Debby Byrne, a director of iafrica.com, recently got married on the beautiful island of Mauritius. Judging by the number of queries we receive, this is something that is often contemplated by couples, so I asked Debby to pass on some useful advice to others who are considering a romantic island wedding.

Why did you decide to marry out of South Africa?

We have always favoured the idea of a beach wedding and while this is an option in South Africa, it is costly and time-consuming to get the correct permits. Added to that is the unreliability of the weather (in Cape Town), which could leave you with gale force winds sand-blasting your guests!

We were also faced with the usual dilemma of guest numbers and the distance they would need to travel to gather at one location. Many of our friends are abroad, with families of their own, which would make the trip to SA for one day very extravagant.

We felt that offering them the option of a week’s beach holiday for the entire family (at the same cost as a ticket to SA), would be a far more practical option.

How long did it take you to organise your wedding?

Two months! And the only things we needed to do before departure were:

Was it very difficult planning a wedding on a foreign island?

No, since we did not plan a formal reception, it was incredibly simple. Every resort (there are over 100 in Mauritius) hosts weddings on a weekly (some even daily) basis. When booking your accommodation, they will email through a list of options, which include:

Some of these options are offered as part of a package, which works out cheaper than the individual amounts added together — alternatively, since each one is separately priced, you can simply tick off your requirements and the amount owing will be payable when you settle your hotel bill.

Legally we had to:

Did a Marriage Officer perform the ceremony and was it difficult to find someone to do this?

The ceremony was performed by a ‘civil officer’. This was organised by the hotel. They arranged for the civil officer to meet us a couple of days prior to the ceremony, when he went over the order of events and gave us the opportunity to provide our own vows (we chose to stick with the original vows).

Is your marriage recognised in South Africa or did you have to complete more forms on your return home?

Our marriage is recognised locally, although we did need to submit our wedding certificate to Home Affairs, along with our antenuptial contract, or ANC (which we chose to sign locally before leaving for Mauritius — we handed a copy to the civil officer to enable him to complete the wedding certificate correctly).

Did you take your wedding dress with you? If so, was it difficult to transport?

I hired a dress locally and took it as hand luggage on the flight. The airlines (SAA locally and Air Mauritius internationally) have hanging space in the aircraft, which means that the dress didn’t get creased. Note, though, that since it was a beach wedding, the dress design was simple and it did not have layers and layers of fabric, i.e. it was not too cumbersome. The hotel did offer a laundry/pressing service for the dress and Clive’s suit.

Which hotel did you stay in and what did they arrange for you?

We stayed at the Sofitel Imperial on the west coast of Mauritius. As mentioned, the hotel organised flowers, cake, venue (including chairs and a signing table with coverings), champagne, photographer, civil officer, transport to and from Port Louis for registration of papers etc. They met with us the day after we arrived to confirm finer details such as colour and type of flowers, colour of decorations, what type of music/band we preferred, flavour of the cake, time of day we wanted to get married, choice of venues within the hotel grounds etc.

We also used the hotel to hire a cruise boat to take us to one of the islands just off the mainland for our reception. The cost covered the boat, snorkelling gear, platters of finger foods, and refreshments (including alcohol).

In addition, the hotel gave us gifts daily in our room and the morning after the wedding, they served us an enormous champagne breakfast in bed! Also, when booking the trip, we had obviously notified them of the reason for the visit, as a result of which the hotel offered a much-reduced rate for the bride (+/- 20 percent discount) for the entire stay.

How many guests attended your wedding and did you have a separate celebration back home for those who were unable to be there?

We only had 10 people at our wedding (excluding the bride and groom). We had a cocktail party at home for local friends and family, and a family lunch in Johannesburg for those who could not attend the other events.

How did the costs compare to having a wedding back home in South Africa?

The cost of getting married in Mauritius (depending on the reception) is minimal compared to local weddings. You are not charged for the venue and our costs were as follows:

If you had to do it all over again, would you do anything differently?

Absolutely nothing!

Any words of advice you'd like to pass on to those contemplating a marriage in Mauritius?

Getting married in Mauritius was one of the most beautiful and stress-free experiences of my life. The natural beauty and the hospitality of the island folk mean that you can ask for anything and they will go out of their way to accommodate you and make your stay as special as possible.

I would suggest keeping the ceremony and decorations as simple as you can, since it is the natural beauty and overall romantic atmosphere of the island that overwhelms everyone attending.

As you have to be on the island for three working days before you are legally permitted to get married, try to book a longer stay than the usual eight-day package tours. This will give you enough time to relax after the wedding too.

Finally, just relax and enjoy!