Between Richards Bay and Empangeni
A wedding venue above the sugarcane, on the KwaZulu-Natal north coast
Between Richards Bay and Empangeni
Richards Bay · Empangeni · Zululand · South Africa
The road turns off north of Empangeni, the cane closes in on both sides, and then the land opens and the whole valley is in front of you.
Thembela sits between Richards Bay and Empangeni on the KwaZulu-Natal north coast, a short drive from both towns and close enough to Richards Bay Airport that guests can fly in for the weekend.
Thembela has three spaces and they do different jobs. The Garden is open air, planted, and where most ceremonies happen. The Hall is glass on one side so the cane and the light stay in the room all evening. Céleste is the rooftop, small and high up, for birthdays and private parties on weekdays rather than for weddings. There are four executive villas on site, so the people closest to you sleep where the day happened. The catering, the decor and the flowers are all our own, which is the part most venues outsource.
Where the ceremony happens
The Garden is open air and planted, and it is where most couples say their vows. The cane runs to the horizon behind it, so the photographs have depth that no marquee can fake.
It holds a large family without anyone feeling squeezed, which matters more here than it would elsewhere. Guest lists on this coast are rarely small, and a garden that seats a hundred is no use to anyone.
Two celebrations, one venue, one kitchen
Many of the families who marry at Thembela hold a traditional ceremony and a white wedding. Sometimes on the same day, more often across two, so the weekend belongs to everyone twice over. We have hosted umembeso, umabo, umemulo and umkhehlo here.
Thembela runs both, and the kitchen cooks for both. That is the part most venues on this coast cannot do: catering is usually outsourced, so a traditional menu becomes somebody else's problem and arrives cold. Here it is our own kitchen, and our own decor and flowers with it.
03The Hall
Glass on one side, cane on the other, and room for everyone
The Hall is the big room. Floor-to-ceiling glass down one side keeps the light and the fields in the room until the sun goes, and then the room turns and becomes the evening.
It takes a guest list most venues in the region simply cannot, which is why families who would once have married in Durban now stay closer to home, with the people who raised them an hour away rather than a province.
Four villas, so the closest people sleep where the day happened
There are four executive villas on site, each en-suite and self-contained, which suits a bridal party getting ready together, or a family who would rather have their own door. R4 000 per villa per night, room only.
Nobody who has been celebrating needs to drive to Richards Bay at midnight. That is the whole point of it.
The name
Thembela means to trust, or to believe in.
It is the right word for a business where a family hands you one day of their lives and expects it back whole.
The venue, in full
The venue on film
See it as though you were standing here
Many families book Thembela from Durban, Johannesburg or abroad and only walk it once. See the venue on film first, then come and meet it in person when the time is right.
Explore
Walk the venue, space by space
01 / 04
The Garden
Open air and planted, with the cane running to the horizon behind you. Lush greenery and blooms for an outdoor ceremony, and where most couples say their vows. 100 to 500 guests.
“Awesome ambience, stunning decor and superior service at this venue where we were invited for a wedding. VVIP treatment!”
Dennis J. Naicker · Google review