One thing about Love..it will always find you …. …Simba (fiancé) was in Taiyuan city, China doing Masters degree in mechanical engineering and Sharrony (fiancée) was in Shanghai city, China studying bachelors degree in international business. So we met through a mutual friend who connected us. The initial connection was online and we started talking. Then one thing led to the other and we began dating. That’s in 2019. From 2019 to present we would visit each other every opportunity we got. Our visits were affected by the pandemic though, it got affected to the extend that we spent a whole year without seeing each other between 2020 and 2021. But we kept close contact and communication through calls, video calls and texts. The pandemic didn’t affect us much because right from the beginning the vision was set and clear. So, basically that’s what has led us to this engagement
When you are getting hitched to the one that your heart beats for, there’s a set of people that are the happiest, and they’re your favourite people!
The Very First Day! – 30 May 2020 Our first selfie together. Still checking ma settings kuti taka fitana here? Lol. We were so excited, yet scared. Somehow, we both felt weirdly drawn to each other, but in a scary way. We met through a mutual friend, Panashe’s cousin Eugene. Keen had at some point ghosted Panashe. He. Says he took one look at the beauty, and thought, “Well, this might be too much for me.” Panashe had also expressed some fears of her own. “He doesn’t seem very interested in me,” she’d told her cousin. But over a period of time, we kept talking, and eventually, we found a connection. We both loved music, traveling, adventure and just genuine love. Long hours at night, talking till 3 or 4 am in some instances. Keen finally built the courage to ask Panashe out. She made him wait for seven days, (she says she was thinking about it🙄). And on 30 May, she sayed the first “Yes!”
You know, when people are in love, they talk about a lot of things. Especially about getting married, having babies, the babies names etc. So like any ordinary couple, we talked about getting married. Keen would often tell Panashe that he wanted to marry her. But like any other girl, she would dismiss the reality of that statement. “Tozoona kana waa serious.” The topic was just casually brought up here and there, until, March 12, 2021. So our birthdays are the 9th and 10th of March. Panashe had suggested we do something special together, to celebrate our birthdays. So we gathered all our friends and headed to Kariba. Panashe was totally unaware of any of the plans Keen had secretly made. All our friends knew, and no one even hinted to the bride-to-be. We had a great trip. Panashe was working flat out to be a great host. Keen was handling all the entertainment and fun. Perhaps you saw the video? It’s on both our feeds. Keen had planned a very creative way to propose. And it payed off! When he got down on one knee, she sayed the second, “Yes!” and put a ring on it. 💍
Soon after the proposal, we called all our relatives and parents to let them know that we were now engaged. We didn’t want them to find out on social media, so we asked all our friends who were with us in Kariba not to post on social media until the important people had been notified. Panashe’s family were so surprised! And supportive of course. Keen’s family already knew. A new muroora / mukwasha was coming home! We started visiting various members of each other’s families, introducing them to our better half. The family was thrilled and super excited about the upcoming marooro / lobola. Keen had his lumpsome saved, and as per tradition, he also allowed his family and friends to bring in their tokens, to ensure that the family was well respected. On the other side, Panashe’s family was making preparations of their own. Food, for vakwasha, the decor, cleaning up the venue. The company hired for the occasion provided food, tent and decor. The grooms family was supposed to see that Panashe was coming from a very good family. We decided not to have a squad. Because of the pandemic, we had to keep our guests under 50 people, including ourselves. So the ceremony was a very intimate moment for the family, and on July 10, 2021, Panashe and Keen were traditionally, Mr and Mrs Mushapaidze. The day after lobola, Panashe’s family hosted a beautiful “Kutambira Vakwasha” (Welcoming the Son-in-law) ceremony in their family home.
Lobola Done! To be honest the bond between us has only grown stronger over the time we’ve been together. The feeling of being one makes it easier for love to flourish. We felt that we needed to go all the way, and we were ready to put in the work. So we began to plan our wedding. The pandemic was our biggest obstacle, in terms of guests. But we really tried to have at least two representatives per family. We went venue hunting, cake tasting, and decor scouting whenever we weren’t busy with work or family. Most of the wedding was planned in the evening, after work. As with any couple, we sometimes argued over things like staying within the budget, important people, things that were actually necessary or not. But it’s normal, and we got past it. We made it a point to celebrate our success in planning the wedding, by throwing a party with the bridal team, on the wedding eve. And on the 4th of December, we were legally Mr and Mrs Mushapaidze. We thank God for the amazing day. People had a great time. We had a great time too!
