I really believe that the heart of the entire world can be found in Iceland. The country’s landscape is alive and every region seems to be enchanted. One location in particular, Skogafoss Waterfall holds a special place in my soul. Three days before our wedding day in April 2012, my grandmother unexpectedly passed away and we still pressed on with our plans. During our Iceland wedding adventure we had made a quick stop at Skogafoss for Iceland wedding photos and had several rainbows surround us…and in that beautiful moment, I felt my grandmother there with us. So every time I am lucky enough to pay a little visit to this gorgeous Iceland waterfall, I cannot help but feel totally connected.

On Chris + Kim’s June Southern Iceland wedding itinerary, there was a choice between Skogafoss and Seljalandsfoss Waterfall and I was thrilled when they chose the first as one of their stops for the day! I mean really, who doesn’t want to photograph a gorgeous bride and groom in front of this massively beautiful waterfall? It just so happens when we arrived to the waterfall, there were endless blue skies and RAINBOWS! Enough said, eh? Now without further ado, onto their gorgeous Iceland wedding photos…

In case you missed our previous posts on the beginning of their fabulous Iceland wedding day adventure feel free to head back to the links below to relive…

• Iceland Wedding Ceremony at Reynisfjara Beach Cave
• Dyrhólaey Cliffs Iceland Wedding Portraits

In the meantime, have the best week ever!

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

© 2002-2014, Photos by Miss Ann, All Rights Reserved

The post Skogafoss Waterfall Wedding Photos: Iceland Wedding Photographer 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.

Welcome to part 2 of 3 of our installment on Iceland waterfall weddings locations this is an expansion of our previous post on Iceland Wedding Venues.  Last week we blogged about Seljalandsfoss Waterfall, if you missed it feel free to head back here to enjoy that post.

::Warning::

Since this post was originally written in early 2013, tourism has grown to an unruly amount.  The space has changed and the amount of tourists coming here each hour is out of control.  We do not suggest this waterfall as an Iceland wedding location if wanting any sort of intimate feeling ceremony.

Skogafoss Waterfall is a massive beautiful waterfall in Southern Iceland.  It is located off of Route 1 between the cities of Selfoss and Vik (about two hours from Reykjavik).

Here are GPS Coordinates for your reference: 63°31?47?N 19°30?50?W

Skogafoss is one of Iceland’s biggest and fullest waterfalls.  The cliffs that make up the waterfall are actually a recessed seashore.  Skogafoss stands at a glorious 200 feet tall and 82 feet wide.  There is a runoff on the left side that creates a dreamy mist that cascades over the country side.  There is a small stream that  runs out of the base of the waterfall offering some really amazing wedding photography opportunities.  Embedded further back into the cliffs the power of the waterfall spray also sets the scene for possible rainbow wedding photos. How romantic, right?

The walk from the parking lot to the waterfall starts grassy but quickly turns to lava rock and black sand.  This waterfall would also be a superb spot to have as a stop for your Iceland wedding day portraits or Iceland engagement photos.

Here are the benefits of getting married at Skogafoss Waterfall:

• Powerful sound and awe-inspiring scenery.
• The misty side of the mountains to the left of the waterfall sets a dynamic scene.
• Chance of rainbow wedding photos!
• You can take stairs to the top of Skogafoss to see incredible views.
• There is an Icelandic horse pasture to the right of the waterfall and they are usually quite friendly!  Great photo opportunity!

The downside of getting married at Skogafoss:

• It’s a public place so depending on the time of day you may have visitors there to enjoy the scenery .
• In order to compete with the sound of the waterfall, you will want to invest in having a sound system so your guests can hear your ceremony.
• If you take the stairs to the midway point of the waterfall, be very careful as it is not a paved path and there are no ropes.
• You also may end up getting wet or dirty during your visit (lots of black sand and lava rocks).

Hopefully today you have fallen in love with this magnificent waterfall!  We look forward to you visiting us here again next week for our final post in this Iceland waterfall wedding series.

With a smile, Ann & Chris Peters

Husband & Wife Iceland Wedding Photography and Planning Team

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

The post Iceland Waterfall Weddings: Skogafoss Waterfall appeared first on Iceland Wedding Planner.

