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WEDDINGS ON CHELI
& PEACOCK PROPERTIES
Whether it's a wedding with a view,
under canvas, on a beach or in the bush - we can arrange it.
These days a wedding costs so much money, it's a major
investment, in the UK alone, the average wedding costs upwards
of GBP8,000 and the invitation list becomes a minefield of epic
proportions as you weigh up numbers, preferences and family
duty.
Instead, why not choose to be with
the few people who mean the most to you, in a setting wildly
different from the average venue, spend money on the things that
matter most and invest in truly spectacular memories…
Cheli & Peacock provides a
hassle free, wildly different alternative: imagine your own
piece of Africa for the special day.
We offer a complete wedding service
covering all the important arrangements which make a wedding day
special and ensure the perfect day for the couple and their
chosen guests. We can prepare a quotation on request subject to
time available, numbers, budget and dreams…
- Quoted by arrangement:
- Set up of bush or beach site
with altar etc.
- Introduction to 'leader' of
ceremony (i.e. Minister, Vicar, Rabbi - subject to religion
denomination / preference)
- Hire of professional video crew
and/or photographer
- Selection & hire of special
entertainment (e.g. tribal dancers or singers)
- Organisation of pre & post
wedding activities for family/guests e.g. cultural visit pre
or post wedding, stag/hen mini-safari, post wedding safari
itineraries
- Wedding Cake
- Hairdressing
- Accommodation/transport of
'leader' any other technical support crew (photos, video,
entertainment, freight)
- Special floral decorations
(bouquets, head garlands, floral arrangements) - flower
arrangements of cut flowers or indigenous
plants/flowers/blossom
- Simple tokens for guests (local
crafts, Maasai beadwork, blankets or traditional kikois
& kangas, engraved glassware etc.)
- Special events: helicopter
charters, camel 'train', horse riding, power boat or dhow
charters
- Honeymoon planning and
organisation
Find out more about the wedding
possibilities at our camps:
TORTILIS
CAMP,
AMBOSELI
 Getting married in Amboseli is an
amazing 'bush wedding' option. A simple altar in the shade of an
ancient Tortilis Acacia (umbrella thorn tree), canvas safari
chairs for your guests or hay bales covered with brightly
checked 'shukas' (traditional red Maasai blankets). In front of
you stretches a vast open plain awash with golden sunlight,
dominated by snow-capped Kilimanjaro, the highest mountain in
Africa.
As the guests, groom and ushers
arrive in open sided luxury safari Land Rovers, a line of Maasai
Morani (warriors) and the women from their manyatta (village)
perform a traditional greeting song, rising to a crescendo as
the guests are seated and the bride arrives. The women follow
the bride down the simple woven matting path leading to the
altar and her groom, then all is still and the marriage ceremony
begins. The lines of Maasai women on one side and Morani move
back and line up silently, some yards away from the altar.
After the wedding ceremony and
address are complete, the Maasai begin a chant to praise the
newly married couple, Kilimanjaro catches the afternoon sun on
its snow cap, a line of elephants often appear on the horizon at
the end of the afternoon, making their daily return from the
swamps to the saltbushes…
After photographs, the wedding
party drives up to the top of Kitirua Hill for champagne
sundowners and bitings and a stunning view as the sun sets on
Kilimanjaro, turning the sky pink.
Dinner at the lodge, speeches
followed by dancing in the main rondavel (circular sitting room
& bar), overlooked by the resident family of owls makes a
special end to a wonderful day. Staggering down the hill to your
comfortable tent is the only hard part at the end of it…
For the morning after the night
before: an early morning gamedrive for the hardy followed by
hearty breakfast or get up late in time for Bloody Mary's by the
pool. The bride and groom can leave by safari vehicle to go to
the airstrip and depart for their honeymoon: at the Coast, in
the Maasai Mara or on a walking/camel safari in the Northern
Frontier District…
NB February and March are probably
the best months for clear views of Kilimanjaro and Mount Meru in
Tanzania
CHELI & PEACOCK
MARA CAMP
 A true bush wedding, reminiscent of
the romance of the 1920s is a magnificent choice for your
wedding day.
Mara Camp is a rustic tented camp
(with comfortable hand-crafted wooden double beds, en-suite
dressing room, 'bucket' shower, filled with steaming hot water
on request and flush toilets) overlooking the Mara plains.
The camp is on a community-owned
group ranch near the Aitong Hills. Lion and leopard are often
heard or seen near camp and the plains offer an endless
spectacle of wildebeest, zebra and other plains game.
