Iceland elopement

Iceland elopement tutorial by Alex Paul

Iceland is a country of incredible beauty and atmosphere. From or with lunar landscapes, majestic waterfalls, cliffs and wild nature. This island country is a perfect background for beautiful wedding photos while being a great place to visit for adventurous souls and introverts. If you want to enjoy a,  “not of this earth” environment and avoid all the traditional wedding madness, elope to Iceland-it’s the best choice.
Today I want to share the story of Emily and Nick’s Iceland wedding day, as an example of how to organize a one-day Iceland elopement.

Let’s start at the beginning. First, you need to decide whether you need an official civil marriage in Iceland. Pls, find some information regarding official marriage here.   It is a personal choice for everyone, but my humble opinion is that it’s ideal to go to your local city hall and get officially married. Once this is obtained, you can fly to Iceland, go to a beautiful location, read vows to each other and exchange wedding rings. This will simplify all issues with documents, and allow you to be flexible in choosing the exact date and location for your Iceland elopement.

Weather in Iceland is complicated and can be windy and chilly at times.   I hope that you will be lucky and the weather will be sunny and without rain, but what if? To my clients who are looking for an Iceland wedding photographer, I advise fly to Iceland for a few days and plan an elopement around the day with the most suitable weather.

There are millions of fantastic locations in Iceland to visit, and you can go around the island photographing in different spectacular places, but it takes at least a week to do it.   Good news that you can plan your wedding adventure just for one day with departure and return from Reykjavik. I want to share my favorite areas for one-day Iceland elopement.

Let’s go!

1) Seljalandsfoss and Gljúfrabúi waterfalls

*Drive time: Reykjavik – Seljalandsfoss: 2 hours
*Time for photos: 45 min
This is our first locations for pictures and one of the most popular waterfalls in southern, Iceland, due to its breathtaking views and easy accessibility.  What I love the most about this place is that you can capture unique photos by walking behind the falls. All you need is a raincoat or waterproof clothing. (For photographers – you need a wide lens: 14 – 15 – 16mm)

Be prepared to encounter many tourists at Seljalandsfoss waterfall, especially during the summer months, however, don’t worry, an experienced photographer knows how to deal with it.

Seljalandsfoss waterfall photo

Just a five-minute walk from Seljalandsfoss falls, you can find Gljúfrabúi waterfall, also known as the secret waterfall. It is a great spot for photos, and the number of tourists here is much less.

2) Holtsós lagoon and Steinahellir Cave

*Driving time: Seljalandsfoss – Holtsós lagoon/ 15 min

*Time for photos: 20 min

While driving to our preplanned locations, I saw how the beautiful blue sky reflected in the calm water of Holtsos lagoon. We immediately stopped and went there to take photos. I love to use reflections in my wedding photos and have had a few international wedding photos awards for pictures with reflections so that I couldn’t miss that chance.

I was so excited and but soon realized that we parked by Steinahellir Cave. I loved the harsh light there, so we made a few portraits and jumped back to our car.

3) Drangshlíð Turf House

Driving time: Steinahellir Cave –  Drangshlíð/ 10 minutes
Time for photos – 10 minutes

I added this quick stop to our Iceland elopement route because I think turf houses are very Icelandic. These houses have been built since the 9th century, and are built into the ground on a hill, with some grass and turf covering the roof.

4) Skógafoss waterfall

*Driving time: Drangshlíð – Skógafoss 10 minutes

*Time for photos – 15 minutes

I love this waterfall. Very spectacular and one of the largest in Iceland is 195 feet high. Tip for photographers: don’t get close by. Stay far away and use your portrait or telephoto lens 
(85, 135, 70-200mm).
There are stairs that lead to a platform above the waterfall, but I recommend not the best place to go in a wedding dress, but worth a visit. If you’re lucky, you can see beautiful rainbows caused by sunlight and water dust.

5) Solheimasandur Plane Wreck

Driving time: Skógafoss – Plane Wreck/ Parking  5 minutes
Waking time: 50min one wayTime for photos – 20 minutes (half of this time is waiting for other tourists get out of sight)

My epic fails of the day. I visited this place a long time ago when I first traveled to Iceland, and you could drive right to the plane. Now the farmer who owns this land decided to forbid driving on his property.    Be prepared for a walk that takes 45-50min one way, and the same, back to the parking lot. Is it worth it? I don’t know. Maybe yes and maybe not. I would spend more time on the Black sand beach instead of spending almost two hours for getting there.

Just an old US Navy DC-3 that crashed in 1973. Hopefully, no one died when it happened. I love photos I took there, but we waited in line to do it, and I had to photoshop people out of the pictures.

On our way back to the car I made my favorite photo. Isn’t it beautiful?

6) Kirkjufjara Beach (Black Sand Beach), Vik

Driving time: Plane Wreck – Black Sand Beach parking 15 min
Time for photos – 35 min ( but recommended time – 1-2 hours)

Kirkjufjara Beach is one of the most beautiful and memorable locations on the planet. It is among the top ten beaches in the world?.  Basalt columns, grottoes, black sand, huge waves, and sea stacks piercing out of the ocean. This place is extremely popular, and you can often stand in line to photograph on the steps of the basalt rocks or in the grotto. It’s worth it. There is no other such landscape. Be careful with the waves. In fact, there is enough space for everyone.?  We spent 30 minutes there, it could be longer, but we hurried to our main point – Cape Dyrholaey.

7) Dyrhólaey

Driving time: Kirkjufjara Beach – Dyrhólaey 15 min
Time spent there: – 40 min

I planned Emily and Nick’s Iceland elopement and decided to meet at the end of the day and enjoy the sunset on Cape Dyrholaey. The most beautiful sight I’ve ever seen in my life, and as a destination wedding photographer, I’ve seen a lot. I specifically chose this location as our final destination and the place where they exchanged rings and said their vows.  

Simply beautiful!

Be careful though.  It can be very, very windy. Do not approach the edge. You can drive to the top of the Dyrholaey, peninsula easily but during snowy season use the all-wheel drive and a high clearance car.
And it takes two and a half hours to drive back to Reykjavik where you can find a variety of restaurants to celebrate. Or you can stay at Vik and continue to explore Iceland another day.

By the way, from October to mid-April, you can hunt for Northern Lights if you have the strength after a long day!

So that’s the way we spent an October day in Iceland with Emily and Nick. We were blessed with the sunny and calm weather, and I wish this to you as well.

Pls use this map if you want:

Other recommendations if regarding Iceland elopement wedding:
* You will walk a lot, so wear comfortable tracking waterproof shoes
* Take your waterproof jacket with you and take it off when you take photos
*Take snacks and water with you
*For brides – wear a wedding dress, you can move comfortably in

Hope you guys have a great adventure! Feel free to reach me if you need an Iceland wedding photographer!