Do you ever get those?

Living in Iceland, I get them a lot when I ice climb, hike, SUP, and of course while scouting secret Iceland wedding locations.  But on Iceland wedding days, it’s somehow amplified.  No joke!  I almost hyperventilated in excitement over the below image.  Right light, right mountain, and what an amazing couple!  When all of those elements come together my mind is blown!

Cross those fabulous things with adding in some epic Icelandic wildlife and this Iceland elopement went off the charts!  Do you see the sneaky little seal who photo-bombed the Iceland wedding ceremony?

Another thing that makes me smile during an Iceland wedding photo adventures, is surprising my clients with new super secret waterfalls.  These two didn’t even bat an eyelash when I told them the hike time!  ? ? ?

When you have an early April wedding in Iceland (which this fab couple did) you can usually expect some snow still lingering (unless we’ve had a more wet than snowy winter).  This often times adds to the dramatic landscape giving you the vibrant greens, browns, and whites like the beautiful below Iceland elopement wedding portrait!

Weddings in Iceland with us equal adventure, that simple.

Ideal for couples who love the outdoors (and will run around in them rain or shine), enjoy hiking, crave wedding photos in dynamic locations, and are wanderlust addicts.  Imagine yourself discovering uniquely shaped glaciers like this couple did!

Here at Iceland Wedding Planner, we are providers of EXPERIENCES, not just a “wedding day”  We stay away from  churches and the usually flooded tourist locations, so that there are not 100+ people Instagram-ing your wedding.

We prefer to have our clients totally immersed and connected to TRUE and PURE Iceland.  The unknown. The untouched. The places that will leave you in utter “Awe” and get you totally addicted to this island!  If adventuring to secret waterfalls, caves, cliffs, glaciers, private beaches and rock formations sound like fun to experience on your wedding day in Iceland… Contact us to get that exciting conversation started! ?

With a smile, Ann Peters + Team (Iceland Adventure Wedding Planners + Photographers)

© 2016, Iceland Wedding Planner /  Photos by Miss Ann, All Rights Reserved.

The post Iceland Elopement | Adventure Wedding Photography appeared first on Iceland Wedding Planner.

As you probably already know, from reading our fabulous “About Us” section, I was too =)  I actually planned my Iceland adventure wedding long before it was cool to get married there.  Shortly after, Iceland Wedding Planner emerged as the #1 Official Resource for any couple considering to marry in Iceland!  Thanks for continuing that trend!  We feel honored to help you plan your Iceland Wedding, even if you are not a direct client!  ? ? ?

Today, I wanted to go back in time and pull some of our amazing Iceland Wedding Planning advice from our 5+ years of archives and put them all in one spot for you to read through and enjoy!

Iceland Wedding Bridal Advice:

1. Iceland Wedding Shoes
2. Iceland Wedding Coats
3. Iceland Bridal Bouquets
4. Preserving your Bridal Bouquet
5. Emergency Kit for your Iceland Wedding Day
6. Day of Gift Ideas
7. Iceland Wedding Ceremony Vows
8. Love Letter Ceremony (Type of Unity Ceremony’s)
9. 10 Tips for the Perfect Iceland Wedding Kiss!
10. Iceland Wedding Rings: Engraving Ideas

General Iceland Wedding Planning Advice:

