Icebergs crowding Jökulsárlón under a clear blue sky, the glacier tongue on the left and snow-capped mountains on the right, one block of ice reflected in the still water

Getting married at Jökulsárlón & in the East

Icebergs drifting across a glacier lagoon, ice washed up on a black beach, Vestrahorn above the dunes of Stokksnes and the quiet fjords of the East.

Photographers When to marry here

Jökulsárlón is a lagoon at the foot of Breiðamerkurjökull, a tongue of Vatnajökull, Iceland’s largest ice cap. Blocks of ice break off the glacier, drift across the lagoon and out through a short river to the sea, and the waves leave them on the black sand of Fellsfjara — Diamond Beach. Both lie in Vatnajökull National Park, a UNESCO World Heritage site. East of Höfn, the jagged ridge of Vestrahorn rises over the black dunes of Stokksnes, and beyond it the Eastfjords begin: deep fjords, small fishing towns and Seyðisfjörður, with its blue church at the end of a painted street.

Weddings here are mostly elopements and small groups: vows on the shore of the lagoon or among the ice on the beach, portraits in the wind, a glacier walk or, in winter, an ice cave with a guide. Couples from abroad can marry legally in Iceland, before a district commissioner or a registered officiant; others sign the papers at home and hold a symbolic ceremony here.

A groom lifting his bride in a hug among blocks of glacier ice on the black sand of Diamond Beach, with the surf behind them

The jagged ridge of Vestrahorn at Stokksnes reflected in calm, shallow water under a pale sky

The pale blue wooden church of Seyðisfjörður in deep snow at dusk, lit from below, with a snowy mountainside behind

Through the year

When to marry at Jökulsárlón & in the East

June, July and August are the mildest months — at Fagurhólsmýri, the weather station nearest the lagoon, highs average 12 to 13.5 °C — and around midsummer the sky never fully darkens; it is also when the lagoon is busiest. Rain comes often all year, on about two days in five even in summer, and the wind seldom drops: there it averages about 7 m/s in July and August and 9 in January. May and September are cooler and quieter. From autumn to spring, guided ice-cave tours run and the northern lights can show on clear nights, but the days are short and storms can stop travel at short notice.

January: Quieter
February: Good with planning
March: Good with planning
April: Quieter
May: Good with planning
June: Best
July: Best
August: Best
September: Good with planning
October: Quieter
November: Quieter
December: Quieter

SummerLong, light nights: at midsummer the sun sets at about twenty to midnight and rises again before three, low in the north, so the soft light of evening lasts for hours. The roads are open, and the lagoon is quietest early and late.
AutumnFrom late August the nights darken again and the first northern lights appear on clear nights; the heath turns red and gold, the crowds thin, and storms come more often into October.
WinterSnow on the mountains, ice on the black beach and caves of blue ice in the glacier, visited only with a certified guide. At the solstice the sun is up for about four hours, just above the horizon, and the northern lights can fill the long, clear nights.

In numbers

Hottest month, average high: July · 13.5°C; Veðurstofa Íslands
Average high in the best months: Jun 11.6°C · Jul 13.5°C · Aug 12.9°C; Veðurstofa Íslands
Days with 1 mm of rain or more, best months: Jun 13.7 · Jul 12.5 · Aug 12.5; Veðurstofa Íslands
Sunset on 21 June: 23:39 (Jökulsárlón); NOAA
UNESCO World Heritage: Vatnajökull National Park – Dynamic Nature of Fire and Ice (2019)

Weather station: Fagurhólsmýri, normals 1961–1990 · Checked 16 October 2026

Places

Where couples marry here

The kinds of places — ask your photographer which ones they know well.

The lagoon shore
Vows on the gravel shore with icebergs and the glacier behind you, early in the morning or late in the evening, once the day visitors have gone. A wedding in the national park needs a permit from the park — apply well ahead.
Diamond Beach
Across the road, ice from the lagoon lies scattered on the black sand: portraits among the blocks of ice, with the surf behind — keep well back from the water’s edge. No drones may fly here or over the lagoon from mid-April to mid-July, while birds nest, and a professional drone needs the park’s permit all year.
Glaciers and ice caves
Glacier walks and, in winter, ice caves — only ever with a licensed glacier guide, who decides on the day whether it is safe. Fjallsárlón, a smaller lagoon a few minutes west, and Skaftafell, at the foot of the Öræfajökull volcano, are quieter places for portraits.
Vestrahorn and the Eastfjords
The jagged ridge of Vestrahorn over the black dunes of Stokksnes, on private land with an entrance fee, and further east fjord towns such as Seyðisfjörður, whose blue church stands at the end of a street the town repaints in rainbow colours every summer.

Light

How the light falls

Overcast days, common here, bring out the blue in the ice; on clear evenings the icebergs turn pink and gold. In summer the sun sets late, far to the north, and only just dips below the horizon, so the light of sunset runs into sunrise: at midsummer it goes down at Jökulsárlón at about twenty to midnight. In December it rises around eleven and sets soon after three, never more than a few degrees high — low, warm light all day.

Travel

Getting there

Jökulsárlón is about 380 km from Reykjavík on the ring road and about 420 km from Keflavík airport — five hours or more at the wheel — so most couples stay a night or two nearby; the national park charges a parking fee at the lagoon. Höfn, about 65 km east, has a small airport with flights from Reykjavík, and Egilsstaðir’s airport serves the Eastfjords. In winter, check umferdin.is and safetravel.is before every drive and keep a spare day.

Photographers