Imagine saying your vows in the oldest desert in the world: The Namib Desert, in Namibia, Africa. Christine and James pulled out all the stops with their three-day Namibia elopement wedding and turned it into one hell of a luxury road trip.

I thought I was dreaming, when Christine and James contacted me from the UK about capturing their elopement wedding in Namibia. A three-day elopement, with two tiny ceremonies leading up to the main elopement wedding ceremony on the last day.

Getting married at andBeyond Sossusvlei

In the planning process, we decided to focus our attention on one area, making the most of the beautiful locations in the private part of andBeyond Sossusvlei. An incredible lodge set in the Namib Desert, combining wilderness with high-end luxury. The perfect example of the fact that an elopement doesn’t stand for ‘hiking yourself up a mountain to say your vows’. An elopement wedding can be as basic or as luxurious as you can dream up. In this case, we started the morning of the main ceremony with a hot air balloon flight where we got to experience the Namib Desert from the sky, with Namib Sky Balloon Safaris. I highly recommending booking a flight with this incredibly professional team.

I lost count of all modes of transport during these few days. From airplanes and 4×4’s to safari trucks, ATV quad bikes, a hot air balloon, and a helicopter… you name it, we’ve traveled in it.

Helicopter elopement wedding Namibia

Anyway – back to Christine and James. These two masterminds decided it was indeed a good idea to hire a helicopter, so Christine could fly to the dune where James would wait for her. He did – not even a broken-down 4×4 on the way there could stop this husband-to-be from marrying his bride. We saw him from the sky, standing on top of this glorious dune, waiting together with the wedding celebrant who joined us all the way from Windhoek, Namibia’s capital. 

It was the most beautiful ceremony, after which we took some more photos before the newlyweds flew off in their helicopter to do a so called chopper-flip over the reserve, taking in the Namib, the oldest desert in the world. A desert which, as Christine said so beautifully in her vows, was here long before us and will be here long after us.

What an incredible journey.

Have a look below and immerse yourself in this world of golden sand and sun.

Are you also considering to elope in Namibia? Get in touch, let’s plan your adventure together 🙂