But…. If you have some extra funds that you can put towards even just 3 of the items below, you will create a more memorable visual experience for your guests / selves during your fabulous Iceland wedding reception dinner.  Many of the options below are affordable and will make a huge difference in your overall ambiance during your Iceland wedding reception.

1: LOVE Balloons 

This is a personal favorite of us here at Iceland Wedding Planner because this not only is super fun (warm and inviting), but it photographs well throughout the entire night.

2: Chair Ties

Having chair ties is an affordable way to dress up your Iceland wedding reception.  Imagine how beautiful the space can look when you add in a chair tie that compliments your color scheme too!  These can easily add to the “wow factor” to your guests.

3: Place Cards

I personally love having assigned seating place cards for several reasons, such as the following: They can bring full circle your color scheme, dress up the table, give your guests something to swoon over, they can act as a “meal choice” marker, they avoid chaos / awkward moments between guests.

4: Charger Plates 

5:  Create warm ambiance with tall candles down the table

6:  Iceland Wedding Dinner Menu’s

This is a brilliant and budget friendly (even do-it-yourself) item that makes a huge difference not only in the place setting (hello pretty Iceland wedding photos) but also to your guests!  It’s nice to know what they’ll be eating, you know?  …and this is an easy way to communicate to your guests what you are offering in the bar on your tab.  I adore pretty dual purpose Iceland wedding decor items!

7: Marquee Signs 

They add a fantastic fun flare, so why not!

8: Table Runners

9: Colored Napkins

I would say 85% of the Iceland wedding venues and restaurants offer white / white linens.  The other 15% does paper napkins.  So how about bringing in your own cloth napkins that goes along with your Iceland wedding color scheme or renting some from us?

10: Hang Something in the Room!

Examples could be… A bubble wall, glass globes, a background, lights, etc.

11: Iceland Wedding Party Favors

Everyone enjoys getting a little thoughtful treat!  Add to your guests Iceland wedding adventure experience by surprising them with a party favor!  Could be things like… Icelandic Chocolates, Salts, Wool Items, Soaps, Moss/Lava Candles, Books, etc to have as your Iceland wedding favors.

12: Icelandic Wedding Cake

Did you know there is a super cool Icelandic tradition that goes with the Kransakaka (Iceland wedding cake)?

13: Napkin Rings

14: Special Glasses that are themed

15: Chandeliers

Add a easy elegance to your Iceland wedding reception decor.  Can be fancy or rustic!

16: Craft Your Own Personal Sign

What a lovely way to add a bit of your personalities into your Iceland wedding reception!  Hanging a fun sign like “The Adventure Begins,” “Adventure Together,” or even simply “Just Married” is a fun reminder of why everyone came to Iceland in the first place!

17: Chair Covers

18: Embrace the local Nature into your Design Plan

Could be including items like… Driftwood, Moss (dried like the below, do not take live), Basalt Rocks, Wool, Reindeer Furs, etc (Special Note: Please talk to landowners before you even THINK about going scavenging).

19: Chair Signs

20: Add in your Adventures Together!

Have you visited a ton of places together or have a dream to adventure together to a long list of places?!  Then incorporate those dreamy locales into your Iceland wedding reception centerpiece decor!  Guests appreciate (and often “wow-ed” by) that personal touch!

21: Rent your Iceland Wedding Reception Décor from Iceland Wedding Planner!

It’s not easy to haul an entire suitcase(s) full of wedding planning decor to Iceland (remember, I’ve been there done that almost a decade ago!)!   That said, we encourage you to take a look at the Rental section of our website and inquire about the availability of an item(s) you love.

© 2017, Iceland Wedding Planner /  Photos by Miss Ann, All Rights Reserved.

The post 21 Practical Decorating Ideas to Enhance Your Iceland Wedding Reception appeared first on Iceland Wedding Planner.

A little over six years ago, Derek did just that with Abbie.  They bonded quickly over their combined love of being outside, experiencing nature, learning about different cultures, international travel, and being foodies.  Fast forward to Christmas time in NYC and add in a huge beautifully decorated tree, windows that overlook Central Park, champagne, and strawberries and you get the sweetest marriage proposal!  Abbie of course said “YES” and thus planning an adventurous elopement began!