We would like to thank everyone who watched the wedding video. Indeed it was an amazing day. We’d also like to thank everyone who assisted us and helped make the great day a success. All the family had friends that we had invited, who took time out of their busy schedules to be with us. We’re so humbled, so grateful! Thank you so much to everyone who has supported and watched us grow, from 2020 till now.
Truth be told, our love story has just begun. We came to a realization, while on our honeymoon in Zanzibar, that love is a long journey. It has ups and downs, curves, obstacles, accidents and pain. But we will choose love always, we will advocate for love and put our love for each other first, before anyone and anything. We will win together, travel together, explore the world together for better or worse, in sickness and in health, till death do us part.
We met 10 years ago our mums are best friends but moreblessing was married at the time fast forward 2021 we started dating in May and fell head over heels a year later I’m 7 months pregnant and roora was on the 21st May 2022 engaged 26th March 2022. GOD IS GOOD THIS MAN IS MY SAVING GRACE after I left a troubled marriage I have found my true love, my person i love him deeply.
When people say things like, “shoot your shot” or “the love of your life may be on social media”… It’s not out of thin air. How we met: we met in a WhatsApp group in August 2018. I was always and then we decided to add more people to keep the group interesting chiii chiii. I checked out his profile pic ndikanakirwa then I slid into his DM and introduced myself then we started talking . He was chilled and laidback and wasn’t much of a talker. One night we stayed up late chatting then it turned into phone calls. We first met on 28 August and we had our first date and we hit it off instantly. I then went to Poland in September 2018 and we decided to try the long distance relationship to see if it would work out. It was the best decision ever!
Dating
The long distance relationship worked out for us. Even tough we had our ups and downs but we managed to hold it down. I returned to Zim in July 2019 we then started going out on dates. In time, he introduced me to his siblings and then his sister parents. They were all loving and welcoming and I introduced him to my sister and my tete. We were getting to know each other since we had only dated virtually. My friends liked him and so did his . He would always tell me that he wants to marry me ndotoseka kuti ‘ko tazivana nguvai nhai’ and he would just say mira uone . We dated the whole of July before he decided to take it to the next level
Engagement
On 7 September 2019 @percy_g_pg called me in the morning and said we are going for lunch. He explained he wouldn’t be able to pick me up but that @tendai93 (she was his friend’s gf, with whom we were going on a double date with) would. I got ready and she picked me up, when we arrived at AloAlo she told me we have to wait outside for @shaunchoto( her bf and @percy_g_pg friend). Two minutes later he came holding a camera and he started filming, ndakarohwa ne confusion kuti how far as we approached our table I saw Percy ndikatomhanya ndichida kubvunza kuti ko how far lol then mans went on his knees and proposed tbh hapana kana chandakanzwa ndakarohwa ne confusion and happiness at the same time . I said yes to the man of my man of our dreams
Roora Day
Due to Covid-19 we had to wait 10 months before we had our lobola ceremony. It was a hectic time and gatherings were not allowed. It was stressful and we thank God we managed to pull through that dark time as a couple. You know engagement ikati rebesei unotanga kuita ka impatience kamwe sooo and unenge wakutya kuti ko munhu akazodya mari mu covid umu . On 15 August the cows came home, we did it lowkey coz we were still in lockdown and restrictions were still there. I only had one friend with me @phyllismuzenda (she has stood by me all the way). Our good friend @shaunchoto took our pics. Vakwasha vakagamuchirwa mumusha and all went well
Life After Marooro
I think the key to a fruitful and long lasting marriage is marry your type . And never your compare your marriage kune ya nhingi. We both love traveling and going out. My friends and family became his family and it was not hard for us to blend with each other’s family and friends. We are fortunate enough to live near our in laws (from both sides) so we are all close and hapana anosuwa kumba kwavo . It’s not always highs, we also encounter some lows but we always find a way to solve our issues tiri two tisina ku involver other parties. I highly recommend marrying your type you get to do zvamunoda without fear of being judged by your partner!
