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An Iceland Destination Wedding in Kerlingarfjöll: How We Pulled It Off

The next morning, a bus picked up the whole group, with pastries provided by Brauð & Co to head to the Highland Base Hotel four hours away. They stopped for lunch and to hike around the Gjáin, Háifoss, and Hjálparfos waterfalls, with another stop in the afternoon to see the Geysir Hot Springs.

“It was curated from all of our trips to Iceland the years prior,” Will says. “We also hired some local guides, because we thought it was important to educate guests geographically and culturally.” After the wedding, the couple also arranged transport back to Reykjavík for those staying longer, or directly to Keflavík International Airport if they were jetting out.

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The pair are the founders of branding agency and production company Better Half, and Will is a cinematographer.

Louis Browne

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Late in the evening, guests were revived with a very Icelandic snack: hot dogs and chocolate milk.

Louis Browne

Embrace local tradition

The couple’s wedding day itself was also packed with offerings for guests to take in yet more of the abundant natural beauty nearby, including hiking or mountain biking in the Hveradalir geothermal area or dipping in the on-site hot springs. But the outdoor ceremony along the river showcased the culture of Iceland, as when the couple took part in the hand-fasting ritual that bound their hands together with a ribbon, or drank glacial water from a glass horn blown by friends of theirs. In addition to their DJ, a New York-based friend named Woody Cook, a local band called Inspector Spacetime was enlisted. Late in the evening, guests were revived with a very Icelandic snack: hot dogs and chocolate milk.

The interiors, too, celebrated Iceland, thanks to Studio Procrastinate. “We worked with them to figure out how we could bring parts of nature inside, because unfortunately it was too cold to eat outside,” Alyssa says. Flowers native to the Highlands were picked and preserved months earlier, and accented on the tablescapes with volcanic rock collected nearby. The studio built a light fixture with local grasses they personally dried, and scattered dry ice created a haze around the space such that, “the room almost felt like it was breathing,” the bride continues.

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Some traditional elements crept into the reception.

Louis Browne

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…including the champagne tower and single-tier cake.

Louis Browne

Sow camaraderie among the guests

In case being trapped hours from civilization in a lunar landscape or hiking and hot springing together for days wasn’t enough bonding, Will and Alyssa united their group by staging a game of Assassins, where each guest was assigned another guest they had to hunt down (and thus meet) and shoot. “I ended up flying in with a duffle bag of 85 Nerf guns,” Will says. “Our art direction duo made a signature scent for the wedding, so when everyone checked into their room there was this beautiful card, a signature scent, and then this ugly orange and blue Nerf gun with a bow tied around it that told them who they were assigned to.”

And at the reception, guests had the opportunity to seal their new friendships forever: A tattoo artist, Brynjar Björnsson, was stationed at the party. While the couple assumed maybe a handful of guests would get inked, nearly half decided to get tattoos on the spot, including the groom.

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“[Iceland is] one of our favorite places in the world, and people always are surprised by it,” says Alyssa.

Louis Browne

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A stunning display of Northern Lights outside capped off the celebration—and sealed the couple’s luck throughout the week.

Louis Browne

Look up to the sky

It’s not the kind of detail even these type-A planners could have arranged, but on their wedding night, as the party wore on, the Northern Lights danced across the sky. The phenomenon’s typical season had only started the week before, in mid-September, so the couple could only hope for the display they got. Says Will, “We were partying to these bands, and then everyone realized the whole sky was green.” As yet another stroke of luck, they’d later learn the 2024-2025 winter season was set to be the strongest for active auroras in a decade.