The love caravan of Harare
For more than a decade, Daphne Siwardi has run a bridal rental shop out of a rusty old green caravan parked outside a Harare courthouse
Photos: John Wessels
By 2022, thanks to relentless inflation, the average Zimbabwean employee got the least bang for their buck of all the world’s salaried workers. Inflation has continued to rise, hitting 34.8% in January. That makes spending on life events like weddings feel like a lavish self-indulgence.
Enter Daphne Siwardi in her white-roofed caravan.
For more than a decade, Siwardi has run a bridal rental shop out of a rusty old green caravan parked outside a Harare courthouse. Here, couples can rent wedding dresses, bouquets, decorations and even get a speedy make-up and hairdressing, right before heading into the magistrate’s court for their nuptials.
On assignment for the AFP, John Wessels captured a day at the caravan as lovebirds rushed in for a dream wedding that wouldn’t break the bank.
