I hope this finds you well and super excited for the day!  Every quarter we like to share with you where you can delight in our work online or in magazines!  So whether it is for our Iceland Wedding Planning or for the wedding photography side of our business, Photos by Miss Ann we happily share our work with you today.  So please feel free to check out the below links and leave these awesome editors some love too…

• Fab You Bliss (Iceland Wedding – May 2014)
• Denim & Grace Magazine (May 2014 Print Issue)
• Love + Wander  (Belle Isle Engagement Session April 2014)
• Borrowed & Blue (Ann Arbor Wedding – May 2014)
• The Frosted Petticoat (May 2014)
• Beauty & Lifestyle Bride  (Bali Honeymoon April 2014)
• Beloved Darling (April 2014)
• KnotsVilla (Fall Wedding – April 2014)
• Home Confetti (April 2014)
• On the Go Bride (Pre-Wedding Session March 2014)
• Trendy Bride (February 2014)

Stay tuned next week for an Iceland wedding post on one of our favorite areas to marry in Iceland…

With a smile, Ann & Chris

The post Iceland Destination Wedding Photographer Published appeared first on Iceland Wedding Planner.

Today being Monday, April 14^th 2014, we very happily celebrate our 2 year wedding anniversary! Thank you for being a part of our journey and adventure as a husband and wife Iceland wedding photography and planning team. It’s been a really thrilling undertaking for us!

Chris and I are continuing with our anniversary tradition (as you read here on our 1^st Iceland wedding anniversary) by popping a bottle of bubbles tonight and writing each other a love letter. In case you missed it, the intention is to place the notes in our Love Letter Ceremony box originally from our Seljalandsfoss Iceland wedding. Not to be read until our 25^th wedding anniversary celebration (in 2037). So much suspense –now only 23 more years to wait!

It has also been a tradition on our anniversary for me to put my Iceland wedding dress back on to make sure it still zips, fits, and while doing so it somehow centers me back to that sensational time in our lives. (By the way, I totally snatched this fab idea from my super awesome MIL who has been doing this herself for the last 34 years!).   …and I am happy to report today that I didn’t have to wiggle in, it was actually loose! It’s a tight trumpet style satin wedding dress. So ladies knowing that; you can appreciate my enthusiasm about it having slack 2 years later right?

Several weeks ago, we embarked on a trip to photograph our Iceland wedding anniversary photos at a few of our beloved spots in Southern Iceland. Those Iceland wedding locations included:

• Jökulsárlón Glacier Lagoon (Iceland’s Iceberg Bay).
• Reynisfjara Beach (Iceland black sand beach that has basalt columns protruding from the sea, a beautiful cave, and is often mistaken for Vik Beach)
• Dyrholaey Cliffs (Amazing arch rock, lighthouse, epic 360 views, and inspiring cliffs)
• The stunning barely visited Fjadrargljufur Canyon (Love! It totally feels like you have just discovered this stunning canyon by yourself for the first time, ever).

Although my original Iceland wedding dress did not make the trip back for this year’s wedding anniversary photo shoot, I did bring another exquisite long sleeve lace dress in ivory that was handcrafted by one of my favorite UK dress designers, Baylis and Knight. The Baylis and Knight team offers gorgeous custom dresses with a totally personalized experience. Their designs would be brilliant to wear for your destination wedding day in Iceland. They could be worn also as a wedding reception dress, or for your Iceland pre-wedding photo session.

As a side note to my ladies who love glam… a pair of my treasured beige Badgley Mischka’s and vintage hairpiece made it to Jökulsárlón Glacial Lagoon. Although I will say, stilettoes and the glacial lagoon rocky terrain didn’t go easily together! But, Chris and I had been hoping to have formal portraits there since before our 2012 April Iceland destination wedding and it was soo worth it!

Chris wore his brown suit he had custom made while we were on our Honeymoon in Bali Indonesia. Swoon! I am always in awe of that man when he is in a suit, he looks so debonair! To make it even more special, one of our Iceland florists even made us a sweet little Iceland wedding bouquet for our couple’s portraits we had planned at sunrise at the lagoon. Even though it was winter in Iceland and many of our days were rainy or snowy filled, the weather cooperated during our portrait session times.

So all that being said, we hope you have fun looking through our wedding anniversary portraits in Iceland, and find yourself inspired for your own Iceland wedding or elopement!  If you’re interested in having us plan and photograph your Iceland wedding or elopement, please head over to our contact page.  Thanks!

With a smile, Ann & Chris Peters (Husband and Wife Iceland Wedding Planner & Photographer)

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

The post Iceland Wedding Anniversary at Jökulsárlón Glacier Lagoon appeared first on Iceland Wedding Planner.

With wedding season in full swing, we are in photography heaven with our bride and grooms so far this year.  They have chosen stunning dresses, DIY details, and been really amazing to work with.  Especially Photos by Miss Ann‘s most recent couple who was willing to take an adventurous walk to get to a pretty weeping willow tree!  Check out the striking Plymouth, Michigan wedding portraits of Traci and Jimmy Meyers below and may her DIY wedding details inspire you to have sparkly niceties of your own!

Our destination wedding in Iceland topic of the week is all about your reception music options.  Iceland has disc jockeys (dj’s) to be the MC of your event, many Iceland hotels also offer a speaker system throughout their banquet rooms that you can plug an IPOD into, there are a few Icelandic bands also available for booking.  But, my challenge to you is… Think about the wedding receptions you have been to throughout the years, did you love or hate the music?  Annoyed by the DJ?  Were you greeted with bellowing Frank Sintra songs? Songs about love and marriage? Disney themed songs?  An earthy harpist? Orchestra music?  A poppy band?  Celebrity impersonators?

A couple questions you need to ask yourselves as you consider what kind of music you would like to have played during your Iceland wedding reception:

1. What kind of music do you and your fiancé love?  Genres, vibe, tone, lyrics, etc.
2. What kind of music is enjoyable to your VIP’s (parents, bridal party, family, etc) and guests?
3. Do you want to have formal dances?  If so, you may want break the music into sections to build the energy of the event.  Example: Cocktail Hour, During Dinner, Formal Dances, and Fun/Dance Songs.
4. Are there songs on your “do not play” list?  This piece is important if hiring an Icelandic DJ for your wedding day.
5. Is there a speaker system at your Iceland wedding host hotel?  Can you plug an IPOD into the sound system?  <This is a wonderful Iceland wedding cost savings if you can. Which means you can allocate more to your Iceland wedding photography fund, woohoo!>
6. Who will you designate to run (or check in on) the wedding IPOD playlist during the event?  They will also need to be the person who ends up with the IPOD at the end of the night (if you and your hubby leave the reception early).

