Hilton Seychelles Northolme perches on the north coast of Mahe at Glacis, a hillside of villas stepping down to a small beach and clifftop views over open water. It is one of the oldest and most romantic resort sites in the country, adults-focused and intimate, which makes it a favourite for couples who want atmosphere over scale. We filmed Shabi and Stefan marry here, and you can watch their film on this page.
Watch the real wedding film we shot here
The setting
Northolme is all about its position, villas built into the rock above the sea, a small cove below, and long views out over the water that turn gold in the late afternoon. For a wedding it trades a vast beach for drama and romance, headlands and clifftops and open horizon, which photograph beautifully. It suits couples who want a grown-up, atmospheric day rather than a big resort production.
Marrying here
A wedding at Northolme is a legal Seychelles ceremony performed by the registrar on the beach or a terrace, with the paperwork handled so it is valid at home. The resort is intimate and adults-focused, which lends itself to elopements and small weddings, and if you marry just the two of you we provide the legal witnesses. Hilton's team can arrange the setup, and we come as photographers and filmmakers, or we plan the whole day with SeyBooking.com.
How we work with the resort
Clifftops and open sea are a filmmaker's dream at golden hour, and we plan the portraits for the moment the light comes off the water. Whether Hilton arranges your day or we do, we capture the romance without getting in its way. Watch Shabi and Stefan's real Northolme wedding on this page, then tell us your date and we will plan around that clifftop light.
The beach here, and when it is at its best
Seychelles has two seasons blowing from opposite directions, and that is what decides whether a beach is calm or blown on your date. From roughly May to September the south east trades run dry and steady, pushing chop and drifting seaweed onto anything facing south or south east. From roughly November to March the north west monsoon takes over, wetter and lighter on wind, and the exposure flips. April and October are the changeovers, when it goes quiet on every coast.
the Glacis shoreline faces north west, which puts it at its calmest from May to September. The north of Mahe turns its back on the south east trades, so this stretch stays workable through the breeziest part of the year.
We will still confirm the exact spot and the exact hour for your date before you commit to it, because the sea has moods and a beach is not one single place.
The paperwork, and what the government charges here
The legal side is lighter than most couples expect. As two foreign nationals you need a valid passport and an apostilled birth certificate each, plus a divorce certificate if either of you has been married before or a death certificate if widowed. The banns are published for eleven days before the ceremony. Two witnesses must be present, and if you are marrying as just the two of you we provide them.
The government marriage fee here is SCR 3,000. That is the Civil Status Office rate for two foreigners marrying on Mahe, Praslin or La Digue.
One detail that catches people out. The Civil Status Office expects to register the marriage at its own office, so if the registration is to happen anywhere else, which is exactly what a ceremony at the resort means, it asks to be told at least a week beforehand. That is our job, not yours, but it is worth knowing the week exists.