Hey hey hey! Wake up and smile because it’s a gorgeous day!

The level of excitement I have for this post is off the charts!  Hope you’re as excited as we are to talk about elaborate destination wedding invitations.

Deciding to have a destination wedding anywhere is a really unique and special decision.  But choosing a destination wedding location such as Iceland, Greenland, or the Faroe Islands takes a lot of guts and commitment!  Not only in the planning stages does all that bravery come into play, but also on your actual wedding day as well because of the ever changing weather and dramatic scenery.  Your Iceland destination wedding invitation should follow suit and entice your guests to be brave and join you on this lifetime adventure.

Let’s be straightforward… Your destination wedding guests first reaction to your seeing your wedding save-the-date location as Iceland will be shock and they may have the initial response of “Why would I ever want to go there for a wedding or vacation, its cold?!”  Iceland Wedding Planner Tip: Educate them and prove them wrong!  That being said, today we are starting an awesome 3 part series on different types of destination wedding invitations to help you decide which kind of invitation suits you best- So welcome to part 1 of 3!

Did you realize there are different levels of wedding invitations?  Wedding invitations do not always just give the nitty gritty details of your wedding day, but many times they tell the story of your love, location,  why you chose it, and why your guests should want to visit to see you marry there!   One of the most impressive ways to do this is to give your guests an extravagant destination wedding invitation.  Hands down, the most amazing wedding invitation we have seen is from the super cute husband and wife team, Bri and David the owners of AtlasArtistry.  This dynamic duo was so much fun to work with!  Bri and David actually started their company shortly after they personally struggled to find a “knock your socks off” wedding invitation for their own destination wedding in South America.

They delight in the details just as much as we do so it was a no brainier for us to commission their services for one of our Iceland 2014 clients.  I won’t go into all of the wonderful specifics of their process (because that is fun in itself!) but they are extremely professional, very detailed, take serious pride in their work and the quality of the end product is outstanding.  When the invitation package arrived it was beautifully addressed (Bri has the best handwriting ever), carefully wrapped, packaged, and the invitations were secured safely inside.  These weren’t even our wedding invitations and Chris and I gathered around the dining room table together to as if it was Christmas morning!  Ha, totally happened!  We were totally welled up with excitement for our Iceland destination wedding couple who are going to say their Iceland “I do’s” beside of the Jokulsarlon Glacial Lagoon in 2014.

I think my husband said it best when he opened the invitation… “The old world charm the book exudes seriously transports you the moment it is in your hands.”  He’s right you feel the weight of the book, the key, the texture of the twine, see the romantic seal and it all blends together to create such an incredible experience.  Albeit your guests will get goose bumps as they untie this exceptional destination wedding invitation!  I know we did!  Once you open the invitation you quickly realize that it’s a real book and it has been painstakingly fastened and then hollowed out to create cubby hole.  In this spot you find the wedding invitation passport that is 100% customized to your wedding adventure.  The passport is very authentic looking and includes such components as the following:

• Live passport page featuring the couple.
• Engagement photos.
• Official date, location, and time of ceremony.
• Wedding day itinerary.
• Iceland wedding menu.
• Post Iceland wedding itinerary.
• “Your Adventure Awaits…” beginning page and “Our Happily Ever After Begins…” final page.

Your wedding guests are instantly transported to Iceland with this extravagant destination wedding invitation.  Inside the cubby hole, you will also find matching fun luggage tags featuring the airport code yours guests will be flying into on one side and on the other an area for your guest(s) information.  On the left hand side you see a pocket which holds various elements that really grab your guest’s attention like mock plane tickets to Iceland that are customized to each guest name (and QR code), a mini Iceland travel brochure, and a fun destination wedding checklist.

Having crazy awesome details like this included in your destination wedding invitation makes it a very real experience for you, your guests, and for sure amps up the excitement for your big day.  For an impressively elaborate destination wedding invitation such as this or something similar you can expect to budget around $30-60 USD per wedding invitation plus packaging and postage to each of your guests.  I cannot say enough good things about this stunning wedding invitation so without further ado, please experience it yourself through our Iceland wedding invitation photos below.

