, as you’ll see below, it turned into a super cool part of the days story too!! #earnedit!

Clifftop Wedding Ceremony

Making it through the snowy mountain pass, the groups merged and arrived to the clifftop wedding ceremony location. Next, the majority of the guests were given blankets to sit on as the best seat in the house was on the upside of the cliff overlooking. Additionally, the immediate family took seats on black benches while their bridal party galls stood beside them.

Further, our favorite Pastor performed a nature based ceremony forever connecting Tyler and Brandon to the Icelandic landscape and each other. Following, they spoke their personal vows to each other and exchanged rings before sealing the monumental moment with kisses and cheers! The grooms and the guests were high on love and elated by the epic experience they shared together this beautiful June day!!

Iconic Iceland Canyon

There are many highland areas that have taken our breath away throughout the last decade and beyond. However, this specific canyon is always the most vivid. Maybe because of the super green and cool shaped mountain behind or the crazy colors within. But it is a stunning place for clifftop wedding photos in Iceland! Meanwhile, look at how much LOVE is pouring out of these two?! It’s really freaking INSPIRING! #couplegoals

Green Mountains, Black Sands and Shots!

Lastly on the adventure portion of their clifftop wedding itinerary, is a place that continues the vivid theme. To illustrate, the group were wowed by black sands, insanely green mountains, and surprised by shot of Brennivín! Pretty sure the group would have been thrilled to stay here the rest of the day basking in the beauty. But a fun drive back awaited them along with an amazing traditional Viking reception…

Ingólfsskáli Viking Restaurant Reception

After returning to Hotel Stracta, the group had about an hour or so to rest and refresh. Next, the group loaded into a bus to be taken back in time to experience an old world traditional Viking dinner experience. Ingólfsskáli Veitingahús is a Viking longhouse restaurant between the towns of Hveragerði and Selfoss. Meanwhile, the newlyweds and their guests enjoyed the following courses for their Iceland wedding menu…

First Course: Potato Soup.

Second Course: Salad with Fennel, Peaches, Goat Cheese, Roasted Nuts in a Vinaigrette.

Third Course: Choice of Mains: Lamb, Salmon, or Cauliflower Steak.

Fourth Course: American Style Vanilla Wedding Cake.

Once dinner concluded, a few of their favorites gave toasts. Later, Brandon and Tyler shared a moment cutting their cake. Additionally they kicked off the party with their first dance and honored their mums with a dance as well.

Although the group could have celebrated all night, the day ended with more dancing, shots, and to go hot dogs before they boarded the bus back to the hotel. Fair to say, their adventure day and reception will be a memory no one will soon forget! Furthermore, if this clifftop wedding experience has led you to be inspired, feel free to contact us for more information!