Frequently Asked Questions:
Thanks so much for finding us and taking the time to read more about our company! Hopefully since you have made it this far, you realize we are not your typical type of destination wedding planners, as we plan adventure weddings in Iceland and luxury elopement EXPERIENCES. We get countless inquiries from people around the world wanting to plan their weddings here, and frankly, we are not a good fit for most. So please take a few minutes to make sure we would be a good fit for you by reading through the below!
1.) What is an adventure wedding (or adventure elopement)?
–An EXPERIENCE driven wedding day! We discover and explore the unique pure areas of Iceland, AWAY from tourist locations. Most of our weddings are action packed (seeing / doing) beginning with hair / makeup at 6am and ending around 11pm after having a delicious 3-5 course meal (17 hour days on average, but we can scale back or add “bail out” points along the way as needed). Please check our our worldwide brand, Your Adventure Wedding for more information on our adventure style weddings. Also checkout Ann Peters, the owner talking about the dynamic of our Iceland Adventure Weddings and process on a Podcast interview.
Furthermore, it is NOT a day of just playing “dress up” and getting pretty Iceland wedding photos. It is a 5 senses EXPERIENCE from start to finish as soon as you step into the super jeep! Doesn’t matter if you are eloping (no guests) or bringing 1-150 guests, our team is well versed in both avenues.
2.) How soon should you book your Iceland wedding day (or Iceland elopement)?
–We often book weddings 18-24 months before the couples desired wedding date. Why? This ensures the best hotels (luxury houses or Airbnb’s) will have enough rooms for you (and your group) and also because Iceland is a major tourist hot spot right now. Also know that, the majority of our weddings are 1 to 3+ hours outside of the city of Reykjavik so this means you will be exploring from a countryside host hotel and during high season (May-August) this becomes harder if you wait less than a year. We have accommodated smaller groups or Iceland elopements (just the couple) under a year but you must not be set on a specific date or time of week.
3.) Best time to get married in Iceland?
–This all depends on what the objective of your trip is (IE, Hiking, Northern Lights, or want warmer temperatures, activity driven, etc). We wrote a blog post several years ago on the best time to get married in Iceland, if you want more in depth information. Also checkout what the weather in Iceland is like!
Our personal favorite months follow: Mid to Late February and March (best for ice caves and Northern Lights); April (often our driest month); May-August (long daylight hours); September-October (fall is gorgeous here!) Other months November-January have short daylight hours (3-6 hours a day). Note: Our team does not plan or photograph Iceland weddings from mid-November to early-February, you can most times find us in Patagonia or Antarctica.
Update: Due to Covid-19 we are offering 1/2 day elopement and wedding adventures between November 2020 and January 2021.
4.) What sets Iceland Wedding Planner apart from other planning companies in Iceland?
–First: We plan and photograph adventure weddings (you’re hiring one team to handle the two most important aspects of your wedding day). See how FUN and unforgettable our adventure weddings in Iceland are by checking out a previous film!
Second: All of our locations are Iceland wedding locations are offbeat and on private land via super jeeps (requiring in advance permits and/or special permissions from landowners, agencies, towns, etc) so the likelihood of running into other tourists while you’re exploring is typically ZERO!
Third: The Experience! From start to finish we offer a very unique wedding planning platform… We want your planning time with us to feel like fun “date nights” not stressful life moments. From Skyping with your smiling faces (we want to get to know you) to how we present the wedding day locations to how we transition your day from just a “wedding day” to a unforgettable wedding day EXPERIENCE, you’ll enjoy every minute!
Fourth: We are North Americans living in Iceland. The Owner, Ann Peters actually held the first adventure style wedding here over 14+ years ago. Plus, we personally know how North Americans do wedding details (go big or go home, lol!), expect a certain level of service, class, appreciate stellar customer service, and enjoy creature comforts. So rest assured your Iceland dream wedding (or Iceland luxury elopement) will come true. On top of all that, English is our first language so communicating with us will be easy.
Fifth: We do not work on comission! You pay our team of vendors directly (Note: Other wedding planning companies here in Iceland will do an up-charge of 10-30% or more, on top of the price you are paying. We choose to not play those games and pass savings back to you guys rather than taking them for profit).
Sixth: Not only do we do adventure, but we do luxury adventure weddings. No other wedding planner in Iceland can pull off an adventurous luxury elopement or American style large wedding in Iceland like we do… Check out one of our 100+ weddings HERE (and the video of it HERE). And see the countless Iceland special effects we have crafted and have available!
5.) Does Iceland Wedding Planner offer planning only packages?