Abbie and Derek were called to Iceland for a whimsical elopement because of the dynamic landscape and to quench their thirst for epic travel experiences.  They yearned for an adventure wedding day that was laid back, offbeat, secluded, intimate, and most importantly PRIVATE.  They came to the right place when they came to us here at Iceland Wedding Planner!  They were married on August 5th in the heart of the Icelandic summer and throughout all of their locations (minus the quick stop at Reynisfjara) they saw zero people!  How special, personal, and memorable is that?!

I’m super excited to share with you, today, these fabulous images from their adventurous elopement in Iceland!  Enjoy   Also if you get a sec, go checkout their Iceland wedding being featured on the Wedding Wire blog!

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

THIS Iceland wedding dress was fabulously not traditional and I LOVED IT!  Abbie also took our Iceland wedding shoe advice and came fully equipped with 2 sets of perfect shoes!

Abbie’s Iceland wedding bouquet is also on my top 5 list for this year!  The perfect romantic combination!

So when you said you wanted to get married in Iceland at a private waterfall… You had THIS in mind, right??!! #dreamcometrue

You know there is a green here in Iceland that exsists nowhere else?

The textures and tones in the caves here in Iceland are unbeatable!

There are endless amounts of super green canyons here in Iceland and we find the greenest and the sweetest!

As most of you hopefully know by now, it may rain on your Iceland wedding day, but don’t worry we still make it super fun!  Derek and Abbie just grabbed our awesome clear umbrellas and played in the rain!

True to the  unpredictably of Icelandic weather… The rain stopped as quick as it started!

Abbie + Derek ended their beautiful elopement in Iceland with a dreamy styled wedding reception for two!

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

The post Incredible Iceland Elopement of Abbie + Derek appeared first on Iceland Wedding Planner.

There comes a point in your wedding planning where you hit a roadblock.  Whether it is with finding the right vendors or trying to get detail/design inspiration, either way it can be very frustrating.  But don’t fret!  At any point in time if you get overwhelmed, you can consult with a professional wedding planner like us who can help you unblock!  If you’re planning a crazy awesome destination wedding in Iceland at Seljalandsfoss, Vik Beach, or the stunning Faroe Islands, please contact us to see how we can help you make your day flawless.

Your wedding details are the little snippets that warm your guest’s heart, blow them away, really enhance the overall vibe and experience for all involved.  And they especially make your Iceland wedding portraits unlike anyone else’s!  Even if you are on a budget there are ways to make high-end niceties that go that extra mile.  It may be as simple as finding or creating an awesome template, buying fun metallic paper and printing yourself (DIY Iceland wedding details, ta-da!).  In our styled photo session we present to you this week, we combined some easy-to-do affordable details that can really make your Iceland wedding a show-stopper.

• Freeze Dried Petals!  …for your Iceland wedding ceremony aisle way, ceremony chairs, as décor for your reception, for playful wedding photos, or to have your guests throw in celebration of your newly wedded bliss.  One of our favorite vendors, Flyboy Naturals is the #1 company for destination wedding rose petals.  Mainly because their customer service and attention to detail is first-class.  But, the selection, the variety of colors, types of flower blends, prices, and the fact that they are 100% eco-friendly makes them unbeatable in the wedding industry.

As an Iceland wedding planner, I exclusively use their freeze dried rose petals for destination weddings because of the endless benefits.  For one, you can order 1-cup samples in every color they offer.  That way, you can trial ahead of time to ensure your color combinations go along with your design vision- my destination brides really love this feature!  Personally, I know because I have been in your shoes and planned my own Iceland destination wedding.  We held our wedding at Seljalandsfoss waterfall in April 2012, and I ordered at least 10 different samples trying to find that exact shades of pink I needed <bridezilla crisis aborted, lol>.

Second, they ship to Iceland and other obscure wedding locations- believe me not all industry vendors will (Note: You will need to pay import duties).  The really good news… Flyboy will also save your wedding budget.  Real life example: I was quoted over $2,000 USD for rose petals by an Iceland florist for 500 cups of petals (~30,000 petals) and they could not even guarantee me a shade of pink (only white petals).  But by ordering from Flyboy Naturals, I not only previewed my shades of pink but I happily saved $1,000 in my wedding budget (Hello more Bali honeymoon adventures!).  See how our Iceland wedding ceremony aisle way looked, here (we used Kara’s Blend).