When planning for our destination wedding in Iceland reception music at Hotel Ranga we took a bit of an old school approach.  We wanted a formal event that still had fun laid back elements to it.  We’re not big “dancing fools” so we wanted to have some older genre easy-listening songs that would make people smile, reminisce, and laugh to.  The music would be more background music to us than anything else because our reception was focused on the 5 courses, conversation, the location, and our newly wedded bliss =)  Without further delay, here is our inclusive list of our Hotel Ranga wedding reception playlist we played from our IPOD:

Iceland Wedding Cocktail Hour Music:

“Can’t Smile Without You” by Barry Manilow

“Strangers in the Night” by Frank Sinatra

“When I Fall in Love” by Nat King Cole

“You are so Beautiful to Me” by Joe Crocker

“When a Man Loves a Woman” by Percy Sledge

“Georgia on my Mind” by Ray Charles

“What the World Needs Now is Love” by Jackie Deshannon

Hotel Ranga Wedding 5 Course Dinner Music Playlist:

“Chasing Cars” by Snow Patrol

“Lost in Love” by Air Supply

“You Light up my Life” by Debby Boone

“Blue Eyes” by Elton John

“Can’t Help Falling in Love” by Elivs Presley

“After All” by Cher & Peter Cetra

“Whenever I Call You Friend” by Kenny Loggins & Stevie Nicks

“That’s What Love is For” by Amy Grant

“True Colors” by Cyndi Lauper

“My Love” by Lionel Richie

“September Morn” by Neil Diamond

“Nothing Compares 2 U” by Sinead O’Connor

“She Believes in Me” by Kenny Rogers

“Oh Girl” by Paul Young

“Lady” by Little River Band

“Love of a Lifetime” by Firehouse

“Something” by The Beatles

“The Lady in Red” by Chris Deburgh

“You Got it All” by The Jets

“Hey Jude” by The Beatles

“Right Here Waiting” by Richard Marx

“Eternal Flame” by The Bangles

“Hungry Eyes” by Eric Carmen

“Crazy for You” by Madonna

“Unchained Melody” by The Righteous Brothers

Even though we were not participating in anything traditional during our 5 course wedding reception in Iceland, we felt it was important to share 3 special dances of honor in front of all we love and adore.  Our first dance was together as husband and wife, the second was shared between Christopher and his mother Donna, and the third was shared between myself and my mother, Irene.  All were super special and I am thankful we honored our parents.  Here are the song choices we picked for our Iceland wedding dances at Hotel Ranga:

Iceland Wedding Formal Dances:

Chris and Ann’s 1^st Dance Choice:  “Don’t Know Much” by Linda Ronstadt & Aaron Neville

Chris & His Mother’s Dance Choice: “A Song For My Son” by Mikki Viereck

Ann & Her Mother’s Dance Choice: “Anyám Lánya” by Agi Szaloki (Yes, we have very strong Hungarian roots!)

After Dinner Music for Our Iceland Wedding Reception at Hotel Ranga:

“Slow Dancin’” by Johnny Rivers

“Addicted to Love” by Robert Palmer

“Billie Jean” by Michael Jackson

“All She Wants to do is Dance” by Don Henley

“Take Me Home Tonight” by Eddie Money

“Power of Love” by Huey Lewis & The News

“Old Time Rock & Roll” by Bob Seger

“White Wedding” by Billy Idol

“Pink Cadillac” by Bruce Springsteen

“Wonderful Tonight” by Eric Clapton

“The One” by Elton John

“Thank the Lord for the Night” by Neil Diamond

“Good Vibrations” by The Beach Boys

“Young Americans” by David Bowie

“We’ve Got Tonight” by Bob Seger

“The Finer Things” by Steve Winwood

“Stuck on You” by Lionel Richie

“Take Me Out” by Franz Ferdinand

“Midnight Show” by The Killers

“Stars and Boulevards” by Augustana

“New Year’s Day” by U2

“You Need Me” by Anne Murray

“Save the Best for Last” by Vanessa Williams

“Tonight Tonight” by the Smashing Pumpkins

“Rock Me Amadeus” by Falco 3

“Sharp Dressed Man” by ZZ Top

“The Longest Time” by Billy Joel

“Counting Cars” by Dishwalla

“Wonderwall” by Oasis

“Beautiful Day” by U2

“Shout by Tears” for Fears

“Heros” by the Wallflowers

A couple of you lovelies have also inquired and asked what our playlist was also for our Iceland wedding welcome dinner (or some call it our Iceland Wedding Rehearsal Dinner).  I would love to share that Iceland wedding weekend playlist with you too!  Our wedding welcome dinner was held at Hotel Ranga from 7-11pm.  We had a cocktail hour, 3 course meal for our guests, had a “welcome” and “thank you” toast, celebrated our best man’s 29th birthday and also handed out our Iceland destination wedding welcome bags to each couple/person.

Our IPOD Playlist for our Iceland Wedding Welcome Dinner at Hotel Ranga (Hella, Iceland):

“Get Closer” by Seals & Crofts

“Close to You” by the Carpenters

“Nobody Does it Better” by Carly Simon

“Lonely People” by America

“Everything I Own” by Bread

“Don’t Make My Brown Eyes Blue” by Crystal Gayle

“Fire and Rain” by James Taylor

“I’ll Have to Say I Love You in a Song” by Jim Croce

“Midnight Blue” by Melissa Manches

“Silly Love Songs” by Paul McCartney

“Your Love has Lifted Me Higher” by Rita Coolidge

“I Got You Babe” by Sonny & Cher

“In My Life” by The Beatles

“Sailing” by Christopher Cross

“More than Words” by Extreme

“Angel” by Jon Secada

“You Make it Real” by James Morrison

“All I Want is You” by Barry Louis Polisar

“Oh My Love” by John Lennon

“Morning has Broken” by Cat Stevens

“Mad About You” by Belinda Carlisle

“Bette Davis Eyes” by Kim Carnes

“The Next Time I Fall” by Peter Cetera & Amy Grant

“Endless Summer Nights” by Richard Marx

“Stay” by Lisa Loeb

“Just You and Me” by Zee Avi

“Sweet Pea” by Amos Lee

“The Luckiest” by Ben Folds

“Dearest” by Buddy Holly

“Truly” by Lionel Richie

“Straight from the Heart” by Bryan Adams

“Making Love out of Nothing” by Air Supply

“Time After Time” by Cyndi Lauper

“Maybe I’m Amazed” by Paul McCartney

“To Be With You” by Mr. Big

“Do You Remember” by Jack Johnson

“Everything” by Michael Buble

“You and I Both” by Jason Mraz

“This Will Be Our Year” by The Zombies

“Little Shadow” by Yeah Yeah Yeahs

“12 Sea of Love” by Phil Phillips

“Love Never Fails” by Brandon Heath

“Making Memories” of Us by Keith Urban

“I Go Crazy” by Paul Davis

“Can’t Take My Eyes of You” by Frankie Valli

“Bless the Broken Road” by Rascal Flatts

“Fallin’ In Love” by Hamilton, Joe Frank & Reynolds

“You Decorated My Life” by Kenny Rogers

“Linger” by The Cranberries

“You Gotta Love Someone” by Elton John

“She’s Like the Wind” by Patrick Swayze

“Perfect Girl” by Sarah McLachian

“Only Time” by Enya

“Masterpiece” by Atlantic Starr

Phew, that’s a lot of songs!  Hopefully you’ll find yourself grabbing a few of these songs (or from our previous post Iceland Ceremony Music Ideas) to create your own amazing Iceland destination wedding reception music or Iceland wedding IPOD playlist!  I know all of these little details may be overwhelming especially making it all happen in Iceland, but that is exactly why we are here to help you smooth out those overwhelming bumps!  Please contact us at any point to help you plan and also be your awesome photographers for your unforgettable destination wedding in Iceland!

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 Iceland Destination Wedding Reception Music Ideas 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.

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.