We recommend that the bride and her
close friends or family arrive 2 days early to establish their
base for dressing and quiet moments before the wedding party
arrives. A hairdresser and photographer can be brought in with
them to capture the 'look' and the amazing backdrop. And for the
groom, if he wants 'his own space' before the wedding, we can
arrange a mini-safari - chilling out at Elsa's Kopje, Meru or
Tortilis Camp, Amboseli
A wedding in the Maasai Mara is
simple, an 'altar' set up at a vantage point on the plains and
traditional canvas safari chairs for the guests.
The best times for a wedding are in
the morning, followed by a champagne brunch on the plains, or at
4pm, just as the wonderful, luminous light of the Mara becomes
intense, making every detail vivid and embellished by slanting
golden sunlight and dramatic skies. We can arrange for local
Maasai Moraans (warriors) to perform a greeting or celebration
ceremony, followed by bush sundowners for the wedding party out
on the plains, overlooking the wildlife spectacle that only the
Mara offers - it's better than the Discovery channel because you
are part of the amazing scenery.
At dusk you drive back to camp.
Nearby a candle-lit bush dinner awaits, set up under the stars,
crisp white linen, crystal glasses, a campfire (there is no
electricity here).
For the morning after: a gamedrive
and bush breakfast on the plains before the newlyweds depart for
their honeymoon.
KIWAYU SAFARI
VILLAGE,
LAMU ARCHIPELAGO
 Kiwayu Safari Village is a unique
and special place, an idyll worthy of getting married on the
beach.
It is the perfect size for
exclusivity and the romantic possibilities are endless:
exchanging vows with the sun setting over a blue lagoon with
soft warm water lapping at your feet and nobody else except your
family, friends and a few turtles to witness the ceremony.
Every detail for the bride from
flights, flowers and cake to little gifts for guests in each
room can be arranged. We can bring in a traditional henna artist
to paint the couple's hands and feet (a local coastal tradition)
and to decorate the guests before or after the wedding.
The most beautiful spot to 'tie the
knot' is a 'Little Head' point, a rocky outcrop along the beach
from the lodge - guests walk there after 4pm as the sun cools
slightly and the bride and groom arrive in separate boats. A
flower arch can be put up for the wedding ceremony. After the
ceremony the couple leave in a flower strewn dhow to rejoin
their guests on the beach below Kiwayu for cocktails, dinner and
dancing under the stars. Entertainment can range from a live
band, disco, magician, fire-eaters, firework display, the
possibilities are endless …
There are plenty of beach
activities to keep guests amused from picnics in hidden coves,
dhow sailing, line fishing in the mangroves and endless walks
along miles of empty beach and amongst the dunes.
Or for something more adventurous
there is Deep Sea Fishing and water-skiing for those with great
energy to spend and deep sea diving with the Kiunga Marine
Reserve World Wildlife Fund research team (subject to weather
conditions and for experienced divers only).
Or assisting with a turtle hatching
(seasonal) - helping the hatchlings make their first perilous
voyage across the beach to the Indian Ocean…
ELSA'S
KOPJE, MERU
 This is a wedding destination with
a most romantic history. Meru National Park is home to the
descendants of Elsa the lioness, immortalised by the film: Born
Free. Meru was home for many years to George and Joy Adamson in
their quest to release lions from captivity into the wild.
Elsa's Kopje is a beautiful retreat, sculpted into the rocks of
Mughwango Hill, site of George Adamson's original camp.
The 9-cottage lodge is simple with
understated luxury and stunning views across the Meru plains and
a wonderful, peaceful ambience.
The possibilities are endless: get
married early in the morning witnessed by your friends and a few
'wild spectators', followed by a 'bush' wedding breakfast on the
plains. For the newly weds maybe a private gamedrive in the Park
whilst your friends return to the lodge, then lunch at the lodge
and a siesta before sundowners and a celebration dinner with
your friends.
Alternatively opt for a late
afternoon wedding at the lodge with colourful traditional
dancing by the women from the Tharaka tribe who live on the
southern border of Meru Park, followed by sundowners on the lawn
by the pool and dinner at Elsa's Kopje.
If it's just the bride and groom, a
witness, a guide and the ceremony leader and for something
'completely different' - you can exchange vows on the highest
point of Mughwango Hill. Here the plains stretch out below as
far as the eye can see, add in some chilled champagne and a
sunset - as romantic as you could wish. But this would only suit
an 'outdoorsy' couple and an athletic ceremony leader, as it's a
20 minute walk uphill and the last stretch to the peak is a
climb - it would require a fairly radical approach to the
wedding dress!
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