Gorgeous full day elopement in Southeast Iceland

This is Samantha and Trevor’s Iceland elopement story.

The couple met through work and fell in love. Trevor loved hiking and travelling and brought Samantha into these hobbies and they started adventuring together to different places in the world.

During a hike in Banff, when the moment felt perfect and the couple were alone with a beautiful view, Trevor proposed!

Why they decided to elope in Iceland

Since travelling and hiking became something they truly loved doing together, making their wedding into a real adventure felt like the perfect way to make it unique and their own.

Samantha and Trevor decided on an elopement in Iceland because they fell in love with all the beautiful photos they saw online and they also wanted to combine their elopement with their honeymoon.

In addition, they had only heard good things about Iceland and they felt like it was a place where they felt comfortable navigating by themselves to see the incredible amount of beautiful places the country has to offer. And then they planned to have a small celebration back home as well to celebrate their marriage with their loved ones.

The couple then found my Iceland elopement portfolio online and really liked my style. After our initial consultation and talking about all the different location options, they decided on Southeast Iceland, which also happens to be my favourite area in Iceland. This part of the island is sparsely populated, has gorgeous glacier outlets and glacier lagoons as well as stunning black sand beaches. 

How I co-crafted their big day

The couple wanted to find a truly special and incredible place for their ceremony and of course they were up for hiking in order to get to more remote and quiet places.

I introduced them to two of my favorite hikes in the area that both lead to breathtaking views and one of the hikes felt completely right for the couple – the Mulaglijufur Canyon hike that has one of the most impressive views in all of Iceland. This green mossy canyon is so majestic and breathtaking that it has to be seen to be believed. 

In order to get to the viewpoint above the canyon you need to hike uphill for around 45 minutes. It’s a moderate hike with stunning views on a glacier and mountains the whole time. 

After that we added 4 other locations to the list. We were looking for variety and different types of landscapes so we ended up with two glacier lagoons with icebergs, two black sand beaches and a waterfall. 

I created a timeline for the day around light and privacy in the following way:

We would meet early in the morning and get to the canyon for the ceremony before anyone else would arrive there to have the whole place to ourselves. Then we would move to a glacier lagoon for another photoshoot and then we would have a lunch break for a couple of hours.

After the lunch break we would meet again at the second glacier lagoon, then stop at Diamond beach, then drive to a waterfall just before sunset and finally we would finish the day at sunset at the magnificent Vestrahorn.

I planned everything in a way that would give us the most privacy and the best light at all the locations, but also because I wanted the couple to have a break to rest and eat so they would be full of energy for the second half of the day.

How the elopement day went

Trevor and Samantha woke up very early in the morning in their cabin in the Southeast surrounded by beautiful nature and got ready. Samantha did her own hair and makeup and she also had one the most beautiful wedding dresses I’ve ever seen. It was simple, flowy and perfect for playing with the wind. The best part is that the dress also had a cape which was flying so beautifully in the wind and added so much to the photos!

Then I met the couple at the parking lot for the canyon (we were of course the first ones to arrive) and we started our incredible adventure.

What was very interesting about this elopement day in mid May is that there was a heat wave in Iceland at that time that beat all the records. It’s very unusual for this kind of weather to happen in May – it actually felt like real summer with lots of sun and no wind. 

When we arrived at the viewpoint the couple couldn’t believe how impressive the canyon was and they knew that they picked exactly the perfect place for them – it was all meant to be.

They got ready and changed into their wedding attire right there and then they had an emotional and dreamy ceremony above the canyon and there was not a dry eye! And it was so amazing to have the whole place to ourselves!

After the ceremony we took some more photos (including drone photos) and started hiking back down. Then we headed to the first glacier lagoon. It was very warm there as well and we took photos with gorgeous icebergs and the huge glacier in the background! And then it was time for our lunch break.

After the break we met in the afternoon when the sun was lower to have better and more flattering light for our photos. And wow! This was exactly the right time for us to meet as the backlit icebergs were stunning. Diamond beach was also on our list, but there was barely any ice there so we decided to skip it and made a quick stop to take some photos with beautiful glaciers and mountains instead.

Then we drove even further towards the east and just before sunset we visited this little, but incredibly photogenic waterfall and had the whole place to ourselves. The light behind the mountains was just right and I played with long exposure in order to make the waterfall smooth.

Then we headed to our last location of the day – the stunning Vestrahorn/Stokksnes. And woooow! The light there was just unbelievable and it was one of the most beautiful sunsets I’ve ever seen there.

The wind and light playing with the bride’s dress was so beautiful and the photos turned out otherworldly. This location was the only cold one on this day, but the wind ended up working in our favour and the couple was so happy with their photos! 

I’m so grateful for having spent this day with the lovely couple who were up for hiking and adventures and wish them all the happiness in the world! 

Samatha and Trevor will be continuing to explore the natural beauty of the world together and are hoping to be out hiking in nature in a new location again next year.