Epic Pictures Of The First Traditional Viking Wedding After About 1000 Years

Although there are some weird ways to get married - look at Don't Tell The Bride - most couples still decide to go down a more traditional route.

A Norwegian couple, however, took the traditional wedding to a new level when they decided to exchange vows in an authentic Viking ceremony - with a pagan priest, longboats, and even a blood sacrifice.

Elisabeth and Rune Dalseth ditched their conventional Christian upbringing in favor of a ceremony inspired by weddings which took place 1,000 years ago. The partners swapped the standard bridal car for two real longboats and got married on the banks of a beautiful Norwegian lake dressed in full Viking matrimonial attire.

The ceremony incorporated a 'blot' ritual: it's when a cauldron of pig's blood is put on a pile of stones, dripped over small figures representing the gods, and blotted onto the forehead of the couple.

In true Viking style, the couple celebrated right into the night - with 130 guests, all dressed in full costume, dancing to traditional Norse songs, and swigging honey-beer.

Elisabeth, 27 years old, said: "We danced to live music that our ancestors danced to over a millennium ago."

She and Rune, 36 years old, are members of a 6,000 movement of Norwegian Viking revivalists. They even named their six-month-old son after the legendary Viking hero Ragnar Lothbrok.

The husband, the owner of a carpentry company, added: "Vikings were no more terrible than any other group of people living at that time."

The couple met in 2016 when the world of paganism and Vikings was entirely unknown to Elisabeth. Rune, who had been a pagan for about two years, introduced the world of Vikings to her.

"Rune completely opened up a new world for me, and I soon fell in love with the people and the spirituality of it.", Elisabeth said. Rune popped the question one year later at a Viking festival, near Oslo.

In the end, the couple had the Viking wedding of their dreams - pagan priests, longboats, and a blood sacrifice included.