Wedding Bells in the Faroe Islands!
In July 2019 Heimdal Tours were asked to arrange a suitable outside venue for a wedding in the Faroe Islands, somewhere with a typical Faroese backdrop and a feeling of stepping back in time.
Our initial thought was…outside!?…in the Faroe Islands!?…Faroe Islands weather!?
But, without too much difficulty, we found the perfect outside location in the historic and ancient village of Kirkjubøur in the shadow of the ancient ruin of St. Magnus Cathedral ca: 1300 A.D.
Of course, in the Faroe Islands, we have to have a back up plan should the weather gods conspire to work against us, so we had the St, Olavs Church in Kirkjubøur in reserve, should we all need to get out of the rain…especially the bride and the string trio and their valuable instruments.
And then, prior to organizing seating for 80 wedding guests at an outside location in the Faroe Islands, there are very unique Faroese preparations to be performed, before laying out the seating on the lawn between the cathedral and the sea…i.e. removing all evidence of the local livestock of sheep and horses illustrated below..
One of the many “unseen” activities undertaken by you local tour company to ensure that your visit is perfect
All ready to welcome the wedding party, just as the congregation were getting seated and the musicians were tuning their instruments, anticipating the arrival of the bride, the Faroese rain gods decided to intervene.
So plan B was sprung into action and everyone headed into the church, St. Olavs Church, which just happens to be the oldest continually used church in the Faroe Islands, built ca. 1111 A.D.
All went well on the day, and the bride, groom and congregation were very happy, if not a little surprised, when a
local Faroese tradition almost literally backfired.
Local farmer, friend and resident of the oldest wooden residence in Kirkjubøur, Johannes (pictured below in Faroese national costume)…
…offered not only to ring the bells in the church for the wedding party, but also decided to do the traditional shotgun salute when the bride and groom exit the church.
Whilst this was a very welcome and generous gesture by Johannes, because of the rush to get into the church and escape the rain, we did not have time to tell the congregation and wedding couple, all from USA, that he was planning to give the shotgun salute.
As you can imagine, surprise was an understatement when the American congregation exited the church in this most peaceful of world locations to the sound of gunfire…luckily no-one took cover, and they soon realised what it was with great excitement.
The wedding was a great success and this is the review that we received from the happy couple…
Reviewed by scouch61853
Oct 24, 2019
Exceptional Wedding Planning!
My husband and I looked high and low for a wedding planner to help us organize our 80-guest destination wedding on the Faroe Islands this summer. Everyone in the Faroes that we spoke with told us that there are no wedding planners in the Faroe Islands and that planning an outdoor wedding was “impossible”.
Then we found David and Tummas!
David and Tummas quickly responded that they would help us plan an outdoor celebration but also make arrangements for an indoor backup in case the ever-changing Faroese weather was too damp. They were responsive and helpful at every step along the way, from securing permission to use the historic site they had suggested, to finding and setting up the chairs for the space, to organizing world-class musicians to play at the ceremony and finding a spectacular indoor backup plan that we ended up using (and loving!).
Even though this was David and Tummas’s first experience planning such an event, we never would have guessed this as they were professional and organized from the first contact through to our goodbyes as we left the islands. They even did their best to help us coordinate with some other vendors who were less responsive to our emails.
I would not hesitate to recommend Heimdal Tours for their organizational prowess, sensitivity to their clients’ needs, knowledge, and experience. They helped make our wedding a magical event that was as stress-free as possible. Five stars!
If you feel inspired to have your special day in unique, romantic surroundings, please do not hesitate to contact us for more information.
