Alayna & Jack
Alayna & Jack chose the Lofoten Islands, Norway as their destination for their elopement day, coming all the way from the United States. I was so excited to help them plan their day and show them the beauty of Norway. Lofoten is truly one of the most beautiful places on earth, and perfect for the adventurous couples! Alayna & Jack spend a lot of time together Hiking and in the outdoors in general, so we planned for a pretty big hike, where we would have their ceremony at the peak, then have time to explore the area & stop for some hot chocolate & a packed lunch (Matpakke as the Norweigan's call it) on the way back down to really immerse ourselves in the Norweigan culture!
I arrived to their Rorbu in Reine before light. The clouds were thick in the sky & you could barely see the towering mountains peaking through that surrounded the Rorbuer. Inside was cosy and warm, where Alayna & Jack were eating their breakfast & getting ready for the day. Getting ready is one of my favourite parts of elopement days, compared to traditional weddings, they are slow paced and intimate, and this day was no exception. Jack helped Alayna into her dress which was a lovely moment - we packed up and got ready to leave for the hike.
Things didn't quite go to plan however - as both of them had caught a pretty nasty cold on the trip over & weren't feeling well enough for the hike. So we decided at the base of the hike to go for plan B! We took a few moments to gather ourselves and headed to a pretty spot that took 5 minutes to walk to! I had already a few spots in mind for the ceremony and for photos that I knew were easy to get to which turned out perfect. A real lesson in being prepared for anything happening on an elopement day! It helps to have someone who knows the area & has experience with location scouting.
We arrived to the second spot I had scouted before-hand for their ceremony. They began their vows which they had written on paper they made themselves, with embedded flowers that they had picked together back home. They learned how to do a hand-fasting, even bringing their own hand-fasting cord, before exchanging their rings. Despite feeling under the weather, It's almost like all of that went away in this moment. They were so invested in each other and in their moment and it was such a beautiful thing to witness.
We of course had to celebrate with popping some champagne!! Afterwards we warmed up in a cafe with some hot drinks before heading back to their Rorbu for a few more quick snaps. We decided to take a break here and meet back up later in the evening to chase the Northern Lights! We had gotten extremely lucky a few days before, but the weather wasn't looking great so our chances were pretty slim - and it was looking pretty grim once we arrived at the location later that night. There was almost 100% cloud coverage & it was freezing and starting to rain. But I'm not a quitter! I had my camera set up and was taking test shots, and some of the clouds opened up and the pink and green lights appeared in the sky behind them. I told Alayna & Jack to enjoy the moment as it was their first time ever seeing the Aurora and I managed to snap one photo before the clouds covered them again! It was the perfect way to end the day. Eloping in Lofoten means being prepared for ANYTHING! But as long as you are flexible and have back-up plans, it will be a day you'll be dreaming about forever regardless of what happens.
