When Shay and Larissa started thinking about getting married, they already knew that a big traditional wedding was not for them.
They had always dreamed about going on safari, so when they came across the idea of combining their wedding with a safari in South Africa, everything started to make sense. They found me through Google from Australia, looked into a few different safari elopement options, and told me that my offer was by far the best fit for what they wanted.
Instead of planning one large wedding day around a long guest list, they chose a three-night experience at Nambiti Hills Lodge, where they legally married in the South African bush and spent the rest of the trip enjoying game drives, good food, wildlife, and time together.
Their wedding day ended up including pouring rain, emotional vows, elephants in the distance, champagne, a muddy wedding dress, a beautiful orange sky, and one of the most unusual hippo sightings I have ever had on safari.
It was unpredictable in the best possible way.
If you are still figuring out what a safari elopement in South Africa can actually look like, Shay and Larissa’s wedding is such a good example of how much can happen in just a few days.
Why They Chose a Safari Wedding in South Africa
Shay and Larissa are from Australia and wanted their wedding to feel more like an experience than an event.
They loved the idea of traveling somewhere they had always dreamed about visiting, seeing African wildlife for the first time, staying at a beautiful lodge, and spending the wedding day focused on each other rather than managing a large guest list.
For them, Nambiti Hills was a really good fit.
It offered the kind of private safari experience they were looking for, while also sitting at a more approachable price point than some of the ultra-luxury lodges in areas like Sabi Sands. The reserve is in KwaZulu-Natal and has a very different landscape from Greater Kruger, with open grasslands, rolling hills, valleys, and pockets of denser bush.
The lodge itself also photographs beautifully. The interiors are light, neutral, and full of natural textures, so the getting-ready portion of the day still feels connected to the safari setting outside.
If you are comparing lodge options, I also included Nambiti Hills in my guide to the best safari lodges for elopements in South Africa.
Getting Legally Married in South Africa as Foreign Nationals
Shay and Larissa did not want a symbolic ceremony. They wanted to legally marry in South Africa.
That meant we needed to coordinate the legal side of the wedding before they left Australia. I arranged the marriage officer, helped collect the required forms and documents, coordinated with the officiant, and made sure everything was in place before the ceremony.
Their paperwork included items such as passports, proof of marital status, marriage forms, passport photos, flight information, and witness details. Because requirements can vary depending on nationality and personal circumstances, I always coordinate this process directly with the marriage officer rather than expecting couples to figure it out on their own.
On the wedding day, Shay and Larissa signed the marriage register and completed the thumbprints as part of the legal paperwork, which Larissa thought was such a fun little part of the experience.
For couples who want to understand the broader process, I explain more about legal and symbolic ceremonies in my guide on how to elope in South Africa.
Arriving in South Africa and Traveling to Nambiti Hills
Shay and Larissa flew into O.R. Tambo International Airport in Johannesburg and stayed overnight at one of the hotels located inside the airport.
That made the arrival really easy because they did not need to arrange another transfer after an international flight or travel across Johannesburg to reach a hotel.
The next morning, their private transfer collected them directly from the airport at around 10 a.m. and drove them to Nambiti Hills Lodge.
Once they arrived, they checked into their luxury suite, had lunch, and headed out for their first game drive.
They saw lions, buffalo, elephants, and plenty of other wildlife almost immediately, which was a pretty exciting way to start their first safari experience.
The Morning of Their Wedding Day
Their wedding morning started with another game drive.
The weather was still fairly calm at that point, and they were able to head out into the reserve, stop for snacks along the way, and see zebra, giraffe, elephants, and other wildlife before returning to the lodge.
After the drive, they had time to relax, eat breakfast and lunch, and enjoy the lodge before hair and makeup arrived later in the day.
That slower rhythm is one of the things I really love about safari elopements. The morning does not have to feel rushed or overly structured. Couples can go on safari, come back to the lodge, eat, relax, and then ease into the wedding portion of the day.
By the time hair and makeup arrived, I was there photographing the getting-ready portion of the day while my husband, Mike, helped me with the video coverage. We documented both photography and video for their wedding.
The rain started coming and going during the afternoon, but at first it looked like it might clear.
Then, just as it was time to leave for the ceremony, it started pouring with rain.
A Rainy Safari Wedding at Nambiti Hills
Fortunately, the lodge had prepared a beautiful covered backup ceremony space overlooking the valley.
