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. “Having it organized” is much more comfortable, but also carries the risk of making a long face on the day of the wedding because you don’t like the decorations or the bridal bouquet 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. Even if you don’t want to use my services as a photographer: Send me a message via the “REQUEST NOW!” contact form (top right of this page), let me know your desired travel period and – if you already have something on the shortlist – the hotels/accommodation you are particularly interested in. I will then be happy to let you know within a maximum of 24 hours which travel provider is most suitable for you!

This travel provider, which I will then name to you individually, will take over the “duty” for you: They will book your flights, accommodation, local transfers by cab, ferry, small plane or helicopter, even the rental car and/or bike on La Digue if you wish, and everything else.

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 exact look of the decoration, the flavor of the wedding cake (my insider tip: a mix of mango andpassion fruit!) etc. -You will then clarify all the details directly with me and the best wedding organizer in the Seychelles, face to face, live on location in the Seychelles who will arrange the location of 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 he can decorate for your wedding ceremony at least six hours before your wedding. Also the rest (which bridal bouquet? Which decoration? Sitting or standing ceremony? Which wedding cake? Sparkling wine, champagne or coconut cocktail? Background music for the ceremony? Wedding dinner in the evening, barefoot on the beach with a view of the starry sky? And much more!) you clarify directly with me and the wedding planner on site 2-3 days before your wedding.

“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 (1 to 3 days before the wedding is the normal case). Trust me! 🙂

If you want to organize your wedding completely independently through the registry office of the Seychelles and get married on site in the registry office building in the capital Victoria (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. 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, there is a weekend fee of 2,000 Seychelles rupees (around EUR 140) 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 would advise against in most cases; details can be discussed in person or on the phone after booking as a photographer), there is an additional EUR 95 special fee. There is no fee on all other beaches on La Digue.