You are so much in love that you’re getting married. You are in a same-sex relationship and of course want your wedding to take place in an extraordinary place. So how does Iceland sound, with it’s great waterfalls, volcanos and glaciers? GayIceland’s Anna Kristine Magnúsdóttir Mikulcáková got in touch with Hannes Pálsson at travel, event and wedding planner Pink Iceland, who tells you step by step how to make your dream come true.
Ok, so first question, how does one simply contact Pink Iceland?
,,The best way to reach Pink Iceland is via email, pinkiceland@pinkiceland.is,” says Hannes Pálsson one of the owners of Pink Iceland. ,,We then reply to you with a ton of information about getting married in Iceland!”
What guidelines do you have as to how to choose a person to marry you?
“You can choose between three different types of Officiants when getting married in Iceland. A Lutheran Minister, Humanist Celebrant or Nordic Chieftain. All have different approaches and one of them is sure to be just your type! Pink Iceland will send you information about each type.”
How do you plan the holidays, i.e. hotels, bed and breakfast, airb´b etc?
“All our wedding couples are taken care of as much or as little as they want or need. We can be there from the time you land and until you depart, or we can just be there for your wedding. We often plan every aspect of our couples’ stay in Iceland and make sure we book them the best hotels and tours we know to be supportive of our community.”
Who is the first person they will meet when landed in Iceland?
“Quite often that will be one of our guides, waiting for you just outside customs with a beaming smile! Everybody at least comes into our super friendly office for a good chat and to meet the team.”
How do you show them the places that are fit for a weddings?
“We complied a list of locations that we share with anyone who decides they want to work with Pink Iceland. We also often point to the plethora of wedding photos people can find when typing Iceland Wedding into Google as they might see a location they fall in love with instantly!”
What places have been most popular for wedding ceremonies for the past years?
,,The south of Iceland is the most popular part of the country go get married. This is because of all the stunning nature, abundance of hotels and guesthouses and proximity to the city. We still keep on encouraging our couples to go off the beaten track and would love, for example, to have more weddings in the East and West Fjords.”
Do you find new places every year?
“Oh yes, we find new places every time we leave the city. There are millions of locations that we still haven’t discovered!”
What would be your most favorite place to get married yourself?
“The Westfjords would be amazing. The landscapes there are so different and awesome and while everyone in Iceland is super friendly you’ll meet some of the loveliest people in the world out west.”
Do you ever use helicopters?
“Yes, we use helicopters often. They are such an amazing way to get a different view of Iceland! But in case of helicopters we also always have a plan B as the weather does not always cooperate!”
“Pink Iceland is the most prolific wedding planner in Iceland with around 120 weddings each year …”
How many couples get married here in Iceland every year via Pink Iceland?
“Pink Iceland is the most prolific wedding planner in Iceland with around 120 weddings each year but we also have 6 wedding planners which means that everybody gets the love and attention that they need in the planning and on the wedding day. Of course there are also other agencies so it’s likely that there are over 200 weddings in iceland every year.”
And the certifications from Iceland are legal in all their countries?
“Pink Iceland is well versed in all the paperwork aspects of getting married in Iceland. Through the years we’ve accumulated knowledge about which office you need to visit in your country and what exact paperwork you need to ask for. We’ve even got a database for the different kind of paperwork that you apply for depending on which state in the US you come from. After the wedding we make sure that we jump through all the paperwork hoops here in Iceland and that you end up with an apostilled and internationally recognized wedding certificate you can use to register your marriage wherever you are in the world.
There is one caveat to this though. Same sex couples can register their marriages in any country a same sex union is legal. If they come from a country where such a union is not all they really have is a piece of paper saying that they are married in Iceland. Finally, and while we hate to bring up divorce when it comes to wedding planning, this also means that same sex couples, in countries where same sex unions are not legal, can’t get a divorce in their home country, but have to come back to Iceland for divorce proceedings if they wish to dissolve their union.”
Do you and your staff at Pink Iceland get to know these people and do they keep in contact after they leave Iceland?
“Absolutely! We play such a big part in the most important day of their lives that its only normal that we grow close with the couples we help marry. Usually the couples come back to Iceland and travel with us 1-2 years after the wedding since we’re also a travel agency! And often we will visit couples we’ve helped marry when we travel abroad.”
