Vitaly & Natalie | Iceland Elopement

Back in October, Christian and I had the incredible opportunity to photograph and film our first elopement. We attended a workshop for wedding photographers and filmmakers called “The Osmosis Workshop”. It was lead by the incredibly talented husband and wife teams Maru Films and Kreativ Wedding. At this workshop we learned SO much about storytelling and capturing authentic emotional moments. This Iceland elopement was life-changing for our business and our values.

Collaboration over Competition

Riccardo Fasoli, filmmaker at Kreativ Wedding has been an inspiration to Christian for a long time. His editing style and technique are really cinematic and unique. We try to model our work after this type of style. So you know Christian was so excited when he was finally able to see how Riccardo captures a wedding, and really watch the master at work. I also got to work with his wife Anne Ansellman, an AMAZING photojournalistic wedding photographer. We both learned about their creative process and were able to dive deeper into what it means to be a photographer/filmmaker that truly captures the REAL moments. I cannot even being to express how much we gained from this workshop. We met some incredible people from all over the world too! We returned home feeling inspired and ready to make some important changes to Dearly Beloved.

Okay okay… back to the couple in Iceland.

Vitaly and Natalie were such an amazing couple to work with. They traveled from Germany to experience Iceland together. Let me tell you, Iceland is SO BEAUTIFUL! There are sheep roaming everywhere, mossy grounds, black sand beaches and stunning backdrops of snow capped mountains. Yes it was cold and very windy, but so beautiful that it didn’t even matter. We began the day by capturing the getting moments at a hotel in Hellnar, Iceland. When you walked out of the room that Natalie, the bride, was getting ready in… there was literally a full rainbow going across the mountain behind them.

After capturing the emotions and the excitement while getting ready for both the bride and groom, we went off to the first look, followed by some portraits on the black sand beach. We also got to watch step-by-step how Maru Films and Kreativ Wedding would capture a wedding ceremony. We learned a lot from that. And of course it was funny to see that Christian and I aren’t the only ones that bicker and get in each other’s shots on a wedding day. Haha! Perks of being a husband and wife team though is that you can just tell each other to move! After the ceremony, we ended the shoot with an awesome sunset in an open field. The light couldn’t have been more perfect. Those were definitely some of my favorite shots from the whole trip.

Capturing Authentic and pure love

The best part about this Iceland elopement was not the landscape and the scenery, but being able to capture such authentic love and emotion from our couple, Vitaly and Natalie. We didn’t have to prompt them at all. Their love and feelings for each other just created all the magic we needed. There is something so beautiful and unique about intimate elopements, instead of the traditional weddings we shoot a lot. Although we love regular weddings, sometimes couples tend to forget to simply soak in each other’s love and take it all in. There’s too much to worry about; guests, decorations, the music, the food, etc. Whereas with an elopement it really is just about the couple. That’s it. Just YOU + the one you love wholeheartedly.

If traditional weddings aren’t for you… that’s totally okay! Elopement’s are not any less special or more meaningful than a traditional wedding. At the end of the day you’re married to your best friend.

Cannot wait for all the elopements and destinations we have yet to capture. All the stories left to tell. We’re so excited for what’s in store for Dearly Beloved and all the amazing couples we have yet to meet.

—Kristen and Christian

Photographs by Kristen Lopez
Film by Christian Lopez

Vitaly + Natalie: Iceland Elopement Film