Plan and Tips Safari Wedding and Honeymoon in Africa
Your wedding day is a time to reflect on the depth of your devotion and celebrate the new beginning of your life. Africa has magical wedding destinations amidst the natural habitat. Imagine exchanging vows against the spectacular beauty of the African landscape, surrounded by family, friends, and sometimes a passing animal friend.
Experience the real magic of a safari wedding at the best venues for safari weddings of Africa. Africa offers several incredible such as Tanzania, Kenya, Zambia, South Africa, Namibia, Uganda, Zimbabwe, and Botswana. You can choose one of these destinations for your safari wedding and honeymoon. They come up with luxury private game reserves and lodges.
Your guests can enjoy the magic of the safari experience with the luxury amenities of the lodge. Private game reserves offer chic accommodation with delicious cuisine and pleasurable activities for the couple and guests.
They offer a chance to have a champagne breakfast with elephants,up-close viewing of Big 5, adventurous game drives, exploratory bush walks, safari boating, and canoeing. Also, offer fascinating tours of Africa's many historical and archaeological treasures and personal experiences with native tribes.
The couple will have an intimate experience of being close to nature and truly live an African safari dream. Celebrate their love immersed in nature and romance. Imagine waking up next to the huge landscape filled with grazing animals. Also, the two of you can have a romantic breakfast or lunch in a private setting. You can take romance in the air while enjoying the breathtaking hot air balloon safari. Or you can experience the serenity and sounds of nature while relaxing at your lodge having cocktails.
Safari wedding gives you a chance to know the local flavor, tastes and celebrate their customs and tradition. You can extend your safari wedding into a safari honeymoon to live the magic a little longer. Africa has tremendous destinations for safari honeymoons that make your trip a memorable experience.
Explore Africa for the best safari wedding venue
After deciding to host a safari wedding in Africa, hop on the internet and search for the best wedding venues. You may find plenty of safari wedding venues as Africa is home to the best private reserves and national parks.
South Africa, Kenya, and Tanzania are popular wedding host countries with plenty of luxury lodges and game reserves to accommodate all tastes. Explore more and, you can live a true African dream at your safari wedding.
Choose a private game reserve
When you are hosting a safari wedding, choose a private reserve. The private game reserve is much better than the national park in many ways. In a private game reserve, you are able to get much closer to animals and enjoy some thrilling game drives. The private game reserves have specialized safari vehicles with highly qualified guides and, drivers may increase your chances of seeing the Big Five. The private game reserves can provide more facilities instead of a national park.
The private reserve provides chances for bushwalks, an incredible way to stretch your legs and enjoy food. A bush walk allows you to discover some of the smaller animals and insects are equally as fascinating as the larger mammals. Also, you can enjoy a night drive at the private reserves. A thrilling experience allows you to see the nocturnal animals at play.
You can drive off the road at a private reserve. Whereas, in national parks, there are strict rules governing your game drives to stop self-driving individuals from harming themselves and the wildlife.
The lodges and camps in private reserves tend to be more luxurious and smaller than the accommodation offered in national parks.
Venue embraces your vision
Wedding is your big day, and you want to be perfect. The wedding style and theme reflect your vision. When you are hosting a Safari wedding, choose a venue that truly embraces your vision. Safari lodges come in all shapes and sizes, from traditional elegance to rustic luxury. You can easily find a Safari lodge that fits your travel style and the theme of your wedding.
Be mindful with your guest list
After choosing the wedding venue for a Safari wedding, starts to check your guest list. The guest list plays a crucial role in the wedding and especially when you have a destination wedding. The size of the guest list can affect your venue options, especially with a wedding safari. If you have a larger party, make sure your selected venue can accommodate all of your guests, from ceremony to reception.
The most private reserve has lodges that accommodate a limited number of guests. So keep the size of the guest list feasible to accommodate easily at your selected wedding. Also, your guest list can affect your Safari wedding budget. As it also includes fun activities and events.
