Kim and Scott | Iceland Elopement
Vik, Suderland and Snafellsness Peninsula

iceland-elopement-near-vik-iceland-black-sand-beach

Savannah Chandler Photography | Iceland Elopement Photographer

Oh Iceland. How I love thee. My heart loves Colorado, but I’m always longing to be in the Icelandic fog with the misty wind in my hair. I’ve been fortunate enough to photograph 3 Iceland elopements in the past few years – twice now in October and once in April. I’ve stood on black sand beaches in 40+ MPH winds and let the sand pummel my face, climbed up gorges, walked across glaciers, scurried across scree mountaineering, walked through an abandoned plane wreck… and so, so much more. There will always be a piece of my heart in the Land of Fire and Ice.

So (obviously), I was elated when Kim and Scott wanted to elope in Iceland and adventure throughout the South of the island as well as in the Western Peninsula. As I always advise my couples on Iceland elopements, we waited until the week of our arrival to definitively set an elopement date based on when the weather looked to be the best. Which still meant STRONG winds and very cold temperatures. One of my favorite things about elopements in Iceland is how adventurous the day is – we drive to some of the most stunning locations in the world. Quite literally.

We met this past October near Vik – we were hoping to begin our day at Dyrholaey however the weather had other plans for us. It was so foggy, the coast line near Dyrholaey looked like a white abyss. We headed towards Reynisfjara, the infamous Black Sand Beach in search of better views and amazing columns. We spent a few minutes exploring the beach – getting blasted by sand covered by ocean spray.

Seeking less winds and (slightly more) warmth, we headed to a nearby glacier lagoon and tongue. Jokursarlon is not the only glacier lagoon in Iceland – there are plenty of amazing lagoons and glacial tongues within a days drive of Reykjavik (unless you’re crazy like we are, and you head on the 4 hour drive to Jokursarlon right after your 7 hour flight). This particular glacier lagoon sits directly in front of a canyon as well as right along a massive active glacial wall. Surprisingly, there was hardly any wind and it felt warmer – STANDING ON ICE.

To cap our day off, we headed on the 5 mile hike out to the Sólheimasandur Plane Wreck. The hike out didn’t feel too bad at all. It’s flat, and very well marked. We arrived just as the night was about to fall upon Southern Iceland, the sky turning a deep blue. Kim was quite the adventurous bride – and climbed on top of the plane in what can only be described as a giant wind sail. As the land became dark, we headed back to our car to drive back to Reykjavik. The hike back was not as “lovely” feeling as before – it felt like a dark eternity 🤪

The next day, we all slept in a little bit and then headed Northwest to Snafellsness Peninsula. Kim and Scott didn’t get engagement portraits back in their home of Boston and decided to use their second day of portraits to take images in their everyday wear. We began our day at some lesser known cliffs, climbing around and attempted to climb to the top. Myself and Kim decided we like our lives, and that we’d rather live to see another day than try to do the jump move required to reach the top of the platform.

Heading to the West, we stopped at a personal favorite spot of mine – The Black Church at Budir. This was the location where my first Iceland elopement was held, and it will always hold a place in my adventurous heart. We kept heading West, and ended our day venturing near the fishing towns of Hellnar and Arnastapi. The cliffs out this way along the old fisherman’s walking path are breathtaking. And not in the Seinfeld manor 😆. The waves kept booming against the sheer rocks cliffs, where the tops were covered in mossy lava. After a good day of adventuring, we all headed to a tiny pizzeria in Arnastapi – which had delicious food and a welcoming atmosphere.

Thank you for adventuring around the Land of Fire and Ice with us for your Iceland Elopement, Kim and Scott. It was an adventure I’ll never forget.

And a special Thank You to my brother and sister for coming out to Iceland and being my sherpas once again.

Cheers –