Christophe: 

NYC Digital Guru who is an epicurean of all things delicious.  Dapper from head to toe.  Addicted to super cool things like Iceland, adventure travel, and Mary.

Mary:

She is hands down the most adventurous, compassionate, and thoughtful person I have ever met.  She cares about others on a level that doesn’t exist in most people. Not to mention she is also one of the most beautiful!

Together:

They make my cheeks hurt from smiling so much by simply just being around them.  The love they radiate is contagious, serves as an example to the world and makes you want to love whoever is in your life, harder and deeper.  …and they adventure together, often.

Quickly bonding over their shared obsession for good food, adventure seeking, travel, love of motorcycles and a continuous curiosity with Iceland…. They soon found themselves ~2,100 feet up on top of Whistler Mountain the day after Valentine’s Day where Christophe got down on one knee and proposed a lifetime of love and epic adventures to Mary.  She said “yes” and Iceland destination wedding planning began!  ::Update:: Checkout more of their amazing images on the Destination I Do blog, when they featured it, HERE!

One of the most important aspects of having a wedding in Iceland was that Christophe and Mary wanted to share in an EXPERIENCE with their friends and family not just have a wedding day like they could have back in the USA (church to reception).  To their guests surprise they were invited to an epic wedding day journey beside Mary and Christophe exploring the purest areas of Iceland.  Come along with me as I share with you some highlights from their 100+ person Rugged Adventure Wedding in Iceland!  All images you’ll see below were captured by myself and other primary photographer, Jean Smith!

Also check out Destination I Do Magazine’s blog for more from their amazing day (and specifics from the couple!), HERE!

The day began in a quaint little village called Vik.  The town of Vik is about 2.5 hours from the capital of Reykjavik.  The area is known for some of the most stunning landscapes but also the most amount of wind and rain.  It’s a tradeoff risk Christophe and Mary were willing to take.  “Boots and Suits” were the dress code theme and within each guest’s welcome bag they found some helpful items to help during the adventure like a backpack for a shoe change and an emergency rain poncho.  How fun, right?

By 9:30am their 100+ guests gathered in the hotel lobby and patiently waited for the super jeeps to arrive.  They were shuttled up to the top of the hill in the village where a beautiful white and red church sits overlooking the village.

Christophe and Mary professed their endless love to each other in that sweet little countryside church.

From there, we went waterfall hunting!  After hiking for 10 minutes their group was greeted with a secret waterfall to explore!

Did you know that between all of our 9+ Super Jeeps we had for their 100+ person Iceland wedding adventure the bride and groom had the ability to talk to their guests and sync a music playlist?  You can only imagine how that increased everyone’s excitement level!

The second stop on the adventure wedding agenda was a hot dog bbq lunch in a private cave!  To get there, we forged some sweet rivers and jammed out to music.  Once there everyone ate a delicious lamb hot dog with all the sauces (Icelanders LOVE their sauces) and fixings (like raw and fried onions), toasted with Christophe’s family’s champagne (La Caravelle) and had a fun Icelandic sing-along.  The energy from all the excitement in there was intoxicating and truly an unforgettable experience!

A subglacial volcano was the next exploration spot.  It rained a lot, but the smiles just got bigger the closer we got to the glacier.  Everyone was in utter awe of the colors, depth, tones, and textures.  And even in the rain, Christophe and Mary bounced around laughing and playing together hand in hand.

The final stop for the guests was my favorite private beach.  It comes complete with epic sea arch, black sand, and a stunning glacier view.  To say everyone enjoyed would be an understatement!

The team of Iceland wedding photographers and videographers continued to our last stop with just the bride and groom….  A private canyon area where some of my favorite shots from the day were taken!

The rest of the group had about an hour to rest and refresh before they were invited to delight in an incredible four course Icelandic meal.  Many amazing toasts, endless laughs, delicious cocktails, and dancing kept the night lively. Then close to the final hour the couple cut their traditional Icelandic wedding cake for a sweet treat!

Just when you thought the night might be coming to an end, several folks in the group went on a Northern Lights hunt.  They were successful too, somewhere around 2am!  Perfect end to a fabulous September wedding in Iceland!  Our friends at Two Penny Productions created a lovely video (including those dancing Northern Lights) documenting Christophe and Mary’s adventurous wedding day in Iceland.  We encourage you to go check it out here and leave them some love!

