Mauli & Christian’s Iceland Elopement, photographed by the
2024 International Wedding Photographer of the Year, Bettina Vass.
Luke here from the IWPOTY Awards.
I don’t know about you, but when I first laid eyes on the winning entry of the 2024 Awards my first reaction was ‘WHAT!, that can’t be real!’..My second thought was ‘ah damn, it’s a pre-wedding shoot submitted in the wrong category, so it wont be eligible. I’m very glad my assumptions were proved to be wrong.
It was in fact a very real ceremonial event, with vows exchanged, a very real location and a very real story told very well indeed, by Elopement photographer Bettina Vass.
Now, there will be critics who will say “well this isn’t a real wedding”,”it’s unrealistic”, maybe even “it’s not a good representation of a wedding” or “how can we compete with a location like that?” – and you’re dead right in that last one – it’d be very hard indeed to compete with this location. But we live in a new age, where the ‘normal’ wedding is far less a thing. More and more couples each year are searching for adventure, intimate gatherings in spectacular settings..and this one sure takes the cake.
I also think there will be many who look at this image and appreciate it for what it is. It’s etherial, dramatic, striking, breathtaking, priceless.
As wedding and elopement photographers we need to be driven to grow, to exceed our client expectations as well as to meet and exceed our own expectations of ourselves…It’s my belief that if we want to stay driven and growing we need to reach for something outside our comfort zone, shoot something beyond that which is expected as appropriate and ‘good’.
I think Bettina Vass was very brave and adventurous…she moved to Iceland from Hungary, she worked in a Kindergarten and then came to decide one day that she needed something greater to excite her energy. She found photography…and she found her calling.
Where can we possibly go from here? From this? Buggered if I know. But we’ll find out in 2025.
Now, lets take a look at the story and moments that led to Bettina’s Multi-Award Winning entry in the 2024 International Wedding Photographer of the Year Awards.
(From Bettina) – “I was 10 weeks pregnant on their elopement day, I was extremely sick and nauseous. Concerned about the nearly 5-hour round trip from Reykjavik to Vik, where the glacier is located, I was relieved when Mauli and Christian kindly allowed me to carpool with them. I brought a bag of food for my nausea and a small Ikea trashcan as a makeshift sick bucket. It turned out to be a rough day as both the bride and I were sick, sharing the trashcan throughout. I ended up vomiting in every gas station bathroom between Reykjavik and Vik, and even behind a large glacier jeep.
The hike with my heavy backpack to the glacier was intense. Capturing the winning shot was challenging as I balanced on the ice, managing my composition while battling relentless pregnancy nausea. Reflecting on the day, despite the challenges, it remains one of my fondest and most humorous memories. Sadly, our baby passed away a few weeks later, but I will always remember this day when I look at the photo. I am deeply grateful to Margrét Gauja, their officiant and guide, for her understanding and support while managing two sick women in her car”