In case you have just found us… check out our other posts within this awesome series:

Creative Iceland Destination Wedding Invitations (Part 2 of 3)

Whimsical Iceland Wedding Invitations (Part 3 of 3)

Many Smiles and Positive Planning Vibes Your Way, Ann Peters

Iceland Wedding Photographer and Planner

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

The post Extravagant Destination Wedding Invitations (Part 1 of 3) appeared first on Iceland Wedding Planner.

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

With a smile, Ann & Chris Peters

Expert Iceland Wedding Planners & Iceland Wedding Photographers

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

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

Last weekend was action-packed to say the least!  Within minutes of arriving to the stunning Eyry of the Eagle Estate I knew it would be an eventful day and my expectations did not disappoint!  As the day unfolded, I had some firsts happen: I was spat on by an alpaca (first), had goose bumps, tears (first), acquired poison ivy, and for the first time ever, I had sunset couple’s portraits photo bombed by donkeys (yes, I said donkeys)!  Hilariously true and so worth it to endure for the crazy undeniable love Carrie and Wally have for each other!  I love my job being a wedding photographer not only because I never have a duplicate moment; but, I also get the chance to watch wedding plans unfold with an outside eye and capture it at its very best.  Truly, I really cherish that part.

This past weekend’s Michigan wedding at Eyry of the Eagle in Grass Lake really brought me back down to the basics, raw love.  No elaborate frills, no buts or what if’s but just crazy awesome I will love you until the end of time, love.  Carrie and Wally’s wedding day really left me inspired and grateful for love.

On that note, today’s blog post is going to be a 2 part series on some sensitive issues you may encounter while Iceland wedding planning.  This week we’ll be talking about how your “Iceland Love Will Conquer All Things” and next week stay tuned for “Protocol for Family Issues & Parents” while Iceland destination wedding planning.  That being said, I will add this disclaimer to my post:  Sensitive Issues will be discussed with real wedding examples, followed by my personal experience/opinion on how to approach. –Thanks!

Carrie and Wally contacted me over a year ago to be their Michigan wedding photographer.  Although, they were not planning an Iceland destination wedding, Photos by Miss Ann still loves having local Michigan weddings in unique locations!  From the minute I spoke with Carrie on the phone, I knew that they were a fun-loving, laid back, super sweet retro couple and were oh-so excited to be engaged.  They had reconnected a decade later after knowing each other in high school.  A lot had changed over the years for each of them.  But if you spend 10 minutes with them you would know that they were destined to come together so they could not only strengthen each other but also serve as an inspiration to all who love them.

In January of this year, Carrie and Wally stopped wedding planning to manage through a time of trials and tribulations.  Even before they were married, life was testing their relationship resilience.  First, they had found out they were expecting a baby, who would make her appearance into the world on April 14^th (destined by dates, I think)!  After that exciting news came, baby prepping overtook their life; that is until more life changing news came.  What started out as Wally having a minor back injury, evolved into weeks of doctors’ visits, MRI’s, and numerous other tests, that then turned into a very real conclusion of cancer.  They found out together on Valentine’s Day of this year that Wally had a very rare form of cancer in his spine.  Not only that, but that the cancer had also spread into his lymph nodes and began spotting in his lungs.  Weeks before their May 25^th wedding day, Wally began rounds of aggressive chemotherapy.

The groom, Wally said to me on his wedding day while I was photographing their Michigan couple’s portraits, “Carrie has brought me an endless amount of strength.  This is my second battle with cancer in 10 years and she has been there for me more than anyone.  She has been my rock through the good, bad, and ugly somehow always bringing a smile to my face.”  The bride, Carrie told me during her bridal portraits before the wedding that they, “have endured insurmountable struggles in the last year and prevailed.  They will prevail over this too.” <Insert goose bumps!>

Spending the day with Carrie and Wally last weekend, I saw firsthand how love conquers all things.  From the positive energy they exude together, encouragement they give each other, the endless love and excitement their family’s shared, and the look of adoration they held in their eyes for each other, totally made my eyes well up!  Their love has been tested, tried, and totally true.