Mary + Christophe,

Ugh. You two!!  You’re disgustingly BEAUTIFUL humans, both individually and together.  Getting to know you over the last 2 years has been a super fun experience!  I’m going to miss our 5am Skype calls and your witty emails.  But!  You will not escape me anytime I come to NYC or you come to Iceland

I cannot say it any better than my friend Pastor Egill… “Part of your home is here now.  You are home here in Iceland.”  I know you know this in your hearts, feel this, and that you will always come back to have more experiences and incredible adventures here.  I’m excited to see your marriage and journey unfold!  Lots of love and hugs to you!!

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

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

The post Vik Iceland Rugged Adventure Wedding: Christophe + Mary appeared first on Iceland Wedding Planner.

Six things that keep me always coming back is the following:

The quality of food.

The flavor ingenuity.

Presentation: How it’s plated.

The vibe and atmosphere.

The drink options.

The service of the staff.

That being said, I would love to share with you my favorite restaurants in Reykjavik today!

1. Snaps
2. Fiskmarkaðurinn (Fish Market)
3. Grillmarkaðurinn (Grill Market)
4. Matarkjallarinn (Food Cellar)
5. Public House Gastro Pub
6. Slippbarinn
7. Dill
8. Fjallkonan
9. Mathús Garðabæjar
10. Apotek
11. Kol Restaurant
12. Duck & Rose

Note: If interested in dinning at any of them, I strongly encourage you to make in advance reservations, especially on the weekends or high season summer days.

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

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

The post Iceland Honeymooning | Top 12 Restaurants in Reykjavik appeared first on Iceland Wedding Planner.

My friend Phoebe Parlade from Liberty Tabletop has been fabulous enough to educate us all a little more on specifics below, enjoy!

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

Things to remember when attending a formal dining event…

A formal event is a chance to enjoy yourself in a stylish and sophisticated environment. There are many different occasions where formal dining etiquette could be required, and following it ensures that everyone enjoys themselves. One of the most common instances of formal dining you might come across is at a wedding reception. In all formal dining situations, you want to make sure you make a good impression upon your hosts, companion, or fellow guests. They are important at a wedding reception, as you won’t necessarily be sitting with people you know, and wouldn’t want to embarrass the bride or groom with poor table manners.

Formal dining etiquette governs many different things, and is meant to make the meal run more smoothly. Much of it is for your own convenience. For instance, having several sets of cutlery makes it easier to eat each course. All you have to remember is to start with the outer set and work your way inwards with each consecutive course. A lot of the rules of formal dining are not as complicated as they first appear.

If you know these rules, you can focus on enjoying your evening. You won’t be preoccupied by the possibility of making a mistake, which could be embarrassing. Knowing these protocols is especially important in the case of events where you don’t know your fellow diners. You don’t want them forming a bad impression, particularly when it only takes a few minutes to brush up on your formal dining knowledge. Please see the walk through below for more information!

The post Iceland Destination Wedding Reception Table Setup appeared first on Iceland Wedding Planner.

I hope this finds you well and super excited for the wonderfully exciting week ahead of you!  Crazy busy season here at Photos by Miss Ann and we are loving every second of it!  Today’s post is a long super informative one so let’s get right into it!  When planning your Iceland wedding reception, it’s important to know four things:

1. What alcohol can you bring into Iceland?  …and how much can you bring?
2. What alcohol is made locally in Iceland?
3. What selection of liquors, beers and wines may be available for your Iceland wedding reception?
4. What are the prices you may be expected to pay for your Iceland wedding reception alcohol?

Many items of alcoholic content are imported into Iceland and may be more expensive than other locations you may have visited.  An alternative option may be to bring your own wedding champagne or specific alcohol so that you may save within your Iceland wedding budget.

Real Wedding in Iceland Example: When we held our Iceland destination wedding adventure at Seljalandsfoss waterfall, Vik Beach, and Skogafoss waterfall we knew that purchasing champagne for 40 people was going to be expensive.  For instance, if we would have purchased 10 bottles for our 40 guests (based on 4 glasses per bottle) to do our wedding champagne toast at Vik Beach it would have cost us $1,500 USD (if we purchased house champagne at Hotel Ranga).  Chris and I decided that those funds would be better spent elsewhere in our Iceland wedding ­budget but did want to still have a champagne toast for our guests during the sightseeing excursion.

After further research, we found that each person could bring 3 bottles of wine OR 1 bottle of wine and 1 liter of alcohol.  So we spent a weekend wine and champagne tasting in Napa Valley (see one of our destination engagement sessions we have done in San Francisco/Napa Valley, here) and found a delicious variety from Domaine Chandon in fact, it was their vintage reserve brut from 2007.  We bought a case (for only $600 USD) and shipped it home to Plymouth Michigan in anticipation of our April wedding in Iceland at Seljalandsfoss waterfall.  When we packed our bags for our Iceland destination wedding, we made sure to bubble wrap the bottles, and designated a few of our friends to help us abide by the 2-3 bottle per person restriction.  Luckily, all of the bottles arrived to Iceland in one piece along with our champagne glasses we also imported (our wedding host hotel was going to charge us $5 USD per glass to rent).