Third, their petals are extremely vibrant, fragrant, and are light weight (regular rose petals are very dense in comparison) which create some super cute photo opportunities!  Finally, Jami Brown and the awesome team at Flyboy Naturals, care.  They care about you, your special event, and the colorful role their freeze dried petals will play in your Iceland destination wedding photos.

• End of Aisle Tie: This is one of my favorite details many brides planning forget!  Having a flower tie, a “love sign,” or simplistic ribbon tie closing the end of your ceremony aisle adds a very elegant detail and also adds to the anticipation of the bride’s arrival.  The bonus: It looks amazing in setup/detail photos and also keeps your petal walkway 100% intact!  Initially, you may think it is a inconvenience to your guests having to enter their seats from the outside but for a wedding less than 80 people it really isn’t.  We used 2 colored ribbons to tie the end of our aisle, see our ceremony Seljalandsfoss wedding ceremony here.

• Chair Sashes:  These add a striking splash of color to your outdoor ceremony or Iceland wedding reception setup.  Even if you do not want to have for every chair, at least have for the last row and the row of honor (parents), it will make a giant aesthetic difference in most cases!  In our photo examples below, we used coral for our Iceland wedding ceremony and reception chair mock up.  Another affordable suggestion for you to add to your Iceland reception decor would be to have Mr. & Mrs. (or Bride & Groom) signs on your chairs.  Our Amazon Storefront sells all sorts of unique ones from banner ties to antique styled, super neat to have for your reception candid photographs!  See one of my favorite examples of this DIY Iceland detail from a stunning October wedding I photographed, here.

• Umbrellas: If you are holding your ceremony outside or are planning your Iceland wedding at Seljalandsfoss or Skogafoss waterfalls, I highly suggest you provide umbrellas for your guests, just in case!  You can easily put them into your guests welcome bags or place one on each chair at the ceremony.  Real life example: For our wedding at Seljalandsfoss, we had purchased black umbrellas, tied a pretty fuchsia and silver ribbon on it with a metallic card that said, “In Case You Encounter April Showers!” Super cute, right?  That additional detail is still something our guests talk about.

• Rosette Table Cloths: As Iceland destination wedding photographers, we love seeing and photographing lots of different textures at weddings from rosette accents to earthy burlap table runners.  It adds a unique depth to your table designs and really adds a gorgeous touch of elegance.  In our Iceland inspired photo session you can see an example here.

• Satin/Pintuck Napkins:  I love napkins, totally nerdy I know!  I adore matching colors, different textures, and folding them is uber relaxing!  One of my favorite websites that feature different kind of wedding napkin folds is found, here.  For our wedding weekend we had the following: Silver pintuck placemats and white canvas napkins (starch folded as bird of paradise) for our Iceland wedding welcome dinner table design.  Our Iceland wedding reception design featured, brown rosette table runners and matching brown pintuck napkins folded in a downward boat fan held together by engraved “Iceland 2012” luggage tag favors.

• Charger Plate: Having decorative charger plates as part of the table design boosts the first impression your guests will have entering into your reception.  Recall the weddings you have attended, one that has had a buffet station setup and one that you had a plated meal.  Which had a bigger impact on you?  Hands down, you’re probably thinking the overall detail of experience of the latter one left more of an impression for you long term.  Same theory here.  Having charger plates imply there will be many courses to your meal which truly goes with the theme of “Eat, Drink, & Be Married” rather than the “get in line” feeling.

• MENU’s:  This classy little detail is a very easy do-it-yourself trick.  How to create your own wedding menus: I purchased 2 types of paper, rose petal embedded cardstock and metallic cardstock, found my desired templates, mocked up course driven menus and printed 2 per sheet (5×7 finished size) and voila, DIY Iceland wedding menus!  If you’re not having a charger plate for your reception tables this might be a nice alternative as it can easily add a splash of color and sophistication to the detail of your tables.

• Rose Favors:  Having rose favors is a fabulous alternative if you are considering opting out of providing traditional favors for your Iceland destination wedding.  A very pretty alternative could be a mini flower in the center of your menu/charger plate.  It adds a dreamy softness to your reception tables especially when you incorporate your wedding colors in the ribbon tie or flower colors.

