Getting married in the Seychelles

Here you have the choice between “organize it yourself” and “have it organized”. “Organizing yourself” is of course a lot of work. “Let it be organized” is much more comfortable, but also carries the risk that you will have a long face on the day of the wedding because you don’t like the decorations or the wedding cake at all. A combination of both is probably best:

You leave the “duty” – i.e. the complete travel booking including flights, your accommodation in the Seychelles and all necessary domestic transfers – to a tour operator who specializes in the Seychelles. I have had particularly good experiences with “Lavigne Reisen”, “Meerzeitreisen” and the “big top dog” based in Berlin and Bielefeld: “Seyvillas“. You’ve probably already stumbled across “Seyvillas” if you’ve done a little research on the Seychelles online. By far the largest specialist tour operator for the Seychelles in Germany, it has developed into the “top dog” over the years, as already mentioned, and plans thousands of Seychelles trips every year for customers from Germany, Austria, Switzerland and many other European countries. And even if you have nothing to do with “weddings in the Seychelles” or “photo shoots in the Seychelles”, you should still mention in your travel request to Seyvillas that you are coming on the recommendation of photographer Torsten Dickmann. Believe me: it will not be to your disadvantage! No, quite the opposite… 😀

The three tour operators mentioned will therefore take over the “duty” for you. The “freestyle” – i.e. all the finer details such as the exact location/beach of your wedding ceremony as well as the time you want, the color of the decoration, the look and taste of the wedding cake (my insider tip: mango passion fruit mix!) etc. – will then be clarified face to face live in the Seychelles. – You will then clarify all the details face to face live on location in the Seychelles in a personal meeting with myself and the best wedding organizer in the Seychelles, who will prepare the venue for your wedding ceremony according to your taste. I will be happy to put you in direct contact with him after you have booked me as your photographer for your wedding in the Seychelles. Alternatively, I can also take care of all communication with the wedding organizer for you at no extra charge if you don’t feel comfortable speaking English, for example.

This highly recommended wedding planner will take care of everything concerning your wedding in the Seychelles! The easiest way is for you to send me the few necessary documents in advance by email or WhatsApp – i.e. photocopies of your passports (one page with your photo on it is sufficient), a copy of your birth certificates (you can obtain these from your birth registry office. Important: An “international version” is required, as German is not one of the official languages of the Seychelles) and – only in the event that one of you has been married before – also the so-called “certificate of no impediment to marriage” (also an international version), which you can apply for at the registry office of your current place of residence. And that’s it for the “paperwork”!

I then send everything to the wedding planner and let him know exactly when you would like to get married on which beach. I will of course be happy to advise you in detail in advance and send you photos of the beaches you can choose from if you book me as your photographer. Important note: As soon as you have arrived on “your” island, you can also view the beaches live on site and then spontaneously change your mind if you wish! The wedding planner only needs to know which beach to decorate for your ceremony 3-4 hours before your wedding. Also all the rest (which bridal bouquet? Which decoration? Wedding ceremony sitting or standing? Which wedding cake? Sparkling wine, champagne or coconut cocktail? Background music for the wedding ceremony? Ride in a bullock cart [von welcher ich dringend abrate!] or ride in a “normal” cab? …) you clarify only 2-3 days before your wedding directly with him on site!

“Excuse me? Only 2-3 days before our wedding? But is that enough?” Yes, absolutely! Trust me. In principle, it is even sufficient if the wedding planner finds out the evening before your wedding how you envision your dream wedding and what (special) wishes you have! After the following explanation, you will surely be able to understand why this is the case:

The wedding cake is baked within a few hours. The flowers and blossoms available for both the bridal bouquet and the decoration (e.g. frangipani, orchid, hibiscus) grow on the island all year round and are only freshly cut or picked shortly before your wedding ceremony! The champagne is always cold anyway and a coconut cocktail is ready to serve within seconds. It is also sufficient for the hairdresser/visagist (of course there are several ladies who offer their services in this regard) to be informed by the wedding planner the day before your wedding that you would like to make use of her services. Of course, you decide at what time the lady should come to your hotel or guesthouse. Yes, this is also possible at 05:00 a.m. if you want to get married early in the morning!

I will be happy to join you on site for your preliminary talk with the super nice wedding organizer and provide you with advice and support. And if you should have a much better gut feeling if this conversation with the organizer takes place 5 or 10 days before your wedding, this is of course also feasible without any problems. You just have to make sure that you are on the island where you are getting married in good time. But as I said: It is perfectly sufficient if this conversation takes place shortly before your wedding (2 to 3 days before the wedding is the normal case). Trust me! 🙂

If you want to organize your wedding completely by yourself via the registry office of the Seychelles (even if I honestly can’t think of a single sensible reason why anyone would want to do this): The registry office on the main island of Mahé is open from Monday to Friday from 8:00 am to 11:30 am and from 1:00 pm to 3:00 pm (as of June 2024). The registrar should be informed of the time of your planned stay in the Seychelles, the desired wedding date and the name of the accommodation in which you will be staying at the time of the wedding. Should the wedding couple wish for the ceremony to take place at the registry office on Mahé – which is extremely “unsexy”, as it is just a tiny, sparsely furnished one-man office with an “office atmosphere” – those wishing to get married must present themselves in person with their documents after their arrival in the Seychelles. The couple must arrive at least two days before the planned wedding date (note: this only applies if you want to organize everything yourself! If you organize everything through me or a wedding planner, you can in principle land in the Seychelles and get married a few minutes after leaving the airport building, if you wish) and should discuss the details at the registry office in Independence House in the capital Victoria on the first working day after arrival. All this effort is eliminated if you have your wedding organized by me or “my” wedding planner! For a special fee, the registry office will also perform a wedding ceremony at short notice in exceptional cases (at the earliest two days after handing over the required documents). As a rule, however, there should be no less than eleven days between the application (i.e. the submission of your papers in advance of the trip) and the wedding date.

By the way, you can always get married in the Seychelles from 08:30 to 16:00 seven days a week! On Saturdays and Sundays, however, a “weekend fee” of currently 150,- EUR (as of June 2024) is added if you want to get married on a Saturday or Sunday. And if you want to get married at the world-famous “Anse Source d’Argent” (which I also advise against! Details in a personal conversation or telephone call after booking), there is an additional EUR 95 special fee. There is no charge on all other beaches on La Digue! 🙂