The Ceremony

As the sun set on the beach, Sarah came down a makeshift aisle of palm leaves escorted by her brother Michael. On either side of the winding path, several  Maasai warriors stood by with lit torches.

Sarah wore a stunning  wedding dress that was - in retrospect - completely unsuited to travel through sand. By the end of the evening, Sarah had collected close to a kilo of sand in the various folds of her dress! Nevertheless, she was absolutely beautiful as she approached the makuti on the beach, where David was anxiously standing.

Mr. Hasssan, from the office of the Zanzibar Regional Commissioner began the ceremony.  Each read a copy of the official Marriage Oath, signed the document and had it witnessed by Best Man: Andrew Hopkins and Bridesmaid: Julie Styner-Foster. The marriage certificate itself was also signed and stamped completing the official component of the ceremony. 

Next, Sarah & David stood side-by-side as David's father, Donald welcomed those that had gathered and commenced with the vows and exchange of rings.

Given that everything took place in a public area, there were numerous tourists already on the beach that immediately became part of the ceremony. Many later ended up joining us towards the tail end of the reception as well! As a general rule of thumb, photos that show Italians in bikinis are other guests of the hotel......