The Iceland Elopement video that didn’t reveal itself all at once.

Sometimes the magic waits until you’re ready to receive it.

---

I’ve filmed weddings and elopements in many places, but Iceland taught me something profound about storytelling: you can’t force the perfect narrative. You have to trek through the landscape, stay open to what wants to emerge, truly listen to what your clients are saying (and not saying) and trust that the missing piece will reveal itself exactly when it’s meant to.

Addey and Matheus’s elopement became a lesson in intuition, patience, and the way certain places have the power to draw out the stories that need to be told.

A Love Story That Began at an Airport

Addey and Matheus met at an airport, which feels almost prophetic when you understand their relationship. Travel isn’t just something they enjoy together – it’s the foundation their love was built on.

Matheus came to America from Brazil as an exchange student, staying with Addey’s family for his senior year of high school. They were both seniors that year, both standing on the threshold between childhood and whatever came next. Neither could have known that year would define the rest of their lives.

But somehow, they did know. Or maybe they just trusted what was unfolding between them.

Why Iceland Called to Them

When you’re a couple whose relationship was forged through travel and cultural exchange, where do you get married? Not in one hometown or the other – somewhere that belongs to your shared story of exploration and adventure.

For Addey and Matheus, that place was Iceland. They’d fallen in love with the dramatic landscapes, the otherworldly quality of the light, the way the island feels both ancient and alive. They realized there was no place on Earth they would rather run away to be married.

Their choice to elope in Iceland speaks to something deeper than just wanting pretty backdrops. They wanted to get married in a place that reflected their values as a couple – adventure, beauty, the courage to step into the unknown together.

A Truly International Celebration

This wasn’t a private elopement with just the two of them. Addey and Matheus invited their closest family and friends to join them in Iceland – people who traveled from Brazil, America, and Croatia to witness their vows on one of their favorite cliffs in the Snaefellsnes peninsula.

Watching their community gather from across the world, I was reminded that modern love stories don’t fit neatly into traditional categories. This was an elopement in spirit – intimate, adventurous, focused on the couple’s authentic vision – but it was also a gathering of the people who mattered most, all willing to travel to the edge of the world to celebrate this love.

Four Days of Exploration and Discovery

We spent four days together exploring some of the most breathtaking landscapes Iceland offers. This extended time together wasn’t just about getting footage – it was about understanding their story, witnessing their connection to each other and to the land, and staying open to whatever wanted to emerge.

Trekking and filming across Iceland with Addey and Matheus, I learned that adventure elopements aren’t just about the wedding day. They’re about the journey, the exploration, the way couples reveal themselves when they’re moving through stunning landscapes together.

Every location we visited added another layer to their story. Every hike, every cliff, every moment of stillness looking out over vast expanses – all of it was building toward something I couldn’t yet see.

The Night the Aurora Appeared

On our first night, when we arrived at the hotel where most of their family was staying, I looked up and saw something I’d only dreamed of: the Aurora Borealis dancing across the Icelandic sky.

Addey and I grabbed each other, jumping up and down, nearly crying with the joy and beauty of it. It was one of those rare moments when you’re so overwhelmed by natural beauty that your body can’t contain the emotion. You have to move, to shout, to share it with someone who understands what you’re witnessing.

That moment became a metaphor for the entire experience. Iceland doesn’t reveal its magic on demand – it waits for the perfect moment, and when it arrives, it’s so profound that you’re forever changed.

The Missing Piece

By our last day together, I had incredible footage. The landscapes were stunning, Addey and Matheus’s love was beautifully captured, the ceremony on the cliff had been perfect. But something was missing, and I couldn’t quite put my finger on what.

I remember saying out loud that I wished there was a poem or some narrative element that could tie everything together. I had this feeling that the story wasn’t complete yet, but I didn’t know what it needed.

That’s when Matheus told me about his grandfather.

When the Island Speaks Through Ancestral Voices

Matheus’s grandfather was a poet in Brazil. And Matheus had memorized two of his poems in Portuguese – carrying his grandfather’s words with him across oceans, continents and generations.