Having over 10 years in the destination wedding industry under my belt one thing I can always count on is… that no matter how much you plan for what the “what if” scenarios there will be something that happens on your wedding day that you did not prepare for.  Some things being within your control and others not. Having your destination wedding in the country like Iceland, where there is not a big box store like Wallyworld or a pharmacy accessible or nearby your hotel you will need to make sure you have a very thorough emergency kit.

Situation: You wake up at your hotel, it’s your wedding morning and you or your soon to be husband have forgotten one of your toiletries you usually use in your getting ready routine and the nearest convenient store is over 40 minutes one way and doesn’t open until 10am.  You’re leaving for your Seljalandsfoss wedding ceremony in less than 1.5 hours.  It is just not possible for you  or someone else to make the drive, get ready, and get back in time for the day’s events.  The store also may not have your creature comforts you are use to, so having a bride and groom emergency kit will allow the day of panic level to go down amongst yourselves and your guests.

A couple of examples of where these bridal survival kits would have come in handy (I have personally encountered these examples throughout the years):

• The maid of honor’s heel breaks.  (Iceland Wedding Planner saves the day with super glue and alternative cute shoe option as viable backup).
• The groom steps on brides train and it rips out the button (I know as an Iceland photographer, I have taken the time to sew it back up for the bride to ensure the rest of the day is flawless).
• The MOTB or MOTG’s bra strap keeps showing (A few minutes spent pinning or a few stitches will solve this quickly).
• Example from my Iceland Wedding Day: Even as a super planner who has seen and done it all I somehow had 3 mishaps happen during my Iceland wedding day I had to navigate through: 1.) I forgot my engagement ring back at the hotel; 2.) I had asked for black chiavari chairs at the ceremony site and sadly the ceremony setup was with white plastic garden chairs. 3.) Our hired in destination photographers from Toronto, Ontario were MIA several times (the day before and then again during the reception) when we needed to speak with them. I had to go the extreme of writing a note to post on their hotel door and asking the front desk to find them for me. Two of the above items, I had no control over and one my wedding day emergency kit instantly solved.  The items you have no control over you need do what you can in the moment, take a deep breath, and find a substitute is possible, and if not deal with the situation after your beautiful day is complete.

Iceland is a awe-inspiring place and that is mainly because it is not over populated with convenient stores or shopping malls.  The natives are simple people and do not require the intricate must haves as most of us have on our must have getting ready list so chances are their stores are not going to carry the items you are in need of.  Mishaps aside, there are things that you can do to prepare for these what if scenarios before your wedding in Iceland.  To combat any potential problems the day of with yourself or your guests so here is a super awesome list of crucial wedding day items that no bride, groom, or bridal party should be without!

Put together a Bridal Emergency Kit consisting of the following:

• Extra Wedding Vows
• Sewing Kit (includes pins, scissors,  thread, and needles)
• Clear Nail Polish
• Nail File
• Hairspray
• Mirror
• Shine Blotting Sheets
• Stay-Matte Pressed Powder to touch up shine
• Pain Reliever
• Static Guard Spray
• Clinique Touch Base for Eyes
• Brush/Comb
• Tissues
• Lint Brush
• Earring Backs
• Nail Polish Remover
• Baby Powder (for last minute spills on your dress)
• Shout Wipes or Tide to Go Pen
• Eye Drops
• Acid Relief
• Smelling Salts
• Tampons and Pads
• Band-Aids
• Headache medicine
• Large Scissors
• Krazy or Super Glue
• Sunscreen (if it’s an outdoor wedding)
• Bobby Pins
• First Aid Kit
• Safety Pins
• Toothbrush and Toothpaste
• Chalk
• Dental Floss or Toothpicks
• Hem Tape
• Scotch Tape
• Straws
• Tweezers
• Extra lipstick or gloss
• Matches
• Trail mix
• Hollywood Tape (or double sided tape)
• Deodorant scrub off brush
• Breath Mint
• Notepad and Pencil
• Flash Drive for any important speakers, timeline flow, to transfer of files, etc.
• Write your soon to be a day of note!

Put together a Groom Emergency Kit consisting of the following:

• Black Socks (2 pairs)
• Extra Wedding Vows
• Extra Wedding Rings
• Safety Pins
• Travel sewing kit
• Razor and travel shaving cream
• Band-Aids
• Hand sanitizer
• Shout Stain Remover
• File
• Nail clipper
• Brush/Comb
• Toothbrush & Toothpaste
• Breath mints
• Cologne
•  Extra buttons and cuff links
• Lint Brush
• Antacid
• Pain Reliever
• Deodorant
• Eye drops
• Granola Bar &Water
• $20 of your own currency and $20 of whatever your destination wedding country currency is.
• Write your soon to be a day of note!

Planning a destination wedding is no easy feat in any location.  But planning a destination wedding in Iceland creates even more unknowns especially if you have never been to Iceland.  If you are planning your wedding by yourself, before your wedding day, you can plan for every possible situation that could arise but that takes time and endless hours of research and you still may encounter a flaw.  Which is exactly why you hire a professional to create plan A, plan B, plan C scenarios in case something detours from the original plan.

Hiring experienced professionals that are not only familiar with the country, have relationships with the local vendors, the terrain, the food, and the types of available lodging allows you to relax!  At Photos by Miss Ann, we present decision options for you and your soon to be to decide on and in turn you can RELAX!  Our Iceland wedding planning and photography team also carry with us elaborate emergency kits similar to the above so we can troubleshoot any possible issues that may arise during your wedding weekend/weekend adventures so trust that you will have a flawlessly beautiful day if you hire us!

Keep Smiling, Ann Peters

Your experts in Iceland Wedding Planning and Iceland Wedding Photography, please contact us for more information!

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

The post Destination Wedding in Iceland: Wedding Day Emergency Kit appeared first on Iceland Wedding Planner.

We are thinking spring over here at Photos by Miss Ann already!  …which also means the influx of fabulous couples planning to have their wedding in Iceland is on the rise and we are really excited to be a part of this process!  One of our wonderful Iceland brides this last week inspired us to mock up some centerpiece ideas (yes, Iceland Wedding Planner can create flower arrangements too!).  So a little sneak peak of some Iceland wedding flower photos follow below… enjoy!

** Please Note: We no longer plan or photograph at the main stream locations we talk about below. We would rather take you on an adventure away from typical tourist locations via super jeep or helicopter for you Iceland Wedding Day or  intimate Iceland Elopement!  Please contact us for more details! **

Back to today’s topic- The best time to have your wedding or elopement in Iceland:

Hooray for you!  So you have chosen Iceland as your marvelous destination wedding locale and are now trying to pick your wedding date.  Your biggest question right now is when is the best time to marry in Iceland, right?  Well you have come to the right place!  As Iceland event planners and Iceland wedding photographers, we specialize in educating you to make the right choice for the type of wedding adventure you’d like to have.  There are pros and cons to planning a wedding in every season in Iceland so today’s blog post is going to help you find out so you may make the best choice as you Iceland wedding plan!

So let’s explore month by month and season and by season!

January:  Our Iceland Wedding Planner team does not plan or photograph weddings or elopements during this month.  For us, there is not enough daylight hours and the weather is too brutal.  It’s very likely the main road closes as well so ensuring our staff can travel to/from your fabulous day can be too challenging.  Our Your Adventure Wedding team is based in South America during this month planning and photographing adventure weddings and elopements in Patagonia.