It was fitting they have the most beautiful day in Michigan for their wedding day.  The scene was set in the Grass Lake Michigan countryside where you hear and see chickens running around, a gorgeous 125 year old barn, walk a stone path passing by alpacas and donkeys to get down to a beautiful lake, stunning tall woods, a brick pathway to charming wedding pergola.  The bride and groom had a playful funky style, created all of their flowers, reception decorations, and other details all themselves and were so ready to get the show on the road!  Their wedding vows expressed their unremitting adoration and respect for each other.  It was lovely along with the rest of the evening’s events!  Feel free to check out a few of their Metro Detroit wedding photographs below.

I went home that evening and while my wedding images were uploading to the computer, (I totally interrupted the Red Wings playoff game) and bombarded my husband with “what if” scenarios.  Some were valid and I’ll be honest some were farfetched and ridicules but I felt the need to ask to understand that if we were challenged with such situations how we would handle together.  Chris and I have gone through our own struggles as a couple over the years with health distresses, losses, along with other sensitive family issues that have surfaced, but none to the life-threatening level that Carrie and Wally have been united through.  Going through a time of uncertainty of your future is scary especially when you are wedding planning and faced with the detrimental odds.

So you ask, how do you cope?  How does love conquer all things before and after your Iceland destination wedding?

• Positivity.  Staying optimistic is one of the most important things you can do when faced with health, economic, or other dramatic life changing events.  It affects your attitude, demeanor, outlook, and those you love.  At times it may be very difficult and you may have to “fake it to make it” but it will make a world of difference.
• Get educated.  Take the time to do research and understand what is really going on along with your immediate/long term options and a timeline.
• Turn the negative into a learning lesson that you will come out of a better and stronger willed person/couple.
• Honesty.  Be truthful about everything with yourself, your soon-to-be, with family, and other involved professionals.
• Open Communication.   If you feel sad, anxious, fear the unknown, or frustrated –talk about it, don’t hold it in!
• Get professional help.  If its health related seek additional opinions, the best doctors, etc.  If it’s economic, seek professional advice (i.e. financial advisors, resume gurus, career sites, etc).  If it is personal, seek 3^rd party professional help from a counselor, psychologist, or life coach.
• Be a Team.  The key though is to do this together and incorporate your families; they can bring you additional support, a shoulder, an extra ear to vent to, etc!
• Compile a plan of attack.  Sort out what things you have control over and what you do not and create a plan of how you will tackle the situation and respond to the different outcomes.  Having a strategy allows you focus short and long term.
• Take up a new hobby to refocus your negative energy/thoughts.  Blogging, collecting, clubs, etc!
• Take time to smile and laugh with each other.  This could be as simple as having a date night picnic in the living room!  Even in time of hardship, let your love thrive.

With the above tools in use, you can conquer just about anything and everything together.  So if you find yourself in love, engaged, planning a wedding in Iceland (or anywhere) or you’ve already been married in Iceland and are faced with a misfortune somewhere along the road remember these tips!  And also remember Iceland Wedding Planner and Photos by Miss Ann is here to help you tackle that overwhelming task of planning your wedding in Iceland with inclusive Iceland wedding photography packages too!  Please feel free to email us for more details!

Lots of Iceland wedding photography & planning smiles to you, Ann & Chris Peters

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

The post Iceland Love Conquers All Things 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 week, we received the nicest letter in the mail (Yes, in the mail, who doesn’t love getting things in the mail still?).  One of our Iceland bride and grooms-to-be writes us saying:

“Ann & Chris,

Deciding to have a wedding in Iceland we thought was one of our best decisions we have made as a couple, until we found and then met you both!  Our engagement session was so fun, thank you for flying to DC and for having endless creative ideas.  The portraits you took in our favorite spots around the city capture us.  You guys are such a great husband and wife photography team.  You impressed us already with your blog, responsiveness, thoroughness, portfolio, but frankly your attention to detail is extraordinary and still is blowing us away.  By holding the highest standards and consistently exceeding them, you have helped us achieve an unforgettable plan for our Iceland destination wedding.  Because of you, our wedding is going to be flawless.  Thank you for your outstanding work!  Forever Grateful, E & M ”

Aww, shucks, we really have the best clients!  We are beyond excited for the upcoming Iceland weddings we have on our Photos by Miss Ann books.  Each bride and groom is from a diverse part of the world, brings different Iceland wedding locations, unique style, and a distinctive vision for their wedding adventure in Iceland and that is REALLY exhilarating for us as Iceland wedding photographers.  Okay, okay, okay, enough gushing and more Iceland wedding planning!