Carefully choose your wedding date
Before choosing your wedding date, do some research on the African region's weather. The Safari wedding has a lot of outdoor activities. So the seasonal and weather conditions can affect your Safari wedding. The summer in South Africa starts from December to March. And if you choose this time of the year, you may encounter malaria. The risk of malaria is high in warmer weather. So must consider about guests who are pregnant. Your guests should be on a course of malaria medication during their trip if you are visiting an area where the disease is present.
Whereas, from May to October, the weather is dry and colder, recommended for the Safari wedding. These months consider the best time to spot game and with low risk of disease.
Explore the flight map
Before choosing the location for your safari wedding in Africa, explore the flight map. Getting to African is not easy and requires multiple connections and at least a full day of travel. List out Safari wedding venue easily accessed by direct flights. So your guest drive to the natural reserve instead of taking a second flight on a small plane. Direct flights reduce travel time and keep things easier for your guests.
For example, Shamwari Private Game Reserve is relatively accessible from Port Elizabeth in South Africa. Also, Sabi Sands, Camp Jabulani, and Kapama Game Reserve are all private reserves in Kruger National Park.
Hire a travel concierge
The travel concierge is vital for destination weddings, especially when you are hosting a safari wedding. The travel professional helps you find the perfect lodge for you to match your guest list and your vision. They book flights for your guests and provide a support network before and during the trip. Travel concierge makes things easy for you and, you don't have to worry about arranging flights and group transportation for your wedding guests.
Get connected with your guest before planning
Get communicating with your guest before planning your safari wedding. It is maybe the first time for most of your guests to trip to Africa. It is better to share the information with your guest at least six months before your wedding date.
As it is a destination wedding long way from home, you must consider arrival and departure dates, airport and transportation details, vaccination suggestions and resources, and visa requirements. Also, you have to manage appropriate attire across the various events, a suggested packing list, and additionally suggested itineraries and resources for guests who might want to extend their trip.
Plan best activities for your guest but not forget to relax
Make your guests enjoy your wedding and
plan a fun and relaxing activities for your guests. Apart from planning wedding events like welcome dinner, rehearsal dinner, the wedding, and reception, make a plan for your guests.
It is a Safari wedding and, your guest can live to take advantage of the morning and evening game drives as much as possible. Make smaller groups of your guests as each vehicle accommodates six to nine people. In this way, they enjoy more and cover more territory in the search for wildlife.
Extend your Safari wedding into a long family weekend trip. Plan a two to three-weekend trip for your guest to enjoy the most of the time. Also, make sure to include some optional downtime for your guests like spa treatments, pool time, or relaxing on the deck at the main lodge or in individual guest cottages.
Keep an eye on your wedding budget
While working with your safari wedding budget, it is better to decide you are paying for what. It is essential to know how much your guest will pay for their own. You have to pay, for example, flights, visas, vaccinations, rental cars, accommodation, safari tours, conservation levies, and extra rangers (should you be planning a wedding ceremony in the middle of a Big-5 game reserve). When choosing your venue, remember that the more remote it is, the more expensive it is. It may be to get all your suppliers on-site and to pay for their accommodation.
Make sure you choose lodges and reserves near the airports to reduce the additional flight cost. It helps to cover your travel cost in a more affordable means. When you select an all-inclusive lodge, it covers up most of the things. You have no need to worry about the extra surprise charge adding to your bill. It helps to estimate your wedding costs and bring out a clear picture. Also, help guests more accurately decide if they can afford to attend a trip to Africa.
Celebrate with local flora, flavors, and sounds
Safari weddings provide a chance to show your creativeness, either a wedding invitation or your ceremony decore. You can design your wedding invitation like travel boxes, welcome bags, and daily room drops that incorporate local items and inspiration.
Safari weddings make things easier for you when it comes to wedding decor. You can use natural elements for your table decor, like grasses, reeds, and succulents. These items picked from the local environment can reflect your surroundings. These items are practical, beautiful, and economical.