Holding your wedding in January in Iceland you will find the hours of daylight fluctuate.  The beginning of the month you have about 4 hours and 20 minutes of daylight and by the end of the month you have up to 5 hours of daylight.  The average sunrise time in Iceland: 11am and sunset time in Iceland in January is 4:20pm.  Average temperatures are 35ºF / 27ºF.

Best Iceland wedding locations during this time indoors would be a country church or a Iceland cave wedding.  Make sure you can handle the possibility of walking down the aisle in snow, crazy winds, and extreme rains as this is the reality of a wedding in January in Iceland.  Special Note: The coastline of Vik Beach (Reynisfjara) can be dangerous during this time (10 foot waves or higher crash into the cave).  January also has the second highest rainfall at an average of 3.40 inches.  But the fun part is that you could easily experience all 4 seasons in one day plus the Aurora Borealis, pro or con, you decide!

February:  Oh la la February in Iceland!  It can be hit or miss with snow, but likely (and hopefully) SNOW!  This is also prime time to have an Ice Cave Elopement in Iceland!  February weddings in Iceland offer average temperatures of 37ºF / 29ºF and anywhere between 7-10 hours of daylight.  The average sunrise time in Iceland in February: 9:20am and sunset time in Iceland: 6pm in February.  Rainfall during this time averages to 2.90 inches (so it can be hit or miss with rain versus snow conditions).

During this time some possible Iceland ceremony locations could be one of the wonderful host hotels we work with or one of the gorgeous country churches if needed indoor options.  If you can brave the gorgeous outdoors and colder temps then one of our private ice caves, waterfalls, canyons, or natural caves could shield you nicely from the elements!  February is also a time in Iceland where the Northern Lights could be in full display.

March: March is still considered winter in Iceland but this is typically the time where Southern Iceland is lessening the snow fall and having more rain each day.  The Average sunrise in March is 7:46am and sunset is 7:39pm.  Iceland in March offers up  37ºF high and 29ºF as a low with rainfall being an average of 3 inches.  Having your wedding at the majestic Seljalandsfoss Waterfall, Skogafoss Waterfall, Blue Lagoon, or Jökulsárlón Glacial Lagoon is totally doable during this time.  But if you’d rather hold your Iceland destination wedding inside at a Icelandic church or one of our stunning host hotels would all be perfect options.  Even if you choose an indoor location hopefully the Iceland wedding photographer you choose will still photograph your Iceland wedding portraits at those amazing outdoor locations (I know Photos by Miss Ann would as we have no silly rules on consecutive time limits for your wedding day)!

April: Welcome to Spring in Iceland!  The sun shines more and there is still a chance to see the splendid Northern Lights.  The average sunrise and sunset in Iceland in April is 5:56am / 9:02pm with fabulous temperatures of 41ºF high and 33ºF as a low with rainfall being an average of 2.20 inches.  All of the gorgeous waterfalls, lagoons, mud pots, canyons, cliffs, and sod farms in Southern Iceland are all viable options to hold your wedding ceremony.  My husband and I held our Iceland wedding ceremony at Seljalandsfoss waterfall, led our guests to Vik Beach for a wedding champagne toast, a pit stop to the awesome Vik Beach, Icelandic Wool Factory, Skogafoss Waterfall, and back to our host hotel for a 5-course Icelandic wedding reception dinner.  We personally felt April offered us the most adventure in daylight time, least amount of tourists, a possibility to see the Northern Lights, and endless activities from ice climbing, caving, to scuba diving.

May: May is a really exciting time in Iceland especially for brides and grooms!  All of the roads to the West Fjords and the Northern Highlands are accessible.  So you can easily drive the entire country without a 4-wheel drive vehicle.  Which means all of the gorgeous spots like Lake Mvatyn, Dimmuborgir, Godafoss Waterfall, Skaftafell National Park, and the Thingvellir National Park are available for you to say “I do” at! The average daylight hours in May in Iceland is sunrise at 4:13am and sunset: 10:38pm.  You will most likely encounter  temperatures like a 47ºF high and 39ºF as a low with rainfall being an average of 1.70 inches.

June: June begins the high tourist season in Iceland and the most amount of daylight.  Average sunrise is 2:57am and sunset 12am in June in Iceland.  You’ll feel temperatures like 52ºF for the high and 44ºF as a low with rainfall being an average of 1.80 inches in June.  The really awesome thing about so many hours of daylight is that you can still do things!  Unlike the United States State Parks, Iceland does not close or gate entrances to their marvelous natural wonders.  So if you wanted to hold your wedding at 8pm at Seljalandsfoss waterfall you can- no questions asked!  No gates, no fees, and no security personnel rushing you off the property.  Too good to be true?  No, Iceland trusts you.  They trust you will not only have a high respect for the people and area but that you will not endanger yourself either.

July: Welcome to Iceland’s Busiest Month.  Daylight time also begins to decrease now, as the average sunrise is 3:41am and sunset: 11:24pm.  The temperatures are the highest they are all year with a dazzling  55ºF high and 47ºF as a low, with monthly rainfall being an average of 2 inches.  So whether or not you are drawn to having an indoor Iceland wedding location or you are an adventurous bride and groom and choose an outdoor Iceland ceremony location, it’s your call as all are available to you.  But do keep in mind this is still considered the high tourist season in Iceland so if you intend to plan a wedding during this month, plan early.  Hotels book up 10 months before and the gorgeous natural spots will have people flocking to them so do not expect a 100% intimate area if planning by yourself.  As Iceland Wedding Planners, we are experts in Iceland destination weddings from finding that gorgeous intimate wedding spot to finalizing all of your wedding day logistics.

August: ::Personal Favorite Month:: August is hands down our best weather month, the greenest, and most accessible!

August is still considered higher tourist season in Iceland.  August weddings in Iceland offer an average sunrise of 5:19am and sunset at 9:45pm.  Summer temperatures continue at a balmy 54ºF high and 46ºF as a low with the rainfall being an average of 2.40 inches.  During this month there are also some very high profile events going on in Reykjavik such as the Iceland Gay Pride festival, Music Festivals, Reykjavik Annual Marathon, and dance festivals.  Booking your Iceland wedding host hotel early is key (think 15-18 months before).  All of Iceland’s gorgeous areas are open from waterfalls, lagoons, and canyons they would all be a perfect choice for your Iceland wedding location.

September: September marks the start of Iceland’s “shoulder season.”  Average sunrise in Iceland in September is 6:51am and sunset 7:53pm.  You’ll experience temperatures like a 49ºF high and 41ºF as a low with rainfall being an average of 3.50 inches.  So if you are getting married in September in Iceland you may want to offer umbrellas (like we did in our welcome bags) to your guests if planning an outdoor wedding at one of Iceland’s waterfalls or other remarkable natural wonders.  As you plan, keep in mind Iceland’s “big round up” happens in early September where the sheep are herded annually, plan and book early!  This is also the time the following events happen in Iceland: Annual Literally Festival, Jazz Festival (could be August too depending on the year), and the Reykjavik International Film Festival.   If you can bundle up and brave the gorgeous outdoor colder temps then Seljalandsfoss waterfall, Skogafoss Waterfall, Hotel Budir or Hotel Laekur’s gorgeous grounds, or the Iceland Glacial Lagoon would be great choices during this time as well.

