Snæfellsnes Iceland Elopement on Cliffs | Iceland Wedding Photographer

The Snæfellsnes Peninsula in Iceland is one of my top 5 favorite places on the planet. It was perfect for Lindsay & Ryan’s Adventure Elopement.

It has #allthethings and it is absolutely breathtaking no matter what kind of weather we are having that day. There is such variety in landscapes which is why when Lindsay & Ryan told me they were dreaming of their elopement being private, in a unique area, and somewhere that truly had that iconic Iceland feel- I knew exactly where to take them and what exact location would be stellar for their private vows. The only thing we had interrupting us were the seagulls who were singing to them the entire time.

The sea cliffs in Arnarstapi allowed these two to have their own moment. Read below what Lindsay & Ryan had to say about their elopement experience from what made them decide to elope to their super special awesome day.

-How did you personalize your wedding? What about your wedding was most unique?
Aside from writing our own vows, we added personal touches to our attire (Lindsay with her grandmother's necklace and earrings, Ryan with his Avengers socks) and selected rings that we non-traditional and non-matching, but reflected our our individual styles and personalities that we could celebrate giving to one another. We found a little penguin nesting doll to hold the rings that not only represented choosing a partner for life, but also happened to represent a favorite memory of ours at the STL zoo on an icy day during our first trip home together for the holidays. To toast our official exchange of vows and rings we poured a champagne themed beer from our favorite local San Francisco brewery into two silver goblets, the last two of Lindsay's grandmother's set that had be passed down in pairs to the previous generation of brides and grooms.

-What was your favorite part of the entire day?
Not knowing every stop we were going to make and not really having specific plan in our heads or set of expectation. It made it more of an adventure and allowed us to accept the day as it came.

-What moments with each other were the most special to you?
We enjoyed being able to have the morning to get ready together and enjoy our coffee and pastries and music like a normal day, but in fancier clothes. We had already what we'd be wearing so there was no big reveal, but more finally seeing it all come together for the first time. Our vows were an obvious special moment as they were private and took place in such an epic location. The fear of dropping the rings off the cliff and the occasional choking seagull added comic relief making it even more memorable. What we appreciated about exchanging private vows was that they didn't have to conform to any format or length in an attempt to entertain or not bore an audience. They could just be exactly what we wanted to say to each other. Not surprisingly, our vows ended up being very similar to one another's even down to the closing line.

-What made you choose to elope versus having a big wedding?
Our interest in an elopement initially stemmed from attending several wedding where the couple spent a ton of money for a memorable, but stressful day that lacked a lot of the more intimate and personal moments between the couple that they has wished for. We had come across a story of a couple that did their legal ceremony alone in Iceland, got ready together, did a photo shoot and just spent the day exactly as they wanted and it seemed perfect. We finally took the leap when we need to make it officially on the soon side for a visa for an international move which helped ease the news to our families. We were so happy for the circumstances since it allowed us to have the exact wedding we wanted.

-Anything you would have done differently?
We would have loved to have had an extra day or two after the ceremony day and not an early flight the next day which would have given us more flexibility on where we started and ended the day. We could still have had shots in the city, but less time on the road.

We would have prepared a little to-go lunch pack the day prior to bring along. We had brought some snacks and stopped for some sandwiches, but could have avoided the stop and just enjoyed the food at one of the sites had we thought through that prior.

-Best advice for another couple?
We stressed out a lot with planning the legal part of the ceremony in Iceland especially since we had some added difficulties of having us residing at the time in two different countries. While it would have been fun and unique to have an Icelandic marriage certificate we found it much more straight forward to hold our civil ceremony in the states and then just do the private exchange of vows and rings during the elopement. This allowed us to include our family in the local ceremony and friends at a celebration after as a pre-elopement party and also gave us more flexibility in planning the elopement day since we didn't have to schedule around an officiant. We enjoyed having our vow exchange be fully private since that was one of the main intents of eloping. Planning two completely different wedding days was fun as well.

-What was the biggest surprise of planning your wedding day?
How easily everything came together. I don't know if we just got lucky or were just really organized, but within a week or two we'd secured or booked all the major elements of the ceremony day and our road trip prior. It may have helped that we were just before peak season as well. Making decisions for just two people take a lot of the stress out of the planning as well and feels like you're not compromising by making decisions based on what you think others might think or want.

-Anything else you'd like to add about your planning, your wedding day, or even the honeymoon portion after?
We actually did sort of a pre-honeymoon and spent four nights on a road trip south and back prior to our wedding. It helped us acclimate and made the ceremony something to look forward to, the grand finale. While we'll have a true honeymoon later, the first destination after the wedding was London to spend time in what will very soon be our home together!

-What did you love most about working with Zakas Photography?
You made it so easy and fun and we knew we could trust the day with you. It was great having your input on our trip planning, airbnb choices, and local vendors and the reassurance to forgo the legal ceremony in Iceland. Your check-ins and portals were super clear and helpful. We loved your knowledge of the perfect angles and shot locations (even a stop at the side of the road next to a gas station looked incredible from the right angle) and fun facts along the drive. We also really appreciated how quickly you always were to respond and similarly how quickly you sent us the sneaks that we could share with our families and friends. We can't wait to see the rest! Thank you again!

Watch their love story, press play.