Vegas Weddings Are Taking Off In Grafarvogskirkja

The “drop-in” weddings in Grafarvogskirkja seem to be a full success. For Saturday, weddings for eighteen couples are planned and the day is fully booked. So far, Saturday is the only “drop-in” wedding day, but more days might follow.

Great success for “drop-in” weddings

At the beginning of June, the church in Grafarvogur advertised so-called “drop-in” weddings for the end of June. Finally, on Saturday the big day has come. According to Vísir, eighteen couples are planning to get married on the spot, with eight couples already on the waiting list.

“Saturday is the day of love in Grafarvogskirkja. Then at least eighteen couples will get married from ten to half-past six,” Guðrún Karls Helgudóttir, the pastor at Grafarvogskirkja, says. She states that she had no idea what the attendance would be like.

“If you like it then you should put a ring on it”

According to the waiting list, a lot of people are eager to get married at the moment. One of them, María Rún Ellertsdóttir, was one of the first to register about three weeks ago. “We got engaged in October last year and always planned to have a big dream wedding, but the savings did not allow it, so we decided to apply,” María says.

She and her fiancée lost their jobs due to the pandemic and are now eager to finally put a ring on it. The ceremonies will be free of charge and about half an hour long. Four priests and two organists will take care of the weddings that day.

Due to the huge interest in the project, more “drop-in” weddings might follow in the future. “Maybe there will only be one day of love a year in the church,” the pastor of Grafarvogskirkja predicts.

Note: Due to the effect the Coronavirus is having on tourism in Iceland, it’s become increasingly difficult for the Grapevine to survive. If you enjoy our content and want to help the Grapevine’s journalists do things like eat and pay rent, please consider joining our High Five Club.

You can also check out our shop, loaded with books, apparel and other cool merch, that you can buy and have delivered right to your door

Also you can get regular news from Iceland—including the latest notifications on eruptions, as soon as they happen—by signing up to our newsletter.