Many people think of wildlife, beautiful beaches and wine when thinking of South Africa, but our mountains are something to behold too. And by that, I don’t just mean Table Mountain in Cape Town. South Africa has many mountain ranges across the country that are perfect for a mountain elopement.

Elope in the Franschhoek mountains

The mountains around Franschhoek are especially suitable for a mountain elopement, as one doesn’t need to go on a tough hike to get to a beautiful view. You drive your car up to the parking area, go for an hour’s hike on an easy track and get rewarded as if you’ve been going at it for hours on end. The photos shared underneath this blog, were all taken in the mountains around Franschhoek. It was a magical experience for all of us, when the clouds rolled past us – it tells you how high up we actually were, without having to hike hours for it.

The Drakensberg Mountains

Although a bit more suited for the avid hikers, The Drakensberg Mountains are truly spectacular and make for a stunning mountain elopement location in South Africa too. After a long, tough hike up, getting to your elopement spot is the ultimate reward. Tip: camp on the mountain after arriving at the top, and say your vows during a sunrise elopement the next morning.

Helicopter elopement South Africa

If you’re not too keen on a tough hike up, but still want the spectacular Drakensberg Mountains as a backdrop, you have the option to use a helicopter to get to your ceremony location.

How to plan a mountain elopement in South Africa

What about the dress and bouquet? – it’s a question I often get. It fully depends on the set-up. Some brides tie their wedding dress to their backpacks and hike up in comfortable hiking gear. Others get into their dress at the bottom of the track and hike up in it. It fully depends on the type of hike you are doing, and what you are comfortable with. When packing it into a bag, I always recommend going for a dress that isn’t made out of silk or something the creases really badly. Lace usually works great as one doesn’t see creases due to the textured material. For the elopement pictured below, bride Chris went for a beautiful gown by Bo and Luca – a brand based in Cape Town.

Elopement bouquet South Africa

As for flowers, I always encourage my couples to practise Leave No Trace principles. This means, that you don’t want to have a negative impact on the environment before, during or after your elopement. Choosing flowers wisely or at all for your South Africa mountain elopement, is a big part of that. The last thing you want to do, is bring in an alien species per accident that could take over the ecosystem in your elopement area. So, if wanting to bring a bouquet to your South Africa elopement, use plants and flowers that are native to the area. For South Africa, that means you can use all sorts of fynbos and proteas, our national flower! Never, native or not, throw your bouquet off a cliff as if ‘tossing the bouquet’. 

I can highly recommend Foraged when it comes to making beautiful elopement wedding bouquets in South Africa.

I hope this blog has inspired you to dream up your own mountain elopement, whether it involves hiking or not. If you are ready to plan and need some help, feel welcomed to get in touch!