Jessica and Lydie didn't come to Iceland looking for a wedding day filled with traditions simply because those traditions were expected.
They wanted something that felt like them.
Their elopement brought together a symbolic handfasting ceremony, the black sand and open coastline of South Iceland, and one particularly Icelandic addition they were excited about: spending part of their day with Icelandic horses.
The ceremony was allowed to be the meaningful part. Everything afterwards could simply be time spent experiencing Iceland together.
Why Jessica & Lydie Chose Handfasting
There are plenty of ways to make an elopement ceremony personal without trying to recreate a traditional wedding on a smaller scale.
For Jessica and Lydie, handfasting became part of theirs.
During a handfasting ceremony, a couple's hands are symbolically bound together using cord or ribbon. The ritual has historical roots in parts of Europe and today is used by some couples as a symbolic expression of commitment within a wedding or vow ceremony.
But the important part of Jessica and Lydie's ceremony wasn't following a particular formula. It was choosing a ritual that had meaning for them.
That's something I encourage couples to think about when we're planning an elopement. You don't need to add traditions simply because you're getting married. And you don't need to remove them simply because you're eloping. You can choose the pieces that genuinely mean something to you and leave the rest behind.
Their Ceremony on the Black Sand
Jessica and Lydie's handfasting took place against one of South Iceland's most distinctive landscapes: the black sand coastline. But the beach wasn't chosen simply because it would make an impressive backdrop.
For a ceremony, what happens around a location matters just as much as what it looks like.
Can you hear each other?
Can you slow down?
Do you have enough space to actually be present during your vows?
Those questions matter more to me than trying to squeeze a ceremony into the most recognisable viewpoint.
Once Jessica and Lydie were standing together for their handfasting, the landscape could simply be what it was supposed to be: the place surrounding the moment rather than the reason for it.
What Their Handfasting Ritual Meant to Them
One of the things I love about symbolic ceremony elements is that they give couples something physical to participate in. You're not performing something for the photographs. You're doing something together.
Jessica and Lydie's handfasting gave their ceremony a simple focal point: their hands, the binding of the cord and the commitment the ritual represented for them.
Those quieter details can become some of the strongest memories from an elopement because they ask you to stop. For a few minutes, there isn't another location to reach or another photograph to make. There's just the ceremony.
And each other.
Wedding Portraits With Icelandic Horses
After the ceremony, the day could change pace.
Jessica and Lydie also wanted Icelandic horses to be part of their experience, giving us something completely different from the open black sand coastline.
And this is where I think an elopement can become particularly fun. Not every part of the day has to carry the emotional weight of the ceremony.
Some parts can simply exist because you'd really love to do them. Spending time with Icelandic horses gave Jessica and Lydie room to laugh, interact and enjoy something uniquely connected to their trip.
The photographs came from that experience rather than the other way around.
Building an Elopement Around Meaning Instead of Tradition
An elopement gives you an unusual amount of freedom. You can exchange traditional vows. Write your own. Include a symbolic ritual such as handfasting. Invite a few people. Invite nobody. Spend the afternoon with Icelandic horses. Or disappear somewhere quiet afterwards with absolutely nowhere else you need to be.
There isn't one correct way to build the day. The question I find much more useful is: What would make this feel like ours?
For Jessica and Lydie, part of the answer was a handfasting ceremony on the black sand, followed by time experiencing Iceland together.
And that was enough.
