Government issued Marriage Certificate should you be married• Maintenance however and the aspects surrounding the children, like maintenance, care and contact will be dealt with in terms of South African law.
There is no legal requirement to be in South Africa before your wedding but it would be prudent to be here before to iron out any pending issues with your marriage officer.
Make sure to obtain an unabridged marriage certificate full details of the marriage , since abridged or handwritten versions are not valid overseas and often cannot be apostilled either.