1. 10 Biggest Myths About Getting Married in Iceland
2. Best Time of Year to Marry in Iceland
3. 20 Tips on Planning Your Iceland Wedding Part 1
4. 20 Tips on Planning Your Iceland Wedding Part 2
5. Iceland Wedding Timeline Advice
6. Planning an Iceland Destination Wedding (My Story from 2011)
7. Questions to Ask Your Iceland Wedding Photographer
8. Iceland Destination Wedding Etiquette
9. Protocol for Family Issues (Advice for Parents)
10. Iceland Wedding Save The Dates!
11. Iceland Wedding Invites Part 1 (Extravagant Destination Wedding Invitations)
12. Icelandic Wedding Invitations Part 2 (Creative Iceland Destination Wedding Invites)
13. Iceland Wedding Invitations Part 3 (Whimiscal Destination Wedding Invitations)
14. Iceland Wedding Detail Planning
15. Why You Should Have an Unplugged Iceland Wedding
16. Iceland Wedding Locations (Mainstream)
17. Iceland Engagement Guestbook
18. Iceland Wedding Welcome Bags
19. Iceland Wedding Favors
20. Importing Your Iceland Wedding Details
21. Iceland Wedding Reception: Menu Ideas
22. Iceland Wedding Reception Table Setup
23. Iceland Wedding Ceremony Music Ideas
24. Iceland Wedding Reception Music Ideas
25. Iceland Wedding Reception Alcohol Advice
26. Iceland Wedding Cake: Kransekake
27. Tipping in Iceland
28. Things You Should Know Before Having a Wedding in Iceland
29. To Seat or Not to Seat Your Iceland Wedding Guests
30. Iceland Wedding Signature Drink Ideas!

Iceland Wedding Guest Advice:

1. What to Wear to an Iceland Wedding
2. What to Pack for an Iceland Destination Wedding
3. How to Drive in Iceland
4. Things to Do in Iceland!
5. Things to Do in the Snaefellsness Peninsula
6. Iceland Destination Wedding: Guest Advice
7. Best Hot Springs to visit in Iceland
8. Top 12 Restaurants in Reykjavik
9. Most Adventurous Things to do in Iceland

With a smile, Ann Peters (Iceland Wedding Planner & Adventure Wedding Photographer)

PS- This information is copyrighted, so please don’t make us sad and steal our years of hard work.  But do feel free to read, take notes, and possibly link to our site!

© 2016, Iceland Wedding Planner /  Photos by Miss Ann, All Rights Reserved.

The post Iceland Wedding & Travel Expert: Official Iceland Wedding Planning Advice appeared first on Iceland Wedding Planner.

To Have or Not Have an Unplugged Iceland Wedding?

Okay okay okay, Picture THIS!  So there you are in Iceland and it’s your wedding day.  You know at like a secret waterfall, cave, glacier, black sand beach, you know the usual awe-inspiring nature stuff   You’ve invited all those you love and adore and they are there in total bliss from all of magical surroundings you have chosen as your location to marry in Iceland!  …Anxiously waiting for you as you walk down the aisle, they all raise their iPhones and cameras to capture this epic moment in time for you!

<Hold your breath!>

Because, wait!  Now, let’s take it one step further like a month later and you’re reliving your amazing day through your fabulous Iceland wedding photos from your talented Iceland wedding photographer… As you flip through you remember that epic moment as you walked down the aisle and you notice everyone’s FACES are BLOCKED by their cameras and phones!

<Insert sad face!>

Then you get further into your Iceland wedding ceremony and you see in all of the beautiful overview shots, at least one guest is standing up (or standing off to the side) taking a photo or a video of you guys.  It’s sweet of that well-meaning guest, but how much more amazing would it have been had you been able to see everyone’s faces or have everyone’s full attention, reveling in your Iceland wedding day with you?

<Insert HAPPY face!>

Today I share with you 8 reasons why you should consider having your Iceland wedding ceremony be unplugged:

1. If their camera or phone is in front of their face, you cannot see their face and they cannot see yours!
2. The Sound. –Hello distraction!
3. The Flash – It can create unwanted shadows for your hired Iceland Wedding Photographer!
4. People will see your wedding day through their phone and not actually EXPERIENCING it with you in that moment. …you don’t want that do you?
5. People running around in the dynamic Icelandic landscapes can cause unforeseen injuries if they have the camera or iPhone to their faces the whole time. Not kidding folks – THIS HAPPENS!
6. Focus Beams – For the guests that are DSLR lovers, their red focus beam could show up in the photos.
7. You do not need extra paparazzi running around! 1 or 2 Iceland pro photographers is enough right?
8. My Personal Fave: By having an unplugged Iceland Wedding: No one will spoil the surprise to everyone back home by Instagram-ing or Facebook-ing photos of you, your dress, or the locations earlier than you wish!

