When God has a plan for people to be joined together, He will make a way to bring them together. Orlianda and Keith met when they were 18 and had been friends but unfortunately, they lost communication when Orlianda had to go for University in South Africa.
However, in 2017, Orlianda opened a new Facebook account and as fate would have had it, she got a message from Keith, “Hey, long time,” little did she know this would result in marriage. Keith being a gentleman, officially asked Orlianda to be his girlfriend on the 1st of June 2018 over dinner.
A year later, Keith decided he wanted to spend the rest of his life with Orlianda. On Orlianda’s birthday eve, 29 June 2019, Keith took Orlianda, her brother and best friend to Ngomakurira, much to the disappointment of Orlianda, as she had expected to be going to Domboshava caves. She got the shock of her life when she turned to find her then-boyfriend kneeling on one knee with a ring. She couldn’t believe it was happening. What she thought was going to be the worst birthday eve turned out to be the best, becoming the best hike even, never mind her fear of heights.
On the 24th of December 2019, at Swan Creek Gardens, with their theme colours being navy and blush pink with white and gold décor, Orlianda and Keith were joined together in holy matrimony. It was a special day with Orlianda looking beautiful in a mermaid dress and a special candle lighting moment in memory of Orlianda’s late dad and Keith’s late mother.
The vows where the couple’s favourite part of the wedding as they looked deep into each other’s eyes and proclaimed their love for each other in front of their loved ones. It was a very emotional moment as the bride couldn’t hold back her tears. “Setting that foundation with God as the glue that holds us together was priceless!!”
It was a perfectly flawless day having the best maid of honor and wedding manager who handled everything so well that the couple did not even notice that there had been a problem with the swipe machine. So much fun was had that they wished the wedding didn’t have to end at 5 pm, so they could dance into the night.
Advice to future Brides and Grooms from Orlianda and Keith:
“*If your in-laws agree, please do the ‘kuperekwa’ before the wedding, after the wedding you will be tired and the manicure won’t make it easier lol.
*Secondly, IT IS YOUR WEDDING!!! Listen to the advice everyone has to give BUT choose to do things in a way that makes you and your husband happy!!
*Most importantly, marriage is a blessing from God. Pray for your marriage and the wedding day. Our God is amazing, He is Jehovah Jireh – He will provide every single thing you need for your engagement, lobola, and wedding, just trust in Him!
*Lastly, enjoy your wedding!! Dance like no one’s watching! Even if you have two left feet, bring out your inner Beyonce! In Shona, I will say “Kufara kudaro, ndidzo dzinonzi NYASHA!”