Our topic this week: Iceland Wedding Ceremony Music

Figuring out your music selections for your Iceland wedding ceremony can be overwhelming in your destination wedding planning.  It can be a lot of pressure.  After all, you want your guests to be excited, in awe, and inspired while taking in the dynamic scenery, finding their seat and anticipating the bride and grooms wedding vows.  Phew, tall order, or at least we felt it was when we were planning our Seljalandsfoss Iceland wedding!  Have no fear, today’s blog post will give you some ideas for doing just that because having an Iceland wedding ceremony music plan helps set the scene even more so.

If you’re planning to have your Iceland wedding at Seljalandsfoss, Skogafoss, Snaefellsness Peninsula, Vik Beach, Lake Myvatn, or Jokulsarlon Glacial Lagoon and have more than 6 people in attendance, my advice to you is that you need to rent a sound system for the courtesy of your guests.  Holding your wedding ceremony in one of the stunning natural wonders Iceland offers is incredible but do not forget your guests!  One of the frustrating things at times for outdoor wedding guests is that they cannot hear readings, vows, the exchange of rings, etc and they really want to be a part of it!

As Iceland wedding planners, we can help you secure an Iceland DJ for your event that will setup battery powered sound system with speakers, wireless microphones, and an IPOD connection.  That way, your guests will be able to hear your Iceland wedding music, understand your officiant, listen to your wedding vows, and have fun background music while you take your stunning Iceland wedding portraits!  Now that you have figured all that out, your big question is now, “What kind of music do I play for my Iceland wedding ceremony?”  We have found that our bride and grooms have had the most success thinking in terms of words and the feelings songs exude.  So think about what inspires you and your soon-to-be and in the meantime, here are a few more ideas to get that creativity flowing!

Before Ceremony Music:

• Inspirational, Light, Dynamic and Exciting.
• General rule is to begin playing 30 minutes before the wedding ceremony.

Bridal Entrance Song Ideas:

• Dreamy and Transcendent (like you’re walking on clouds).
• You can easily choose two songs for this, one for the parents to be seated, groom, and bridal party to walk down the aisle and the other for the bridal entrance.
• No music played during the Iceland wedding ceremony (unless doing a sand/knot ceremony, partaking in communion, or you see a need for filler music for another part of the ceremony, etc).

After Your Iceland Wedding Ceremony Music:

• Bouncy, Fun, and Starry-eyed!
• Typically played for 45 minutes after the wedding ceremony in Iceland.  Songs that are fun to exit the ceremony hand in hand and greet guests too. This is also enjoyable for guests to listen to while you take your dazzling Iceland wedding photographs!

So right about now, I’m sure you’re dying to know what music Chris and I planned for our Iceland wedding at Seljalandsfoss waterfall, right?  Our Iceland ceremony music picks follow below:

Before our Seljalandsfoss Wedding (Ceremony Playlist):

“Hellelujah” by The Canadian Tenors

“Color My World” by Chicago

“You Raise Me Up” by Josh Groban

“Annie’s Song” by John Denver

“Feels Like Home” by Chantal Kreviazuk

“Marry Me” by Train

“The Wedding Song” by Kenny G

Aisle Walk and Bridal Entrance:

“Somewhere In Time” by Maksim Mrvica (Such a romantically dreamy song!).

After our Wedding at Seljalandsfoss Ceremony we played:

Bride and Groom Exit Song: “Better Together” by Jack Johnson

Greeting Line & Iceland Wedding Photographs Background Music:

“We’ve Only Just Begun” by the Carpenters

“Can’t Hurry Love” by The Supremes

“My Girl” by The Temptations

“One Fine Day” by The Chiffons

“How Sweet It Is” by Marvin Gaye

“Build Me Up Buttercup” by The Foundations

“Dancing in the Moonlight” by King Harvest

“Earth Angel” by The Penguins

“Wishin’ And Hopin’” by Dusty Springfield

“Tell Him” by Exciters

“Everybody Needs Somebody To Love” by Solomon Burke

“Hold Me Thrill Me Kiss Me” by Mel Carter

“Be My Baby” by The Ronettes

** Stay Tuned for Part II of this topic in our next Iceland wedding planning post- Wedding Reception in Iceland: Music Ideas **

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 Music Ideas for Iceland Wedding Ceremony (Iceland DJ) 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.