My two cents on the topic!   So your next question is how do you communicate an Unplugged Iceland Wedding Ceremony to your guests?  A kind note like the following on your Iceland Wedding Website (or on your Wedding Program or Timeline Card) would do the trick:

“Guess What?!  You’re in Iceland!!  Please be present reveling in this moment with us!  We’ve hired someone awesome and that we trust to capture it fully (and we’ll share the photos after, don’t worry) so please sit back and enjoy this time with us without a electronic on or in hand.  We kindly ask so that throughout the day we can also see your faces and you can see ours smiling at you =)  After all, are in Iceland, so let’s savor it unplugged!”

With a smile, Ann Peters + Team (Iceland Wedding Planners & Adventure Wedding Photographers)

© 2016, Iceland Wedding Planner /  Photos by Miss Ann, All Rights Reserved.

The post Iceland Wedding Photographer Tip: Why You Should Have an Unplugged Wedding appeared first on Iceland Wedding Planner.

This week, you’ll find our photo company, Photos by Miss Ann featured on Huffington Post for a Lapland Elopement at the Igloo Hotel.  You’ll also find Richard + Angela’s awesome Iceland wedding featured today on MyWedding.com!  Okay okay, now go bask in the romance of Northern Iceland!

With a smile, Ann Peters (Iceland Wedding Planner and Photographer)

© 2016, Iceland Wedding Planner / Photos by Miss Ann, All Rights Reserved

The post Northern Iceland Wedding Featured on MyWedding.com appeared first on Iceland Wedding Planner.

Welcome to Part 3 of 3 of our series on destination wedding invitations.

A few weeks ago, we featured the fun topic of Extravagant Destination Wedding Invitations and last week, we chatted about Creative Destination Wedding Invitations for Iceland Weddings that were of a moderate cost and added in few unique inclusions.  Today, we are going to talk about the final level and option for destination wedding invitations: the whimsical kind!

One of the really wonderful things about having a wedding invitation that has minimal frills but still is fanciful, is that you save on you wedding budget.  Who doesn’t love that?!  Having no specific needs for elaborate inserts, visuals, extra envelopes, (etc.,) really decreases the costs that can quickly emerge as you design your local or destination wedding invitations.

I’ve peaked your curiosity you say?   So you’re dying to know what is classified as a whimsical invitation design, I bet.  According to us, it is an invitation that is vibrant in color, has a dreamy font, eloquent in statement and most of all reflects you as a couple!  An invitation that makes your guests say, “Aww, how cute are they?!  I cannot wait for their wedding!”  We’re seeing a new trend emerge that takes a lighter and even humorous approach to the usual RSVP/Reply Card for weddings which add in some guest banter like inserting your own wedding “Mad Lib” for your guests to fill in (example below).  That option may be something you’ll want to consider if you’re not head over heels about the typical reply cards.

The invitation does not need to be elaborate in fact; many guests appreciate the frankness of a modest destination wedding invitation rather than having the cutesy frill inclusions.  They simply just want to know who, what, where, and when.  Each to his own, right?  I can appreciate all sides particularly when this side of the fence can be a significant Iceland wedding budget saver.  Especially if it means you can allocate those funds toward other things like having an awesome  destination wedding planner and a husband and wife Iceland wedding photography team! =)

To give you a real wedding in Iceland example, one of our favorite couples for 2014 made the unique decision to email their wedding invitations to their 50+ guests.  They plan to have each guest respond via their fun wedding website (Think: Iceland destination wedding RSVP).  This could easily be a savings of $200+ USD depending on how large your guest list is.  So now I’m guessing the big question you have is how do you execute this idea properly?  Good question!

Here’s our advice on the steps to a flawless destination wedding invitation timeline:

• First, set a wedding date that is more than 10 months before your desired date.  If you have done so, make sure you send out Iceland Save-the-Dates several months before so your guests know to reserve that time period ahead of time (emailing this is an option too!).  But giving everyone an opportunity to plan/save ahead time is proper wedding etiquette.