–No we do not. Early in our career here, we realized that the majority of photographers out there are not prepared to shoot in Iceland’s challenging conditions.
Short Story: Several years ago, when we did allow outside teams, we had a photography team not be prepared for the heavy rains we warned them about (and didn’t want to take our advise on how we prepare). The husband and wife team, didn’t know how to cope with the wind and the rain and water logged their gear. The couple barely got any wedding portraits at one of the locations. Sad!
We have a standard to uphold and want to ensure our clients get the very best experience and coverage of their adventure wedding day in Iceland. Our Iceland wedding photography team is use to (and always prepared) to get amazing wedding photos regardless of the ever-changing weather conditions here (extreme wind, rain, sand storms, etc).
They also know Iceland / our private locations well and are approved by our private property landowners. Long ago when we did work with outside photographers, there were issues of those photographers not respecting the landscapes (trampling on fragile moss, leaving trash behind, asking clients to do disrespectful things etc.)
Lastly, having a local photographer provides a better experience for you overall. Mainly because they can easily plan b, c all the way down to x, y, z too! Not to mention it’s one less person to worry about getting on a plane! Read more about why you need to hire a local Iceland elopement photographer.
Furthermore, looking for an Iceland wedding video team? We are very choosy about who we work with in that department too. Check out our blog post on 10 Reasons Why You Need One.
Note: We require any outside of our team folks to sign an NDA (non-disclosure agreement) and a Non-Compete. Why? Our locations are secret and many times on private property. Out of respect for the land owners and our business we require this, no exceptions.
6.) Does Iceland Wedding Planner plan weddings in tourist locations (IE, Seljalandsfoss, Skogafoss, Reynisfjara, etc)?
–Nope! And currently we are not offering “bus” weddings either (even though you may have seen in previous blog posts). Our general rule of thumb is that if a tour bus can get there, our Iceland Wedding Planner couples doesn’t venture there.
7.) Does Iceland Wedding Planner offer Rentals?
–Yes! Please check out the different Iceland wedding rental topics HERE. Note- Currently we are only offering the rental collection to signed clients.
8.) Does Iceland Wedding Planner allow out of country photographers on our photography team?
–No. Currently, we are extremely happy with our adventure wedding photography team. See above as to why we do not allow for outside folks. Also- If you are soliciting us to “promote” your services without ever working with us (or meeting us) the answer is a kind “no, thank you.” Please do not send us emails offering your services free of charge, we are not interested nor our type of clients (Kind Side Note: Your “bucket list weddings / shoots” are devaluing the entire professional photography industry).
Furthermore, we are a tiny country in the North Atlantic (only 330,000 people live here), we hope you understand and respect that we need to support the people living here and their livelihood (cost of living here is more than NYC and we don’t have dollar menus).
9.) Does Iceland Wedding Planner offer Workshops?
–Yes! This is a fantastic way for a photographer who wishes to shoot a wedding in Iceland meet us, learn what an “adventure wedding” entails, shoot a fabulous couple in our offbeat locations, and possibly become apart of our team! See HERE for more details.
10.) Does Iceland Wedding Planner execute weddings in the countryside churches?
–We typically do not, but for the right couple we may consider. The style of weddings we craft are adventure style. So as long as you are interested in having the rest of the day exploring after the ceremony, we’re in! See one of our favorite clients Christophe and Mary’s wedding day that went from Church to Adventure Wedding, HERE.
11.) Does Iceland Wedding Planner craft experiences outside of wedding days?
–Yes of course! We are thrilled to offer the following services: Iceland Marriage Proposals, Adventurous Couples Sessions, and Vow Renewals (planning and photography).
12.) Is Iceland Wedding Planner a Travel Agent?
–No. You will pay all of the vendors involved in your Iceland wedding directly, (unlike other wedding planning company’s who up-charge by 10-30%) we do not add any sneaky up-charging or get kickbacks from vendors. Frankly, we like to just pass the savings directly back to you! We also hand pick our teams, based on talent, not price.
Furthermore, we prefer to focus on what we are best at… Crafting incredible Elopements, Iceland Weddings and planning romantic offbeat non-touristy adventures. We are not part of the Icelandic Tourist Board for that very reason. We offer a very unique personal boutique service offering full day ADVENTURES in the countryside and prefer to not waste our time shuttling around people to/from the airport, making our clients stay in Reykjavik or having you do all of the tourist location nonsense during your wedding day escapades. We go against the grain and want you to experience the pure side of Iceland…
Visiting hidden caves, private waterfalls, secret canyons, and knowing what it feels like to be some of the very first people to lay your eyes on the birth of new landscape! It’ll feel so new that you’ll have that overwhelming feeling to want to plant a flag saying you “just discovered this” at every location you go to! Now, THAT feeling is priceless and doesn’t come with the backing of any tourist board 😉
13.) Does Iceland Wedding Planner offer privacy agreements to high profile clients / couples?
