Black Sand Beach Elopement in Vík, Iceland
Chelsea & Ryan’s Micro wedding at Reynisfjara Church, Reynisfjara Beach, & Dyrhólaey Lighthouse
I don’t have the words to describe this epic elopement… but I will try. It all started when I decided I wanted to try to rebrand into destination elopements. I thought Iceland would be a great place to start, and it was at the top of my bucket list for years. My sister and I decided to take a long overdue sister trip and got our tickets. I had originally planned to just hire some models and do some styled shoots for my portfolio, but Chelsea reached out to me after I posted on instagram that I was going… and then we ended up planning her & Ryan’s wedding in Iceland!
I sent them lists of locations, hotels, and what you need to get married legally in Iceland. In my next blog I will show some of these resources. To make things easier, they got their marriage license in their home state and just did a symbolic ceremony in Iceland which is a great option if paperwork overwhelms you. They chose Vík for their elopement because the black sand beach (Reynisfjara) really caught their eye. They decided to have their immediate families join them, and took a few days before the wedding day to explore with them.
Getting Ready
The night before their wedding, they stayed in Hótel Kría in Vík so they could get ready there in the morning. Chelsea hired Margaret Magnus, a hair & makeup artist from Reykjavík to get everyone looking good for the day. While everyone was getting ready, Chelsea’s mom gave her a gift to put on her bouquet - a charm with a photo of her dad who is no longer with us. It was an extra special moment between mother & daughter.
The First Look & Vows
One thing to note about eloping in Iceland (or anywhere that you’ll be doing a lot of adventuring outside) is that you are at the mercy of the weather. Iceland is known to be very windy, cold, and rainy. We were all prepared for this - everyone had extra layers, boots, and clear umbrellas in the vans. As expected, it was raining all morning in Vik while everyone was getting ready. We headed to the first look location separately. Ryan went first with the family members and I followed later with Chelsea & her parents. Then something miraculous happened - the sun came out! It was a sign that Chelsea’s father was watching over them. We got so lucky with the weather, but it’s definitely a good thing we were prepared anyway.
I think it’s a great idea to choose a location for a first look so that you & your partner can share an intimate moment with each other for the first time you see each other all dressed up. They wanted to do their ceremony on the beach, which is a huge tourist destination. By going to Reynisfjara church (just up the road from the beach), Chelsea & Ryan could have some privacy for their first look & vows.
The Ceremony
The Portraits
After a beautiful ceremony, I took Chelsea & Ryan down to beach to explore a little & take some portraits. The columnar basalt was truly spectacular, it is definitely what makes Reynisfjara Beach so enticing, along with the black sand. There were so many people there but I managed to keep most of them out of the frame.
We continued down the road to Dyrhólaey Lighthouse for more exploring & photos. What’s so great about Iceland is that there are endless places to take photos & explore.
I think one of the craziest things about this elopement is that everything seemed to work out perfectly. I definitely believe that there was some magic surrounding this trip. A few days before departing, I got a call from Chelsea that their puppy had eaten Ryan’s passport. Ryan proved his devotion by pulling an all nighter to get to Texas for a same-day passport appointment (these are hard to get on such short notice and only a few offices do this). It just goes to show you whatever will be, will be. Clearly, Chelsea & Ryan were meant to be together! And if you put a lot of love & intention into your wedding, a lot of magic can happen!