• Second, know your vision for your wedding day… do you want it to be soft and sweet, bold and adventurous, or an in between neutral mix?  Figuring this out will allow you to choose colors and the vibe your invitation will exude to your Iceland wedding guests.

• Narrow down what you would like to include with your destination wedding invitation (see last week’s post here on what is usually included).  [Invitation wording can be tricky but don’t fret; we’ll have a future blog post guiding you on this subject!]

• Have your awesome Iceland Wedding Planner design/find/present to you unique options for your wedding Iceland wedding invite.

• Discuss with your fiancé(e) the pros, cons, and feel of each option.  Which option reflects the two of you and your wedding style best?  How do you think your guests will react?

• {If printing} Decide on your favorite and get them ordered! (Iceland Wedding Planner Tip: Order 8+ months before your big day to avoid rush charges).

{Step by Step Directions: If Emailing Your Wedding Invitation}

1.   Create a wedding only email address that will be used strictly to catch all of your Iceland wedding guest RSVP’s (IE, EmandPenIceland20XX@gmail.com).  This makes life more organized if your guest list is larger than 10 people.

2.   Setup an RSVP page on your wedding website and also input your meal choices if possible (so you do not need to collect this information separately).  Note: If having an Iceland Wedding Welcome Dinner (Iceland Wedding Rehearsal Dinner), you may also want to have folks RSVP at that time as well.  Or else send another RSVP for that event 3-4 months before.

3.   Collect everyone’s email addresses (if you haven’t yet).

4.    Plan to email the invitation ~8-12 months before your wedding date and give your guests 2.5 months to acknowledge and reply.  For instance, if getting married in Iceland in October 2014 you would want to send out your wedding invitations no later than November 2013 and ask for your guests for the favor of their reply by February 1^st 2014 (8-9 months before) or sooner.

Two options on how to approach actually emailing the wedding invite:

•  Blind Copy (BCC) your guests in a mass email wedding invitation.

• Personalize to each guest (our recommendation to you).  If personalizing, you should formally invite your guests.  For instance, address by saying, “Ms./Mr. & Guest” or “Mr. & Mrs. Christopher Peters.”  Wedding invitations are formal so it is important to still convey that even through an email.

5.    About 3 weeks before your requested RSVP date, plan to send out a follow up email gently reminding your Iceland destination wedding guests about finalizing their decision.  Usually when people get that kind reminder they will jump into gear to request time off, book flights, reserve a room at your Iceland wedding host hotel, and browse around your wedding website for your pre/post wedding itinerary.

6.    Any stragglers that have not responded two weeks past your requested response date I would email them a personal little note checking in to make sure they received the email invitation and were able to open it.  That simple, leave the ball in their court with no pressure and if more time passes (another 2 weeks) and no response call them.  Whoever is closer to the friend or family member reach out to them individually and understand what might be keeping them from replying.  Is it a timing issue, money, travel fear, inexperience, etc?  See what you can do to help get them there.  …and if nothing, do not worry yourself over it, you tried your best to accommodate their situation.

7.    At the 90, 60, 30 day countdown to your wedding day in Iceland send an email or write a blog post about your excitement and share your activity itinerary with your guests.

8.   If you’re a super planner like we were, calling your guests 15 days before to ask them if they had any questions is a really sweet gesture especially to those who do not travel all the time.  That call will give them confidence!  [Personal Experience: The majority Ann’s family members had never traveled outside of the Midwest, so many of them had anxiety over traveling to Iceland.  That phone call days before gave them the boost they needed to put on their “adventurous game face.”]

9.    Remind your guests it’s a good idea to bring the wedding invitation, a copy of their passport (along with the real thing), and travel itinerary so that they can quickly get through customs with no issues.  Feel free to also share with them our previous blog post on what to pack as an Iceland wedding guest here.

