Iceland Elopement in Africa | Erla & Sebastienne

Iceland and South Africa Elope // Erla and Sebastienne // Kim Tracey Photography

Envisage yourself in the middle of the South African wilderness, surrounded by nothing but the natural beauty of the bushveld and its wild enchantment. Just you, your partner, and a handful of people you love most.

What a joy to be part of Erla and Sebastienne’s elopement. The couple met years ago when she came to study in South Africa. Although the couple resides in Iceland, their Iceland elopement was planned all the way down at the tip of Africa, bringing along their little boy and latest arrival of sweet baby Stephanie to the celebrations.

I love what you two have together Erla and Sebastienne and wish you a beautiful life, filled with laughter and many moments that are deep and heartfelt and that secure your hope for many years to come. Enjoy the pictures.

The Best Place to Elope

No matter where you end up picking for your elopement destination, the very fact that you are choosing to spend an intentional and meaningful day pledging your lives to each other makes it pretty much perfect.

As a professional elopement photographer, I totally get it. There is something special about adventuring to a place that is both breathe-taking and secluded. It allows you to take hands, say your vows, and commit your lives to each other in a place that’s all yours.

Eloping is all about doing exactly what you and your partner want to do, wherever and however you want. That is one of the reasons that people decide to elope in the first place. The best place to elope is wherever the two of you are happiest together. For Erla and Sebatienne this was an African safari wedding celebration. No rules. No regulations. No guidelines. Just Erla, Sebastienne, their closest family and their dreams waiting to come true.

Elopement Dresses

Finding the perfect dress for a safari wedding can be tricky. It needs to travel well, stand up to the elements, and be light enough to remain comfortable in the heat of the African sun. Erla glowed in an unassuming yet elegant gown from Grace Loves Lace.

The Best of an African Elopement

For a lot of couples, the location of their elopement ceremony comes down to one big factor: seclusion. Another reason couples choose to elope is because they want intimate moments, privacy, and total freedom to laugh, cry, and be themselves on such a special occasion.

While there are so many magnificent destinations in the world that make for beautiful places to elope, not all of them offer the desired privacy.

Whether you’re looking for an intimate destination wedding for just the two of you, it’s hard to picture a more idyllic location to celebrate than on an African safari in wild open plains. This is a romantic fairy-tale paradise where the Big Five gather for your special day, providing a gorgeously unique setting, privacy and accessibility with luxury facilities if desired.

See Muriël & Diederick’s African Bush Wedding in Monwana, Hoedspruit. They have been coming to South Africa for years and decided to invite their close friends and family to share in the bush experience they have had many times.

Safari Wedding Photography Tips

One of the biggest challenges of photographing an elopement in the African bushveld is the lack of control over the light. Odds are, you’re going to have to shoot something in the middle of the day. Although we can’t control the sunlight, we can move ourselves.

As an elopement photographer I always advise couples to find some shade. This is usually the simplest and quickest solution. This can be a big oak tree, thatch boma, edge of a dense forest, or lush garden. Shade gives you soft light but is often slightly restrictive on where you can shoot.

I also encourage couples to schedule their ceremony or photoshoot later in the day, as a late afternoon ceremony allows plenty of light for observance and family photos, but it also puts the couples solo session close to sunset, which makes for a magnificently romantic scenario. It may also be a more comfortable, cooler time of day for everyone should you choose a mid-summer African elopement.

See Chelsea-Rae and Nathan’s intimate elopement where we traveled where the light led us.

Let the celebrations begin

After your safari elopement, celebrate your partnership with an intimate meal underneath the stars or a feast in the open-air bushveld. Embark on a private African safari, sip cocktails as the African skies turn crimson and unwind in the natural nirvana of the unadulterated African bush.

Once you’ve tied the knot deep in the African bush, your luxury safari wedding and honeymoon blend into one. To elope in Africa is to answer the call of the wild.