Themba & Phindile Nhlapo

We met at a photo shoot in Joburg.  A few years later, we bumped into each other again, and after 3 months of dating, we knew we wanted to be together for the rest of our lives. We had a lot of things in common even though at first it seemed like we were from opposite worlds and then we were actually in opposite provinces to top it off! We’re both Christians and we didn’t want to date for long because we wanted to practice celibacy but also understood the reality and temptations of dating for long. This was extremely challenging because we both come from different sexual histories but not dating for long helped us to not fall and also courting from different provinces made things a whole lot easier. Our planning process started off quite smoothly with the lobola process being effortless, but became quite overwhelming towards the end, with dealing with all the various suppliers and everything else. We were so blessed to have our friends and family contributing a lot of the services for our big day, like make up, designing services, decor, entertainment, the list goes on… We wanted a small wedding because we both come from small families and didn’t want to over spend. We were more concerned about living a comfortable life after the nuptials.  We ended up having 65 guests at our wedding. We were able to afford to go to beautiful resort in Zanzibar for our honeymoon as result of having a small wedding and we were quick to recover financially as well.

What Advice Would You Give To Future Brides?

They must be financially savvy and think of how they’re going to survive after the wedding. There is life after the nuptial. Force yourself to delegate tasks to family and friends.Make sure you have a back up for your photographer and videographer.Keep your guest list small and spend the rest of your money on a beautiful honeymoon experience and try settle the outstanding balance of all your vendors before you go on honeymoon.

How Has Married Life Been?

Life has changed for the better! It’s true what The Bible says: two is better than one. In the same breath, with every blessing comes new responsibilities and challenges, so the important thing is to marry someone who will fully support your dreams and has strong values to serve and lead. Above all have realistic expectations for each other.

WEDDING SUPPLIERS (**Starred = Mzansi Bride suppliers, Click on their name to be directed to their listing)

Bride’s dress : Bantuful | @bantuful Groom’s suit : Bob The Stylist | @bobstylist Bridesmaids dress : Ashes & Ink | @ashesandink ** Flower girl outfit : Ashes & Ink | @ashesandink ** Page boy outfit : Bob The Stylist | @bobstylist Venue : 26 Degrees South | @26degreessouth Invites : Unathi Mbonambi Photography | @unathimbonambi_photography ** Catering : 26 Degrees South | @26degreessouth Photography : Unathi Mbonambi Photography |@unathimbonambi_photography ** Makeup: Banele | @ntomk Decor : KBO Events | @eventskbo Flowers : KBO Events | @eventskbo