October: October in Iceland is not exactly like fall in the States if that is what you are looking for… there are not many trees but there is color changes in flowers, mountain bushes, grass color from green to yellow, etc.  The daylight hours significantly begin to become closer to winter hours now with an average sunrise time in 8:15am and sunset: 6:10pm.  The temperatures really drop this month with an average 36ºF for the high and 28ºF as a low with rainfall being an average of 3.30 inches.  In many areas it begins to snow especially the Iceland Highlands and the roads become inaccessible again (and 4 wheel drive needed).  During this time some possible Iceland ceremony locations would be a country church in Iceland or one of the fabulous host hotels we partner with.  If you can brave the gorgeous outdoors and colder temps then Seljalandsfoss waterfall, Skogafoss Waterfall, Vik Beach, Blue Lagoon, southern Iceland canyon, rivers, or the Iceland Glacial Lagoon would be great choices during this time as well.

November:  November weddings in Iceland are officially considered being in winter.  Some possible Iceland ceremony locations would be one of the hotels in the area that we partner with can accommodate larger groups for your indoor ceremony options or one of Iceland’s many country churches.  If you’re feeling adventurous and can brave the gorgeous outdoors and colder temps then Seljalandsfoss Waterfall, Skogafoss Waterfall, one of Iceland’s many glaciers, canyons, rivers or the Iceland Glacial Lagoon would be great choices during this time as well.  You’re looking at an average sunrise time being 10am and sunset in Iceland in September of 4:30pm.  The temperatures are colder so make sure you dress and pack for the conditions of a 34ºF high and 31ºF as a low with rainfall being an average of 3.30 inches.

December:  The holidays in Iceland are simply inspirational.  Although December offers the least amount of daylight, it does offer up the most amount of heart.  The people in Iceland love the holidays and invite tourists to be a part of their awesome festivities.  Exciting events like the following: the lighting of the Oslo Christmas tree happens every year on December 2nd in downtown Reykjavik, Icelandic Yule Lads running around, and a spectacular fireworks display in downtown Reykjavik on New Year’s Eve!  The average sunrise is 11:15am and sunset is 3:30pm.  While you are enjoying all of the holiday lights and events you will have temperatures like a 36ºF high and 28ºF as a low with rainfall being an average of 3.30 inches.  So bring an umbrella and watch for the Northern Lights!

Iceland by Seasons:

Winter: The pros of a winter wedding in Iceland are the Northern Lights!  November-March are typically the most active months for the Aurora Borealis because of the colder clearer temperatures in the high and lowlands of Iceland.  The temperatures are lower but so is the tourist flow which translates into your first choice of wedding locations and stunning Iceland wedding portraits!

Spring:  Iceland Spring weddings are between April-May (considered Iceland’s shoulder season).  This time frame offers up warmer temperatures (a balmy 45ºF!) and typically the least amount of rainfall for the year.  In April you do still have a chance of seeing the Northern Lights too!  My husband and I were married at Seljalandsfoss Waterfall on April 14th 2012 and the Icelandic News called us brave because we had periods of rain, mist, sun, sleet, 45ºF, and somehow ended the day with gorgeously chilly, but clear star gazing night!  Although we did not have the Northern Lights appear on our wedding night, days before we were graced by them in the countryside at Hotel Ranga.  Spring was also a perfect time for everyone to travel since the snow was melting in the States and the heat is too much in the Southern Hemisphere.  We were traveling from Plymouth, Michigan and our 35+ guests from around the world.  We had guests come from all over the United States and as far as Australia, South Korea, and Europe, all for our adventurous destination wedding in Iceland!

Summer:  June-August are the peak tourist season months in Iceland and offer the highest temperatures all year at 55ºF and a low of 47ºF.  The Iceland highlands and interior are also fully accessible during this time and do not require 4 wheel drive.  Many of the arts and cultural festivals are also in full swing.  This is a beautiful time to hold a wedding in Iceland’s West Fjords or Lake Mývatn-Krafla Caldera areas.  But please keep in mind an Iceland Summer wedding can be tricky to plan because of the high volume of visitors.  If interested in this time frame make sure you plan early (at least 10-12 months before to avoid disappointment) to ensure your first pick on wedding location and host hotel for your guests. Although if planning on your own, I would not suggest planning a wedding anywhere on the ring road because although there is “enough room for everyone” you may not get the gorgeously intimate experience as you hope.  As experts in Iceland wedding planning and Iceland wedding photography, Photos by Miss Ann can help you plan your Iceland destination wedding to the level of intimacy you are looking for.  We have the contacts, the insight into the right spots and positioning to create that ambiance.

Fall: Iceland Fall weddings are between September-October (also considered Iceland’s shoulder season).  The temperatures begin to drop and the roads begin to become impassable again and 4 wheel drive is needed.  Iceland ceremony locations would be one of Iceland’s farm or country churches or one of the exceptional host hotels we partner with as indoor options (please contact us for further Iceland wedding planning details!).  Or be daring and brave the outdoors and colder temperatures for the lovely natural wonder locations such as Seljalandsfoss waterfall wedding, Skogafoss Waterfall, Vik Beach, beside one of Iceland’s amazing rivers, canyons, glaciers, the unique Blue Lagoon, or the Iceland Glacial Lagoon for your Iceland wedding ceremony location.

We hope you find this post helpful to you as you embark on your Iceland destination wedding planning experience!  We are a creative, energetic, experienced husband and wife team based in the United States but specialize in Iceland wedding planning and destination wedding photography.  We have 10 years of destination wedding photography and planning experience in all countries and environments from big cathedrals to shorelines.  In April 2012 we personally planned our own wedding in Iceland at the majestic Seljalandsfoss Waterfall and have photographed throughout the country.  We know firsthand how epic of a country Iceland is and how special it is for you to plan your wedding in Iceland!

We believe that in order to fully create and capture your wedding day vision, personalities, style, and your destination wedding properly, we need time with you!  For us, getting to know you as a couple and getting to know your wedding destination is an important base for creating truly unique Iceland events and stunning images for you and your loved ones.  Please contact us to plan or photograph your Iceland Destination Wedding!

With a smile, Ann & Chris Peters

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

The post Iceland Wedding Photographer Tip: Best Time to Marry in Iceland? appeared first on Iceland Wedding Planner.

Life for us here at Photos by Miss Ann is somehow stuck on the fast forward button so please forgive us on the delayed posts!  The baby-boom of 2013 has come!  So many little ones have come through the studio in a past few weeks, lots of baby snuggles!  Chris and I have also begun looking our “final home.”  We currently live in Plymouth, Michigan and have a 1920’s home just outside of the downtown.  Gorgeous, but we need more room!  So we’re on the hunt for the home where we will have acres of land to photograph our clients, woods, pathways, a separate studio on the property, and the perfect home where we will one day raise a family and retire in.  Big decisions and big excitement is surrounding us and we are blessed to be savoring every minute of it!  If you are apart of the Photos by Miss Ann Family- be excited!  Big exciting things are happening for the rest of 2013 and 2014!  Woohoo!  Feel that energy?! Now lets channel it back to Iceland wedding planning!

Today’s topic: Iceland Wedding DETAILS!

