We have been planning this trip to Iceland for about two years at this point, since the 2024 solar eclipse that went over Rochester – going to Iceland has been a life goal for Chey and Joe was excited to see the total solar eclipse. During the planning, realizing this would be 10 years of us dating, we decided that this would be an incredible way to celebrate ourselves and elope!
We know this is a quick turnaround, and are sorry for the inconvenience of it. The original idea for this party was to fall on the anniversary of us dating a year from now on July 4th, 2027, but plans and circumstances change, and due to availability we decided to reschedule for this Labor Day. We wanted to keep our elopement a secret as much as possible so that our ceremony would be for us, so sorry again for the saying this was Joe’s grad party (Joe isn’t graduating until next spring at least, and Chey will be 1 week into her Master’s program).
We are so excited to celebrate with everybody!
Some FAQs about the elopement are below.
- Who: Chey and Joe
- What: Eloped!
- Where: In Iceland, on the summit of Ytri-Rauðarmelskúla, a dormant volcano, surrounded by its lava field
- When: During a total solar eclipse on August 12th, 2026
- Why: We wanted to, and this was unique and intimate
Here are the real answers:
How was the Ceremony?
The ceremony was everything we could have hoped for and so much more. Our officiant performed a traditional Asatru ceremony, asking for blessings from the land and creating a ceremony circle. We had a very private event, with only a couple distant observers who also happened to pick this volcano to view the eclipse. The officiant timed it so well with the eclipse that it was a truly surreal experience. We said our vows while holding an oath ring, which we later passed our rings through, and had the whole ceremony by fire light. After the ceremony, two ravens flew by, which is a symbol of good luck in Iceland in honor of Odin’s two ravens.
More Explanation on Why
Joe and Chey are both pretty private people, especially when it comes to our relationship, and we wanted our day to be about us. In planning our trip, more and more it seemed like the perfect opportunity to realize our vision for an elopement. This was less about not including people and more about making sure this day was just entirely about us and we had nothing else to worry about. Our photographer and officiant planned the whole thing for us, including the locations, and even drove us around for the day so we could just truly relax and focus on ourselves. We wanted this to be intimate, stress free, adventurous, and otherworldly. That is exactly what we ended up having!
Why Iceland?
Visiting Iceland has been a life goal of Chey’s, and when we learned a few years ago that a total solar eclipse would be happening in 2026, we decided to go for an incredible experience. We experienced the eclipse of course, but also got to see the Northern Lights, the Perseid meteor shower, several volcanoes and glaciers, black sand beaches, and too many waterfalls to count.
Our trip was 2 weeks long. Week 1 had us circling Ring Road in a camper-van, going all the way around the island. Week 2 we spent on the Snaesfellsnes Peninsula, often called mini-Iceland for its variety of landscapes, which is where we had the ceremony.
How was the eclipse?
Unfortunately cloudy, but still incredible. Our ceremony was timed perfectly for when we fell into the totality, which provided an otherworldly feel to the event. There are so few lights around where we were that it felt like plunging into night. The cloudy weather provided a beautiful backdrop and atmosphere for our ceremony.