Question #1: What alcohol can you bring into Iceland?  …and how much can you bring?  Answer:  The specific guidelines directly from the awesome KEF Airport states the following on their website:

“Travelers can import duty-free alcoholic beverages and tobacco products as follows:
Alcoholic beverages:

1 litre of spirits, 1 litre of wine and 200 cigarettes (1 carton) or 250 g of other tobacco products;

or

1 litre of spirits, 6 litres of beer and 200 cigarettes (1 carton) or 250 g of other tobacco products;

or

1.5 litre of wine, 6 litres of beer and 200 cigarettes (1 carton) or 250 g of other tobacco products;

or

3 litres wine and 200 cigarettes (1 carton) or 250 g of other tobacco products.

Spirits comprise alcoholic beverages having 22% alcoholic content or more; wines comprise alcoholic beverages, other than beer, below this alcohol content.  The minimum age for bringing alcoholic beverages into Iceland is 20 years, or 18 years for tobacco.”

Question #2: What alcohol is made locally in Iceland?  Answer: Iceland produces some delicious beers at the following breweries:  Ölgerðin Egill Skallagrímsson in Reykjavik and Vífilfell.  The Reykjavik Distillery is another amazing local option for liquor.  They make several schnapps called Brennivin in interesting flavors like: Brennivin 50, Brennivin 64, Blueberry, Crowberry, Rhubarb, Bilberry, and Juniper.  They all have organic ingredients like potato, herbs, seeds, Icelandic water, etc.

One of the other token alcohols is called, Reyka Vodka.  They have such a fun tagline too, “When you live on the edge of the Arctic Circle, you need to know how to have fun.”  Ha, love! The company itself is also known for being a “green” vodka because it is produced using sustainable energy.  The vodka itself is made from organic wheat and they do a final filtration through lava rock –how fun, right?

Questions #3 & #4: What selection of liquors, beers and wines may be available for your Iceland wedding reception?  What are the prices you may be expected to pay for your Iceland wedding reception alcohol?  Answers:  They follow below!

<Please note that all prices below are approximations and are also from our direct personal/professional experiences for wedding receptions in Iceland.  The list below is also to provide you with an idea of what alcohol could be offered during your destination wedding reception in Iceland.  Prices vary depending on your chosen Iceland wedding hotel or restaurant.  All prices are featured in ISK (Icelandic Krona) and converted to USD (United States Dollar) as of today’s exchange rate (and by the bottle)>.

Iceland Wedding Champagne and Sparkling Wine Prices:

• House Champagne (Example: Ayala Brut NV): 19,000 ISK (Icelandic Krona) = $150 USD
• Louis Roederer Cristal:  234,000 ISK (Icelandic Krona) = $1,890 USD
• Tosti Asti Sparkling Wine: 5,200 ISK (Icelandic Krona) = $45 USD

Wedding Reception in Iceland Wine Price Examples:

• Santa Cristina Cipresseto Rosato (Italian Rose): 6,500 ISK = $55 USD
• Rene Mure Riesling (French): 7,800 ISK = $65 USD
• Bolla Pinot Grigio (Italian): 6,600 ISK = $53 USD
• Vina Maipo Gran Devocion Sauvignon Blanc (Chile): 8,500 ISK = $69 USD
• Sky Valley Chardonnay (New Zealand): 8,600 ISK = $70 USD
• Chateau Branaire Ducru Grand Cru St. Julien (Red/Bordeux): 29,800 ISK = $240 USD
• Chateaunauf du Pape E. Guigal (Red/Rhone): 22,000 ISK = $178 USD
• Domaine Faiveley Corton Grand Cru (Red/Burgundy): 45,800 ISK = $395 USD
• Colome Reserve Malbeq / Cabernet (Red/Argentina): 25,900 ISK = $210 USD
• Gen Carlou Syrah (Red/South Africa): 10,950 ISK = $90 USK
• Spy Valley Pinot Noir (Red/New Zealand): 8,500 ISK = $70 USD
• Delicato Shiraz (Red/USA): 6,500 ISK = $53 USD

Side Note: Typically the per glass cost is 1,600 ISK ($13 USD) and for champagne per glass cost is usually around 3,800 ISK ($32 USD).