Last week Photos by Miss Ann mailed out a super awesome welcome package to a newly booked Iceland destination wedding couple.  The intent of the package serves several purposes.  First it is a “thank you for booking us and we are really excited to be working with you!” gift.  Second, it gives the bride and groom some instant details!  Third, it provides wedding inspiration tailored to the type of wedding the bride and groom are envisioning.  For this specific Iceland Bride and Groom, we included the following items:  Burlap “bride” bag, “I do” blue bridal shoe stickers, “She’s Mine” groom shoe stickers, a Diamond Ring Key Chain (design inspiration to be used as a napkin holder), “Love” Cookie Cutters (wedding favor inspiration), Heart Wine Cork (favor inspiration), Heart Purse Hook (design and favor inspiration), Mini Sewing Kit (always prepared!), Mr. & Mrs. Luggage Tags, and a few other PBMA items like a thank you card, Photos by Miss Ann pen, and business cards.  This sort of package instantly provides whirling ideas and starts the destination wedding planning momentum!

Details in Destination wedding planning may seem small and monotonous but they are the amazing little touches your guests will see and appreciate.  Most times, those details are the ones that set your wedding apart from other weddings.  So you ask…. How does the detail planning start?

1. Color schemes!  Play with them =)
2. Pick your Iceland ceremony location and Iceland reception place (An Iceland waterfall wedding? A church in Budir? Hotel Ranga? Vik Black Sand Beach? Glacial Lagoon,? Or have a wedding under the Northern Lights?)
3. Picking your one of a kind Iceland wedding dress! Vintage? Modern? Romantic? A traditional veil? Bird cage veil? A romantic hood?
4. Creating Save the Dates and Wedding Invitations that compliment your destination wedding location and colors.
5. Choosing what your future husband will be wearing!  It’s okay to be more on the simplistic side when getting married outdoors in Iceland.
6. Figuring out what your maid of honor and best man will be wearing.
7. Now it’s time for the fun decisions!!!  The food!  5-course sit down or buffet? Photographers will usually (if they are pro level like us) take photos of this because 20 years from now you will not remember how awesomely delicious it looked!  Your Wedding Cake: Have sample photos of cakes you like to communicate your vision.  Ensure your baker or wedding planner knows what style you are after.  Then comes flavors!!  Yum!  We were non-traditional and decided no formal wedding cake but rather each guest received their own chocolate lava cake with 2 scoops of vanilla ice cream!  Maybe be unique and have Icelandic Skyr cake for your wedding dessert?
8. Other food decisions would be whether or not to have a cocktail hour, snacks for your guests, a champagne toast, a themed cocktail at the bar (Like: “Cranberry Kiss,” “Godiva Chocolate Martini,” Wedding Oasis,” etc.!)  So fun for guests and personally, I love to photograph these type details!
9. Party Favors at each place setting and/or a welcome bag.  These can be fun-themed by the country you are holding the wedding in, special to you and your soon to be, and/or useful items the guests can use later and think of you both!
10. Flowers:  Flower colors are very important to the details.  From your bouquets, boutineers, corsages, petals for the isle way, guest petals to throw or bubbles, to the centerpieces at the Iceland wedding reception tables.
11. Memorial Flowers to remember those who have passed before or unable to make the journey to your Iceland destination wedding.  Couple of ways to do this…  At our wedding we incorporated our passed love ones in 4 sets of white roses and ribbons and had the flowers in the first row at our ceremony and then someone carried them around as we did group photos.  One of my favorite ways I have seen this done is a bride ties small little locket size portraits of the grandparents.  See our below photos for examples and this shop on Amazon if you’re curious to purchase.
12. Table Design for your reception.  Will you have seating name tags?  How will you determine how your meal is being handed out to each guest- color code? Table runners? Pin-tucked Place-mats? Formal Napkins?  How do you want them folded? Silverware settings? Charger?  Will you have water glasses, champagne glasses, and 2 types of wine glasses on your table?  Round tables or long coupled tables?  Will you be at a sweetheart table? Bridal party table? Bride and Groom banner sides for your seats?
13. Gift table design?
14. Bar Design and Bar Menu
15. Decorations!  Elaborate or Simplistic?
16. 5 Course Wedding Meal: Will you have a menu card?
17. Will your maid of honor or best man be decorating the honeymoon suite?  Let the Iceland wedding photographer know, those setup details are special!
18. What sort of hanger will you hand your dress on?  Look into getting a gorgeous personalized on that says, “The Bride,” “Future Mrs,” Mrs. Peters,” etc!  My favorite website Classy Bride sells them, check it out.  Awesome details for your Iceland wedding photographer to capture.
19. Will you be traditional and have the something new, something old, borrowed, and something blue?  Lay it out for your photographer.  Details you spent so much time picking out should be captured!
20. The rings!  If they are in a special box like Tiffany’s have it out so your photographer can get some fun shots.
21. I know it’s going to sound silly but details that are often overlooked… Are the big kiss and cake cutting… practice!  Make sure you’re comfortable!  If doing a cake cutting, Photos by Miss Ann walks you through in the moment what needs to be done (and I always provide forks, lol!).

I hope this blog post today, has provided insight on some of the awesome things you get to plan for your epic wedding day in Iceland.  Chris and I planned our own wedding at Seljalandsfoss Waterfall and hand picked all of our vendors.  We would love to have the opportunity to help you plan your flawless wedding day in Iceland and capture your epic Iceland wedding portraits!

Lots of smiles to you!  Yours truly as experts in Iceland wedding planning and Iceland Wedding Photography, -Ann Peters

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

The post Iceland Weddings: Detail Planning appeared first on Iceland Wedding Planner.

I know you have been patiently waiting on my next post and I so appreciate it!  Life seemed to go lightening speed for us the past few weeks!  The good news is we have booked some amazing Iceland brides for 2013 and 2014 and we are super stoked to be working with them!  Their visions for their day are truly one of a kind and we are honored to be planning and photographing their adventurous weddings in the land of fire and ice!  So if you’re thinking about Iceland as your one of a kind destination wedding locale please contact us!

We helped my mum launch her new retirement venture in the last few weeks too!  Check out: Regal Baby Boutique! Glamorous handmade goods for children and awesome portrait photographers!

A couple of press spots has kept us busy bees too!  Check out The Frosted Petticoat, Baby Life Styles Magazine (our image is full page on #40), My Inspired Light, The Bridal Detective, Done Brilliantly, In Bliss Bridal Blog, Borrowed and Blue, the Budget Savvy Bride, double cuteness from the Frosted Petticoat Blog, and we are delighted by word of a printed feature in DIY Wedding Magazine and The Knot this coming Spring/Summer for several of our beautiful destination weddings.  So much positive energy buzzing around us-  we are thrilled here at Photos by Miss Ann!  Woohoo =) Thanks for being a part of our excitement!

Enough about us!  Back to our wonderful topic today: Iceland Destination Wedding Etiquette

Destination weddings are tricky and proper etiquette for all involved is important.  Today, I am going to debunk some of the most common questions surrounding destination weddings in general and specifically Iceland wedding planning etiquette as well!

