Bettina Vass has photographed more than 150 weddings in Iceland

Photographer Bettina Vass has photographed more than 150 weddings, many of them for foreign couples who come to Iceland to marry in its natural surroundings, mbl.is reports.

Vass came to Iceland when she was young to work as an au pair in Hvammstangi. She later met Icelandic man Baldur Tryggvason, and they now have an eight-month-old son, Matthías Tryggva.

Vass established her own photography business at the end of 2019. Although she is self-taught, wedding photography bookings began arriving in early 2020. In March that year, however, she had to refund every client after the pandemic forced foreign couples to postpone weddings because they could not travel to Iceland.

“That would have been my first real year in photography, and of course I was disappointed. But I decided not to give up,” Vass said. She used the time to take online photography courses, spending all the money she had on training.

Business took off in 2022, when bookings poured in for the summer. “That was when my career really began, and I was determined to do my best. I cried some days because I wanted so badly to be good at the profession,” she said.

Vass now has plenty of work, although she has slowed down somewhat to care for her baby. Her busiest period runs from May through October, while the rest of the year is filled with computer work and bookings.

She was pregnant last year and continued working until her 30th week, despite severe nausea. The previous summer, she had also been pregnant but suffered a miscarriage in her third month.

One award-winning photograph, taken inside an ice cave, had an unusual background. Vass and the bride took turns vomiting because the bride was carsick. Vass vomited six times and the bride eight times.

Vass has won international awards six times, including International Wedding Photographer of the Year 2024, and her photographs have appeared in respected magazines. She is also regularly invited to serve on juries for international photography competitions.

In addition to wedding and engagement photography, Vass photographs babies. She says the work can be physically demanding, as many couples want photographs taken in the highlands or on mountain peaks, but adds that the locations are among the most enjoyable parts of the job.