The green, terraced cone of Kirkjufell under a blue sky, with the twin falls of Kirkjufellsfoss pouring over dark rock in the foreground

Getting married on the Snæfellsnes Peninsula

Kirkjufell above its waterfalls, the black church at Búðir, sea arches at Arnarstapi and a glacier-capped volcano at the tip — a peninsula a short drive from Reykjavík.

Photographers When to marry here

Snæfellsnes reaches far out into the Atlantic north of Reykjavík, with Snæfellsjökull, a volcano of 1,446 m under its glacier, at the western tip, in Snæfellsjökull National Park. Along the north coast lie Grundarfjörður, below the steep cone of Kirkjufell, and Stykkishólmur, looking out over the islands of Breiðafjörður; along the south, lava fields, the black wooden church at Búðir, and the basalt cliffs and sea arches between Arnarstapi and Hellnar.

It suits elopements and small weddings: close enough to Reykjavík for a day trip, varied enough for a whole day of portraits — mountain, church, lava and sea within an hour’s drive of each other. 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 bride and groom walking hand in hand across a mossy lava field towards the black church at Búðir, with snow-streaked mountains behind

Gatklettur, a moss-topped basalt arch at Arnarstapi, with the sea flowing through it onto a pebble shore

The sea stacks of Lóndrangar beyond a line of basalt cliffs and black reefs, seen from a grassy clifftop on a sunny day

Through the year

When to marry on the Snæfellsnes Peninsula

June, July and August are the mild months: at Stykkishólmur highs average 12 to 14 °C, rain falls on eight to ten days a month, and around midsummer the light lasts nearly all night. May and September are cooler and quieter, and still work well. From October to March the Atlantic storms come through — the wind at Stykkishólmur averages about 7 m/s in midwinter against under 5 in July — but Kirkjufell under snow, with the northern lights above it, draws couples in winter too.

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

Early summerBright nights and green slopes: in late June the sun sets at Arnarstapi around half past midnight and rises again before three, and the sea cliffs fill with nesting kittiwakes.
Late summer and autumnCalm evenings into August, then darker nights from late August and the first northern lights; in September the heath turns red and brown and the peninsula empties.
WinterSnow on Kirkjufell and on the glacier, under four hours of daylight around the solstice, and the northern lights on clear nights. Plan around the weather and leave room to move the day.

In numbers

Hottest month, average high: July · 13.9°C; Veðurstofa Íslands
Average high in the best months: Jun 12.2°C · Jul 13.9°C · Aug 13.4°C; Veðurstofa Íslands
Days with 1 mm of rain or more, best months: Jun 8.8 · Jul 8.5 · Aug 9.5; Veðurstofa Íslands

Temperatures: Stykkishólmur, normals 1991–2020 · Rain: Stykkishólmur, normals 1961–1990 · Checked 16 October 2026

Places

Where couples marry here

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

Kirkjufell and its waterfalls
The classic view of the mountain from Kirkjufellsfoss, best in the evening when the low sun lights its flank. Portraits are taken from below: the mountain itself is a steep, dangerous climb.
The black church at Búðir
Búðakirkja, a small black wooden church alone in a lava field by the sea, with the mountains behind: one of the peninsula’s landmarks, and a backdrop for portraits in any season.
Arnarstapi and Hellnar
Basalt cliffs, sea arches and a coastal path of about two and a half kilometres between the two villages, in a nature reserve since 1979: vows along the way, and portraits at the arch of Gatklettur.
Snæfellsjökull and the western tip
The black-pebble beach of Djúpalónssandur, the sea stacks of Lóndrangar and the lava fields under the glacier. Drones are banned along the park’s coast from mid-April to mid-September, and commercial filming needs a licence — your photographer will know.

Light

How the light falls

The north coast looks out over Breiðafjörður, so on summer evenings the sun goes down late over the water, far to the north, and the low light catches Kirkjufell’s green flanks. At midsummer it sets at Arnarstapi around half past midnight and is back before three; the evening glow runs straight into the morning. In December the sun is up only from about twenty to twelve until twenty-five past three, low across the southern sky.

Travel

Getting there

Stykkishólmur is about 170 km from Reykjavík and Arnarstapi about 190 km — two to two and a half hours’ drive, a little more from Keflavík airport — so the peninsula works as a long day or, better, one or two nights. A car ferry crosses Breiðafjörður from Stykkishólmur to the Westfjords. In winter, check umferdin.is and safetravel.is before you set out.

Photographers