Icelandic Elopement

A COVID-19 postponement, cinematic landscapes, natural beauty, modern beaded lace wedding dress, and picturesque details + a romantic Iceland elopement. Be prepared for the wonders of these two and their story — it truly was a magical day.

T H E L O V E S T O R Y

“We were college sweethearts at the University of Michigan, Ann Arbor”. The two met through a friend group – Kimberly was closer with one half of the friend group while he was closer to another half, so they only knew each other peripherally. The following year, Kimberly moved into a college dormitory where her now husband happened to work. They got to know each other while sharing many solo lunches and study dates together. Through these early moments together, they sparked a deep friendship and romance – “We became inseparable! We moved in together after graduating college. We adopted many kitties and share many hobbies and dreams together”.

T H E P R O P O S A L

August 8th, 2019, at Montreal, Quebec at the Mount Royal lookout

At the time, the two had never been away on a big trip together and have only been travelling locally or within a group. They’ve always wanted to visit Montreal, so they booked a solo trip, stayed at an Airbnb in Mile End, and planned many activities.

“My boyfriend had wanted to visit Mount Royal on our first day in Montreal and was being very persistent about it. But we were in a brand-new city!” Hiking a hill/mountain on the first day and visiting a new vibrant city was not she had in mind. Kimberly (softly) “squashed” his plans and offered a day of exploring the neighbourhood instead and drinking lots of speciality coffees at artsy cafes and splurging at thrift stores.

A couple days later, he finally got them to Mount Royal. They made it to the top of the lookout point (looking nice and sweaty due to hiking in 89-degree F weather) – “It was so crowded”. After some time, they found an opening along the lookout and admired the view of the city. After only a couple of minutes, her boyfriend wanted to move to another area on the opposite side. Frustrated and annoyed at giving up their newly acquired and perfect space along the edge, Kimberly obliged. While crossing the middle of the paved plaza, he went down on one knee and popped the question – “I was surprised at the timing of the event, although I had wondered if the question would be coming during the trip. We celebrated our engagement at a fancy restaurant that night in Montreal”.

Side note: He had the ring in his backpack the entire time. It explained why he was so possessive and protective over his backpack! I couldn’t even store a coat or umbrella in his backpack without his oversight and micromanaging.

T H E D R E S S

“I love the look of high fashion and edgy clothing, so the wedding gowns that I was drawn to were often showcased on the runway, and likely overbudget and not designed with my shape in mind”.

Kimberly had a vison of those high-fashion gowns while shopping, hoping to find an edgy and fashion forward dress that was also “bridal” and within her budget. She went to a few shops with no luck and was getting exhausted and discouraged as consultants continue to pull traditional dresses. She was about to give up and settle on a dress. Fortunately, her dad, who she only gets to see once a year, was visiting from out of state. On a whim, she booked a surprise dress appointment for them to attend together.

Moments after walking in the store, she knew she was in the right direction. The store was professional, beautiful, and carried an exquisite mix of traditional and non-traditional gowns. The owner of the store was her consultant and was able to interpret what she was describing and pulled an array of fabulous gowns.

The store carried Lis Simon dresses, and the consultant pulled a few of their line as well as others from different designers. “I fell in love with the Lis Simon dress. She coined me a ‘Lis Simon Bride!’” Kimberly tried on the Lyla dress first and it immediately took her breath away. But then, she saw the classic, elegant shape, and shimmer of the Lena dress and fell over heels. “Lena reflected me and my style so well! Despite the apparent Art Deco or Old Hollywood vibes Lena may elicit, she never felt like a costume to me, unlike other bejeweled dresses she tried on”. The style made her feel like a fashion-forward, modern bride with a slight twist on a classic style. Once she knew she found the dress, the bridal salon humoured her by playing with accessories, overskirts, and armbands. Ultimately, they all just distracted from the beautiful silhouette and shimmer of the dress – “she was perfect the way she was”.

T H E E L O P E M E N T

October 30th, 2021, at Þórufoss Waterfall, Iceland

The two were only in Iceland for a weekend – they arrived Friday morning and left Sunday. They stayed at a boutique hotel (Sand Hotel) downtown. The morning of the wedding, they invited her hair and makeup artist and the photographer to the hotel room. They had their first look on a staircase outside their hotel – “we were both shaking with excitement, and I bawled like a baby!” After the first look, they ventured out with their wedding planner and photographer to the ceremony location.

“We were married by a very large and noisy waterfall. It was so misty that we both got very wet during the 20-minute ceremony”. The waves that her hair stylist perfectly crafter quickly transformed into the wild and windswept hair featured in many Icelandic wedding photoshoots. Ironically, Iceland was experiencing one of the warmest, sunniest, and calmest days of the year! It was the day before Halloween but easily felt like a midsummer day in Iceland. “The point: I was so close to having the perfect hair day due to this weather anomaly, but that was not what the waterfall had in mind for either of us”.

