Interview with my bridal couple Nadja & Sebastian

Interview with my bridal couple Nadja & Sebastian

Nadja and Sebastian from Berlin got married in March 2021 on the island of Praslin and booked me for two days as their wedding photographer in the Seychelles. You are the third couple to receive my questionnaire on the subject of “Weddings in the Seychelles”. The answers of the two newlyweds should certainly be very interesting for all future couples who also want to get married in the Seychelles!

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01.
Why did you get married in the Seychelles and not in Germany?

Nadja: It’s my second wedding, I didn’t want to experience all the hustle and bustle of a big family celebration again, this time it should just be about us as a couple and our love.

Basti: Our wedding day was supposed to be on the day we met, but since it was in February, we looked for a place where it was summer at that time of year.

02.
How long were you in the Seychelles in total and how long were you "on the road photographically" with me?

We spent a total of 5 weeks on 4 different islands in the Seychelles, including 2 days of photography with Torsten. During these 2 days, photos were taken on 4 different islands.

03.
How did you transport your wedding outfit to the Seychelles?

We could fit everything into a carry-on suitcase. I felt safer always having everything “on hand”. This ensured that our shoot could definitely take place in the outfit of our choice. At the hotel, it was easy to have the dress and shirt ironed again.

04.
Now you are married. How did you like your wedding? How was the wedding ceremony and what did you do after the ceremony? In short: What was your wedding day like?

Our wedding on Praslin was even more beautiful than we had dreamed of. We had a beautiful, flower-decorated wedding arch, palm fronds in the sand, which paved the way to the lovingly laid table with flowers and shells. The ambience was like paradise. Beautiful sunshine, turquoise blue water in the background. An empty beach just for us.

We got married on the beach in the morning, thanks to Torsten we were well prepared and had already practiced our vows in English a few days beforehand. The wedding ceremony was relatively short, but still beautiful. Afterwards, we had time for ourselves to toast and realize that we are now husband and wife. We spent the rest of the day with Torsten until around 4 pm.

Torsten had already organized a cab for the whole day in advance to get from photo spot to photo spot. The atmosphere was relaxed the whole time. Even though we only saw Torsten for the first time that day, it was like being among friends. Torsten is such a pleasant and consistently positive person, we had a lot of fun together.

We spent the rest of the afternoon and evening in our Panorama View Suite, which was lovingly decorated by the hotel, with candlelight and great food.

05.
Was it complicated to get married in the Seychelles? Which documents were required? Was there a "paper war"?

I am still surprised at how uncomplicated it all went. We needed our passports, international birth certificates and a translation of my divorce certificate. We had already submitted all of this in advance by email and in the end the registrar only wanted to see copies of everything on the day of the wedding so that we didn’t have to lug the important documents to the beach. One week after the wedding ceremony we received our apostille. A mistake had crept into it, which we only noticed when we got home. But that wasn’t a problem either. After about 6 weeks in the post, we received a corrected version sent to Germany.

06.
On my recommendation, the best wedding planner in the Seychelles took over the organization of your wedding. Did everything work as you had imagined?

Everything worked out exactly as we had imagined. The decoration was even more beautiful than we had hoped. We were able to clarify everything with him easily via WhatsApp. He had sent us various photos for the decorations and there was also a large selection of other programs (e.g. cake, transport by oxcart, dinner on the beach, musicians on site…). He also gave us the apostille later and sent the new apostille to Germany at the end.

07.
Why did you decide to have me photograph your wedding? How did you come across me? When and where did you first come across my wedding pictures from the Seychelles?

We decided on the Seychelles relatively quickly. One of my favorite novels (Salt on Our Skin) was set there. And as you would expect these days, we were quickly registered in a few forums. We came across Torsten via Facebook and YouTube and immediately liked him. In the end, you decide to have a wedding without friends and family, so the person you let so close to you simply has to fit in, and that was absolutely the case with Torsten.

We were able to get an impression of him in advance through the YouTube videos available and made an effort to book him around 18 months before the wedding, as the Seychelles without him didn’t seem like an option.

08.
In the meantime you have received your photos from me. Do you like the pictures?

We love our pictures! We have already had all kinds of things printed. We recently bought a house, in the living room of which there is a photo wallpaper with one of our beautiful pictures. We have also purchased some large formats on acrylic glass, which really makes these amazing pictures shine. Both of our Insta accounts are full of wedding pictures, so we were able to share them with our family and friends.

09.
Which photo spots did you particularly like?

We are happiest about the boat trip recommended by Torsten on the 2nd photo day. This is how we ended up taking photos on a total of 4 Seychelles islands. Having Big Sister Island to ourselves, the barbecue on the beach, it was wonderful.

10.
Were there any experiences/places/situations during our photo days that you particularly like to remember?

We laughed so much with Torsten, there were some wonderful comic situations that still make me smile today. The waterfall on Praslin was wonderful, but also the Robinson Crusoe feeling on Coco Island, just the two of us on this island, everyone else in the boat, no real landing possible, a brave jump into the water… and then these insanely beautiful drone pictures.

11.
You got married on the island of Praslin. Which hotel did you book? Would you recommend it to other travelers?

We spent our time on Praslin at Raffles in a Panorama View Villa. This villa with its amazing view was absolutely worth it. We would only book the hotel itself in this room category, but only for a few days.

12.
Which islands of the Seychelles did you visit and where did you like it best? Are there any hotels that you would like to mention in a particularly positive light? Were there any accommodations that you would advise against?

We stayed on Silhouette at the “Hilton”, then on Praslin at the “Raffles”, then off Mahé on Round Island at the “JA Enchanted” and finally on Mahé at the “STORY Seychelles”. All the hotels were wonderful for us, but it should be mentioned that we traveled in February/March 2021, i.e. during the coronavirus peak period. All the hotels were empty except for a few guests, so we were spoiled even more than under normal conditions. We probably wouldn’t have liked the “STORY” at Beau Vallon with normal guest numbers, whereas the “Hilton”, and even more so the “JA Enchanted”, are our absolute favorites.

13.
Will you visit the Seychelles again? If so, what would you do differently from the previous trip? And what would you do again if necessary?

We had booked full board in all hotels, which was ideal at the time we traveled, as little to nothing was open. We have already booked another trip. This time only with breakfast as self-catering and we would like to spend more time on La Digue. We had already planned this on our honeymoon, but had to change it due to hotel cancellations and quarantine conditions, so we only had a few hours of photography on La Digue with Torsten.

14.
What advice would you like to give to couples who would like to get married in the Seychelles in the near or distant future? Do you have any recommendations that you would like to get rid of?

The Seychelles were a dream come true for us and have given us incredibly beautiful memories. If you book Torsten, you’ve done everything right. Thanks to his many years of experience, he was always on hand with help and advice, even with questions about bookings, hotels and excursions. Due to the confusion and uncertainties that Corona brought with it on what felt like a weekly basis, we had been in very close contact via WhatsApp for the last few months before the start of the trip, which meant that he was no stranger to us on the day of the wedding. And he also organized a lot for us locally thanks to his good network.

I would definitely take a parasol with me for the shoot next time, as the sun really burns mercilessly.

15.
And now the final question: Why should couples who want to get married in the Seychelles in the near or distant future use my services?

Whoever books you is not only booking a photographer, but also an all-round multi-talent and ultimately a “temporary friend”.

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