Why Valentine's Week in Lapland Works

Valentine’s Day is easy to do badly: a crowded restaurant, a bunch of supermarket flowers and an evening that feels like everyone else’s. In Rovaniemi it is the opposite. February is deep winter with returning light, the snow is at its deepest, the sky is dark enough for the northern lights by early evening, and the setting does half the work for you. You can walk out of a cabin into a landscape most people only see in photographs.

We live here, and as the planners behind Rovaniemi Weddings, our own company, we get asked every year what to do for Valentine’s week if you are not proposing. This is the answer, written for couples who will be here for a few nights, with the honest caveat that we are partial to the things we style.

What the Week Looks Like: A Simple Plan

• Arrival day: land at Rovaniemi Airport, about ten minutes from the centre, check in and keep the evening easy.
• Day two: a husky safari, reindeer sleigh ride or snowmobile tour in the daylight; sauna in the afternoon.
• Evening two: a northern lights hunt or a quiet dinner in a lodge.
• Valentine’s evening: your styled moment, whether a room surprise, a dinner or a private lake.
• Day four: a slow morning, Santa Claus Village and a final walk in the snow.

A week lets you add a second aurora attempt, a spa day or a trip to the Arctic SnowHotel. Our post on romantic things to do in Rovaniemi for couples has more ideas.

Romantic Details We Can Style

You do not have to be proposing to use a planner. These are the options we suggest for couples marking Valentine’s week, an anniversary or simply a special evening.

The first two are the simplest. Both are set up in the place where you are already staying, and they are delivered, set up and removed by our team with the property’s agreement. A Thousand Petals also suits an anniversary or a honeymoon, whether you are already married or not.

If You Are Proposing This Week

February dates fill up around Valentine’s, so contact us as soon as your flights are booked. The most requested proposals in February are Yes Under the Aurora (from €1,500), On the Frozen Lake (from €1,400) and A Promise in the Ice Chapel (from €1,800). All include planning, set-up and removal, a bouquet of 30 roses and, in nearly every case, a professional photographer. Our guide to a February proposal goes into the weather, the light and the timeline.

Cabins, Igloos and Where to Stay

For Valentine’s week, book accommodation as early as possible. Options include glass igloos and aurora cabins, wilderness cabins with sauna and fireplace, resorts with spa and boutique hotels in Rovaniemi. In our cost guide, guesthouses are about €80 to €150 per night and glass igloos and resort suites about €300 to €800 per night. A room or cabin with a private sauna is worth it in February. If you want the styling at your accommodation, ask the property whether it agrees, and tell us the name when you contact us; for set-up within 30 km of Rovaniemi it is included in Right Where You Are and A Thousand Petals. Our guide to a honeymoon in Rovaniemi in December includes cabin ideas that work in February too.

An Evening for Two: What a Styled Valentine's Looks Like

To make this concrete, imagine the evening. You spend the afternoon at the sauna or on a safari. You return to your cabin and the door opens on rose petals, a bouquet of seventy roses on the bed, hearts floating at the ceiling and a bottle on ice. Nobody is watching and nobody is waiting. The setting was prepared while you were out and no one has to be thanked in person. Or you ride to a forest lodge, where a glass dome glows among the snowy trees, and you have a welcome drink and a three-course dinner of fresh local ingredients with the sky above you. If the lights appear, you will see them without leaving your seat. Either way, the cold is outside and the warmth is yours. These are the evenings we style most often in February, and the reason is simple: they ask nothing of you except to be there.

What Valentine's Week Costs, Honestly

The trip itself is the larger part of the budget, so here are the figures we can stand behind. Flights to Rovaniemi from most European cities are roughly €150 to €500 return per person, with direct flights from Helsinki all year and seasonal routes from London, Paris and other cities. Accommodation runs from about €80 to €150 per night in guesthouses to €300 to €800 per night in glass igloos and resort suites. We do not quote prices for tours or hotels, because they change by date, and we suggest you check those directly. What we can tell you is what our own options cost: from €650 for a styled setting at your accommodation, from €700 for a room surprise, from €1,450 for a private dome dinner and from €1,400 for a fireside evening on private land. These are from-prices and include planning, coordination, set-up and removal; a photographer, a videographer or a bigger bouquet can be added to most of them. If you are choosing where to spend, put the money into the accommodation you will love waking up in and one styled evening, and keep the rest simple.

If you want a second romantic evening, a sauna and a quiet dinner cost almost nothing and are often the part couples remember best.

Dressing for Romance in the Cold

Dress for the cold first and the photographs second. Thermal base layers, a mid-layer, an insulated outer coat, warm boots, hat and gloves. Add one thing that makes you feel dressed up: a scarf in a colour you love, a good coat, earrings under the hat. For a dinner or a styled moment, you can change indoors. Daytime temperatures in February vary from mild to −25 °C or lower, with deep snow. Bring a small bag for the extra layers you will take off at the sauna. If you are going to a styled dinner or a photographed moment, pack the outfit you want to be seen in, with warm tights or thermal leggings underneath, and plan to change at the venue or in a heated vehicle, never outdoors. Choose a coat colour that stands out against snow, such as deep green, burgundy or navy, and keep gloves in your pocket for the photographs. A small gift, a handwritten card or a favourite perfume travels well and costs little, and it is the kind of detail that makes a styled evening feel personal and not purchased. Finally, charge your phone before leaving, because the cold drains batteries.

Keeping a Surprise Surprising

If one of you is planning a Valentine’s surprise, let us do the hiding. We communicate only with the person who booked, never contact the other partner and prepare everything while you are out. A styled room is ready when you open the door, and a dome dinner is a surprise only the booker knows the details of. See how to keep a Lapland proposal secret for tips that work for any surprise.

How to Plan It With Us

Send us your dates, where you are staying and what you have in mind through Contact Rovaniemi Weddings. We reply within one business day with an option and quote, hold the date and handle the details. The set-up happens while you are out, and we remove it afterwards. See all proposals and romantic settings or ask for something custom.

FAQ

Our Honest Final Word

The best Valentine’s Day in Lapland is a simple one: warm clothes, a good cabin, one thing styled so it feels like yours and the sky doing its work. You do not need to spend a great deal. Rovaniemi Weddings is our own company, so we will happily style more, but a room full of roses and a sauna can be exactly right.

See A Thousand Petals, Dinner in the Glass Dome or Right Where You Are, browse all Proposals in Lapland, or tell us your week through Contact Rovaniemi Weddings.

Rovaniemi Weddings · by Joona & Alla

Romantic settings we style in Lapland

Every option is planned, set up and quietly packed down by our own team, and nearly every proposal includes a photographer. Tell us your story and we reply within one business day.

Signature proposalA Thousand PetalsFrom €700 · year-roundDiscover this proposal →Signature proposalRight Where You AreFrom €650 · year-roundDiscover this proposal →Signature proposalDinner in the Glass DomeFrom €1,450 · year-round (northern lights possible late Aug–Apr)Discover this proposal →WeddingsHoneymoon in LaplandRovaniemi WeddingsSee more →

Rovaniemi Weddings is our own wedding planning and proposal design company — Joona & Alla, based in Rovaniemi. We plan, style and coordinate proposals and weddings across Lapland, Finland, Sweden and Norway.