This past week was a perfect example of April showers bringing May flowers.  Three days of rain suddenly brought green grass, blossoming trees, tulips, engagements, weddings, and babies!  Crazy amounts of sweet newborns have come through our home studio in Plymouth, Michigan for newborn portrait photography (hello 2013 spring baby-boom!).

This week, we’re backing up to update you on one of our previous posts… Several of you ladies have emailed us to get more background on why we chose to have a Love Letter Ceremony when we held at our Iceland wedding at Seljalandsfoss waterfall in April of 2012.  Good news, we wrote a fabulous Iceland blog post on this last year entitled, “Alternative Unity Ceremony Idea: Love Letter Ceremony,” so please check it out first!

In the meantime, I will give you a little more background and an update to that post!  You see, when we were planning our Iceland destination wedding, we tried finding Icelandic traditions to possibly incorporate.  Although neither one of us is from Iceland or any of our guests, we definitely wanted to bring in the uniqueness of the country being nothing like any other.  It is seriously unlike any other country you will visit, so embrace it!  Most of the Icelandic traditions involve having very simplistic wedding plans like holding the ceremony at a local country church and reception at the bride’s family’s home.  Nevertheless, we did come across three Icelandic traditions we did want to integrate into our action packed wedding day at Seljalandsfoss, Skogafoss, Vik Beach, with a stop at Thorvaldseyri Farm (at the foot of the Eyjafjallajokull Volcano that famously erupted 2 years before- exactly to the date of our wedding day), and Hotel Ranga, follow below:

1. Holding a wedding welcome dinner the evening before our Iceland destination wedding.  Icelandic natives turn their weddings into a span of a few day celebrations.
2. Providing our guests with a 5 course wedding meal.
3. Love letters: In early Iceland, we found that love letters were the foundation of courtships.

From everything my husband and I read, researched, and have experienced we have found that the Icelandic culture loves the outdoors no matter the temperature, celebrates with fresh foods, smoked meats, strong drinks, and camaraderie.  Very much in tune with what we were after for our Iceland destination wedding.  So along with planning and providing a 3 course “welcome dinner” the evening before our wedding day for all our Iceland wedding guests, we also felt it was important to have a 5 course Iceland wedding reception meal so that our guests could partake in the unique, fresh, and memorable food Iceland had to offer.  The third thing that was Iceland inspired for our wedding day was integrating the love letters, by adding our own unique twist.  We made the letters tradition a part of our Iceland wedding ceremony at Seljalandsfoss waterfall and had that be the foundation of our unity ceremony.  It was a unique alternative to the other unity ceremony options we see every weekend.  Feel free to read our Iceland blog post on this topic for specific details and wording for the unity letter ceremony.

If you’re a weekly visitor of ours (thank you!), you know that Chris and I just celebrated our first year wedding anniversary on April 14th with an Iceland inspired couples session last month, check it out here if you missed it!  After we took photos inspired by our Seljalandsfoss wedding and the gorgeous Vik beach cave and rock formations, we said our wedding vows to each other again, and then we also did an update to our original Love Letter Ceremony.  Okay, so we actually didn’t “lock” our love letter ceremony box when our Iceland wedding officiant closed it during our Iceland wedding ceremony because we had to stuff more things inside of in order to pack efficiently.  When we returned home we did just as the ceremony said, we displayed it in a prominent spot in our home (our china cabinet we pass by many times throughout the day).  But the more I thought about the meaning behind the ceremony itself and how much our lives have changed in the last year, I thought it would be important to do an update and write another letter to our future selves.

Now selling my husband, Chris on the idea was tougher (lol).  Lucky me though, he sees the value in it.  So on the actual day our wedding anniversary, April 14^th we opened up our last bottle of our Iceland wedding champagne from Domaine Chandon, pulled out our last Papyrus stationery card, and wrote a new letter to each other.  I personally wrote about how much I have struggled with finding the right balance. Most of the married couples that have come back to us through the years for Plymouth, Michigan portrait photography all say the first year is the hardest, and I must agree.  Mainly because you are finding that balance for communicating, domestic chores, planning and cooking meals, working crazy schedules, idiosyncrasies and still finding the time to go out on dates!   So! Chris and I toasted to another great year, sealed the letters together and wrote on the outside of the envelope “Written on our 1^st Anniversary.”  How fun, right?  I think this is an awesome addition to a love letter ceremony tradition, so much that maybe we’ll do this every year on our Iceland wedding anniversary!  Gives me chills just thinking about the impact all these letters will have on our future selves!