The setup still felt completely appropriate for a safari wedding. They used natural textures, local flowers, a hide on the floor, and simple details that worked with the landscape rather than distracting from it.
Instead of stressing about the weather, Shay and Larissa just went with it.
We spent a little more time taking portraits while we waited, and they were laughing, joking, and completely themselves throughout the whole thing. The rain never seemed to bother them because they were genuinely just happy to be there getting married.
That attitude ended up shaping the entire day.
Emotional Vows Overlooking the Valley
By the time we reached the ceremony location, the rain was still coming down on and off.
Shay and Larissa started the ceremony under the covered area overlooking the valley, and their vows were incredibly emotional.
They had been best friends before they started dating, and that closeness was obvious all day. They are both funny, sarcastic, laid-back people, but during the ceremony everything became much more emotional.
Right before the ring exchange and the official “I do” portion of the ceremony, the rain stopped.
I asked whether they wanted to step outside the covered area and finish the ceremony at the lookout point, and they immediately said yes.
They walked out, exchanged their rings, and legally became husband and wife overlooking the reserve.
There was even a herd of elephants visible far away in the distance behind them.
The elephants were not close, but you could see them moving across the landscape during the ceremony, which made the whole moment feel even more surreal.
Champagne, Cake, and a Private Safari Drive
After the ceremony, they celebrated with champagne, cake, hors d’oeuvres, and canapés prepared by the lodge.
The setup felt intimate and luxurious without becoming overdone. Everything still felt connected to the reserve and the safari experience.
Once they had finished celebrating, we got back into their private game vehicle and continued the drive.
We had seen elephants in the distance during the ceremony, so the guide took us in their direction and we were able to get much closer to the herd afterward.
That was already an incredible way to continue the wedding day, but the wildlife had one more surprise for us.
An Unbelievable Hippo Sighting in the Rain
Later in the drive, the rain started coming down heavily again.
We were driving fairly quickly through the reserve to get around one of the corners when we suddenly came across a mother hippo and her baby walking outside the water.
It was one of the strangest and most memorable wildlife sightings I have ever had during a wedding.
Hippos spend a lot of time in the water during the day and they’re very sensitive to the sun, so seeing two of them walking around the reserve in the middle of the rain was incredible.
We also came around the corner quickly enough to startle the mother that she actually reared up like a horse! I didn’t even know hippos could jump up like that.
That definitely gave all of us an adrenaline rush.
She calmed down almost immediately, though, and then continued walking through the rain with her baby.
Shay and Larissa were completely amazed. They were taking photos on their phones while I captured the experience on video.
Because the rain was pouring and the hippos were obviously wild animals, there was no getting out of the vehicle or trying to create a staged photograph with them. I managed to photograph the hippos themselves, and the video shows the couple experiencing the sighting, which made it even more special.
Later that evening, Shay messaged me:
“We followed the hippos home on the road too haha.”
That is probably not a sentence most people get to send after their wedding day.
A Muddy Wedding Dress and an Orange Sky
Toward the end of the drive, the rain finally eased.
The sun had already gone down, but the sky turned a beautiful orange color, so we stopped in a safe area and took a final set of portraits.
By then, Larissa’s dress was muddy from the rain and the day, which honestly made the photos even better.
Instead of trying to keep everything perfectly clean and controlled, the photos felt like the actual experience they had just lived through.
Once we finished the final portraits, Mike and I headed out while Shay and Larissa continued back to the lodge.
When they arrived, the staff had prepared a private romantic dinner table for the two of them.
That evening, Shay sent me this message:
“Thank you soooo much again for today ❤️❤️❤️ best day ever. And we’ve come home to our lodge to it all decked out with a private table for dinner :)”
The Day After Their Wedding
The next morning, they went straight back into safari mode.
They started with another morning game drive, returned for breakfast, had a couples massage, relaxed at the lodge, enjoyed lunch, and then headed out again for an afternoon drive before dinner.
This is one of the biggest advantages of turning the wedding into a multi-day experience.
The ceremony is not the end of the trip. There is still time afterward to relax, enjoy the lodge, see more wildlife, and actually experience being newly married without immediately rushing to an airport.
How Much Wildlife They Saw in Three Nights
Over the course of three nights and four days, Shay and Larissa saw an incredible amount of wildlife.