Hopefully you found the above a pretty straightforward timeline on how to execute your destination wedding invitations.  Below, you’ll find some gorgeously fun examples of some whimsical Iceland destination wedding invitations.  We’d like to thank Brian & Tiffany for allowing us to share some of their Iceland wedding invitation options they were considering and Paisley & Robert as well! Thank you!  Lastly, we’d like to give our compliments to the two gorgeous vendors that worked with us on some of these design elements within the invitations below:  Thank you May and Belle and Wedding Chicks!  Check them out!  [As a side note about May and Belle: She is a talented designer from Australia who creates map related stylish wall art and a few are geared specifically for weddings, so fun!  She so beautifully created the Iceland heart map used in Paisley & Robert’s Vik Beach wedding invitation you see below].

In case you’re finding this blog post at the end of this series; feel free to go back to our previous posts for additional Iceland wedding inspiration:

Creative Destination Wedding Invitations for Iceland Weddings (Part 1 of 3)

Extravagant Destination Wedding Invitations (Part 2 of 3)

Otherwise, we hope you have enjoyed our posts the past few weeks as much as we did creating them.  These posts made us feel like newlyweds all over again swooning all over these choices and details!  If you’re planning a wedding in Iceland, love details, adventure, and awesome photography- we’d love to hear from you feel free to contact us!

With a smile,  Ann & Chris Peters

Iceland Wedding Planner & Iceland Wedding Photographers

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

The post Whimsical Iceland Wedding Invitations (Part 3 of 3) 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.

As Iceland wedding planners and destination wedding photographers, we strive each week to bring you unique Iceland inspired blog posts that motivate, elaborate, educate, and offer support to aid you for your biggest adventure yet, your wedding day!

A few of you have privately messaged us to ask how Iceland Wedding Planner began… Short Answer: Our love of wedding details, planning, destination wedding photography, and Iceland fueled it.  Long Answer: Must be over wine and a Skype session

Good news though!  You are not alone; we’ve personally been in your shoes trying to plan an unique and adventurous wedding in Iceland.  We actually held our April 2012 Iceland destination wedding at Seljalandsfoss Waterfall, took our guests for a wedding day tour by having our champagne toast at Vik Beach, stopped for rainbows and horses at Skogafoss Waterfall, held our reception on the Ranga River (in Hella, Iceland), and also organized pre/post wedding itinerary for 40 guests from around the world.  Countless hours were spent researching, phone calls, designing, creating, asking endless questions, scouting trips and networking with Iceland’s premiere wedding vendors.  All of which have led us to be an experienced leader in Iceland’s wedding industry who can now help you plan your dream wedding in Iceland.  Please feel free to contact us for more information on planning or photographing your stunning Iceland wedding day!

For this week’s Iceland wedding blog post, we are going to expand on everyone’s favorite detail: The bridal bouquet and teaching you how to preserve it!  When choosing your Iceland wedding flowers, first check out our blog post on this very topic, here.  It may be helpful to you as you Iceland wedding plan and consider the endless Iceland wedding bouquet options out there.

So it’s months later and there you are in Iceland and it’s your wedding day, woohoo!  Your Iceland florist or Iceland wedding planner delivers your wedding flowers to your hotel room and hopefully you’re in awe!  You will be if we are organizing your Iceland wedding arrangements.  Do a little happy dance and squeal a bit in excitement because you’re getting married in Iceland today!

Iceland Wedding Planner Tip:  If you have chosen a fresh flower wedding bouquet, keep them in water as much as possible when you are not holding them.

Iceland Wedding Photographer Tip: Bring a special and/or colorful broach to put on the stem of your flowers, it’s a super sweet detail that helps make your bouquet pop in your Iceland wedding portraits!  Rhinestone pins also bring an incredible elegance to your bouquets and centerpieces. <Real Wedding in Iceland Example: We had some vintage rhinestone pins mixed in with our Iceland wedding reception centerpieces and got so many compliments from our guests for this extra detail!>  See our Iceland wedding photos below for an example of wedding bouquet broaches.

