A wedding in beautiful, snow-white Kiruna

Who are you?

Mathilda, 29, and Viktor, 31. We live in Hammarby Sjöstad in Stockholm with our newborn daughter, Fredrika.

How did you meet? We met on our first pub crawl when we’d just started at KTH.

How long have you been together? We’ve now been together for ten years.

PHOTOS // REBECCA LUNDH

The proposal

How and where did the proposal take place? Viktor proposed in December 2020, right in the middle of the Covid restrictions. He’d organised a brunch at some friends’ place, and whilst we were out, his family had decorated our flat with flowers, balloons and bubbly. When we got home, Viktor proposed – just the two of us.

What rings did you choose? Viktor designed Mathilda’s engagement ring at Vanbruun, and his own ring was made by Smide och Form in Södermalm using gold from his family.

The planning 

What was your vision for the wedding? We dreamt of a festive winter wedding that felt personal. We chose the end of November to kick off the festive season without it feeling like a Christmas wedding. November can be grey and dreary, especially in Stockholm, so having a wedding then felt just right.

What was the first thing you decided on? We started planning about 1.5 years in advance and knew straight away that we wanted a winter wedding, which made choosing Kiruna as the venue an obvious choice.

Did you have a list of priorities? What was most important to you? Once we’d chosen Kiruna as the venue, Mathilda’s ‘non-negotiable’ was to book Rebecca Lundh as the photographer.

How long did you spend planning your wedding? About 1.5 years.

The wedding day

Where did the ceremony take place? In Kiruna Church. We were lucky that the church hadn’t yet been closed for relocation as part of the urban redevelopment.

Where did you hold the reception? At a venue in Kiruna.

Best memory from the day/weekend? The best memory was when our siblings surprised us during the ceremony by singing ‘Flashed Junk Mind’, a song we used to listen to a lot when we first got together.

Did you organise any activities for the guests? Yes, we got the wedding weekend off to an early start on Friday at the Icehotel, where we’d booked out the ice bar and served champagne in ice glasses. It gave us the chance to meet all our guests in a relaxed setting, and the guests were able to mingle with one another.

How would you describe your wedding? Personal and festive, with plenty of tears of joy.

What was on the wedding menu? 

We took inspiration from Norrbotten and served:

– Starters: Cured reindeer

– Starter: Beef thigh tartare

– Main course: Arctic char fillet

– Dessert: Mathilda’s grandmother’s classic meringue cake

Did you have a wedding cake? Yes, Mathilda’s grandmother baked the wedding cakes – the same ones she’d baked for birthdays, graduation celebrations and other family occasions whilst Mathilda was growing up.

Attire

What did you wear? Mathilda wore a wedding dress by Abby Waits, shoes by Flattered and a party dress by Rotate Birger Christensen, paired with beige Bing 65 shoes by Jimmy Choo. The fur coat was borrowed from family friends, and the outdoor boots were from Moonboots. Viktor wore a black double-breasted tuxedo from Blugiallo.

What did the bridesmaids and groomsmen wear? The bridesmaids wore black silk dresses from various brands, and the groomsmen wore black tuxedos.

Was there a dress code for the guests? Yes, the dress code was ‘Black Tie Optional’.

Tips

Top tip for the wedding day? Invest in a really good photographer! The wedding day is full of moments and memories, and having fantastic photos to look back on is priceless.

Best tip for the planning stage? Start by drawing up the guest list. That way, you’ll get an idea of the scale of the wedding and can set a realistic budget. We had around 100 guests.

Top tip for the big day? Let go of all your worries and enjoy yourself!

Any ‘do’s and don’ts’ you’d like to share?

Do’s: Choose toastmasters you feel comfortable giving free rein to.

Do: It’s a good idea to organise an activity with the guests the day before the wedding for a relaxed start.

Do: Bring some snacks! We didn’t have time for lunch and had to wolf down some chocolate biscuits and bananas just before the ceremony.

Do: Don’t be afraid to get married in the off-season! We had our wedding at the end of November and were able to book all the suppliers we wanted because no one else had booked them at that time.

Don’t: Don’t compare yourselves too much with others. Feel free to take inspiration, but do what feels right for you.

Top tip for newlyweds after the wedding? If possible, go on your honeymoon straight after the wedding. We set off two days later, which gave us the chance to take it all in and carry on enjoying the wedding buzz.

Vendors

Catering: Spill

Flowers: Djungelstugan in Kiruna

Wedding rings: Mathilda’s rings are from Vanbruun and Viktor’s from Smide och Form in Södermalm

Wedding attire: Mathilda’s dress from Abby Waits

Hair: Erika at Style by Us

Photographer and videographer: Rebecca Lundh

Entertainment: Kiruna Kickers (live band) and our friend Gabriel (DJ)

Printed materials: Templates from Etsy