Have you thought about what sort of unity ceremony you will have for your Iceland destination wedding?

Our destination wedding style in Southern Iceland (Hella, Iceland) was very adventurous, action-packed, romantic, energetic, and very particular about food and drinks (in quality, quantity, and menu uniqueness) for ourselves and our guests.  It was important to Chris and I to plan an Iceland wedding reception that was focused on those elements versus “partying” or dancing.  So if you’re thinking of a comparable focus for your Iceland wedding, please contact us to be your inclusive wedding planners and photographers!

Keep smiling and Iceland wedding planning,

Ann Peters

Expert Iceland Wedding Planner & Iceland Wedding Photographer

© 2002-2013, Photos by Miss Ann, All Rights Reserved

The post Icelandic Wedding Traditions: Love Letter Ceremony Update appeared first on Iceland Wedding Planner.

By planning a destination wedding, you are already committing to go outside of the general wedding planning “box.”  So why not continue with adding an element to your wedding ceremony content that is as unique as your love?

Since we’re local and destination wedding photographers and own, Photos by Miss Ann, we have witnessed endless amounts of ceremonies that draw in religious, cultural, and spiritual elements and have seen them done in a hundred of different ways.  Think: unity candle, tying the knot ceremony, sand ceremony, Irish braid, crowning, hand ceremony, etc.  When we were planning our destination wedding we were looking for an alternative for our Iceland wedding.

After researching back into historical wedding ceremonies, we found it: The Love Letter Ceremony.  It gracefully combined our affection for history, our love for each other, and provided a piece of our own history with our parents as well.

The idea:

teho kasino

You and your soon to be write a letter to each other talking about the following:

1. How you felt when you met.
2. Your favorite adventure together.
3. How much you have grown from then to now.
4. Your feelings as you anticipate your wedding day.
5. Your wishes for your future together.
6. Your promise to him/her.

The Parents:

1. The bride’s parents write a letter directly to her only.  Expressing their excitement for her arrival, her childhood, successes, how proud they are, advice, etc.
2. The groom’s parents write a letter directly to her only.  Articulating their excitement for his arrival, his childhood, successes, how proud they are, and advice, etc.
3. Each set of parents then write a letter addressing the couple together stating their excitement for finding each other, the marriage, wishes for the future, and words of wisdom.

This is how described the Icelandic love letter ceremony to our guests on the back of our Iceland destination wedding timeline card:

“During the wedding we will perform a ‘love letter ceremony.’  This entails the bride and groom writing heartfelt love letters to each other prior to their wedding day.  Each of the parents have also written letters of encouragement, future wishes, and advice to make the couple’s marriage strong.  The wedding officiant will then lock the letters in a box.  The letters will be opened at a later time as a celebration and reflection of their marriage.”

How amazing, right?  It gives me goose bumps just thinking about reading them as we celebrate our 25th wedding anniversary when our parents may have passed and we may have a family of our own!  This is a very special ceremony I believe has an enormous long-term impact to all.

We hauled the box from Plymouth, Michigan to Hella Iceland to our wedding ceremony at Seljalandsfoss waterfall, then to Skógafoss waterfall and finally out to Vik Beach for Iceland wedding photos and a champagne toast!

How to create your own local or destination wedding love letter ceremony:

• Buy or build a box that will be big enough for letters and additional mementos.  We had an 8×11 box that was ~3 inches wide.  This was big enough for our letters, vows, speeches, our bouquet/boutonniere when it dried out, etc.  It was travel friendly.  We brought from Michigan to Iceland with no problem.
• Some people like the idea of it being large enough to house a bottle of wine/champagne and wine glasses – your choice!
• Have your names painted or engraved on the front.  Example, we had the following:

Chris & Ann

Iceland

April 14^th 2012

• Purchase super cute acid-free stationary.  Ours was white with a simple red heart at the top and a matching red envelope- Our Amazon Storefront may be a good source for you on this.
• Plan what you are going to write at least 30 days in advance!
• Give your parents time to plan and write too!
• Get the letters in advance and put them in the box for safe keeping until the ceremony.
• Our wording for the love letter ceremony follows below:

Wording for a Destination Wedding Love Letter Ceremony:
“Christopher and Ann have chosen as a couple to unite together in a Love Letter ceremony.