Outside of holding our Iceland wedding ceremony at Seljalandsfoss waterfall, one of my favorite “gives me goose bumps” moments from our Iceland wedding planning was arranging my husband, Chris’s day of wedding gift.

So many of you might be scratching your head right now wondering what I mean… So you ask, “Ann, what is a day of gift?”  A day of gift goes both ways: Bride surprises her soon to be and groom surprises the bride with a gift, showing the enthusiasm and anticipation of their wedding day.  This can be simplistic or elaborate; it’s all in how you are as a couple.  I’ll paint a picture for you on how we planned and exchanged our wedding day of gifts in Iceland so you may understand better.

Chris and I in a nutshell are “Type A” personalities in case you haven’t figured that out yet.  We are crazy detailed, thrive on adventure and we really seek it out in our travels and everyday life.  Fun fact: This is exactly why our Photos by Miss Ann tagline was coined years ago as, “Thriving on Adventure and Love…”  As cliché as it sounds, we truly do live life with no regrets and strive each day to do so as we build our personal lives together and individually, our businesses, and our bucket lists.  That being said, buying gifts for each other is really hard!  Neither of us wears jewelry nor have a burning desire for a specific tangible good, but we do both enjoy a challenge that is near to impossible.  So when we talked about whether or not we would exchange “day of gifts” on our wedding day in Iceland, we both agreed it would be fun and then swapped sneaky smiles!  Our marvelous challenge for Iceland wedding day of gifts commenced!

I racked my brain for a few days on what sort of everlasting sweet gift I could give Chris that could forever hold an impression on our marriage, make him tear up, and then it came to me!  One of our all-time favorite movies on the planet is “Somewhere in Time,” (circa 1980).  It’s a mushy time traveling film with Jayne Seymour and Christopher Reeve that is about two soul mates finding each other despite there being generations of time between them.  The catalyst of the time travel is a pocket watch from the early 1900’s and that simple element ignited my memory!  Chris had inherited one from his great grandfather decades ago, that he had always talked about getting restored to its original glory, just never had.  It was in really bad shape i.e., missing glass, hands, internal components, and needed heavy refinishing, so it took several months for the clock shop to find parts.

A week before we were leaving for our Iceland destination wedding, I picked up the pocket watch gift and was in total awe.  My gift to Chris was going to be time…Why?  Time is something we all run short on when we fall in love.  It seems like once we say, “Yes!” to “Will you marry me?” life gets jammed on the fast forward button and goes faster than we wish.  I think as couples in love, we forget to keep “dating” each other and do not always savor those small moments in the midst of all those big upcoming life moments.  Does that make sense?  Truthfully, I am not a woman of many emotions, but seeing and holding that watch, knowing what it represents, and then putting it inside the engraved box, immediately brought tears to my eyes.  The outside of the box was engraved simply with, “Today, I promise to love you until the end of time.”  There was no way I could have chosen a better wedding gift for him, it was truly priceless.  To top it off, I did add a super sweet card to his wedding day of gift that I had planned to hide in his tux pocket that playfully said, “I cannot wait to see your smile down the aisle!”  I packed everything in my polka dot carry on that night and did not even think about that he was going to give me a gift too!

Fast-forward to barely a week later, we had made it to Iceland, got our marriage license, checked out our wedding ceremony location at Seljalandsfoss, saw some rainbows at Skogafoss, and ran around Vik Beach just to make sure all three were our final choices for the following wedding day adventure.  After we finished, all of our to-do’s and were awaiting the start time of our Iceland wedding welcome dinner.  Chris suggested then, that this would probably be the last quite moment we would share together before the hustle and bustle of the wedding weekend had begun.  We decided to give each other our wedding day of gifts the evening before our wedding day.  I grabbed my special gift to him and gleamed with excitement as I handed it to him.  Chris gave me a curious look but still had no idea as he unwrapped the gift and read the outside of the special box.  Once he opened the box and saw his grandfather’s watch in its pristine glory, he instantly got choked up and shed a few tears even!  <Success! Bridal happy dance!>

