How to Plan a Wedding in Seychelles: a Local Guide from first enquiry to Wedding Day

Why Seychelles works so well as a wedding destination

There are plenty of beautiful places to get married in the world. Seychelles stands apart for a few specific reasons that go beyond the scenery.

• No residency requirement. You fly in as tourists and get legally married. No need to arrive weeks early, no bureaucratic hoops to jump through before you travel.
• The paperwork is manageable. You gather your documents at home, send us scanned copies, and we handle everything with the Civil Status Office here. You do not visit a single government office during your stay.
• It is often cheaper than marrying at home. The average wedding in Germany or the UK costs between €15,000 and €20,000. A complete Seychelles wedding trip for two, including ceremony package, 10 nights accommodation and return flights from Europe, typically comes in well under that.
• The certificate is internationally valid. Seychelles is a signatory to the Hague Convention. Your marriage certificate comes with an apostille and is recognised in 124 countries.
• Three completely different islands, 45 minutes apart. Mahé, Praslin, and La Digue each have a distinct personality. You choose the setting that fits you.

Choosing the right island

This is the first real decision to make and it shapes everything else: the venue, the logistics, the overall feeling of the day.

Mahé
The main island and home to the international airport. Mahé has the widest range of beaches, venues, and accommodation, from boutique guesthouses to five-star resorts. Most of our wedding packages are based here. If you want flexibility and straightforward logistics, Mahé is the practical choice. The beaches are excellent: secluded coves, long open bays, and a mountain backdrop that very few tropical destinations can match.

Praslin
About 45 minutes from Mahé by ferry, or 15 minutes by light aircraft. Praslin has a quieter, more unhurried feel. It is home to Anse Lazio, one of the most photographed beaches in the Indian Ocean, and the Vallée de Mai, a UNESCO nature reserve with a forest of ancient coco de mer palms. Couples who want a more intimate, away-from-it-all experience tend to choose Praslin.

La Digue
The most remote of the three main islands, and for many couples, the most beautiful. Anse Source d’Argent here is consistently listed as one of the finest beaches on the planet: On La Digue you find pink-hued sand, ancient granite boulders, turquoise water with no current. The pace of life is genuinely slow. Getting there requires a ferry from Mahé or Praslin, which adds approximately €60 per person each way, but for couples who want the most dramatic setting possible, it is worth every cent.

If you are hosting guests from abroad, Mahé’s infrastructure makes coordination considerably easier. If it is just the two of you, La Digue or Praslin gives you something harder to find: genuine quiet.

The best time of year to get married in Seychelles

Seychelles has two main seasons, and both are warm. The choice is more about conditions than comfort.

April-May and October-November are the sweet spots. The seas are calm, the skies are mostly clear, humidity is comfortable, and the light for photography is exceptional. These shoulder months avoid the peak crowds and often offer better rates on flights and accommodation.

May to September is the dry season and the most popular wedding window. Beaches are drier and breezier, which most couples prefer for an outdoor ceremony. The trade-off is that this is also the busiest travel period, so flights cost more and availability at popular resorts books out quickly.

December to March brings the northwest monsoon. Short afternoon showers are common. The sea on the west coast of Mahé can be choppy. Weddings still happen, and couples still have beautiful days, but you need a flexible mindset and a wedding planner who knows which beaches face the right direction in that season.

One timing detail worth knowing: in Seychelles, the sun sets at around 18:15 year-round. Beach ceremonies run from 10:00 to 16:00 on weekdays. The best light for photos is between 15:30 and 16:30. Plan your ceremony time accordingly. Read our guide about the best time for a holiday in Seychelles.

What a wedding planner in Seychelles actually does for you

This is the section most guides skip. When you hire us, here is what we handle:

• Submitting and managing your documents with the Civil Status Office
• Booking the official registrar and confirming the ceremony time
• Securing your beach location and any required permits
• Arranging witnesses if you are travelling without guests (at no extra cost)
• Setting up the ceremony: flowers, arch or pavilion, decoration
• Coordinating the photographer
• Obtaining the apostille from the Seychelles Supreme Court after the ceremony
• Managing any additional certification your country requires, including UAE embassy attestation
• Shipping your completed marriage certificate to your home address if you leave before the process is complete

Here is what you handle:

• Gathering your documents at home before you travel (passports, birth certificates with apostille, and any divorce or death certificates if applicable)
• Booking your flights and accommodation
• Arriving in Seychelles

That is the honest division of work. The reason couples find the process straightforward is not that it is simple by nature. It is that someone who knows the system is managing it for you.

Planning timeline: how far in advance to start

6 months before: Contact us, confirm your date, choose your package. Book flights and accommodation. Popular resorts and specific beach locations book out for weekend dates.

3-4 months before: Gather your documents. Get apostilles sorted. This is the step that catches people out if they leave it late. Some countries take 4-6 weeks to issue an apostille.

6-8 weeks before: Send us scanned copies of all documents by email. We check everything and submit to the Civil Status Office.

11 days before the ceremony: The legal minimum for document submission under Seychelles law. If you book late and cannot meet this window, a special licence is available for a fee, issued within 2 working days.

2-3 days before: Arrive in Seychelles. Acclimatise. You do not need to do anything administratively on arrival. We have already handled it.
Wedding day: Ceremony takes around 15 minutes. The rest of the day is yours.

2-3 days after: Apostille is obtained. UAE residents need an additional 3 working days for embassy attestation. If you are flying home before it is ready, we courier it to you.

Budgeting your Seychelles wedding

Here is a realistic breakdown for two people:

The ceremony package: Seychelles wedding packages from €1,090 (MyLove) to €1,590 (Premium). This covers the registrar, beach location, photographer, bridal bouquet, wedding cake on Classic and above, all government fees, and apostille. No hidden charges. See our full pricing page for the complete breakdown.

Flights: from Europe, approximately €700-€1,300 per person return depending on the season. From the UAE or Gulf, typically €400-€700 return.

Accommodation: guesthouses from €70-€100 per night, mid-range boutique hotels from €200-€350, luxury resorts from €500 upwards. The Four Seasons and Hilton Seychelles start above €900.

Inter-island transfers: ferry to Praslin or La Digue is approximately €60 per person each way. Light aircraft to Praslin is around €150 per person one way.

A realistic total for two people including ceremony, 10 nights mid-range accommodation, and return flights from Europe sits between €5,000 and €9,000. Compare that to the average European wedding and most couples find Seychelles costs considerably less, with considerably more to remember.

Making it feel like yours

The couples who enjoy the process most are the ones who let go of trying to recreate a home wedding on a beach, and instead let the place do what it does naturally.
A few ideas that work well here:

• Ceremony timing: a late afternoon start gives you golden light and a cooler temperature for guests
• Local flowers: heliconia, bird of paradise, and frangipani are grown here and look better in this heat than imported blooms
• Creole food at the reception: fresh grilled fish, coconut curry, and ladob, a traditional Seychellois dessert made with sweet potato and coconut, make a reception genuinely memorable
• Local music: a Moutia or Sega band plays traditional Creole music that you will not hear anywhere else in the world
• Barefoot or shoes: most of our couples end up barefoot. The beaches here make it the obvious choice