This box contains a love letter from each to the other.   The letters describe the good qualities they find in one another, the reasons they fell in love, and their reasons for choosing to marry today in Iceland.   Ann’s mother, Irene and Christopher’s parents, Donna and Bill have also written the each a letter individually and a letter to the couple expressing their hopes and advice for their future together.  The letters are sealed in individual envelopes and the couple has not seen what the other has written.
I recommend that you keep the box in a place of honor prominently displayed in your home as a constant reminder of your commitment to each other.

Christopher and Ann, should you ever find your marriage enduring insurmountable hardships, you are to as a couple, open this box, reflect while reading the letters you wrote to one another when you were united as a couple, in marriage.   By reading these love letters you will reflect upon the reasons you fell in love and chose to marry each other here in Iceland today.

The hope is, however, that you will never have a reason to open this box.   And if this is the case, you are to open this box to share and enjoy on your 25^th wedding anniversary!”
All that being said, Christopher and Ann, you may now lock the box and be forever bonded.”

Hope you enjoyed and will pass the word around… Let’s get more couples inspired by doing a love letter ceremony as part of their wedding ceremony!  ::Also see our update to this love letter ceremony here::

With a smile, Ann & Chris Peters (Iceland Wedding Planners & Iceland Wedding Photographers)

© 2012, Photos by Miss Ann, All Rights Reserved

The post Alternative Unity Ceremony Idea: Love Letter Ceremony appeared first on Iceland Wedding Planner.

Topic of the week…. Destination Wedding Welcome Bags

When your guests receive that invitation to your epic destination wedding there is a level of excitement that continues to build until your wedding day.  So why not keep up the momentum with destination wedding welcome bags?

In our case, while planning our destination Iceland wedding at Seljalandsfoss, this idea was immediately put into our wedding budget.  We felt that our guests were traveling on average 1,000’s of miles to see us say, “I do” they needed a stunning and fun welcome bag that featured creature comforts, bare necessities, locale flare, and items that would emit positive feelings- like a great marriage!

Our Iceland Welcome Bags included the following items:

• Gorgeously styled “Welcome to our Wedding” canvas tote bag by Kate Aspen
• Icelandic tour book, adventure pamphlets, and local Icelandic maps
• Love Notes Tablet – A small notepad that guests could jot down notes, directions, etc
• Chapstick with SPF15 (which coined our color theme, wedding date, and wedding logo
• Sewing Kit
• An umbrella with a note attached, “In case You Encounter April Showers!”
• Hot-Hands (2 packs) to ensure our guests would be comfortable during our outdoor ceremony (we were anticipating 40 degree temps)
• Packets of Advil and Pepto-Bismol – just in case!
• Tissues: They were wrapped in a tulle case with rhinestone beads in the back.  The front stated, “Tears of Love; Tears of Laughter; Tears of Happily Ever After!”
• Icelandic Glacial Water with our wedding logo on them.
• Volcano Wafer Chocolates
• Draumurs – Icelandic milk chocolate with licorice straw inside
• Hraunbitar – Lava Bites
• Icelandic Mints
• Coffee Singles
• Rock Candy (to resemble glaciers!)
• Time Line Card for wedding weekend (see more details below).
• Pop Rocks and coloring books for the younger guests.
• Fish Bites!
• Icelandic Soda
• Icelandic Chocolates
• Iceland Hard Candy
• Iceland Atlas
• A special greeting and thank you to all of our guests.
• Please see our Iceland Wedding Photos of our Welcome Bag below (Compliments of Photos by Miss Ann).

The Unique Thought:

Even if you are not holding a destination wedding in the Iceland countryside it is still nice to remember that being thoughtful goes a long way.  Guests appreciate that you have their interest in mind and that you are trying to make the trip flawlessly fun for them.  Give it a little thought as you choose your destination wedding location – what items your guests may need while traveling, find unique/helpful, or make it a more memorable trip!  Guests still tell me how super cute and helpful the canvas tote has been- even 6 months later!