After a few minutes he collected himself and told me to close my eyes <Eeeeek, I hate surprises, grrrr!> it was the longest 5 minutes ever!  I heard him fumbling around but didn’t really realize what he was doing until he said, “Open!”  Chris had spent months tirelessly building Photos by Miss Ann a new website from scratch, no templates, no predesigns, only him and the world of coding!  How incredibly thoughtful and such a unique surprise for him to give me!  All those months before our Iceland destination wedding, I had just thought he had been gaming on his computer until the wee hours of the night (Ahem, while I Iceland wedding planned, LOL) and really he had been doing a labor of love for my photography business!  <3

Chris and I dislike traditional things for the most part, but one thing in our wedding planning we did keep was ensuring he did not see me in my wedding dress until I walked down the aisle to him.  So after breakfast the morning of our Iceland wedding at Seljalandsfoss, we parted ways.  The really sweet thing was that we had saved exchanging cards until the morning of when we were both getting ready at Hotel Ranga.  I was getting my Iceland wedding dress on in the Royal Honeymoon Suite with my maid of honor and Chris was getting ready in another room with his best man.  Reading his card once I had my Iceland wedding dress on made it even more real and made me blaze with even more excitement!  Chris went to put his antique pocket watch in his inside tux pocket and was surprised to find my card while he and the rest of our guests loaded the bus for our surprise Iceland wedding ceremony location: Seljalandsfoss Waterfall.  Sharing our Iceland wedding gift moment with Chris, will be forever be that “somewhere in time” moment for us!

In our opinion, day of gifts set the tone of the wedding weekend or wedding day.  Every bride wants her groom completely enamored with her on their destination wedding weekend especially in Iceland!  This little detail of gift giving before your wedding day expresses the appreciation you have for each other and exciting captivation you both have for saying “I do!” that day.  We’d love to share with you some ideas for your day of gift to your soon-to-be:

Day of Gift Ideas for the Bride:

• A Heartfelt Card.
• Red Roses or her favorite flower!
• Diamond earrings or her birth stone (whichever she may prefer).
• A Bracelet or Necklace (ladies do not feel obligated to wear it on your wedding day).
• An item to complete your home (Example, A small bistro set for the porch or backyard to have dinner or coffee on together).
• Book an exclusive dinner for your Honeymoon (Example: Like what we did on our honeymoon at the Ayana Resort in Bali Indonesia: Pesta Lobster dinner on their private jetty).
• Something from Tiffany & Co.
• A sweet Souvenir from the destination wedding location you have chosen (maybe something that goes along with an inside joke you guys have?).
• Have the wedding night suite furnished before your arrival with a rose petal pathway, champagne, and fresh fruit (all the fabulous hotels we work with in Iceland offer this as an add on)!

Day of Gift Ideas for the Groom:

• A Heartfelt Card.
• A Basket of His Favorite Things.
• A Watch (Feel free to totally steal our pocket watch idea- just make sure you have your Iceland wedding photographer take a photo!)
• Book a surprise adventurous activity for your awesome honeymoon!
• That “must have” electronic he has been eying.
• An item to complete your home or to support his favorite hobby (Example, A workbench for him to build projects on).
• A World Map of your Travels Together (past, present, and future)!  This was actually Chris’s first gift he ever gave me.  Three years later, we still love plotting our travels on it, so much fun!
• Have a sweet saying engraved on the inside of his wedding ring. (Ideas: “Forever,” “Better Together,” “Fire & Ice,” “A Perfect Fit,” “Remember When…” “I Choose You, Every Day,” “Love Never Fails”).

If you’re having a destination wedding in Iceland and the wedding gift is too big, bulky, isn’t tangible to bring, it’s totally okay to print out a picture of your gifted item, put it in a small box, and wrap it for him/her to open.  In the end, it’s all about the thought and adding to the excitement of your wedding day!  We hope this blog post featuring our destination wedding in Iceland tip: “Day of Gift” has encouraged you and your soon-to-be to exchange special wedding day gifts!

Epically Yours as Iceland Wedding Photographers and Planners,

Ann & Christopher Peters

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

The post Destination Wedding in Iceland Tip: Day of Gift appeared first on Iceland Wedding Planner.