Iceland elopement (en)
I remember the first time I saw beautiful wedding photos from Iceland. I was 17 years, and I promised myself I'd visit Iceland one day. Because if it looks half as beautiful as it looks in the photos, I just have to go there.
A few months ago, Petr (@perkypugfilms) offered me a job shooting a "rock’n’roll" wedding in Nottingham. "It's going to be crazy! You're going to shoot it all on film, there's going to be pizza, donuts, fireworks, colors, nothing traditional!”
At first, I was afraid. Shooting a wedding abroad? On film only? That’s insane! But soon, I became excited. Let's do this! And my intuition was right.
A few months later, we received an email from the bride, Eden, asking if we wouldn’t mind if the wedding moved to Iceland for family reasons. How could I possibly mind that? It’s my dream come true.
And how did it all go? We flew to Iceland from Vienna on Thursday, booked an Airbnb and rented a car from Blue Car. We spent all Friday exploring the surrounding area, went to see frozen waterfalls, geysers and 11th century homes. We rented the practical Daacia Duster, which is perhaps the most frequently rented car in Iceland. And when you're driving through that beautiful but rugged landscape, you know you need a 4x4 for sure.
The weather wasn’t ideal, it was freezing and windy. As luck would have it, I caught a cold the first day, maybe even something worse. I still don’t get how I managed to return to the Czech Republic healthy and leave the disease somewhere on an Icelandic glacier.
Saturday. The big day. I was nervous at first, because I always want to get to know my couples before the shoot. I like to capture who they are as a couple, what they like, what style best describes them and how to work with them. But this time, I had to step into the unknown.
Eden and James were staying at the FOSS hotel, which was about four hours drive from our Airbnb. We set off at 2am, sleepy, with the northern lights above.
The wedding day started with a sunrise ceremony on the famous and breathtaking Diamond Beach. The whole wedding was organized by Nadia @amuletevents, who took great care of our two lovebirds. She managed everyone’s stay as well as entertainment. But more on that below.
We met the bride and groom, but also the local officiating Márgaret (sh. Magga), who married the couple with wit and in a truly original manner. We arrived to Diamond Beach when it was still dark. The whole black beach was lined with blue fragments of glaciers that resembled large pieces of expensive stones. Beside us, there were also a lot of photo enthusiasts waiting on the beach who also wanted to catch the unique scene at sunrise. Diamond Beach is the perfect place for a wedding ceremony or just a couples photoshoot, in case you’re also planning a shoot in Iceland. I definitely recommend going to both sides of the beach.
When I shoot wedding ceremonies, I try disturbing the atmosphere as little as possible. That means minimal movement, shutter sound off and not stealing attention. I'm fully emerged in the moment, looking for special moments that can be so tiny that the bride and groom won't even notice them during the ceremony.
The same goes for the couple photoshoot. Minimal intervention or unnatural posing. I want to capture you for who you are. I want to hear how you've met, what interests you and what makes you happy. I want my portfolio to be largely made of unique and authentic moments.
This magical couple was smiling the whole time, plus there's the bright blue color palette of the Icelandic landscape on top of that, so the photos still bring me incredible joy event two years after the wedding. And I hope the couple feels the same way.
We spent the second half of the day on a rather unconventional adventure. We met a guide named Ryan Newburn (The Strawhat Backpacker), who took us on a unique tour of Europe's largest glacier, Vatnajökull. Try pronouncing the name.
We got to go into several blue glacial caves and shoot unique photos. Glacier caves are constantly changing, new ones are emerging and old ones are disappearing. Part of the experience was learning something about the history of the Icelandic landscape.
(some shots were also taken with an analogue camera Nikon F100)
The whole photoshoot was full of laughter. I've never laughed like that at work. I like to capture raw emotions, so I always try to relax my couples gradually so that the photos give them something extra, so they remember the shoot as something pleasant, not something that pulls them out of their comfort zone.
In Iceland, you are limited by the weather at this time of year. The sun is fully out at 8:30am, but it's setting after 5pm. We wanted to visit three other locations to shoot more photos, but the glacier hike delayed us so much that we had to choose only one place – Fjaðrárgljúfur canyon.
This place is popular for wedding photoshoots, but every couple you’ve ever seen in the photos from here had to climb over the chains and break local rules. Shooting at the edges of the canyon is forbidden. I respect bans and I don't like exposing someone to danger just to take photos. So we stayed safe on the hiking path and still managed to shoot some memorable pictures.
This is where we said goodbye with Eden and James. It was strange to realize that we'll probably never see each other again. Eden and James received the digital film scans as well as photos from a digital camera. In addition, we also mailed them prints from the film as a thank you for a great shared experience.
If you're thinking about getting married abroad because you like some place there or because you have a special memory associated with it, or if you just want to make a dream come true with your partner, go for it. It's worth it. And if you want to capture those unique moments of happiness, I'll follow you anywhere. Tell me about your dreams and we'll make it happen. If you want to take an extra creative with a video camera, there's Petr, with whom I like to work with. We are looking forward to it!
