Wedding on the beach
Beach wedding in the Seychelles
Wedding on the beach in the Seychelles
Most couples come to my website through the german WDR travel report “WDR Wunderschön Seychellen” – or they find me on Youtube. More and more often, however, couples tell me that they simply wanted to find out more about the topic of “beach weddings” and came across my website or my Instagram profile.
For many of these couples, the exact destination had not yet been decided when they searched for the term “beach wedding”. Some couples were sure in advance that they wanted to get married in Mauritius, Hawaii or Mallorca. But when they saw my photos and read how easy it is to get married on the beach in the Seychelles, they were quickly taken with the idea of celebrating their wedding in the Seychelles.
Seychelles wedding on the beach - when?
Many couples ask themselves when is the best time to get married on the beach in the Seychelles. However, there is no two-sentence answer to this, as every travel month has its own characteristics: temperatures do not fluctuate too much throughout the year, with daily highs ranging from 25 degrees (August) to 33 degrees (April). However, the wind direction, which changes twice a year, plays a major role! In my experience from 49 trips to the Seychelles, the four best months to get married in the Seychelles are: February, March, October and November. I would advise against at least the months of July and August.
Seychelles wedding on the beach - where?
If you want to celebrate your wedding on the beach, you are well advised to get married on a beach that faces away from the wind. For most wedding couples, it is also important that there is little or ideally no seaweed on the wedding beach. This can also be realized without any problems if you know the local conditions. I am always happy to advise my clients in detail so that their wedding on the beach is the wedding of their dreams!
The decoration
Seychelles wedding on the beach - the decoration
Of course, a beach wedding also needs the right decorations. Here it is important to make sure you find the “right” local decorator. In my early days (2009) as a wedding photographer in the Seychelles, I often had to experience decorations that were more reminiscent of a Christmas tree than a stylish wedding venue. At that time I didn’t know the local wedding coordinators and the couples looked for their decorators themselves via the internet. Rarely was it “Wow!”, most of the time it was “OMG!” what awaited us on the beach.
In my sixteenth year as a wedding photographer in the Seychelles, I now know that business inside out and know who I can recommend without reservation and who I’d better not. Let me tell you: The differences here are gigantic! Anything from “fantastically beautiful” to “I hope you are not serious!” can happen if you hire the wrong decorator.
Seychelles wedding on the beach - the bride and groom's outfits
Of course, the bride and groom’s attire is particularly important at a beach wedding: I don’t like to interfere with the bride’s dress. The bride should buy the dress she likes best. But if she is wavering between several dresses, my tip for your beach wedding is: less is more! As great as the three-meter-long train may look in the bridal store, it’s often a completely different matter on a windy beach. And moving around is of course much easier in a lighter dress than in a dress with seven layers of tulle. Some rocks need to be climbed before you can take some fantastic photos. And this is much easier to achieve with a 1.5 kilo dress than with a 6 kilo dress. Believe me, I have organized and photographed over 250 weddings in the Seychelles and I speak from experience. By the way: I’ll be happy to explain why an IKEA shoulder bag can be of fantastic service to you in the Seychelles in a personal phone call!
“Less is more” is especially true for the groom. I’ve already had young, sporty men in front of the camera who transpired at a world-class level during the wedding ceremony, as the multi-layered suit with shirt, vest, tie or plastron and jacket was considered ideal when dressing in the bridal fashion store in October, but five months later under the tropical sun on the beach in the Seychelles it became more of a personal “mini-sauna”.
Dear grooms: How about if the bride organizes a nice, light linen shirt and matching linen trousers for you, which she matches the colour of the wedding dress in the bridal fashion store? In any case, you can save yourself the jacket. Of course you can still wear a jacket for the ceremony if you like – but for the rest of the photo time, the jacket can then remain in the open e-buggy, with which we are brought to the various photo spots. If you start sweating quickly, an additional spare shirt is of course a good idea.
The bridal hairstyle, the right shoes and utensils
Seychelles wedding on the beach - the bridal hairstyle
One more important word on the subject of “bridal hairstyles”: there is at least a light breeze on the beaches almost every day of the year. This has already caused many a bride’s hair to blow wildly into her face – especially if the bride has several strands/curls done, as I have unfortunately experienced far too often. A bridal hairstyle in which no strands or individual hairs can blow into your face ensures that the pictures of your wedding ceremony will be perfect! I would never start the wedding ceremony with the words “Shhh! Please take that strand of hair out of your face”. And you certainly don’t want that either. So please make sure that this does not become necessary in the first place.
Seychelles wedding on the beach - the right shoes
“Okay – and what do we wear on our feet for our wedding on the beach?” Well – no high heels, anyway. That doesn’t work in the soft sand of the Seychelles. Many couples get married barefoot, which is no problem in the Seychelles. The light-colored, soft sand is always pleasantly warm. You don’t have to worry about it getting uncomfortably hot, as you might be used to in countries with darker beaches. The Seychelles sand is always at “feel-good temperature” around the clock! Of course, you can also wear shoes to the wedding ceremony. If the worst comes to the worst, they can be removed in just a few seconds.
For the hours after the ceremony, however, I recommend taking sturdy shoes with you. You can safely leave your trekking boots from your last hiking vacation at home! Lightweight lace-up shoes/jogging shoes with a non-slip sole are your ideal companion if we later want to climb up one or two rocks to get some particularly spectacular pictures.
Seychelles wedding on the beach - important utensils
Unfortunately, many couples tend to forget one important item for a beach wedding: sunglasses! If you are one of the couples – and fortunately most of them are – who are not overly sensitive to light, you will be able to enjoy the wedding ceremony without sunglasses. However, if any of you are quite sensitive to light (which many of you only notice on site when the sun reflects off the almost white sand), it definitely looks better to wear sunglasses than to squint your eyes.
A wedding on the beach is much more pleasant for very light-sensitive people with sunglasses. So please take them with you. You probably won’t need them – but if you do, you’ll always have them to hand.
The same applies to a handkerchief. It is not only a little savior in case of tears of joy, but also perfect for minimizing skin shine if the sun is particularly kind to you at your wedding ceremony. And that’s what we’re all secretly hoping for, isn’t it?