How To Get Married In Iceland in 2024/2025 | The Ultimate guide

So, you are engaged and considering eloping in Iceland? First of all, congratulations on your engagement and for considering making your wedding day into an adventure in one of the most beautiful places in the world!

I hope this post will be helpful for you as I'm going to put my knowledge and expertise into it as an Iceland elopement photographer.

The practical / paperwork

I'm going to start with the practical and then move to the fun. Let's talk about paperwork!

First of all, I'm happy to let you know that you can elope in Iceland regardless of your religion and sexual orientation, yay!

If you decide to actually get married in Iceland (and not just have a symbolic ceremony like most couples), you will need to prepare some documents. The documents must be in English or one of the Scandinavian languages, otherwise they need to be translated to English and certified.

Here are the documents that you will need:

Marriage notification
Both birth certificates
Certificate of marriage status (cannot be more than 12 weeks old when submitted)
Valid passports

Conditions for marriage:

You must be 18 years old or older
You need to prove that you're divorced or widowed if you have been married before (you cannot be separated)

If you would like to present your original documents when you're in Iceland, you will need to arrive 5 days before the ceremony to do it. Alternatively, you can mail certified copies of your documents to the District Commissioner at least 3 weeks (and no more than 12 weeks) before you arrive to Iceland instead and you won't need to wait for 5 days to get married after your arrival.

Find the official information here and you can email gifting@syslumenn.is with any questions.

And now, let's talk about the fun part!

When to elope in Iceland?

You can elope in Iceland during any season, I'm going to list the pros and cons below.

Summer

Summer (June-August) is the warmest season in Iceland and you will have the highest chance to have good weather! Some days feel like an actual summer, while other days can be cold, rainy and windy. You just have to be lucky!

Pros: Midnight sun, flowers, the roads to the highlands are open!

Cons: Everything is more expensive and the popular locations are very crowded during the day. Most hotels will also be fully booked, so you need to plan your itinerary in advance. It's too bright for Northern Lights. Most ice caves are closed.

Fall and spring

These are shoulder seasons (September, October, November, April & May) and they are also a great option for your elopement. The weather can be quite unpredictable, but usually there are not so many storms.

Pros: Less crowded than the summer, Northern Lights (except May). The ice caves are usually open in October, November and April.

May and September are two of the best months to get married in Iceland in my opinion.

Cons: Not so many cons except the more unpredictable weather compared to the summer and you will most likely be freezing during the ceremony and the photoshoot.

Winter

Winter in Iceland (December - March) can be both magical and harsh. The weather is very unpredictable and there are often big storms.

Pros: Ice caves are open! The landscapes covered with snow are absolutely breathtaking. Less people around.

Cons: The roads can be closed due to the storms and snow storms. The condition of the roads can be dangerous due to ice and snow. Frequent storms and in general it's more windy. You will definitely be cold during the ceremony/photoshoot.

I hope this is helpful and will make it easier for you to decide when to elope in Iceland!

How to plan your elopement in Iceland

First, you need to decide how much you're willing to spend on your elopement and how much planning you are comfortable with doing yourself.

Here are some ideas that will help you, your elopement might be a mix of all of these - it's really up to you!

The luxurious elopement

This is for you if you're looking to have an amazing and unique celebration without doing much planning and organising yourself. This could last 1 full day or several days.

What you will need:

Hire a wedding planner
Prepare the paperwork and the wedding planner will help you with the rest
Find the photographer you like the most or let the wedding planner decide

And here is what your day could look like:

Getting ready: the photographer will meet you at your accommodation and take photos photos of you while you're getting ready. It's really amazing to have photos of these moments of joy and anticipation!
First look outside of your accommodation - always an unforgettable experience!
Off to a unique location for your ceremony. You can really think outside of the box here! Take helicopter to a remote ice cave or a beautiful spot on a glacier that few people have seen, take a boat to an island in a glacier lagoon so you will be surrounded by icebergs during the ceremony, take a super Jeep to a remote location somewhere in the highlands where you need to cross rivers to get there. The options are truly unlimited in Iceland!
After the ceremony you would visit a few more incredible locations for photos
You could have a picnic at one of those locations
In the evening you could have a celebration or take more photos with stars/Northern lights
If you're celebrating for several days you could visit more amazing locations during the following days

The adventurous elopement

This option is for you in you're comfortable with doing some planning and organising yourself and still would like to have an adventurous and unique experience. Usually, this lasts at least 1 full day.

Normally, your photographer will have a list with the local vendors and will create a custom timeline for the day and find the best locations for you.

What you will need:

Hire a photographer
Do the paperwork yourself
Hire an officiant
If you would like to get married at a church rather than out in nature, you will also need to arrange that
Hire a florist, makeup and hair artist if needed

What your day could look like:

Getting ready: the photographer will meet you at your accommodation and take photos photos of you while you're getting ready. It's really amazing to have photos of these moments of joy and anticipation!
First look outside of your accommodation - always an unforgettable experience!
Off to a unique location for your ceremony. You can really think outside of the box here! Ice caves, glaciers, remote waterfalls in the highlands, black sand beaches, mountains - anything you like!
After the ceremony you would visit a few more incredible locations for photos
You could have a picnic at one of those locations
In the evening you could have a celebration or take more photos with stars/Northern lights

The simple elopement

If you want something simple that lasts a few hours with photos from 1-2 locations then this will be the best option for you.

Normally, your photographer will have a list with the local vendors and will create a custom timeline for the day and find the best locations for you.

What you will need:

Hire a photographer
Do the paperwork yourself
Hire an officiant
If you would like to get married at a church rather than out in nature, you will also need to arrange that
Hire a florist, makeup and hair artist if needed

What your day could look like:

Ceremony in nature or at a church
Photoshoot at 1-2 location after the ceremony

Where should you get married in Iceland?

There are so many amazing locations in Iceland! Some of them are very popular and others more private and secluded.

I'm going to mention some popular locations here as I like to save the more private ones for my clients.

On a glacier!

Jökulsárlón Glacier lagoon

Diamond beach

Reynisfjara

Ice cave

How much will it cost you to elope in Iceland?

Usually, the rates for professional photographers start from around USD $4000 for 4 hours. It's different what the photographers include into their packages and you will need to contact the ones whose portfolios you like the most to request full pricing and package information.