Get wanderlust from Trinity & Justin’s scenic Iceland wedding

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The Offbeat Bride: Trinity

Her offbeat partner: Justin

Date and location of wedding: Akranes and Vik, Iceland — May 12, 2015

Our offbeat wedding at a glance:

We wanted our wedding to be minimalist and set in a natural and beautiful place. Justin and I have been dating for 10 years, so we wanted our closest friends to be there and wanted it to be a very small and intimate ceremony. We initially looked at venues in Los Angeles (where we currently live), but prices were high and nothing seemed right. We decided to look for unique destinations. We've always wanted to go to Iceland, so the decision was made: we were off to the land of ice and fire!

Tell us about the ceremony:

We had a two-day wedding, with the legal/civil ceremony on May 12, 2015. We originally scheduled it to be performed in Reykjavik, but a strike forced us to go north to the seaside city of Akranes. The ceremony was performed in sunny, beautiful Akranes in front of the lighthouse. We didn't do our own vows on that day because it was too windy and difficult to hear (we wanted to save them for the symbolic ceremony the following day). After the civil ceremony, we shot some photos at Þingvellir National Park, a UNESCO world heritage site.

On May 13, we traveled to the southern town of Vik, famous for their black sand beaches. We had the symbolic ceremony at Reynisfjara beach, in a cave right under the massive natural basalt columns. It was a magical place. We said our vows to each other, and it was very intimate, witnessed by our eight guests and a few tourists from afar. We put some volcanic black sand into glass vials as keepsakes. It was an amazing experience. We were a bit cold, but it was all worth it. The landscape and setting are truly awe-inspiring.

After the beach we went for more photos at the Sólheimasandur plane crash site and Seljalandsfoss.

What was your most important lesson learned?

It was difficult to find the ideal venue in Los Angeles, which is why we went to Iceland. Other than paperwork and scheduling the legal/civil ceremony, all of our other locations were free. We just picked places that looked beautiful and went there. It's very liberating and easy. We hired a trusted photographer from the U.S. to travel with us.

I think if you're willing to be adventurous and nontraditional, you can have a truly unique and memorable wedding. I'm so glad we had our wedding this way.

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• Photography: Nick Fancher