African Safari Elopement || Kenya Elopement Photographer

In 2022, I received an email that sounded far too good to be true. Drew reached out and told me he had been following my work since the early days of my photography journey (back when I just did landscapes), and that he wanted me to photograph his African safari elopement. I honestly just tried to stay calm and hope it wasn’t a spam email, but something in me couldn’t help but get my hopes up. Thankfully, it was a completely legitimate inquiry, and I was able to meet with Drew and his fiancee Stephanie over FaceTime to talk details and set the date. Even after just a short meeting over FaceTime, it felt like we were friends right away, and it made me even more excited about the opportunity to shoot their elopement. Drew and Steph live in Canada, but wanted to get their engagement photos done in Niagara Falls, New York. In the the fall of 2023, I met them up there and was able to spend some time with them in person. They are truly some of the kindest, most caring people and I just knew their African elopement was going to be amazing. Even knowing that, I had no idea the full extent of just how amazing and life-changing the experience would be.

Fast forward to August 2024, my wife, Lauren, and I boarded several long flights to Nairobi, Kenya to begin the adventure of a lifetime. We met up with Drew and Stephanie at a tiny regional airport and boarded an even tinier bush plane to the Maasai Mara National Reserve. Our group was warmly greeted by our game drivers who were ready to take us to the Entim Camp. From the minute we stepped off the plane, the magic of the savanna surrounded us. From the gentle breeze blowing through the tall grasses to the glimpses of majestic animals we had only ever seen in photographs, we were immediately enthralled. When we arrived at camp, we were stunned by the pure silence. Never in our lives had we experienced such quiet and peace; the deep reverence for nature was evident in every part of our experience. Our first game drive was that evening and as the sun set, we saw lions snoozing beneath an Acacia tree, a lone elephant slowly making its way to a shrub for a snack, and large herds of zebras eating quietly in the grass, their tails swishing as they chewed. Whispers of “oh my word,” and “this doesn’t feel real,” were all we could muster. We felt speechless and completely in awe.

The next day was the day we had all been eagerly awaiting for the last 2 years: Drew and Steph’s wedding day. The camp had set up a private sunrise breakfast for the two of them, and they were so kind as to invite me and Lauren to join them. After breakfast, the couple began getting ready in their gorgeous glamping tent in the private wing of Entim Camp. We had quite a long drive to the village where their wedding ceremony was set to occur, so we did a first look and a few portraits at the camp so they could enjoy the journey together. The guide told us that there might be a very small group in the village to celebrate the ceremony, but we were stunned to see a large group of tribespeople dressed in traditional garments, so excited and ready to celebrate with us. What stood out to us the most was how warm and welcoming the tribe was of us—a group of 4 total strangers, coming into their village to celebrate a wedding with them. Shortly after we arrived, the men took Drew and the women took Steph to put on the traditional Maasai wedding garments before the ceremony was to begin. After the couple was dressed and ready, we were able to see a glimpse of the rich Maasai culture as the tribesmen began to sing, dance, and jump in celebration. Drew and Steph then met in the center of the village as the leader of the tribe led them in a local marriage ceremony. The tribe generously offered to celebrate with them for the rest of the day, but the newlyweds opted for another game drive and a private dinner at the camp. After thanking the tribe for their kindness and hospitality, the 4 of us climbed back into the Land Cruiser and our guide took us to a shady spot under a tree to enjoy a post-wedding picnic lunch. (We realized after we began driving back to camp that we weren’t the only ones who had the idea to eat lunch under a tree when we came across a cheetah eating its own lunch just feet away from where we had ours!)

After we arrived back at camp, the couple exchanged their own private vows overlooking the Mara River, and a lantern-lit reception dinner out the middle of the bush was the perfect way to end Drew and Steph’s idyllic wedding day. As the dinner was wrapping up, Maasai locals surprised us all as they came singing and dancing to deliver a wedding cake to the happy couple.

Believe it or not, there was more magic in store for our group as we had a sunrise hot air balloon ride scheduled for the following morning. An early wake-up call of 4am came quickly after a full day the day before, but the excitement of what was to come made it all worth it. When we first arrived at the location, it was pitch black. We could see nothing but the silhouette of the balloons and the flames as they slowly began to inflate. Just after the sun started to rise, we climbed into the baskets and before we knew it, we were floating high above the vast African savanna. In our hour overlooking the landscape, the pink and orange hue of the sky and hazy morning light felt like something out of a dream. While I am definitely not one for heights, this was one of the most magical things I have ever experienced, and the memory of that morning will be something I cherish forever. Once we landed, we had an amazing breakfast in the bush before heading back to Entim Camp. On our final game drive that evening, our guide drove us all over, hoping for just one glimpse of an elusive leopard. As the rain came down on our Land Cruiser, we all watched in hushed wonder through our camera lenses and binoculars as we finally saw one. It felt like Africa’s final gift to us before we began our trip home the next morning.

This trip was one of the most special things I’ve ever been a part of. I will always be so deeply grateful to Drew and Stephanie for choosing me to capture their adventure. An African safari has such a special feeling that is truly hard to convey in words or even photographs, but I think my wife summed it up very eloquently: 

“How do you put the most beautiful and surreal experience of your life into words? I don’t think anything I could say would do justice to the pure magic that was this trip. Before we left for the airport, I cried because I was so scared of all the unknown that was before me. I had never been to Africa and I had no idea what to expect; all I knew was that it was going to be different than anything I had ever experienced before. Little did I know that just a few short days later, Chris and I would both be crying at the thought of leaving a land that very quickly became the most special place in the world to us. Over the course of just a few days, we saw a baby elephant following close behind its mother as it learned the ins-and-outs of life in the wild. We had a front row seat to lions initiating a hunt in the early morning sun, sitting so close to them that I could barely breathe. We drove past seemingly endless zebras wandering the vast grasslands, looking so bold against the landscape we wondered how they could possibly be real. We came across a cheetah moments after it completed a chase, panting and catching its breath under a tree. We spent hours driving windows-down in the rain for just a single glimpse of a leopard. When we finally spotted one, we joined 10+ groups of people sitting in complete silence and awe and wonder at its beauty, just the sound of the rain around us. 

How does one simply go back to normal life after such an experience? I’m not sure. All I know is that I will carry these memories close to my heart for the rest of my life. I hope every time I look back on these photos, I still feel tears come to my eyes and a lump form in my throat knowing I was so blessed to experience this kind of magic and wonder on this side of Heaven.”