Real Wedding

Breathtakingly Scenic Wedding in Norway: Christine & Josh

Christine & Josh chose an intimate destination wedding in Norway as they had already planned a family trip there before they became engaged. Part of Josh’s heritage is Norwegian, so once engaged, they thought it would be the perfect place to have their wedding! With a lot of quick planning (they wanted everything to be local) and with the amazing Norwegian landscape they didn’t need much else – everything chosen was to complement and embrace the beautiful area they were in.

Words by Christine. Images by Nordica Photography.

When my boyfriend and I got engaged last year, I never would have thought that eight months later we would get married in one of the most serene and breathtaking places in the world. An already planned family trip to Norway turned what was supposed to be an exploration into my fiance’s family roots to a truly memorable and beautiful wedding day. As soon as our closest friends and family confirmed their trip to Norway, we immediately started researching venues to hold a small and intimate wedding ceremony for about 15 people.

We initially found 292 Aurland because of its close proximity to the fjords and the small town of Flam, known for fjord cruises and activities; however, our decision was an easy one once we saw beautiful photos of the B&B nestled in a peaceful valley, and ultimately the helpfulness of the B&B owners’ Tone and Bjorn throughout the whole planning process (especially since I didn’t have a wedding planner, and was trying to plan everything from across the world in the US).

292 Aurland provided the perfect accommodations for my friends and family in their Riverside Lodge, while my fiance and I stayed in a suite in the Goat Barn. The B&B’s charming and effortless decor was warm and inviting, and everything about it felt like a home away from home. This allowed us to spend quality time with friends and family the night before our wedding day and afterwards.

I actually rented my wedding dress from Galleria Wedding in Los Angeles. I loved the delicate lace pattern of the dress with buttons all the way down the back through the train. The sweetheart cut was flattering and combined with the off-white lace was the perfect modern vintage look I wanted.

Since we were going to be exploring the outdoors with unpredictable weather conditions and terrain, I knew I wanted to wear boots with my dress. I bought boots from OTBT and they turned out to be one of the best wedding purchases I made. We trekked through dirt, grass, several feet of snow, clay like mud and the boots kept my feet warm, dry and comfortable! Having never worn that brand before, and barely breaking them in, they proved themselves to be one of the most comfortable shoes I own to this day and now carry a special memory with them.

Since my dad couldn’t make it to the destination wedding, I walked myself down the aisle, but the song I walked down the aisle to was an instrumental version of Elvis Presley’s “Can’t Help Falling in Love.” I remember listening to Elvis songs with my Dad since I was a little girl, so even though he physically wasn’t there with me, it did still have special meaning.

Since my dad couldn’t make it to the destination wedding, I walked myself down the aisle, but the song I walked down the aisle to was an instrumental version of Elvis Presley’s “Can’t Help Falling in Love.” I remember listening to Elvis songs with my Dad since I was a little girl, so even though he physically wasn’t there with me, it did still have special meaning.

The most memorable and special part of the day was really after the reception when my husband and I spent the rest of the afternoon and evening exploring Norway and the Sognefjord area w/ our photographer. It really just felt like an adventure for us: exploring nature, enjoying each other’s company and creating new memories in one of the most beautiful places we’ve ever visited.

292 Aurland is so beautifully decorated that we didn’t need to bring much to dress up the venue – which is why we chose this B&B to begin with. The only decor I brought with me was some white tulle and burlap ribbon to decorate the wedding altar, which was actually a “gapahuk” – a traditional Norwegian lean-to/shelter venue set up.

When we arrived in Norway we bought some local chocolates at the airport and wrapped those as our wedding favors. I had already printed out little tags that I brought with me on my journey, so I could find something locally to give away.

292 Aurland helped me arrange the wedding cake, which they ordered from the local Sarepta Bakery – and it was absolutely delicious! Again, this was the only bakery option I had, and I explained what types of cake I like.  Wedding cakes are my favorite thing about weddings in general, so I was absolutely delighted when I took the first bite of our cake – it was a vanilla layer cake with a layer of marshmallow custard and a layer strawberry cream filling. To this day, even my friends say how delicious the cake was, and in fact, we ate some more later that night and the next day!

Our advice to future brides and grooms? I’d often hear how fast the wedding day goes by for couples and how it’s hard to spend time with all of your guests. We planned our events around what WE were comfortable with and how we wanted to spend our time – the wedding is after all, a celebration for you as a couple.

My advice would be to really prioritize what are the most important parts of the wedding you want to enjoy as a couple. For us, we love the outdoors, hiking, traveling, spending time with family around a dinner table – so we made sure that our special day was exactly that.

For all our friends and family that weren’t there, we knew we would have an amazing story to tell with the photos from Nordica – so we planned a wedding reception back in the US to share our story and celebrate with everyone else. This flexibility, while it may have been more planning, let us genuinely enjoy our wedding day without feeling stressed or rushed, and we relished in every moment (captured beautifully by our photographer).

wedding credits / photographer: nordica photography / wedding venue: 292 aurland / brides dress: essence of australia / brides veil: essence of australia / grooms suit: levi jeans & jacket / brides shoes: obtb boots / hair & makeup: friends & family / florist: sjh agricultural / wedding cake: 292 aurland / catering: 292 aurland

4 comments
  1. Loved to see the pictures from your wedding! But want to comment that the wedding cake was not made by Sarepta bakery, but by me :) The girlfriend (and soon wife) of the chef Olav ;)

    1. Thank you so much!! Everyone loved your cake! It was so delicious, my husband and I ate more the next couple of days! You are very talented and CONGRATULATIONS on your engagement!

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