AN ELOPEMENT AT HÓTEL BÚÐIRHalldóra & Örn

June 11, 2026

Halldóra and Örn eloped around Búðir, on the Snæfellsnes peninsula, starting in the pink hour before the rest of Iceland was up.

Búðir is a black church, a small hotel and almost nothing else, out on the south coast of Snæfellsnes, with the Snæfellsjökull glacier at the tip of the peninsula and a whole run of lava arches and black-sand beaches along the way. It is one of the most photogenic stretches of coast in the country. There is another wedding at Búðir on the site if you want to see it without the winter.

Halldóra is one of those brides who arrives with a very clear picture of how the day should look, which makes my job simple: mostly keep up and stay out of the way. Örn, for his part, looked like he would have followed her across the island and back, which as it turned out was roughly the plan.

Dawn

It started in the dark, the way the good ones do, walking out under the glacier while the sky went from black to pink.

Halldóra and Örn embracing at pink dawn, a Hótel Búðir elopement
Portrait of the bride at dawn under Snæfellsjökull, Búðir elopementHalldóra and Örn close together with the bouquet, Búðir, IcelandAn embrace by the water at dawn, a Hótel Búðir elopement
The bride walking with her bouquet at dawn, Búðir, Iceland The couple walking hand in hand through the moss at dawn, Snæfellsnes Halldóra and Örn in the pink dawn light, Búðir, Iceland The couple in silhouette at sunrise, a Hótel Búðir elopement An embrace in silhouette against the Iceland dawn, Snæfellsnes The couple holding hands in the sunburst, a Hótel Búðir elopement

Búðakirkja and the beaches

Búðakirkja is the little black church everyone drives out here to photograph, and for once nobody else was around.

Búðakirkja, the black church at Búðir, in black and white Búðakirkja in the snow, Búðir, Snæfellsnes, Iceland The lava coast at Búðir on Snæfellsnes, Iceland A black-sand beach on Snæfellsnes, Iceland The couple tiny on the black beach at Búðir, a Hótel Búðir elopement
The bride on the black-sand beach, Snæfellsnes, IcelandAn elegant portrait of the bride, a Hótel Búðir elopement
Halldóra and Örn walking the black beach, Snæfellsnes The bride on the golden beach below the mountains, Snæfellsnes Black lava and snowy peaks on the Snæfellsnes coast, Iceland The bride among the black lava, Búðir, Iceland

The horses

There were horses, because there are always horses in Iceland, and Halldóra and Örn went over to say hello.

Halldóra and Örn with Icelandic horses, Snæfellsnes An embrace among the Icelandic horses, a Hótel Búðir elopement

Arnarstapi

At Arnarstapi the coast turns into a run of stone arches with the sea pushing through them.

The sea arch at Arnarstapi, Snæfellsnes, Iceland
The couple by the Arnarstapi arch, a Hótel Búðir elopementHalldóra and Örn embracing by the Arnarstapi arch, Snæfellsnes
The stone arches of Arnarstapi with the sea through them, Iceland A lone white doorway on the black Snæfellsnes coast, Iceland

Kirkjufell

They finished under Kirkjufell, the most photographed mountain in the country, with the place almost to themselves.

The bride below Kirkjufell, Snæfellsnes, a Hótel Búðir elopementHalldóra beneath Kirkjufell mountain, Iceland
The couple below Kirkjufell at the end of the day, Snæfellsnes

No hundred guests, no timeline, no speeches to sit through. Just Halldóra and Örn and about six of the best locations in Iceland in a single day. If you are getting married at Búðir, or anywhere out on Snæfellsnes, I would love to be there for it. Wear something you feel unstoppable in. Halldóra did.

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