How to Transport:

Since shipping and duties were pretty expensive from Plymouth, Michigan to Iceland we had decided to pack our welcome bag items.  We had put together some of the creature comforts ahead of time and packed them tightly in one of our 5 suitcases.  But bags for 40 guests became a bigger project that we anticipated.  To ensure those items made it to Iceland was an adventure in itself!  Our recommendation: Let a professional handle (had there been an Iceland Wedding Coordinator when we were planning I would have hired her!)  So let Photos by Miss Ann (aka: Iceland Wedding Planner) handle that detail and worry for you!

When to give them out?

Having the welcome bags handed out at the front desk of the hotel is fun so that upon arrival the guests get a piece of home, know what’s going on and when, and have an instant piece of Iceland to try!  But handing them out individually at our Icelandic “welcome dinner” was even more special and added a connection of appreciation to our guests.  PS- Do not forget your Iceland wedding photographer too!  I am sure he/she/they will be gracious enough to receive one and take a photo of your detailed thoughtfulness!

Partner with Wedding Bathroom Basket:

During our welcome dinner and actual wedding reception at Hotel Ranga we had several “Wedding Guest Survival Kits” strategically placed throughout the hotel.  We had things like floss, cold medication, bobby pins, Band-Aids, Hollywood Tape, Wisps, combs, and other esstiantial emergency items!   I think we spent ~ $36 USD per basket but it had a lasting impression on our guests that we managed to think of every last detail.

Do I need a Destination Wedding Timeline Card?

My personal vote is always, yes you do.  There is nothing worse than a guest  saying “I don’t know where to be or what’s going on when.”  The card itself can be simplistic or fancy – professionally printed or on your home printer.  I think they are more critical in a destination wedding weekend than a ceremony program so please do it!  It is better to hand out a message to your guests and a wedding timeline to keep the guests in the know rather than spelling out who is who in the ceremony.

Wedding Agenda How To (Photo example below- compliments of Photos by Miss Ann below):

1. Card stock is important that weight to the paper allows easy finding by your guests and less chance of it being discarded.  We used Silver Metallic Card Stock 107# which shimmered in the light.  Gorgeous!
2. Have a 2 sided card designed – the more information to your guests the better!
3. Front can feature a “Welcome Message” and cutesy timeline for the actual wedding day with images above the times.
4. Back can be the schedule for the other events or activities that may be planned, a heartfelt wedding thank you from the bride and groom, etc.
5. Our Iceland Timeline Card provided a little snippet on our “Love Letter Ceremony” we were going to perform during the ceremony so guests would understand the uniqueness.
6. Once you have thought out what you want contact Pixels to Paper for the actual execution!  Mindy the owner does amazing work – crisp, clean, and only the best materials.  Order 3 months before your wedding date- We ended up having to order more before and after the wedding (for a keepsake) and she got them right out to us!

Local Thoughts:

If your guests are traveling more than 100 miles to your wedding day it is proper etiquette to supply them with a welcome bag if they are staying overnight.  After all, you spent X number of days, weeks, months, or years planning your incredible destination wedding why skimp with the guest details?

The destination wedding photography and details of your day are items that you should never skimp on.  Wedding Planning Advice: Please hire a seasoned destination wedding photographer!  Experience in ever-changing outdoor lighting and attention to detail are traits that are near impossible to find in many and 100% critical in a place like Iceland where weather changes instantly.  In the end, those two things are the only items that will allow you to go back in time and relive your day over and over again and also have your guests list uttering, “That was the wedding of the year!”

I look forward to sharing my next post with you: Alternatives to Sand and Unity Ceremony’s…. The “Love Letter Ceremony”!

Until then, many smiles! – Miss Ann

Thriving on Adventure and Love…

For more information on Iceland wedding photography or Iceland wedding planning please contact me directly here or visit: Photos By Miss Ann.  PBMA is a local & destination wedding photographer located in Plymouth, Michigan but loves and experienced photographing love worldwide.

© 2012, Photos by Miss Ann, All Rights Reserved

The post The Importance of Welcome Bags for Iceland Weddings appeared first on Iceland Wedding Planner.