1.      Save the Dates: Are they needed? When do you send?

a.      Once you are engaged, picked a wedding state/country location, and are set on a wedding date it’s time to send out “Save the Dates!”  If planning a destination wedding, these are typically sent out 8 months or more before the wedding date.  You want to give your guests as much notice as possible to begin saving or planning their destination wedding itinerary.  We were engaged in Kauai Hawaii in October 2012 and set our wedding date for April 2012.  We decided on a short window for planning because we either had to get married before our high wedding season or after because we are wedding photographers in Plymouth Michigan, in Iceland and beyond.  That left either getting married in April 2012, November 2012, or April 2013. We settled on April 2012 and planning in less than 6 months does not require formal save the dates.

2.      Do you invite the masses to your destination wedding?

a.      Personal preference.  But I will give you a fabulous example!  When planning our Iceland destination wedding my husband and I are both only children with small family’s so we decided to look at it like this… Invite all immediate and extended family, all close friends we have kept in contact with over the last 5 years, our current or previous bosses, and selective workplace friends.  We ended up sending out 100 Iceland wedding invitations and ended up with 36 RSVP’s saying yes!

3.      If you are also having a local reception who do you invite?

a.      You must extend the invite to anyone who declined your destination wedding invite.  If you choose to invite additional people you should probably have your Iceland wedding photos available for their review.  That way, they feel somewhat included in your wedding day as well.

4.      Destination Wedding Invitations: When to send?

a.      Invitations for destination weddings should be mailed at a minimum of 4 months away from the wedding date.  This provides the guests with ample time to decide, request vacation, book flights, accommodations, and plan Iceland adventures. It is also proper to give your guests 40 days to RSVP.  Another real life Iceland wedding day example: We sent our Iceland wedding invitations out on November 15^th and gave our guests until January 9^th to respond which was ~50 days to respond.

b.      Why ask guests to RSVP early?

a.      By having all of our RSVP’s back by January 9^th we could chase down any folks who did not respond.  Having our guests RSVP 3 months before allowed us to begin finalizing our counts for our wedding plans as far as Iceland wedding ceremony location, Iceland wedding transportation logistics for a group of 40, champagne toast at Vik Beach, ordering our Iceland wedding flowers, our Iceland wedding linens, Iceland wedding Welcome Dinner, Hotel Ranga Wedding 5 Course Wedding Meal, and our post wedding itinerary for our guests.

5.      Does the traditional rules of who pays for what still apply?

a.      Sometimes, if planning a destination wedding in the United States I have seen the traditional road of groom’s parents paying for the “rehearsal dinner” and the wedding day alcohol while the bride’s parents or simply the bride and groom are responsible for the rest.    But if international, more often than not, I have seen the bride and groom be responsible for the costs.  So depending on your situation it is up to you!  I strongly encourage you to contact us to help you plan your Iceland destination wedding budget.

6.      Do you pay for your guest’s accommodations?

a.      It’s interesting on how destination weddings have developed.  8 years ago when destination weddings became popular, that was the protocol.  You hosted your guests from the moment they arrived until they left.  Your guests were there for you and not so much the vacation.  But now that the industry markets dictate destination weddings as a vacation so there is less pressure financially on the bride and groom.  But, I will say, if you can afford to comp your guests the night of the wedding, then do it.  If it’s not in doable then at least take the time to negotiate a group rate with your host hotel.

7.      Should you prepare your guests on how much they may spend on your destination wedding?

a.      Yes!  …and the perfect place to do this diplomatically is on your wedding website.  Industry average says that guests should be prepared to spend between $700-1200 per person on a destination wedding.  This cost would include flight, accommodations, average of planned activities, rough estimates for food, and transportation.  Hire us as your planner and photographer to help you properly budget plan!

Photos by Miss Ann (aka, Iceland Wedding Planner) also provides this budget and activity planning piece in all of our Iceland Wedding packages so please contact us for more information!

8.      Do you create a wedding website?

a.      Yes, yes, yes!  If you have not yet do so now!  Having a wedding website for your destination wedding gives you a voice to your guests (without badgering them).  It provides them tools to RSVP, book their flight, reserve their housing accommodations, take advantage of booking discounts, review your Iceland wedding itinerary, see activity suggestions, book Iceland transportation, and understand why you chose Iceland as your destination wedding locale!

It also provides space for you to tell your love story, post engagement photos, introduce your wedding party, post information on gift registries, bridal shower, post your invitation, wedding menu, and wedding day flow.  Super awesome tool to use as you plan as well!  Photos by Miss Ann includes this service as one of the Iceland Wedding Planning agenda items too so feel free to contact us!

9.      Welcome Dinner versus Rehearsal Dinner, do you do one?  Which do you choose?

a.      Over the past few years I have been witness to the transition from traditional wedding rehearsal dinners to destination welcome dinners.  The reason: Many destination weddings have fewer people standing up in the bridal party’s which requires very little day before organization. So in this case referring to a day before dinner gathering your guests would be called a “Wedding Welcome Dinner.”

Real life wedding example:  My husband and I held our destination wedding in Iceland and decided to kick off our wedding weekend in Iceland with a welcome dinner at Hotel Ranga for our 36 guests.  We also arranged for our guests to stay 2 nights at Hotel Ranga so they could relax, enjoy the countryside, and have the opportunity to be in the midst of the Northern Lights.  Having kept our Iceland wedding ceremony location of Seljalandsfoss waterfall a complete surprise to our guests, we could not go to the site to do a “rehearsal.” So when it was time for a pre-wedding day walk through we had our official meet us at the hotel to review our wedding ceremony, did a quick walk through with our maid of honor, best man, parents, and 4 good friends that were reading “The Art of Marriage” by Wilfred A. Peterson.  7pm came and it was time to welcome our guests to begin their Iceland wedding adventure with us!  There was a delicious 3 course meal (complete with Skyr Cake!), music, toasts, speeches, tons of laughter, excitement, a birthday celebrated, and destination welcome bags passed out!

10.  Gifts for Destination Weddings?

a.      Our personal vote is no gifts for destination weddings.  You simply request the presence of your guests.  Real Life Wedding Example: We were an established couple and felt we did not need anything to “jump start our marriage” and felt it was more important to share in the adventure of Iceland with our guests so we stated a section on our website for gifts that said, “Your presence at our Iceland Wedding is the best gift you could give us.”  …and really it was.

Faux Pas: Never ever send out a registry insert to your wedding invitation (or state on the invitation) on where you are registered.  If anything state it on your wedding website (believe me word will spread) or guests will go to all the typical spots and look up your names and hope for a registry.

Alternative Destination Gift Registry Ideas: Honeymoon Wishes Registry, Wanderlust Registry, Upon Our Star, or the I Do Foundation (charity donations).

Bridal Showers and Bachelorette Parties are the exception to these rules.  So if you’re having one, register.

11.  Are Wedding Announcements Needed?

a.      Yes!  If you’re having a local reception they are absolutely needed.  It is also proper to send to any guest who was unable to attend the destination wedding.  The ideal situation is to have photos from the wedding on the card and send them out within 3 weeks of arriving home from your destination wedding. Your Iceland Destination Wedding Photographer can design gorgeous cards for you or if you have purchased your digital files you can do so on your own as well!  That way if you are also holding a local reception guests will feel more connected to your wedding day by seeing your Iceland wedding photos.