Their sightings included elephants, lions, leopard, buffalo, wildebeest, cheetah, giraffe, zebra, nyala, mongoose, and plenty of other animals throughout the reserve.
Nambiti feels different from the vast Greater Kruger ecosystem because it is a smaller reserve, and the landscape is more compact.
You are not necessarily going to see the same enormous herds or have the same sense of scale that you might experience in Sabi Sands, but that smaller size can also make it easier to cover more of the reserve during a short stay.
For couples who want a private safari wedding at a more approachable investment than some of South Africa’s ultra-luxury reserves, Nambiti is one of the options I really like.
If you are trying to understand the difference between public parks and private reserves, my guide on why a private game reserve can be better for a safari elopement explains that in more detail.
Why Nambiti Hills Worked So Well for Their Wedding
Nambiti Hills worked especially well for Shay and Larissa because the lodge combined privacy, beautiful accommodation, good wildlife viewing, and a setting that photographed really well.
The interiors have lots of light colors and natural textures, while the reserve itself gives you a mix of open grasslands, hills, valleys, and denser bush.
The staff were also excellent when the weather changed.
Because there was already a covered ceremony option prepared, the rain never turned into a major problem. The lodge was able to keep the ceremony beautiful while still giving us enough flexibility to move outside when the weather improved.
That made a big difference.
What Was Included in Their Safari Elopement
Shay and Larissa wanted the experience to feel easy from the beginning, especially because they were planning everything from Australia.
Their package included:
- Three nights at Nambiti Hills Lodge
- A luxury suite
- Meals and safari experiences
- Private airport transfers
- A private safari vehicle for the wedding
- Hair and makeup
- Flowers
- Wedding cake
- Ceremony styling and table décor
- Marriage officer coordination
- Help with legal paperwork
- Witnesses
- Wedding photography
- Wedding-day video
- Couples massage
- Timeline planning and coordination
I delivered their photographs within two days, along with a highlight video from the wedding.
Their reactions were some of my favorite messages to receive.
Larissa wrote:
“These are absolutely incredible. You’re outstanding. We’re soooo happy!”
Shay followed with:
“11/10 no notes.”
Then:
“You don’t sacrifice quality for speed that’s for sure.”
A little later, after trying to narrow down their favorites, he said:
“We’ve loosely narrowed it down like a top 80 hahaha.”
When I sent their wedding film, Larissa replied:
“One moment, balling my eyes out again lol.”
And Shay added:
“Thanks Heidi, video is amazing :). We couldn’t be happier.”
From Safari Wedding to a Mauritius Honeymoon
On their final day, the transfer I had arranged picked them up from Nambiti Hills and drove them back to O.R. Tambo International Airport.
Their driver even surprised them with a few South African snacks, drinks, and Mr. and Mrs. mugs as a little wedding gift, which they loved.
From Johannesburg, they flew to Mauritius to continue their honeymoon.
I had suggested Mauritius while we were planning and recommended Preskil Island Resort, an all-inclusive resort that I have personally stayed at.
It worked so well as the second half of their trip because the two experiences were completely different.
They started with safari, wildlife, game drives, and a wedding in the bush, then finished the trip with a few days relaxing by the ocean.
Why Their Rainy Safari Wedding Was So Memorable
Shay and Larissa’s wedding is such a good example of why I love safari elopements.
The day did not follow a perfect weather forecast, but that never mattered.
The rain changed the timing, gave us different photographs, created the conditions for one of the craziest hippo sightings I have ever seen, and made the entire day feel even more unique to them.
Their ceremony still happened outside overlooking the reserve.
They still saw elephants, celebrated with champagne and they ended the evening with beautiful portraits and a romantic private dinner.
Most importantly, they were happy the entire time.
That is what made the day work.
Planning Your Own Safari Wedding in South Africa
If a traditional wedding does not feel like the right fit, a safari wedding can give you something much more personal.
You can combine the wedding itself with several days of wildlife, beautiful accommodation, private experiences, and time together, without having to plan every individual part from another country.
I help international couples choose the right reserve and lodge, arrange transfers, coordinate vendors, plan the ceremony, organize the wedding timeline, and photograph the entire experience.
You can learn more about my all-inclusive safari elopement packages in South Africa or see more about the full safari elopement experience.
If this sounds like the kind of wedding you want, you do not need to know exactly which lodge or reserve is right for you before reaching out. We can figure that part out together.
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