Wedding
Since we were already staying together and had bills to pay and we didn’t want a wedding that was going to break our budget and leave us in debt, we decided to have a court wedding . We had our court wedding on Thursday 27 January 2022 and it was one of the best decisions we ever made. We got to the courts(Rotten Row) at 7:20 and by 7:45 we were married and given our marriage license. They were very efficient and made the whole process smooth. We were to have a ceremony with a few friends and family afterwards. I managed to go back home and had my makeup and got dressed in time. My good friend @phyllismuzenda was my witness and my maid of honor at the ceremony. We had planned our wedding several times and had to postpone due to one reason or another. But when we decided that we now wanted a court wedding we just went and registered and set the date. We planned to invite 50 people so it was a manageable number and the planning was not so hard from there.
Ceremony
We had our wedding ceremony on the same day as the court wedding. The weather behaved that day and @chotographyzw took us some breathtaking pictures. We had our reception at Goshen events in Hatfield and they also did our decorations and then provided us with a PA system. When we were looking for a venue we wanted one that would be able to provide us with everything, we planned the wedding in less than a month so we didn’t want stress dzekutsvaga different service providers. My gown, veil and tiara was from Becky’s bridal boutique and the owner personally came to dress me and made sure I looked stunning. My MUA showed up on time and I was ready. The reception was beautiful and we managed to have a good time and our friends and family danced and had a blast. We managed to have a beautiful wedding which was within our budget and we were debt free. Court weddings are so inexpensive and you can have a reception of your choice afterwards and do things within your budget.
Let me start with our love journey 😍 I met MR C so long ago we both don’t recall. Our love story was not the usual or one that you would expect. We had one mutual thing that brought us together and that was my late brother Brian (RIP bestie). Onias was Brian’s best friend 😁🙊🙈 yes yes I know unorthodox. But Brian was my ride or die so therefore we were always together and that’s how I met Mr C . I always thought he was kinda cool and I guess he thought the same too and one day I suppose he gathered his guts and asked me out ! And the rest was history . Of course Brian was there on the first date just for damage control lol 😂
Fast forward 7 years later he asked me to be his wife !
Yes 7 years is a long time lol 😂 , so you may say but it was absolutely worth it .
From the time we were dating he always mentioned he would marry me , towards the end of my degree he started to speak about marriage more and more, however I was still into pageantry and he would say I’ll wait till your tired of modeling 🙊. Eventually pageantry wasn’t the center of my attention and as soon as he noticed 💥 boom the ring came .
He decided to propose on my 27th birthday, I was being pampered all day from head to toe and just figured it was just a birthday thing little did I know @laura_murape and @the_chiroodzas had a trick up their sleeve 😍🙈.
3 months later we had our Lobola . He already had a date in mind all we then had to do was go through the protocols and get approval.
Planning the lobola was exciting I knew exactly what I wanted and how I wanted it.
We decided to have 2 sets of outfits , one for the actual lobola process and the other for the celebrations. Also got my new family in love to match my family and I in shweshwe material and everyone else wore shades of blue to the celebration luncheon which was held after we had meet & greet cocktails .
Obviously on the day you’re always nervous but it was a blast !! Everything went according to plan. 😉
Then began the wedding journey
Wedding planning Journey then began 🙌🏾 .
I started looking for a planner as I knew he or she was essential to be able to execute the vision I had for the big day .
But before the wedding there was the bridal shower . I created a wishlist which everyone picked their pick . My mom and sisters put everything together so perfectly for me 😁 pastel colors we amazing.
The event that sealed the deal 😍🥰
Aaaw the wedding for me was just perfect 🤩 . We took enough time to plan our wedding and carefully thought out each item . The biggest thing for me was the ceiling install & deco and @functionjunctionzw made it happen. I knew the colors I wanted though a lot of people weren’t keen on the color black as the base but I knew it would work well. I prayed it did as there were so many other colors to compliment it .
The other big thing was my GOWN . My dress was personalized and took us 7months to get done . With a tail which was 6m long and veil 20m. It was absolutely perfect !!
The planning process was hectic at times but if I could get a redo I wouldn’t change any of it . @shamieventcoordinator was our planner who was amazing by the way.
I promised myself I would enjoy this day no matter what and that’s exactly what I did . I danced my heart out and so did MR.C .