Our Viking Wedding in Iceland

The wind was howling, begging for a fight with my freshly curled hair. The smoke from the fire was doing its best to blind us both, and the bitter cold pierced through our skin like a thousand little icicle needles. Despite the elements, nothing could detract from the happiness we felt standing on that Icelandic soil at very our own Viking wedding.

But let’s back up a little, how did we get here?

From our first visit to Iceland, long before Matt and I were even engaged, we knew if we were ever to get married, we wanted to return to Iceland for our ceremony. Fast forward 4 years and we were looking to make our vision a reality.

Not knowing where to begin, we first turned to good ol’ Google. Our searches led us to a few wedding planners that seemed promising. The planners will help you with everything from your paperwork to finding the best vendors for your special day. However, because Matt and I were coming by ourselves (and on a backpacker’s budget no less) those planners were far too expensive for us to consider.

If you are planning a more elaborate affair you’ll definitely want the help of the locals to make sure everything is logistically sound. Pink Iceland is the company we would have used if we needed a planner.

Budget-Friendly Option

Lucky for us, when we didn’t know where else to turn for an affordable wedding in Iceland, a friend/former tour guide at Season Tours pointed us in the direction of the Ásatrú religion.

Maybe not a first thought for everyone, but this turned out to be an amazing option for us. Not only did it fall within our budget, but it was a memorable experience to say the least. If you choose this path, you can forget the redundant church ritual you have probably sat through countless times. The Ásatrú religion (pre-Christian Norse beliefs) incorporates the elements of earth, air, water, and luckily for us, FIRE. Our officiant let us know through shivering lips, that our wedding was the coldest she had ever overseen. The sweet soul that she was, she offered up woolen blankets and guided us closer to the flames in attempt to stay warm.

When you decide to get married in Iceland, don’t be like us. Don’t choose March. Maybe warmer days would be a better option. Then again, I wouldn’t trade our snow-filled ceremony for anything.

Our Ceremony

Our driver with Season Tours picked us up at our Airbnb in downtown Reykjavik and we arrived at the site of the church in about 40 minutes. I had no idea what to expect of the venue so I was pleasantly surprised to see the beauty of the location when we first pulled up. A large expanse of mostly untouched land with a backdrop of mountains and coastline as far as the eye could see. Not a bad view with only a 40 minute trek from the city!

Through a light snowfall, our officiant began by summoning the gods. Freya, Frig, and Var who are the protectors of marriage. These are the goddesses of love and fertility, home and marriage, and the treasurer of contract between man and woman. We also had the opportunity to invite any other gods to the ceremony that we wished.

For us, the details began to blur into a whirlwind of emotion and the desire for warmth, but soon we were invited to exchange our vows while holding on to the ring of oaths. We decided to recite traditional pagan vows to each other followed by our own personal vows.

This was my favorite part of the ceremony as it was the only portion of our day that remained a secret from one another in the planning process. As we finished our vows, our godi (officiant) asked us to exchange rings. Matt and I struggled quite a bit with this as our hands were numb and fingers slightly bloated from our Icelandic hotdog feast the night before. Even still, these silicone rings are what we chose so we would not attract attention with any bling on the road. One day, when we get home, we will spurge for some metal.

We traveled to Iceland alone so there weren’t many people with us at the ceremony, but as we exchanged our rings and first kiss as husband and wife, the happiness in the atmosphere was palpable.

We concluded the ceremony by drinking mead from a Viking horn. Tilting that horn to his lips, I had never seen my new husband happier. I think if Matt had it his way, we’d be incorporating the horn into our daily lives. Traditionally, everyone at the ceremony will also drink from the horn in celebration of the new marriage and to offer their well-wishes. As everyone was already on the edge of hypothermia, we raced indoors and completed the toasts.

Getting Married in Iceland

For United States citizens, getting married in Iceland is pretty straight forward. Many friends and concerned relatives asked us if we would need to head to the court house at home prior to leaving for Iceland. The answer is no. Our wedding in Iceland has legal merit in the states. It takes a little planning to get the timing of the documents right, but the District Commissioner will work with you to keep everything in line. If you choose to use that planner, it should be made even simpler.

Required Documents:

Birth Certificates: Original copies must be mailed in advance.

Marriage Notification : These forms are provided by the District Commissioner’s Office. You will need 2 witnesses to sign these papers but your witness does not need to be present the day of your wedding. We chose to have each of our mothers sign our paperwork.

Passports: Copies of your passports can be sent in the mail. The originals will need to be presented prior to your ceremony when you pick up you papers in Reykjavik.

Certificate of Martial Status: This is a document not used in the United States (or Canada I believe). Instead we needed to contact the Department of Vital Records in our state and have them do a search that would show neither of us were married.

Divorced/Widowed: If either of these situations apply to you, you will be required to present verification that everything is finalized.

We sent all of the required documents by mail to Iceland and once they were reviewed and given the okay by the lawyers, it was easy peasy from there. The day we arrived to Reykjavik we simply picked up the papers and took them with us to the ceremony. Our officiant signed them and we were able to return to the completed forms the next day. As we are travelling out of the country for a year, we won’t get to see our certificate until we make it home. Our official notice should be waiting for us when we arrive though.

Reception

Immediately following our ceremony, we retreated into our officiant’s home where we popped some bubbly and everyone said cheers to our new marriage.

Soon after, our driver/photographer took us to see the Icelandic horses. This was my one special request for the day. I never would have been able to make this happen on my own, but with the help of a local my dream came true. Beware – these horses are hungry! Stick your fingers out at your own risk. I had one chomp down on my finger for a solid 30 seconds. Totally worth it though for some time with these beautiful creatures.

Naturally, our next stop was to the bakery. Unfortunately, there were no cakes for sale, but there were donuts. Of course I chose the biggest they had to offer. I had my heart set on the traditional wedding cake for Iceland but with it just being the two of us, that much baked good was slightly uncalled for.

Later in the evening, we made dinner reservations with The Fish Market. We sprung for the tasting menu which is a must! A little on the pricey side, but worth every penny. Make sure if you go here to try the grilled whale appetizer. This was one of the courses in our tasting menu, but as Matt had read such great reviews about it prior, he would have added it on nonetheless. The following was a quote from the review. Ditto, man!

“The whale is so good, I can’t believe there are any left in the ocean.”

After our 8-course tasting menu, to include an obscene amout of dessert, we shared our first dance in the corner of the restaurant. Not quite the black sand beach I imagined, but much, much warmer.

Once you decide to get married in Iceland, you can choose to have it at the courthouse or anywhere really. We thought about getting married in an ice cave, or the edge of a volcano. In the end, we were happy with our decision. Just look at it!

Wedding Day Vendors :

Bridal Hair and Makeup : Margret Magnus

Transport and Photography : Season Tours

Wedding Dress : Bhldn

Any interest in getting married in Iceland? Have you already? Let us know in the comments.

Cheers friends!

Mr. and Mrs. M + M