Richards Bay, KwaZulu-Natal
A wedding venue fifteen minutes out of Richards Bay
Close enough that nobody has to take the day off to get here. Far enough that the view from the lawn is sugar cane and sky, not the harbour road. Thembela sits between Richards Bay and Empangeni, and for most couples in the city that is about a quarter of an hour of driving.
Getting here
11 km
Richards Bay CBD
15 km
Richards Bay Airport
6 km
Empangeni
127 km
King Shaka International
Distances are measured straight from the venue and run a little longer by road. Written directions go out with every booking, and we are happy to send them to your guests as well.
For a city that mostly travels to get married
Richards Bay is a working city. People move here for the port, the smelters and the mills, which means a lot of the guest list at a Richards Bay wedding is not from Richards Bay. Parents fly in. Cousins drive up from Durban. Somebody is always coming off a shift.
That changes what a venue has to do. It is not only about the room being beautiful on the day. It is about whether the people you love can actually get here, find somewhere to sleep, and not spend the night working out who is still sober enough to drive back to town.
Thembela has rooms on the property, so the guests who travelled furthest do not have to leave at all. The airport is a short run, which matters when somebody lands at four and the ceremony is at six. And the catering is ours, cooked here, so the food is one less thing arriving from somewhere else and hoping to be on time.
Guests who fly in
Richards Bay Airport is about fifteen kilometres away. Family landing that afternoon can still make the ceremony without rushing.
Nobody drives home
There are rooms on the property. The people who travelled to be there can stay where the celebration is.
One kitchen, both days
Catering is cooked here, by our own kitchen, for a traditional ceremony and a white wedding alike. It is not outsourced and it does not arrive cold.
“Easy access to the Venue, secured and woooooooow the place is beautiful and refreshed. Amazing Garden. I would this venue again and again for all functions, it's modern and I love the lighting inside”
Phumlani Zulu · Google review
Questions
we are asked
How far is Thembela from Richards Bay?
About eleven kilometres, which is roughly fifteen minutes by car from the Richards Bay CBD. The venue sits between Richards Bay and Empangeni, surrounded by sugar cane.
How far is the venue from Richards Bay Airport?
About fifteen kilometres. Guests flying in for the day can land and reach the venue comfortably, and we can send directions directly to anyone travelling.
Is there accommodation at the venue?
Yes. There are rooms on the property, so guests who have travelled, and the couple themselves, do not need to drive anywhere at the end of the night.
Does Thembela do its own catering?
Yes. The food is cooked in our own kitchen on site rather than brought in by an outside caterer. That covers both a traditional ceremony and a white wedding.
Can Thembela host both a traditional ceremony and a white wedding?
Yes, and many of the families who marry here do exactly that, sometimes on the same day and often across two. The same venue and the same kitchen handle both.
Come and walk it
Send us your date and your guest numbers and we will tell you straight away whether it is open.
Book a viewing