You know, as much as South Africans all are mini tourism ambassadors for our homeland and can talk on to whoever will listen about the joys of Cape Town or the Garden Route, or Kruger, I wonder how many of us have really had the chance to see the many other faces of our land – its hidden places, its little secrets. When I was a kid and all my friends’ parents took them off to Plett or JBay or Knysna on school holidays, my family packed up into a car and drove cross country. My dad’s an academic, and studying rural architecture was what he did, so he knew every backroad by heart. Okay, I’ll be honest, I’m not sure I was happy about it at the time, but now I feel lucky to have been pretty much everywhere at one time or another. So as much as I will always recommend places like the winelands to brides and grooms, I’d love to see more couples take the road less travelled to another part of our country. One of my favourites is the Northern Cape, with its red earth and rustic beauty, so I’m very excited to be bringing you a gorgeous wedding that really captures the loveliness of the region today. Hannes and Marike had a natural feel to their design, with succulents and proteas against prints (LOVE the black and white toile and the vintage naturalist feel of their stationery) and other textures. And how beautiful is Marike’s dress? Of course, when planning your wedding it helps when your cousin is a talented photographer, as Charmaine Spangenberg is, and she’s captured every lovely bit of this big day.Read More