Iceland Wedding Beer Choices:

On average a bottle or glass of beer is around 900 ISK ($8 USD) and the most often found beer varieties in Iceland follow below:

• Einstok Pale Ale (Icelandic Beer)
• Hrammur Lager (Icelandic Beer)
• Víking Gold (Gullfoss): Best selling beer in Iceland (type: lager).
• Víking Stout (Icelandic Beer)
• Víking Pilsner (Icelandic Beer)
• Egill’s Gull (Ölgerðin Egill Skallagrímsson in Reykjavik)
• Freyja (Wheat Beer from Selfoss Iceland)
• Móri (Icelandic Red Ale)
• Lava Stout (Southern Iceland Beer)

If you plan to have an open bar for your wedding guests please note that the 3+ star hotels in Iceland offer a very exuberant list!  This is awesome, but can become expensive very quickly.  Here was our example list of what we featured for our Iceland Open Bar Menu (outside of the above we already posted):

Cost was ~1,800-4,000 ISK ($15-32 USD) per pour:

• All Schnapps Available & Mixers (Like Jagermeister, Baileys, Triple Sec, Cointreau, Grand Marnier, etc).
• All Beers, selected wines, and champagnes.
• Berneroy Brandy
• Brennivin
• Bombay Gin
• Chopin Vodka
• Fonseca Guimaraens Port
• Glenmorangie Single Malt
• Havana Club Rum
• Jameson (18 years old)
• Johnnie Walker Gold (18 years old)
• Remy Martin Cognac
• Reyka Vodka
• Tequila: Silver Patron
• Vermouth Rosso
• Whiskey: Woodford Reserve

Iceland Wedding Planner Tip: If you’re having an Iceland wedding welcome dinner the night before maybe choose 4 specific wines and beers you will serve with dinner.  Having an Iceland Bar Menu helps too!  Then for your Iceland wedding reception, keep the options open by the glass (not the bottle) but limit what brands you would like to have served to your guests.  Example, we limited our guests to only being able to order 18 years old scotch/whiskey/brandy/ports because Hotel Ranga had some rare whiskey that were 25+ years and more than $75 USD per glass.  We had selected as a couple a “do not serve” list of those rare brands and also selected our favorite brands in each mixed drink category.

We hope that this blog post today on Iceland Wedding Reception Alcohol will prove to be a useful tool to you as you plan your wedding day in Iceland!  If at any time you need assistance planning your Icelandic destination wedding or need an Iceland wedding photographer, we would love to help you!  Our packages include Iceland wedding planning and Iceland wedding photography (we’re a husband and wife team: Photos by Miss Ann) allowing us to be your one point of contact for you throughout this amazing process so please contact us for more details!

With a smile, Ann & Chris Peters

Expert Iceland Wedding Planners & Iceland Wedding Photographers

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

The post Iceland Wedding Reception Alcohol 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.

Topic of the week…. Destination Wedding Welcome Bags

When your guests receive that invitation to your epic destination wedding there is a level of excitement that continues to build until your wedding day.  So why not keep up the momentum with destination wedding welcome bags?

In our case, while planning our destination Iceland wedding at Seljalandsfoss, this idea was immediately put into our wedding budget.  We felt that our guests were traveling on average 1,000’s of miles to see us say, “I do” they needed a stunning and fun welcome bag that featured creature comforts, bare necessities, locale flare, and items that would emit positive feelings- like a great marriage!

Our Iceland Welcome Bags included the following items:

• Gorgeously styled “Welcome to our Wedding” canvas tote bag by Kate Aspen
• Icelandic tour book, adventure pamphlets, and local Icelandic maps
• Love Notes Tablet – A small notepad that guests could jot down notes, directions, etc
• Chapstick with SPF15 (which coined our color theme, wedding date, and wedding logo
• Sewing Kit
• An umbrella with a note attached, “In case You Encounter April Showers!”
• Hot-Hands (2 packs) to ensure our guests would be comfortable during our outdoor ceremony (we were anticipating 40 degree temps)
• Packets of Advil and Pepto-Bismol – just in case!
• Tissues: They were wrapped in a tulle case with rhinestone beads in the back.  The front stated, “Tears of Love; Tears of Laughter; Tears of Happily Ever After!”
• Icelandic Glacial Water with our wedding logo on them.
• Volcano Wafer Chocolates
• Draumurs – Icelandic milk chocolate with licorice straw inside
• Hraunbitar – Lava Bites
• Icelandic Mints
• Coffee Singles
• Rock Candy (to resemble glaciers!)
• Time Line Card for wedding weekend (see more details below).
• Pop Rocks and coloring books for the younger guests.
• Fish Bites!
• Icelandic Soda
• Icelandic Chocolates
• Iceland Hard Candy
• Iceland Atlas
• A special greeting and thank you to all of our guests.
• Please see our Iceland Wedding Photos of our Welcome Bag below (Compliments of Photos by Miss Ann).

