Iceland · Reykjanes · April 2021

The Volcano Wedding: Jónsi & Sumarliði at Fagradalsfjall

On 19 March 2021 the ground opened in Geldingadalir, below Fagradalsfjall – the first eruption on the Reykjanes peninsula in around 800 years, less than an hour from Reykjavík. A few weeks later, Jónsi and Sumarliði got married on the lava field in front of it. I have filmed more than 150 elopements in Iceland, but nothing like this, and probably never will again – the eruption ended that September.

Where: Geldingadalir, Fagradalsfjall, Reykjanes peninsula
When: April 2021, during the first weeks of the eruption
Planned by: Pink Iceland, officiant Árni from Pink Iceland
Photography: Styrmir & Heiðdís

Watch the film

How it happened

Jónsi and Sumarliði live in Reykjavík. They had already postponed their wedding once because of the pandemic – and then a volcano erupted less than an hour from the city. Together with Pink Iceland they decided to get married right there, in front of the lava.

Back in 2018, after a tour inside a volcano, I had posted a story saying “we should do a wedding here” and tagged Pink Iceland. I didn’t expect that three years later we would actually do it – at a live one.

Wedding ceremony with an officiant on the lava field, with glowing lava flowing behind the two grooms — The ceremony, with the lava moving slowly behind them.

The day itself started with a long hike through snow and wind, with the wedding suits carried up to the lava. A pop-up tent on the lava served as a dressing room. Árni from Pink Iceland led the ceremony a safe distance from the flowing lava, and the vows were read with steam rising from the ground behind them. After the rings there was cake and a glass of champagne on the still-warm rocks, a few close friends, and later Icelandic sweaters as the evening got cold. We walked back in the dark with headlamps, the eruption glowing on the horizon.

Groom changing into his wedding suit in a pop-up tent in the snow near the volcano — A dressing room in the snow, and cake on the lava.

Champagne and wedding cake set out on the lava rocks at Fagradalsfjall — A dressing room in the snow, and cake on the lava.

Behind the scenes

I flew to Iceland at the beginning of April 2021 and spent the days before the wedding at the eruption, learning how the lava moved, where the wind took the gas and where we could safely stand. These are a few of the stories I shared on Instagram at the time.

Martin Kacvinsky wearing a gas mask at the Fagradalsfjall eruption — First day at the eruption – gas masks on.

Rivers of lava seen from a drone above Fagradalsfjall — Rivers of lava from the drone.

Flying a drone in a gas mask at the volcano — Flying the drone with a respirator.

Martin with a Blackmagic Pocket 6K Pro camera in front of the erupting crater — Blackmagic Pocket 6K Pro and the crater.

Hiking up a snowy slope with a rope towards the eruption — Not an easy climb.

Hiking back from the volcano in the dark with a headlamp — Walking back in the dark.

The underside of a drone after flying over the hot lava — “So the lava is hot.”

Aerial view of the wedding on the lava field with steam rising next to the couple — From above: the two of them, the officiant and a field of lava.

Around the world

Within days the wedding was everywhere. The BBC covered it in its reports on the eruption, and the story was picked up by PinkNews, Out, LGBTQ Nation and Queerty. Love Stories TV featured the film in 2021, and in 2023 it made Jónsi and Sumarliði’s story the first episode of its Wedding Stories series:

And when Love Stories TV announced me as a finalist for Filmmaker of the Year in 2023, it was a still from this wedding that appeared next to my name.

Two glowing craters of the Fagradalsfjall eruption seen from a drone — The craters of Geldingadalir, April 2021.

Can you still get married on a volcano in Iceland?

Iceland’s eruptions come and go. After 2021 new eruptions followed on the Reykjanes peninsula, but each one is different: some are reachable on foot for a while, many are closed to the public, and access always depends on the decisions of the Icelandic authorities and the Met Office. If something is erupting when you plan your day, Pink Iceland and I follow the official guidance, go with an experienced local guide and always keep a plan B. Helicopter flights from Reykjavík can sometimes take you over the lava when hiking is closed.

And when there is no eruption, the old lava fields, craters and geothermal areas of Reykjanes are still one of the most dramatic places to get married in Iceland – less than an hour from the airport. More ideas are in my guide to the best places to elope in Iceland, and the practical side is in How to elope in Iceland.

Planning your elopement in Iceland?

Tell me your date and place – I’ll let you know if I’m free.

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Questions about volcano weddings in Iceland

Can you get married next to a volcano in Iceland?

Only when there is an eruption that the authorities have opened to the public, and only with an experienced guide. In 2021 the eruption at Fagradalsfjall could be reached on foot for several months, which is how Jónsi and Sumarliði got married there.

Is it safe?

Volcanic gases, unstable lava and fast weather changes are real dangers. We followed the official guidance, wore gas masks near the craters, kept a safe distance from the lava and had a plan B ready.

Where on the Reykjanes peninsula can we get married when nothing is erupting?

The lava fields, the Kleifarvatn lake, the geothermal area at Seltún and the little Strandarkirkja church by the sea are all less than an hour from Reykjavík and Keflavík airport.

Can we see lava from a helicopter?

Sometimes. When hiking to an eruption is closed, helicopter flights from Reykjavík can still take you over the lava fields – always depending on the weather and on the authorities.