–Always! We respect and appreciate your privacy. For that reason, we do not feature every wedding we plan or photograph throughout the year, so if you wish your Iceland wedding adventure to remain private, let’s have a conversation!
14.) Does Iceland Wedding Planner “Collaborate” in Styled Sessions?
–No. Currently our Iceland Wedding Planning team is not interested in participating in any sort of “collaboration shoots,” as we are already a frequently published team for our adventure style weddings (worldwide, see our Press page here and here).
15.) Can US citizens get married in Iceland?
–Yes, absolutely! Foreigners can get married in Iceland! As part of our Iceland wedding planning service, we will assist you with the preparation of your Iceland Marriage License paperwork. We’ll also provide you with a list of required documentation and provide you with a timeline to follow. We make an appointment with the District Commissioner on your behalf as well. You can find more information about the current requirements for US citizens planning to marry in Iceland on the US Embassy in Iceland’s website.
16.) What do you wear to a wedding in Iceland?
–A wedding in Iceland comes with its own list of considerations when choosing a wedding outfit . . . warmth factor, range of movement, ability to billow out spectacularly behind you as we shoot your epic, windswept wedding portraits . . .
Over the years we’ve worked with literally hundreds of couples, so we have a pretty good idea of what works and what doesn’t. When it comes to adventure weddings, it’s important to consider the activities you have planned when choosing your outfit. Are you hiking on your wedding day? Will you be walking on ice or snow? How will you keep warm? What about wet weather?? We’re always happy to share specific advice with our couples, once we’ve put your full wedding day itinerary together.
You can also take a look at our blog post on how to choose an Iceland wedding dress. We even wrote another post just for our dapper Iceland grooms. And if you’re inviting guests along, they will probably have plenty of questions about the dress code. Our blog post on what to wear to an Iceland destination wedding is also a great starting point. Also feel free to check out our Amazon Storefront for more ideas!
17.) How does Iceland Wedding Planner participate in Responsible Tourism?
–Happy you asked! Please read more about what you can do and what our team does to promote responsible tourism in Iceland!
18.) Is there anywhere our Iceland Wedding Planner doesn’t go?
–Currently we are no longer offering wedding adventures in the Reykjavik area, Snaefellsness Penninsula, Westfjords, or Northern Iceland. Please reach out to our friends at: Iceland Weddings and Honeymoons if you wish for weddings in those areas. Our base and expertise lies in the Highlands, across the South of Iceland, and East! But know, as a client we can offer you ideas for the best self-drive adventures around the entire country for pre and post wedding escapades.
19.) Are their hotels and vendors Iceland Wedding Planner does not work with?
–Glad you asked! Yes, there is a rather long list of hotels and companies we choose to NOT partner with. Reasons range from they cannot (or can no longer) uphold our American style standard of quality or service we must maintain. Or that they are disrespectful to the fragile Icelandic landscapes, etc.
20.) Does Iceland Wedding Planner offer a-la carte services?
–We do not, but we happily offer you some Do-It-Yourself Guides you can purchase if you wish to go down the road of planning your own wedding:
DIY Iceland Marriage License Guide
21.) Is Iceland Wedding Planner LGBTQIA+ friendly?
–Hell yes! Our entire team and hand picked vendors are all firm believers love is love. That will never ever change!
22.) Covid-19 and Getting Married in Iceland:
Iceland has continuously taken precautions against crushing the pandemic. In fact, you can see for yourself how well Iceland prevailed over the pandemic by reading the statistics.
Getting married in Iceland during the Covid-19 pandemic, may be scary for some. But in our Iceland adventure wedding and elopement world, it just reaffirms our mission of taking you to our private property locations and staying far away from tourist locations! And if for some reason there is a need to reschedule your wedding day, our team and all involved are happy reschedule you to another available date (with no penalties).
Latest News: On April 6th 2021, Iceland opens it’s borders to all vaccinated individuals (vaccines approved within Iceland), read in further details HERE! However, there are steps and requirements that must be followed in order to do so, so please educate yourself before planning your trip here.
Are you keen to learn more? Do you have another question for us? Please head over to our Contact page and get in touch. We would love to hear from you!
© 2023, Photos by Miss Ann / Iceland Wedding Planner, All Rights Reserved