The Unique Thought:

Even if you are not holding a destination wedding in the Iceland countryside it is still nice to remember that being thoughtful goes a long way.  Guests appreciate that you have their interest in mind and that you are trying to make the trip flawlessly fun for them.  Give it a little thought as you choose your destination wedding location – what items your guests may need while traveling, find unique/helpful, or make it a more memorable trip!  Guests still tell me how super cute and helpful the canvas tote has been- even 6 months later!

How to Transport:

Since shipping and duties were pretty expensive from Plymouth, Michigan to Iceland we had decided to pack our welcome bag items.  We had put together some of the creature comforts ahead of time and packed them tightly in one of our 5 suitcases.  But bags for 40 guests became a bigger project that we anticipated.  To ensure those items made it to Iceland was an adventure in itself!  Our recommendation: Let a professional handle (had there been an Iceland Wedding Coordinator when we were planning I would have hired her!)  So let Photos by Miss Ann (aka: Iceland Wedding Planner) handle that detail and worry for you!

When to give them out?

Having the welcome bags handed out at the front desk of the hotel is fun so that upon arrival the guests get a piece of home, know what’s going on and when, and have an instant piece of Iceland to try!  But handing them out individually at our Icelandic “welcome dinner” was even more special and added a connection of appreciation to our guests.  PS- Do not forget your Iceland wedding photographer too!  I am sure he/she/they will be gracious enough to receive one and take a photo of your detailed thoughtfulness!

Partner with Wedding Bathroom Basket:

During our welcome dinner and actual wedding reception at Hotel Ranga we had several “Wedding Guest Survival Kits” strategically placed throughout the hotel.  We had things like floss, cold medication, bobby pins, Band-Aids, Hollywood Tape, Wisps, combs, and other esstiantial emergency items!   I think we spent ~ $36 USD per basket but it had a lasting impression on our guests that we managed to think of every last detail.

Do I need a Destination Wedding Timeline Card?

My personal vote is always, yes you do.  There is nothing worse than a guest  saying “I don’t know where to be or what’s going on when.”  The card itself can be simplistic or fancy – professionally printed or on your home printer.  I think they are more critical in a destination wedding weekend than a ceremony program so please do it!  It is better to hand out a message to your guests and a wedding timeline to keep the guests in the know rather than spelling out who is who in the ceremony.

Wedding Agenda How To (Photo example below- compliments of Photos by Miss Ann below):

1. Card stock is important that weight to the paper allows easy finding by your guests and less chance of it being discarded.  We used Silver Metallic Card Stock 107# which shimmered in the light.  Gorgeous!
2. Have a 2 sided card designed – the more information to your guests the better!
3. Front can feature a “Welcome Message” and cutesy timeline for the actual wedding day with images above the times.
4. Back can be the schedule for the other events or activities that may be planned, a heartfelt wedding thank you from the bride and groom, etc.
5. Our Iceland Timeline Card provided a little snippet on our “Love Letter Ceremony” we were going to perform during the ceremony so guests would understand the uniqueness.
6. Once you have thought out what you want contact Pixels to Paper for the actual execution!  Mindy the owner does amazing work – crisp, clean, and only the best materials.  Order 3 months before your wedding date- We ended up having to order more before and after the wedding (for a keepsake) and she got them right out to us!

Local Thoughts:

If your guests are traveling more than 100 miles to your wedding day it is proper etiquette to supply them with a welcome bag if they are staying overnight.  After all, you spent X number of days, weeks, months, or years planning your incredible destination wedding why skimp with the guest details?

The destination wedding photography and details of your day are items that you should never skimp on.  Wedding Planning Advice: Please hire a seasoned destination wedding photographer!  Experience in ever-changing outdoor lighting and attention to detail are traits that are near impossible to find in many and 100% critical in a place like Iceland where weather changes instantly.  In the end, those two things are the only items that will allow you to go back in time and relive your day over and over again and also have your guests list uttering, “That was the wedding of the year!”

I look forward to sharing my next post with you: Alternatives to Sand and Unity Ceremony’s…. The “Love Letter Ceremony”!

Until then, many smiles! – Miss Ann

Thriving on Adventure and Love…

For more information on Iceland wedding photography or Iceland wedding planning please contact me directly here or visit: Photos By Miss Ann.  PBMA is a local & destination wedding photographer located in Plymouth, Michigan but loves and experienced photographing love worldwide.

© 2012, Photos by Miss Ann, All Rights Reserved

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