When he recited them for me that evening, I cried. These weren’t just beautiful poems – they were the missing piece I’d been sensing all along. His grandfather’s words about love, about journey, about the soul’s longing – they perfectly captured what I’d been witnessing between Addey and Matheus all week.

I begged him to let me record his recitation. And there, on our last evening in Iceland, Matheus shared his grandfather’s poetry on camera, his voice carrying both his own emotion and the legacy of the poet who came before him.

It felt like the island itself had been waiting for this moment. Like Iceland had been coaxing this story out of Matheus’s heart through his grandfather’s spirit and memory, waiting until we were all ready to receive it.

The Magic of Perfect Timing

Looking back, I realize the poems couldn’t have emerged earlier. We needed those four days of trekking, exploring, building trust. We needed to experience Iceland’s magic together – including that first glimpse of the Aurora. We needed to let the story unfold at its own pace.

If I’d forced a narrative structure from the beginning, if I’d tried to manufacture the perfect storytelling elements, I would have missed what was actually trying to emerge. The perfect piece of the story came forward in the most beautiful way because I stayed open to receiving it.

This is what I mean by trusting intuition in filmmaking. It’s not about having everything planned and scripted. It’s about staying present to what’s unfolding, listening to what the couple’s story wants to become, and remaining open to the magic that wants to reveal itself.

What Adventure Elopements Teach Us

Addey and Matheus’s Iceland elopement reminded me why I’m passionate about destination filming and extended coverage. When you give a story time and space to breathe, when you trek through landscapes together and let the narrative emerge naturally, you capture something deeper than a wedding day.

You capture essence. Connection. Legacy.

Their film includes:

• The dramatic Icelandic landscapes that called to their adventurous spirits
• The international community that traveled to witness their love
• The intimate moments between just the two of them on cliffsides and beaches
• And Matheus reciting his grandfather’s poetry in Portuguese – the element that tied everything together and added generational depth to their love story

For Couples Considering International Elopements

If you’re thinking about eloping somewhere that calls to your souls – whether it’s Iceland or anywhere else in the world – Addey and Matheus’s experience offers beautiful guidance:

Choose a place that reflects your values as a couple – Not just somewhere that looks pretty, but somewhere that feels meaningful to your relationship

Consider extended coverage – Multiple days allows your story to unfold naturally and captures the full adventure, not just the ceremony

Stay open to what emerges – The most powerful elements of your story might not reveal themselves until you’re already there and it certainly isn’t scripted or planned

Invite the people who will trek with you – If family and friends matter, international elopements can still include your community

Trust your Sacred Story Keeper – Work with someone who understands that the best narratives can’t be forced, only witnessed and received

The Infectious Joy of True Love

There isn’t a day that passes that I don’t wish to go back to the week I spent with Addey and Matheus. They are so full of life and joy and pure love that it’s simply impossible not to be infected by it.

This is what happens when couples choose to celebrate authentically – when they honor their love of adventure, their international story, their cultural heritage, their connection to wild places. The resulting joy isn’t just for them – it radiates outward and touches everyone who witnesses it.

I am forever grateful they asked me to come along on their journey. And I’m grateful to Iceland for teaching me about patience, intuition, and trusting that stories reveal themselves in perfect timing.

The Film That Emerged

The finished film weaves together Icelandic landscapes, intimate moments between Addey and Matheus, their ceremony surrounded by international loved ones, and Matheus’s voice reciting his grandfather’s Portuguese poetry.

Every element came together exactly as it was meant to – not because I forced it, but because I stayed open to receiving what the story wanted to become.

That’s the magic of adventure elopement filmmaking. That’s the gift of Iceland. That’s what happens when you trust the process and let the missing pieces reveal themselves in their own time.

Dreaming of your own international elopement adventure? I travel anywhere love leads – staying open to the stories that want to emerge and the magic that waits to be witnessed.

---

Ready to explore where your love story wants to take you? Whether it’s Iceland or beyond, let’s talk about capturing your authentic adventure with intuition, patience, and trust in perfect timing.