Getting Married in Cape Town – South Africa

It is this unrivalled blend of nature and culture that makes Cape Town such an attractive option as a wedding destination and it is why so many couples from the UK, the USA, the Far East and the Middle East opt to get married in our beautiful city.  With the weak local currency, foreigners find that the buying power of their pounds and dollars stretch much further than anticipated. Here you can have a 5-star wedding at a fraction of the cost it would set you back on home soil.  Further to that, couples simply stay on for another week or two for their honeymoon – it just makes sense!

Flight Time to Cape Town from

London – 11h30

New York – 19h55

Paris – 14h45

Dubai – 9h45

Singapore – 19h55

Sydney – 31h00

Vaccinations needed – Detailed information can be found here

Visa Requirements – Look up your county here

A great resource of wedding venues in Cape Town and the rest of South Africa, is the South African Wedding directory, Pink Book Weddings.  Hop on over to their Wedding Venues hub to easily browse through hundreds of listed venues, from Beach Venues, Bushveld Venues, Country, City or Wine Farm Venues.  They have it all!

When it comes to wedding venues, there are so many choices.  It is in and around the town of Stellenbosch in the Cape Winelands that you will find most of the prestigious venues.  Here you will find historic Cape Dutch Wine Estates that are surrounded by romantic vineyards with converted barns and purpose built venues.  Read our blog about the Top 10 Wedding Venues in Cape Town, to see the magnificent venues Cape Town has to offer.

You next step would be to think about all the sights you would like to see and the local activities and famous attractions you would like to experience.  In and around Cape Town, you will find these amazing  attractions and adventures:

• Table Mountain – One of the New 7 Wonders of the World.
• The Sandy Beaches of Clifton and Camps Bay
• Aquila Private Game Reserve where you can see the BIG 5 on a Safari
• Dive with the Sharks in Gansbaai
• Do a Zipline between cliffs at the Ceres Zipline
• Fine Dining and Wine Tasting in Franschhoek

Where most of the country gets rain in Spring and summer, the Cape Town region that tends to have winter rainfall. The best time for getting married in Cape Town is from November to May.  From late August to October thousands of indigenous flowers are in bloom; and in Autumn, from April to May, you will experience cooler, less windy days, with the warm hues of autumn colours spreading through the landscapes.

Even though it can be a gamble to host your wedding in winter in Cape Town, it comes with the benefits of vastly reduced rates and you might just strike it lucky and get a beautiful crips winters day.  This video explains what Cape Town is like for winter weddings.

In recent years, Cape Town has rocketed unto the culinary scene.  The Cuisine in Cape Town is heavily influenced by the European and Malay heritage. This range of cooking styles, combined with the friendly local hospitality, fresh ingredients, very well priced alcohol and award winning South African meats, makes Cape Town a mouth-watering haven for food lovers. Expect to pay only a fraction of what you normally will at their top restaurants.

During the hot and humid summers, Capetonians prefer chilled Sauvignon Blanc or Chenin Blanc wines.  And during winter the red blends, aged Cabernet Sauvignons, Shiraz and Merlots are brought out of the cellar to warm up the cold winters evenings.  The wine estates of Franschhoek and Stellenbosch with their historic Cape Dutch Manor houses and lush green vineyards in between the towering mountains is unrivalled in beauty.  A day out wine tasting and lounging under age old oaks is a must do activity.

Some venues might not charge an outright venue fee, but rather base their price on the number of guests you will have.  They work on a minimum “per-head” basis, but their fee is normally all inclusive of tables, chairs, crockery, cutlery, catering and basic decor.

To ensure a good quality service, we highly recommend you book your photographer and videographer on your own and not to go with the vendors that are included in the venue package.  We offer great wedding Photography and Video Packages that can also be customised to suit your needs.

If you employ the services of a wedding planner ask, you can ask them to make the payments on your behalf.  This will save you a lot of headache in setting up a multitude of foreign payment transactions and costs incurred through multiple international currency transfers.

To read more about the cost of getting married in Cape Town, hop on over to this article about wedding costs in South Africa.

For more information, visit the website of the Department of Home Affairs in South Africa.

It will take about 6 to 8 weeks for the marriage certificate to be issued. The Marriage Officer should be able to provide sufficient information about the legal process for certification and registration, in addition to the website link above.  Follow this link to get in contact with Marriage officers in Cape Town.

For up to date legal requirements, you should contact the South African embassy in your home country, or your country’s embassy in South Africa.