You can add bespoke details like engraved wooden table numbers and leather menus by using some interesting textures. Your guest can enjoy safari wedding activities like bonfire braai (an open, wood-fired grill) under the stars, with different wild game meat cooked on the open fire. Regional dishes will help spice up your menu and give your guests a taste of the area. Also, many luxury lodges serve international food and local offerings to satisfy all guests.
Celebrating with local music and performance will enhance your ceremony. It transports your guest into a new world. For example, an African children's choir performing at the ceremony is a spectacular alternative to the usual.
Enjoy African traditions at your wedding
Africa is rich in customs and traditions you can incorporate one of them in your wedding. For example, African bush traditions the evening sundowner, which make your wedding celebration perfect. Every afternoon, you stop for a cocktail and a snack as the sun begins to set over your game drive. To incorporate this custom in the wedding, set up a full bar and hors d'oeuvres, give your guests a chance to taste the sounds and sights of the setting sun.
Another custom you can enjoy is dancing and signing of the local villagers. If your lodge is near a local village, ask the property about dance and singing groups who might be able to come to perform around an evening campfire.
Keep the decore simple
After all, it is an outdoor wedding in beautiful surroundings, does not need much detailing in decor.
The beautiful landscape makes the perfect backdrop for your ceremony.
Keep things simple and chic, with neutral colors and plain textures, and allow guests to be stunned by their surroundings. The natural light will perfectly glow your wedding, or you can use fire torches for a sunset ceremony.
Review your design
You are willing to marry with western wedding traditions far at a private reserve in Africa. You must review your design because the design and decor are much more expensive there. They cost you more as they include shipping costs and may not be available in large quantities. Therefore, keep your design simple, and incorporate the local culture.
Show your talent
Planning a wedding is tiring work that requires your energy, money, and time. Things get double when it comes to planning a destination wedding. Planning a destination wedding is challenging and especially when you have a safari wedding in a remote area. Here vendor options are few and far between.
It is necessary to think about the foremost things of the wedding such as photography and videography. It is better to bring the professional of your choice to ensure the quality meets your expectations.
Have a backup plan for your wedding ceremony
If you have a safari wedding, you must have a backup plan. Because you are hosting an outdoor event and no one can control the weather. Also, you have a safari wedding in a private lodge, so there is a chance of animals moving into your wedding setting.
Keep a part of your budget reserve to deal with such conditions. Also, have a few Plan B ideas at the ready-to-make celebration. Keep a flexible mindset and manage your expectations.
Take out time to enjoy yourself
Destination weddings and safari honeymoons have a lot of work to do before and after the event.
In between all the work, take out some time for yourself to truly enjoy the safari experience.
Join your loved ones on game drives, savor a romantic sunset toast, and enjoy any amenities. You may find many safari venues that perfectly host weddings with a lifetime experience.
After finding the perfect safari lodge, you can bring your African safari wedding ideas to life. Imagine exchanging vows and rings amidst the wildness with stunning landscape views is a pure African safari wedding.
You can turn your wedding into a safari honeymoon to last this magical experience long. Enjoy the intimate breakfast or lunch set in the bush set for the two of you. Or relax at your lodge with cocktails watching animals in the beautiful surroundings.
Make your wedding educational for guests
When you book a stay at one of Africa's private game reserves, you are helping African wildlife, protecting habitat, and transforming local communities. You can help provide resources to educate local communities about the importance of sustainable long-term conservation and protects some endangered species. Educate your guests about the work done in the area, and consider asking for donations instead of wedding gifts.
Combine your wedding and honeymoon
The best part of the safari wedding is that the honeymoon comes right after the ceremony. Africa is one of the best honeymoon destinations in the world-famous for the most romantic luxury safari honeymoons. You can also split your honeymoon between bush and beach.
Beaches are the most popular extensions to a honeymoon safari. Beautiful Botswana, Tanzania, Zanzibar, the Mombasa coastline, and the jewel-like islands of the Indian Ocean are some of the good choices. Enjoy a few lazy days soaking up the sun on the beautiful coast.