• DIY Iceland Wedding Flowers:  Your wedding bouquet is important to your Iceland wedding portraits.  In a country where much of the terrain is barren for most of the year, your wedding bouquet and boutonniere will add a very fun splash of color and amplify your wedding day attire.  I always suggest colored flowers because you never know if it will rain, snow, be foggy, or abundant sunny on your wedding day in Iceland (Famous saying in Iceland, is to wait 15 minutes for new weather to roll in off the coast).  I think we had all of those elements during our April wedding day at Seljalandsfoss, champagne toast at Vik Beach, and Iceland wedding portraits at Skogafoss waterfall.  I will say, also that my fresh flower fushia bridal bouquet was stunning against every scene even to the end of our Hella, Iceland wedding reception at Hotel Ranga.  For this styled photo shoot, we DIY our Iceland wedding bouquets and centerpieces.  Out of this entire Iceland inspired shoot this by far was my fave to do as prep.  I love playing with roses!  I used ~100 roses total (2 shades of peach, ivory, and dark orange), 1 bunch of greens, rhinestone floral picks, silver and peach ribbon to create the following: 1 bridal bouquet, 1 bridesmaid bouquet, 2 round centerpieces, 2 vased centerpieces, and 6 flower favors.  If you have the time and patience, it is quite fun to create your own Iceland wedding flowers.  We had a great bridal bouquet post a few weeks ago that may help you determine what kind may be perfect for you, here.

• Cupcake Banners: One of my super fun 2014 bride and grooms said it best when I asked them “what is most important” to them in their Iceland wedding planning: They “wanted their guests to Eat, Drink, and be Merry” in an amazing locale.  <3 On that note, I thought how fun would it be to include cupcake banners that express just that, as a DIY Iceland wedding detail.  Although the cupcakes scream delicious butter-cream beauty, the banners also add a whimsical element that will make your guests giggle.  The cupcake wedding banners how to is as simple as typing up some playful wedding terms, printing on metallic paper, gathering up toothpicks, a glue stick, fancy scissors, and assembling!

Putting your own hallmark on your wedding day details is a fantastic way to make your wedding memorable to all involved.  Whether you choose to do that by selecting a unique wedding location in Iceland, DIY particulars, or combine some of your favorite things you have seen through the years- do it, make those details forever yours!  After all, you only get to find and marry your soul mate once!  We hope the post today on our Iceland wedding styled session details finds a way to unblock your creative planning juices.  If not, the photographs below are sure to stir up some awesome ideas for your own Iceland destination wedding!  Also see this fabulous styled shoot published on Storyboard Weddings Blog here.

Lots of planning smiles to you, Ann Peters

Iceland Wedding Planning & Iceland Wedding Photography

About Us:  We have over 10 years of destination wedding photography and planning experience.  We are very detailed, adventurous, have a passion for Iceland and wedding photography in the unmatchable terrain.  In April 2012, we were married in Iceland at Seljalandsfoss waterfall, had wedding day stops at Vik Beach for a champagne toast, rainbows at Skogafoss, and Hotel Ranga in Hella Iceland.  Truly, we know first hand how epic of a country Iceland is and how special it is for you to plan your wedding in Iceland!  So whether you are planning an Iceland destination wedding for 10 guests or 100, we can help you plan every stage, very detail, and then photograph your amazing wedding weekend in Iceland, forever pausing that time for you!

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

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Kudos to our awesome vendors who participated in this Iceland wedding styled session!  Please spend some time checking them out!

• Rose Petals:  Flyboy Naturals – Provided the stunning freeze dried rose petals in 2 colors (Romantic Rendezvous and Living Easy).
• Bridal Bouquets & Centerpieces: PBMA Rose Boutique (Look familiar?  Yes, this is us too!  We love everything about weddings!).  The peach/orange bouquets and centerpieces were inspired by one of our 2014 Iceland couples.
• Event Design & Setup: Iceland Wedding Planner
• Photography: Photos by Miss Ann (Ann Peters)
• Chairs & Linens:  Your Event Party Rental of Plymouth, Michigan
• Hair: Donald Steven’s Salon
• Makeup: Brittany Lambert
• Model: Jacqueline Ann
• Cupcakes: Perfect Desserts in Novi, Michigan
• “Love” Sign: Expressions in Design, check out her super cute Amazon Shop

The post Iceland Wedding Styled Session appeared first on Iceland Wedding Planner.