February in Iceland
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A blissful couple who just held their
wedding ceremony at a lakeside country church
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Fabulous wedding adventures in Thingvellir National Park?
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Stunning Iceland Winter Wedding Photos, that’s what!

Thank you for joining us for our second installment of Farid + Vanessa’s enticing Iceland elopement!  In case you missed it…feel free to head back to our previous posts on their Iceland Country Church wedding ceremony and romantic Iceland Pre-Wedding Session (Iceland Engagement).

Seeing Vanessa + Farid’s dreamy destination wedding photos may persuade you to change your big wedding plans and design an intimate wedding in Iceland!  Today we are totally mesmerized by their romantic Iceland wedding portrait adventure in the legendary Thingvellir (Þingvellir) National Park.  Caution ahead readers, you might also find yourself green with envy by the end of this post!

Thingvellir National Park offers distinctively vivid landscapes which are ideal for Iceland wedding photos regardless of the season.  Geographically, there are never-ending remarkable areas throughout the park such as the continental drift faults (where the American and European tectonic plates meet), Öxarárfoss Waterfall, Þingvallavatn Lake, lava rock walls, moss covered rocks, and the famed Silfra Fissure.

Thingvellir is also one of the most noteworthy, historical, and meaningful places in Iceland. It not only boasts endless geological marvels but it is extremely rich in Icelandic culture.  Historically, one of the most fascinating things about this location is that when the immigration to Iceland increased, the first parliament began there in 930 which in the end established Icelandic Commonwealth.  Festivals and markets were also held and the land served as the country’s socializing spot.  Fast forward to current day, it is still a frequented gathering spot for Icelander’s and since the park is in close proximity to Reykjavík it is typically on every visitor’s “must do list” and rightfully so, because the park is too spectacular to miss.

As you’ll see from the dazzling Iceland wedding images below we had a blast running around finding grass covered houses, being in awe of the tectonic plates, delighting in a very frozen waterfall, and luckily we had just enough wind (laugh, we had a ton!) to keep the brides dress and hair theatrically flowing!  A beautiful couple and one epic adventure, that’s for sure!  Enjoy! Then make sure you stay tuned for our 3rd and final post on Farid and Vanessa’s adventurous Iceland wedding day…  Look forward to playful Icelandic ponies, the ION Luxury Adventure Hotel and elegant Iceland wedding reception details!

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

Make sure you go back to check out our previous Iceland wedding posts:

• Iceland Pre-Wedding Photography (Iceland Engagement Couples Session)
• Iceland Destination Wedding at Lakeside Country Church (Iceland Winter Wedding Ceremony)
• Eloping in Iceland at ION Luxury Adventure Hotel (Iceland Wedding Reception)

2014, Iceland Wedding Planner / Photos by Miss Ann, All Rights Reserved.

The post Thingvellir National Park Winter Wedding | Iceland Wedding Photographer appeared first on Iceland Wedding Planner.

We hope this finds you well and super excited for the fabulous week ahead of you!  Working in the wedding industry for more than a decade now, has given Chris and I a lot of insight into all different types of wedding locations and situations.  That is one of the reasons why we planned to have a destination wedding -we personally wanted somewhere different that most.

Specifically, we were interested in a location we had never photographed before, that none of our guests had been, offered dramatic backgrounds for our wedding photos, and a place that would have more natural wonders then we could count –this was Iceland for us.  In April 2012, we flew in 40 of our closest friends and family from around the world for our Iceland destination wedding at Seljalandsfoss waterfall.  Following our Iceland wedding ceremony, we had planned a wedding day adventure for our guests that included a fun champagne toast at the famous black sand beach –Vik Beach, a stop at the powerful Skogafoss waterfall and an amazing 5 course wedding dinner alongside of the Ranga River.  During our adventure wedding in Iceland, we were lucky enough to see the Northern Lights too <yes even in April>!

Ah, love + Iceland, still gets me off track every time!  Now back to today’s Iceland wedding planning topic of the week…When Chris and I photograph each wedding, one of the “swoon worthy wedding moments” we always enjoy is capturing is the kiss!  It is such an epic moment that signifies so much and is frankly loaded with a ton of firsts.

• Usually the first kiss of the day!
• First kiss as husband and wife.
• First kiss of the rest of your lives <insert corny cliché, lol!>
• The culmination of so much awaited anticipation.
• Your first kiss in front of one of Iceland’s dramatic landscapes!
• Serves as the seal of your marriage vows.
• Your first PDA in front of all you love and adore!
• The foundation of your marriage and your wedding vows (Remember, each time you kiss your husband/wife it should bring you back to that moment in time).

*Disclaimer: Alright so the rest of this post is a tad bold… But we seriously hope it stirs some dialogue between the two of you as you plan your dream wedding ceremony in Iceland.*

One of things we like to encourage our destination couples to is practice their Iceland wedding ceremony kiss.  I know it seems totally silly, but you both need to be on the same page on when and how you will.  <Insert slightly awkward moment>.  Ha, yes I said “how!”  So now that I have you thinking about the big moment and picturing yourself in it, let’s go over some helpful guidelines from our perspective as Iceland destination wedding photographers.  Without further ado here are 10 tips to the perfect wedding kiss:

1. Know when the kiss is going to be.  Will it be at the end of the vows? After your unity ceremony?  At the end of the ceremony?  Will your Iceland wedding official make a formal announcement?
2. Whose nose will be towards the crowd?  Do you care?  I personally did because I’ll be frank and say I’m not a fan of my nose.  So when Chris and I practiced our kiss for our Iceland destination wedding at Seljalandsfoss waterfall, I was adamant about ensuring Chris’s nose would be towards the crowd.  Practicing helped this be totally natural the day of our April wedding day in Southern Iceland.
3. Don’t rush it!
4. Put your hands on each other, yes I said it!  Your kiss at the end of your Iceland wedding ceremony will be way more amazing if you go from standing side by side to holding hands or embracing.  Cannot stress enough how important this is for photos so we can document that amazing connection.  So grab her, grab him and bring each other in to really kiss!
5. Make eye contact, smile, do the “slow lean in,” and tip your head.
6. Close your eyes!
7. KISS!  Now, when I say “kiss” this does not condone “making out” in front of your wedding guests.  You need to find a nice balance between the above and the millisecond kiss.  Real Iceland Wedding Example: When we said “I do” during our Iceland wedding ceremony, we opted for holding hands and we went for the “1 one-thousand, 2 two-thousand, 3 three-thousand and complete,” kiss!  That route adds to the dreamy feel your wedding photos will have and also allow for your Iceland wedding photographers to get a couple of shots and angles.
8. Iceland Wedding Photographer Tip: Sneak in another kiss ½ way down the aisle.  This makes for a gorgeous photo opportunity with your ceremony site in the background!
9. Practice!  …and repeat!
10. Share with your photographer ahead of time if you plan to do something epic like a “woohoo” with the fist, jump for joy, or first kiss dip.

We hope our Iceland wedding blog post today, will prove to be catalyst of conversation between you and your soon to be so you can be ready for the sweetest kiss ever!  Below, we share with you some super sweet first kisses!

With a smile, Ann & Chris Peters

Iceland Wedding Planners & Iceland Wedding Photographers

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

The post 10 Tips for the Perfect Kiss from an Iceland Wedding Photographer appeared first on Iceland Wedding Planner.

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.