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Inspiration

Breathtaking Lofoten Islands Vow Renewal in Leknes, Norway | Holly & Jonny

Every year, Mountain and Mood selects five destinations around the world and invites adventurous couples to join them, offering a limited number of sessions at each location as part of their PASSPORT Program. This unique photography package includes roundtrip tickets, a full-day shoot, and transportation the day of, providing clients the opportunity to truly take their elopement, vow renewal, or engagement session to the next level.

Lead photographer Brian Maheux describes it as, “…[a] program for couples who are adventurous, romantically in love, and want an experience like not other.” The Lofoten Islands in Norway were amongst their destinations this year, and Holly and Jonny joined Brian for an epic vow renewal ceremony.

“These two married about a decade ago and never had those wedding images to hang on their wall,” Brian says. “I had a last-minute opening for our Norway PASSPORT adventure when Holly reached out… We set up flights, dates, and times and we were off… traveling along the Lofoten Islands, trying to find the best locations for their images. It wasn’t hard to find, considering everywhere you look is [absolutely beautiful]…  I had a vision of them on mountaintops, mountain backdrops, and true love. I personally had the privilege [of helping] Holly pick out her wedding dress for this renewal, which gave me control of how I saw the shoot going.”

With the help of a few locals, the group located a promising trail and hiked several miles into the mountains, Holly’s gown rolled up and stuffed into Brian’s camera bag for safe-keeping. “…we made our way up the trail not knowing exactly what we would see when we got to the top,” Brian recalls. “The view was even more than what we expected… Holly and Jonny’s ceremony will go down as my favorite ceremony of all time, not just because of the location, but because these two are absolutely perfect for each other, and you [could] see it when they read their vows… I always tell my clients who book these sessions to go with the flow. We will [brainstorm] locations and times, but everything will most likely change. Don’t worry about getting your dress dirty, it’s all about the experience and embrace all [of] the moments you have with each other.”

Photography by Mountain and Mood

THE WEDDING:

“Jonny and I met 14 years ago through mutual friends… [he] proposed at our favorite restaurant, Ballyhoo. It was simple and quiet, nothing boisterous or attention-grabbing because that’s just not who he is. It was about us and for us… We immediately set a date for the wedding, which was almost three months out to the date of him proposing. Jonny and I did not have a big wedding. We actually were married after a church service in June of 2006. We had cake and punch to celebrate. We toasted one another but other than that, just a minimal wedding – no dancing, no music, just us and our loved ones. Because we were young and simple, we also did not hire a wedding photographer… we only have one or two portraits together.”

[Holly, the bride]

CHOOSING A VOW RENEWAL:

“Over the past couple of years, I’ve missed not having wedding photos and had thought on and off about doing a vow renewal. This year, we celebrated 12 years of marriage and both decided that a vow renewal would be perfect for us, and it would give us those amazing photos that we never had!”

[Holly]

CHOOSING A LOCATION:

” I contacted Brian of Mountain and Mood and quickly jumped on his Norway PASSPORT program for what I knew would be an epic vow renewal. We met up… about two months later and spent the whole day traveling through the Lofoten Islands of Norway with him and his wife, stopping at various locations [where he worked] his magic. Our last stop was [on top] of a mountain that we hiked straight up to get to… we had one heck of a view! It’s there that we read our new vows that we had each written to one another.”

[Holly]

PARTING THOUGHTS:

“Honestly, between the location and words that we expressed to one another, it was beyond perfect! It was about us and us alone. I would do it all over again in a heartbeat! I couldn’t be more pleased with the decision that we made hiring Brian. He was able to connect with us and walk us through the day impeccably and now we have the most incredible, emotional images that anyone could hope for, images that we know we will love and cherish for the rest of our lives!”

[Holly]

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