After the ceremony, the couple, together with the photographer and the wedding planner, travelled around the Reykjanes Peninsula, stopping at rocky cliffs overlooking the ocean, geothermal hot spots, lava fields, lakes, and the famous Blue Lagoon for photos. After a day filled with adventure, they arrived back in Reykjavik and had dinner at a fancy restaurant downtown. After dinner, the two quickly changed into civilian clothes and hopped on a small tour to catch the northern lights, where they saw a spectacular show just outside the city – “We were heaven blessed. It was the perfect day”.

WHY DID YOU CHOOSE TO ELOPE?

“My husband and I always dreamed of having an intimate wedding ceremony with only our closest friends and family by our sides”. They wanted to elope in Iceland, their favourite place in the world, and put the plan into motion by hiring an Icelandic wedding planner. Shortly after beginning the wedding planning, the novel coronavirus emerged, and they were no longer able to commit to and plan an international wedding and instead, accommodating the wished and expectation of their families.

“The wedding planning period back home was very hard for us and our families. They had some close loved ones, and two fur babies pass away, all within 6 months of each other. They were battling challenges due to COVID. Due to these difficulties, their wedding got put on a mental and emotional back-burner for them and their families.

The challenges they faced during the time reminded them of two things: (1} that life is short, and (2) that there are things in life that you can and cannot control, and it’s important to distinguish between the two. This was a pivotal moment for them. “My fiancé and I realized that to move our wedding and happiness from the back-burner to the forefront, we needed to check in with our hearts again and do our best to honour them by changing things we can control”. This helped the couple determine that a big, traditional wedding was not truly for them, and it was only outside pressing that was influencing the plans for their big day. Their dream was to get married in Iceland. In the Fall of 2021, international borders reopened, vaccines were available, and all they had to do was act. They were truly nothing else stopping them besides those emotional barriers. Therefore, only THREE WEEKS before their traditional wedding was scheduled locally, they decided to Elope in Iceland, but this time it was just the two of them.

Eloping offered them the intimacy that they wanted yes also empowered them to regain control of their own happiness – “It was the best decision we have ever made and have absolutely no regrets”.

Side notes: Travelling to Iceland during COVID was interesting. We had to take many covid tests, submit paperwork, and follow the guidelines to cross international boarders such as: proofs of vaccination and quarantine plans. We had to work with the two governments in a short timeframe to ensure the marriage was legal.

HIGHLIGHTS FROM YOUR DAY

Anecdotes from the bride:

We wrote our own vows.
My nail polish was from OPI’s Iceland line, called “Reykjavik has all the hot spots”.
I wore a pair of white boots I found cheap at Nordstrom Rack.
I wore baby blue wool socks that I picked up from a gas station in Iceland when we were there in 2016 as my “something blue”.
My companion during the trip was a mini, (slightly wonky) stuffed sheep that I also picked up from the gas station the last time I was in Iceland in 2016. We named him Sheep Sheeperson.

Their first look and the northern lights tour were her favourite moment of the day, other than the ceremony itself. The first look was emotional, which made it memorable and beautiful, and the northern lights were breathtaking. They were also blown away by the milky blue and steamy waters at the Blue Lagoon – “they surpassed our expectations! Behind the famous spa there is a path not well advertised. Following this path, you get to the water that inspired the name of the spa. It truly was beautiful”.

From Kimberly

To remember this quote from Henry Ford: “Whether you think you can or think you can’t, you’re right!”
You may feel refreshed and empowered to pursue your dream wedding. After all, you choose to put you and your partner first on your wedding day, and sometimes you need special permission from YOURSELF above anyone else in order to follow your heart.

When my fiancé and I realized that we (including our attitudes, fears, worry of potential judgements from others) were truly the only things getting in the way of having the ceremony we always wanted, we made a conscious decision to reframe our own attitudes and do what makes us happy, despite the attitudes of others and perceived barriers. At the end of the day, there was nothing stopping us from going to Iceland and having an intimate ceremony except ourselves through inaction.

Wedding planning is not easy and can be full of ups and downs. You only get this day once, so try to imagine the wedding day of your dreams. Once you have that in your heart, check in with yourself to see if the only thing holding you back from going after this dream are worries about hurt feelings, guilt, negative family perceptions, or fear of the unknown, or fear of regret. If they are, take some time to recognize and acknowledge these, as they are quite powerful. After acknowledging them, imagine your dream wedding again and question whether you want these fears or worries to guide your decisions on your big day. If you have the space, reframe or redirect some of these thoughts to something more positive.

Special thanks to:

I found pictures of what we liked and shared them with our wedding planner. Our wedding planner found vendors that were available and fit that vision.

Bridal Boutique: The White Dress

Wedding planner: Sara Regal from Pink Iceland

Hair and Makeup: Nina Kristjánsdóttir

Officiant: Arni Gretar from Pink Iceland

Photographer: Kaja Balejko

Bouquet: Thordis