12.  Destination weddings and bridal party attendants… what to do?

a.      Don’t worry there are no hard and fast rules to this one.  Do not feel obligated to choose your sister if you’re not close or that cousin you barely talk to.  The really amazing thing about destination weddings is they are truly about the couple!  Because they are also smaller in attendance (industry average being 60 guests) the couple has the right to choose less!  We are seeing more often than not the bride & groom just choosing a maid of honor and a best man to stand calmly (lol, yes I said it!)  beside them.  Our real life Iceland destination wedding example: My husband and I are luckily only children (lol, I said that too!), have small extended families, and close-knit group of friends from around the world.  So realistically we could not honor each set of friends with being in our wedding party so we chose to honor them in other ways at the Iceland wedding ceremony and also during the wedding weekend.

13.  Do you invite your wedding photographers to your day wedding welcome dinner or wedding rehearsal festivities?

a.      Yes!  It is nice for you two, your families, and to have your guests become comfortable with them. It is also a great time for them to get acclimated to the scenery, locations, lighting, and your expectations ahead of time.

Plus, if they are rock star destination wedding photographers, chances are they will candidly photograph the event for free too in gratitude to you treating them so kindly as a guest.  Or at least that is what Photos by Miss Ann does for all of our destination couples =) Remember our key to photographing destination weddings is we need time with you!  Priceless moments should be captured professionally!

14.  Do you tip your destination wedding vendors?

a.      In Europe, it is not expected because typically the prices are higher to include, but it is still appreciated for exceptional service.  In any sort of country that is deemed developing or third world tipping is expected.  Canada and US it is not expected but if you had exceptional service the day of, feel free to!  But do be careful with vendors who still have yet to provide you a finished product to you as you may wish you hadn’t!

We had this specific experience happen to us with our hired destination photographers from Toronto, Ontario.  We felt the day of they were easy to work with and we had hoped they were behind the scenes capturing all of our details professionally- so we tipped them over $300 USD, in good faith.  We loved our Iceland engagement session but not our wedding photos. Unfortunately, we seriously regretted our generous decision as we found some serious issues upon the arrival of our high resolution images weeks later.  There were many technical flaws like blatant gear malfunctions, missed moments despite there being two of them, many of details we spent so much time planning were not captured, and we found the husband and wife duo to be very condescending in character to deal with after the fact.

Sadly, because of the negligence of our hired destination wedding photographers, my husband and I have had to spend the last year of our newly wedded bliss fixing their technical mistakes, recreating our missed wedding moments, retaking Iceland wedding portraits, and reconstructing our own Iceland wedding details professionally.   All that being said, Chris and I understand even more so how important is for you to choose the right Iceland wedding photographer who will amazing to work with from beginning to end.  So please check out Photos by Miss Ann to see how we would be an asset to your Iceland destination wedding planning!

15.  How to handle sensitive family issues:

a.      Divorced parents? Extended family not cordial to each other? A riff between in-laws? Do not fret!  Knowledge the issue before the wedding and make it clear to all involved you will accommodate to the best of your ability to ensure no awkward moments. Also make it clear the night before your wedding day everyone involved is to be as cordial to each other as possible and drama free.  Remind them the day is about you and your fiancé saying “I do” and not the ongoing family issues.  This problem could be as simply solved as having assigned seating at your dinners (name cards strategically placed can be professionally made with Pixels to Paper or personally made).

Another thought would be to brief your wedding vendors on the issue.  They may be an aid in diffusing the situation.  I know as a Iceland wedding planner and owning Photos by Miss Ann, we encounter almost 1 sensitive issue per wedding weekend.  It’s a delicate balance and the more information your wedding planner or wedding photographer has on the issue the more equipped they are to handle it and restructure the situation if needed.

Our real wedding example of this follows to provide you a better visual:  My gorgeous Hungarian Grandmother, Iren Soltesz had passed away the morning we were all flying to Iceland so it was a very emotional time for all of us before, during, and after our Aril 2012 wedding day in Iceland.  All of my family was shocked and a few were debating on whether or not to make the journey from Ohio-Toronto-Iceland.  This news also hit my mother especially hard as we were getting ready to leave that morning.  Bitter sweet that she did not have time to properly mourn her mother but had to focus on celebrating her only daughter’s wedding day.   It was tough for all involved to not have the proper time to grieve the loss of a loved one and focus on celebrate the joining of two others lives.  My Grandmother’s funeral was postponed until we all arrived home 7-10 days later which caused much angst across our family.  We maintained a positive approach every step of the way.  We also strategically placed our guests at both our Iceland wedding ceremony at Seljalandsfoss waterfall, our wedding welcome dinner and Iceland wedding reception at Hotel Ranga to ensure all negative emotions would be avoided between family members.  We also had memorial roses added to be a beautiful representation of our grandparents who passed before our special day could arrive.

Phew!  A lot of information, I know =)  Remember, this is just our two cents.  We’ve been there and this is our personal opinion on how things should work but keep in mind, we also photograph and experience weddings as our full time job so we know that side of it too!  Feel free to contact us for more information on how we can help make your day flawless in Iceland wedding planning and Iceland wedding photography!

Many smiles, Ann Peters

© 2013, Photos by Miss Ann, All Rights Reserved

The post Iceland Destination Wedding Etiquette appeared first on Iceland Wedding Planner.

Today I decided to sneak in a little mid-week surprise post on destination engagement sessions. This week Photos by Miss Ann is featured on Borrowed & Blue Destination Weddings Blog please check it out here to view one of our gorgeous destination engagement sessions on the South Shores of Kauai, Hawaii.

Now back to Iceland!

You’ve found us… because you are planning a super awesome Iceland destination wedding, woohoo! Why not have another especially sweet session pre or post wedding with your husband? Iceland offers stunning scenery regardless of the season so please take advantage of it and book an additional session with your Iceland destination wedding photographer. If you decide to do your engagement session in advance to your wedding day, another wonderfully unique item that will add to the customization of your wedding day is having an engagement guest book. Photos by Miss Ann offers a professionally designed and printed Layflat Album unique to you and your soon to be. We believe this is an awesome addition to your destination wedding weekend because it interacts with your guests by engaging them with write in sections like the following:

• Fondest Memories of the Bride
• Fondest Memories of the Groom
• Advice to the Bride
• Advice to the Groom
• Favorite Adventures with the Bride and Groom
• Lifetime Advice for the Newlyweds
• Wedding Wishes

What an awesome memento to have and look back on once your I do’s are said and done, right?! Please check out Iceland inspired winter destination engagement guest book below and get inspired! Also, if you would like some quick tips to take with you as you plan your Iceland destination wedding check out Wedding Photos USA, as they recently published my article entitled “13 Best Destination Wedding Tips for Obscure Locations.” It’s worth a look as you may find at least one item on there you can use!

As a sidebar, if you are just finding us for the first time, welcome! We’re an energetic, technically-savvy, super planning husband and wife photography team who is excited to offer our Iceland wedding planning advice and photography services for your Iceland destination wedding. Photos by Miss Ann is located in Plymouth, Michigan and have traveled the world photographing love in action! We planned our own Iceland Destination Wedding and have quickly become experts in planning weddings in Iceland so feel free to contact us to chat more about how we can make your day flawless and forever pause those moments in Iceland wedding portraits!

Yours in Iceland Wedding Photography and Planning, Miss Ann

Still stay tuned for the next informative blog post topic coming soon: Destination Wedding Etiquette

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

The post Iceland Engagement Session Guestbook appeared first on Iceland Wedding Planner.