We present to you, Jack and Alston Blondin!!

Sharp jagged cliffs, transparent blue water, bright colors and wild weather — the beauty of Lofoten was both humbling and jaw-dropping, and turned out to be a perfect location for our wedding. 

Though neither of us had ever been to Norway before, we chose it as our wedding location after consulting with people who had been there. We were told stories of dramatic mountains that look like shark teeth that dive straight down into Arctic fjords, creating landscapes that don’t exist anywhere else in the world. We got there and, holy s***, they were right.

Our 10-row biplane landed at a single gate airport that was roughly the size of a McDonalds. One of the two employees at the airport took a break from working security to help us get our rental car, and we then set off on one of the most beautiful drives of our lives, stopping multiple times to take in the incredible views and for Jack to fly his drone. 

Our AirBnB was nestled in a fishing village called Hamnøy (Population: 42) that overlooked the bright blue water of the Reinefjord, and was across the street from the Arctic Ocean. We spent our first days taking drives to scenic spots, sampling the local specialities at the only restaurants within 2 hours, and taking some grueling but unforgettable hikes. We tried Whale Tataki, Fishburgers, Stockfish, and Salmon Nigiri, and a variety of the local Lofotpils beers. Oh, and we went surfing in the Arctic Ocean next to the northernmost surf shop on earth! 

Pam, John, Nita and Dodie had some flight troubles (the tiny airport in Leknes isn’t equipped with radar, so planes can’t land if it’s foggy), which pushed their arrival back to Monday morning — the day before the wedding. We spent the day walking around the village, taking pictures, and driving around the area to experience the landscapes.

Tuesday, August 23rd, 2022, we got MARRIED! Our photographer, a badass Norwegian native who had been to Lofoten dozens of times before, was an absolute pro and helped design the day perfectly for everyone. After a first look by our house, we all got in cars and drove twenty minutes to the town of Å, which is the southernmost town in Lofoten. We trekked through a hidden muddy path for ten minutes that opened up to a beautiful small valley with a lake and towering mountains all around. This dreamy location is where we had our ceremony, officiated by John (technically made official by Reverend Tommy Kaz — thanks Tommy!). After a few touching words from John, some lovely blessings from Gabba (Jack’s grandmother), and a teary exchanging of vows, we were married!

After a brief stop at the house for lunch and to change into hiking clothes, we loaded up a backpack with our wedding attire and drove off to our wedding day hike! We drove for about 20 minutes, parked on the side of the road, and there was no hiking trail in sight. Our photographer then informed us that there was no trail, and that we were just going to walk straight up the side of the mountain. The ground was almost completely made of soft, squishy moss, which was easy on the knees and helped with the steep climbing— it really was like walking on pillows! We climbed for just over an hour before we reached a rocky plateau that was very Middle-Earth-esque, and when we walked the over the ridge, the unbelievable backdrop revealed itself. I can’t really describe it, so just check it out in these pictures. 

If you can’t tell by our expressions, it was quite cold and windy, which was exacerbated by the fact that we had to get naked and change into our wedding attire at the top of the mountain. 

After getting lost for a few minutes during the descent, we managed to find our way back down the mountain, and drove back to the house where our photographer’s fiancee, who was also our private chef for the evening, was wrapping up dinner preparations. Our newly joined houses, along with our new Norwegian friends, all enjoyed the incredible Norwegian food together, drinking plenty of Chateauneuf-de-Pape and sharing stories of our travels and hometowns. It was a perfect wedding dinner. We had our first dance after dinner, and after we polished off the rest of the wine, we all went to sleep and ended a perfect day that Alston and I will never forget.