Once you’re in your Iceland wedding dress, ready to walk down the aisle at your gorgeous Iceland wedding ceremony,  pack a vase (or more if you have bridesmaids) to take with you along with you as you travel throughout your wedding day adventure.  Being able to keep the bridal bouquet hydrated throughout your wedding day gives your fresh flowers the best chance to have continuous beauty during all of your Iceland wedding photo locations.  It is also a good idea to bring a small towel or wash cloth to wipe off the excess water each time you pull it out.  That way, as you travel around with your Iceland wedding photographer to iconic wedding photo spots, your dress stays dry and your flowers hydrated!  Once you arrive back to your reception spot, get them back into water if possible.  If not, this is the point that you can begin your preserving process.

Preserving your fresh flower Iceland bridal bouquet is super easy if you follow these steps <We personally did this, so rest assured it is tried and true>:

Step 1: Keep the wedding bouquet in water until it begins to wilt.

Step 2: Take a satin ribbon/yarn that is ~2 feet and on one end tie a tight knot to the bulk stem of your bouquet.

Step 3: Turn the bouquet upside down (so that it is hanging upside down) and take the other end of that ribbon and tie it to something in the hotel room (a lamp or closet hangers are perfect for this part).

Step 4: When you are leaving Iceland to go back home, wrap the bouquet in a plastic or cloth bag, add silica drying beads (if you have them) and pack it in with your clothes in the bag that you are checking <this is easiest because each county’s custom rules are different>.

Step 5:  When you arrive home from your Iceland wedding adventure, hang the wedding flowers back up in a cool dry place so they can continue to dry out.  <Mine hung in our basement>.

Step 6: After 3-4 weeks, your bouquet should be dried out and ready to be put away as your special keepsake of your wedding day in Iceland!

Back when all of our parents were getting married, fresh flowers were not as popular as they are now (silk flowers were most popular then).  As the eras have gone on, it seems as though wedding niceties have become more detailed and elaborate.  One way many years ago to preserve your wedding details was to shadow box it and display it somewhere in your home.  This is totally still an option but not everyone has the space to do this.  An idea for you from our Iceland wedding experience: Put your favorite wedding items in your Love Letter Ceremony Box!  Why?  Because it serves a dual purpose!  It helps you transport your items safely back to your home country once your destination wedding in Iceland is complete and also acts as a time capsule of your wedding day.

Although our love letter box was “locked” during the ceremony, we unlocked it once we returned from our Iceland Seljalandsfoss Wedding, so we could store the following mementos inside:

• Our Iceland Wedding Vows.
• Our Iceland Wedding Place Cards from our wedding welcome dinner and our wedding reception.
• Iceland Wedding Love Letters to each other and letters from our parents.
• Chris’s Boutonniere.
• Ann’s Iceland Wedding Bouquet <It is very small and crispy now as you’ll see from our photos below>.
• Heartfelt cards we gave to each other when we exchanged day of gifts and special cards our guests also gave to us.
• Our Destination Wedding Champagne Glasses.
• Iceland Wedding Invitation.
• Our Newspaper Announcement.

Even if you do not perform a love letter ceremony, having a special keepsake box after your wedding used to gather your details in, is a timeless idea.  How fun to grab it each year on your wedding anniversary and reminisce?  We strongly encourage you to do this, keep that newly wedded bliss going for a lifetime!  For a few of our clients, we have made a leather bound album box with one of their wedding photos on it and they used that as the keeper of their wedding relics.  Neat ideas –so think about what works best for you and your Iceland wedding details.

Iceland Wedding Planner, would love the opportunity to help you brainstorm, book, create, mock  up, and be there to ensure your amazing wedding in Iceland is flawlessly perfect.  Photos by Miss Ann would also be honored to be the one who captures such an epic time in your lives so please contact us for more details on how to make that happen!

With a smile, Ann & Chris Peters

Expert Iceland Wedding Planners & Iceland Wedding Photographers

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

The post Preserving Your Iceland Wedding Bouquet appeared first on Iceland Wedding Planner.