Having your wedding at Thornybush, in an unsurpassed and beautiful natural setting, makes one of the most significant experiences of your life even more romantic and unique.

Exchanging vows with your life partner in a place that is indelibly connected to nature and the earth turns a deeply meaningful experience into a truly magical one.

Thornybush has several supreme wedding sites in our beautiful wild landscapes for couples to choose from.

After the ceremony, you and your guests return to a luxury lodge for a sumptuous reception where no single detail has been overlooked to ensure you have the wedding of your dreams!

What makes a wedding at Thornybush so special?

We know that planning a wedding can be incredibly stressful! After all, we have been delivering the most perfect weddings for decades to our happy couples and their guests!

So when you book your wedding at Thornybush, we take all that stress away and just leave you with the superlative sunrises and sunsets, our pristine wilderness, and the exclusivity of our luxury lodges to enjoy and relax in with your loved one on the most momentous day of your life.

Please consult our wedding brochure for more details, but here’s a little glimpse of what we can bring you:

• The unsurpassed service, expertise and experience of a dedicated wedding coordinator and team that will take care of every last detail of your safari wedding. This includes the venue, the marriage officers, photographers, cake, menu, flowers, table settings, hairdressers, make-up artists and DJs for the music. And all those special and romantic little touches that will make your wedding ultra-special!
• A private airstrip for you and your guests to fly in by. We’ll meet you and you’ll enjoy your first game drive as a little foretaste of what’s to come as we drive you to the lodge of your choice.
• A superb setting for your wedding ceremony. How does saying your vows in the serene and dappled shade of an acacia tree sound? Or overlooking a beautiful game-frequented waterhole? Or an exclusive occasion in a dry riverbed under the benign gaze of a giraffe, or the gentle rumble of a peacefully foraging elephant in the background? Or would you prefer the ceremony in the luxury of one of our four world-class lodges? Whatever your choice, your wedding coordinator will ensure your special day is thoroughly imbued with our unique Thornybush magic!
• Exquisite food is served in gorgeous settings and prepared fresh by our accomplished chefs and their skilled teams.
• Unrivalled photo opportunities with evocative natural settings as the backdrop in the wonderful light of Africa.
• And finally, and depending on the size of your wedding party, each of our five lodges can also be completely privatised for your exclusive use.

Honeymooning at Thornybush

Nothing is more special than honeymooning at Thornybush after your wedding ceremony. With sumptuous amenities and spa treatments, our lodges are uniquely equipped for this most significant holiday of your life.

Our sumptuous honeymoon suites all have larger rooms, luxury en suite bathrooms, private decks with lovely plunge pools and outside showers – and, of course, phenomenal views of the bush and passing wildlife.

You can enjoy game drives, guided bush walks and sundowners in the bush. We’ll arrange romantic private dinners for you in the bush or in a quiet dry riverbed, by lantern light in our boma or in candlelit privacy on your own deck. Precious moments to treasure forever!

Quickfire Thornybush Wedding FAQ’s

Below are some common questions we get about our safari wedding experiences.

How many wedding guests can Thornybush accommodate?

Thornybush can accommodate up to 70 guests in a wedding party, although additional seating can be arranged for your reception if needed.

How will my guests get to Thornybush?

The Hoedspruit Airport is our closest airport and it has daily flights from Johannesburg, Sun City and Cape Town. We will happily arrange transfers to and from the airport to our lodges. We also have two landing strips on our Reserve for light aircraft. The bigger of the two airstrips can accommodate up to 16-seater aircraft.

If you want to drive yourself, you’ll take the N4 from Johannesburg, turn off at Belfast, and drive through Dullstroom, Lydenburg, Ohrigstad and Hoedspruit from where you just follow the signs to Thornybush. More detailed self-drive directions can be found here.

What’s the best time of year to have a wedding at Thornybush?

We do wonderful weddings all year round to suit your preference! Our summers can get quite hot, which might not appeal to everybody, and it is our rainy season. Not that a Thornybush thunderstorm is not a notable and dramatic experience to behold in itself! Our drier winter months are superb for weddings, with the added benefit of being a great time for game drives.

Our dedicated and experienced team are standing by to ensure that your big day is utterly amazing. We’ll work and plan with you to make your dream wedding come to life!