Reykjavík from above in the evening light, Hallgrímskirkja rising over the rooftops and the calm bay in front

Getting married in Reykjavík & Reykjanes

A small, colourful capital on its bay, an island church a few minutes away by ferry, and the lava fields, steaming ground and sea cliffs of Reykjanes on the road to the airport.

Photographers When to marry here

Reykjavík spreads around a bay below Mount Esja: houses clad in brightly painted corrugated iron, the stepped concrete tower of Hallgrímskirkja on its hill, the glass of Harpa on the old harbour and a shore path out to the lighthouse at Grótta. To the south-west lies the Reykjanes peninsula, where the international airport is — young volcanic ground of moss-covered lava, the steaming, ochre hot springs of Krýsuvík, the lake of Kleifarvatn, and black cliffs and sea stacks around the lighthouse at its tip.

Most couples who come from abroad elope: a short ceremony with a celebrant, a photographer and perhaps a handful of guests, then an evening of portraits on the lava or by the sea. Others marry in one of the city’s churches or in the old church on Viðey island, and come back to a restaurant in town for dinner.

Buttercups and grasses on the shore in Reykjavík near midnight, with the sun setting over the bay and the mountains beyond

Grótta lighthouse and the keeper’s houses in the last light, seen past dry grass and the rocks of the shore

Dark cliffs and sea stacks on the Reykjanes coast, with surf breaking on a grey day

Through the year

When to marry in Reykjavík & Reykjanes

June, July and August are the mildest months, with average highs of 13–15 °C, and June is the driest, with about nine days of rain; from late May to late July the sky never fully darkens. May is Reykjavík’s sunniest month, though still cool. From September rain falls on about fifteen days a month and the wind picks up. Winter is windy, wet and often icy rather than bitterly cold — highs around 3 °C — with only about four hours of daylight at midwinter, and on clear, dark nights from late August to April the northern lights may appear.

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

SpringThe days lengthen fast — by mid-May the sun sets after half past ten — and the light is clear and cool. Showers come and go, and May is the sunniest month of the year.
SummerMild days and bright nights, when the sun barely dips below the horizon: at ten in the evening it still stands well above the bay. Wind and showers can blow in from the sea at any hour, so keep a church or a room with big windows in mind as the rain plan.
Autumn and winterIn September and October the light turns golden again and the nights darken. Then the days shrink to a few hours, the sun stays low all day, and couples come for snow on the lava, long dawns and dusks, and the chance of the northern lights.

In numbers

Hottest month, average high: July · 14.9°C; Veðurstofa Íslands (WMO)
Average high in the best months: Jun 13.0°C · Jul 14.9°C · Aug 14.1°C; Veðurstofa Íslands (WMO)
Days with 1 mm of rain or more, best months: Jun 9.3 · Jul 10.3 · Aug 11.6; Veðurstofa Íslands (WMO)
Sunset on 21 June: 00:04 (Reykjavík); NOAA

Weather station: Reykjavík, normals 1991–2020 · Checked 16 October 2026

Places

Where couples marry here

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

Churches in the city
From Hallgrímskirkja on its hill to the older churches around the pond in the centre: a ceremony under a roof, whatever the weather, then portraits in the coloured streets and along the old harbour.
Viðey island
Five minutes by ferry from Skarfabakki — daily in summer, at weekends in winter — a grassy island with a stone church consecrated in 1774, among the oldest in Iceland. From 9 October to 8 December the Imagine Peace Tower sends a column of light into the sky there.
The lava fields of Reykjanes
Moss on black lava, the boardwalk through the steaming ground of Krýsuvík, forty minutes from the centre, and the cliffs and sea stacks by the lighthouse at the tip. The peninsula has erupted again and again since 2021, and more eruptions near Grindavík are still expected: check safetravel.is and vedur.is first, and keep off fresh lava.
Grótta and the Blue Lagoon
The lighthouse on Grótta, a tidal island joined to the shore at low tide and closed from 1 May to 15 July while the birds nest, with Esja across the bay; and the milky-blue Blue Lagoon in the lava near Grindavík, open from 7 am to 11 pm in high summer — its first and last entries are the quiet ones.

Light

How the light falls

At midsummer the sun sets over the bay a few minutes after midnight and rises again before three, and from late May to late July it never really gets dark: portraits at eleven at night are lit by a low, slow sun. At midwinter it rises at about twenty past eleven and sets around half past three, climbing barely two degrees above the horizon — a soft, slanting light all day. Iceland keeps the same clock all year, with no summer time.

Travel

Getting there

Keflavík, the international airport, is on Reykjanes about 50 km from the centre — under an hour by car or airport bus. The centre is walkable; for the lava fields, plan a car, and in winter check umferdin.is and the Met Office’s yellow, orange and red warnings before setting off. Drones follow the EU rules (register on flydrone.is), may not fly within 150 m of Parliament, ministries or hospitals without permission, and must stay low near the city airport.

Photographers