Marrying Far From Home

A destination wedding is a promise made in a borrowed landscape. Neither family owns the ground; everyone has travelled; the place belongs, for one weekend, entirely to the two of you. There is a particular freedom in that — and a particular responsibility in choosing where.

We photograph across South Africa and beyond, and we are asked constantly where couples should marry. The truthful answer: wherever your story already points. But if it points here, you have chosen well, and not only for the scenery.

What the Cape gives you

Within ninety minutes of Cape Town you can marry among three-century-old vines, on a beach the mountains walk straight into, in a Karoo landscape of absolute silence, or in a garden older than most countries. The light is generous nearly year-round, the estates are practised hosts, and your guests will quietly extend their stay — they always do.

For couples travelling from the northern hemisphere, the seasons flip in your favour: a February wedding lands in high summer, and the golden hour stretches past eight in the evening.

Advice we give every couple

Spend a weekend at your shortlisted places before deciding, out of season if you can — a venue that is beautiful in the rain is beautiful always. Marry where you would want to eat dinner, not where you would want to take a photograph; the photographs, we promise, will follow. And leave two empty days around the wedding. The Cape rewards the unhurried — on this subject, we are repetitive on purpose.