I’ve photographed elephants under Kilimanjaro more times than I can count. In May, in a rare set of circumstances, I photographed a wedding under it instead.

Sylvia & Adarsh brought over 150 guests from across the world to Amboseli National Park for three days of celebration, closing with a Maasai blessing beneath Mount Kilimanjaro.

What I loved most was how much the wild stayed wild around it all, zebra grazing metres from the ceremony site, a goliath heron working the swamp at dawn while the bridal party got ready, and Kilimanjaro herself putting on her own performance, clouds clearing at exactly the right moment.

With an eclectic herd of humans flown in from across the world, many dressed for an ‘East Africa Burn’. I (& my assistant – Elphas Ngugi) had exactly three days to cover a ceremony, a blessing, two dinners and more portraits than I could count, so in short, we didn’t sit down. Weddings are mamouth jobs.

What I’ll remember

The after party on the wedding night – a Berlin club (& it’s top DJ) meets the African bush, a set of extraordinary guests, the intrinsic detail of every moment – so carefully thought out and put together by Aurora Events. Three days is a long assignment and a longer celebration, but we got it in the bag and beautifully.

Huge thanks to Sylvia & Adarsh for trusting me with something this big, and to the Maasai community who welcomed all of us into a ceremony that wasn’t really mine to photograph so much as it was mine to witness.

More from this wedding, and a few process notes on shooting fast-moving light in Amboseli, are coming to the newsletter soon.