The night before the wedding we had a
rehearsal. It was mostly so that our bridal team could practice their dance
steps. Yes, here in Swaziland, the bridal team doesn’t just walk down the main
isle, but they dance! They practiced until about midnight to make sure they had
the steps down.
The wedding was a beautiful day. It was a sunny
Saturday, without too much wind. My day started early… mostly because I was so
excited that I woke up before my alarm clock. A newfound friend of mine named
Morgan volunteered to help with my hair and makeup, and she was such a joy to
spend time with! My mom helped me get my dress on in the morning. There were
many, many people who blessed us and helped us with all the wedding
preparations. A friend from South Africa named Joy made us a beautiful wedding
cake, the Bible school students helped us clean the building, Dorcas Croft (one
of the missionaries on campus) did the decorating, many ladies helped cook in
the kitchen, and many more people spent lots of hours helping us.
The wedding was supposed to start at
10:00AM. Since things weren’t quite ready for the wedding to start on time, we
took pictures instead. We had a real photographer to help us with that. She’s a
really sweet American lady who has been living here in Swaziland for almost a
year now.
We ended up getting started about 11:00AM.
A whole team of ladies from our church marched down the isle first in their
traditional clothes. Then the bridal party danced in as practiced. When it was
time for my dad and I to walk down the isle, he stopped in the doorway, held my
hand, and prayed with me over this marriage. That will always be one of my
treasured memories from the wedding.
Then, as most weddings go, we said our vows
and exchanged our rings. Maphile lifted the veil and kissed the bride. We
signed our marriage certificate and lit our unity candle. After that, we took
our seats with the bridal party in front of everyone. Many beautiful songs were
sung, my dad preached, we took up an offering (a normal tradition in a Swazi
wedding), our parents exchanged words of appreciation to one another and gave
each other gifts, we cut the cake, and we danced out!
The whole wedding took about 3 hours. Right
after the wedding had a lunch reception: where we ate together. There were no
best man speeches, toasts, or dancing at this reception. We just ate our food,
took a few more pictures, and then it was over!
We had been praying that our wedding would
be glorifying to God. We wanted it to be more than our lifelong commitment to
one another. We wanted those people who came to the wedding and didn’t know Jesus
to hear about Him. We wanted those who are struggling in their walk with the
Lord or in their marriage to be encouraged and challenged to seek the Lord. God
gave my Dad a wonderful sermon to preach, where he shared the gospel and
encouraged everyone to obey the Lord and go deeper in their walk with Him. I
trust that many people were challenged that day, and I know that God answers
our prayers!
After the wedding we went to Johannesburg
to catch a flight to a place called Plettenburg Bay. My grandma blessed us with
a beautiful timeshare at a resort there. We spent the whole week on the beach,
and rested after all the hectic wedding preparations.
On the way to the honeymoon! |
Now we are back in Swaziland. We got back
this past Sunday afternoon. Maphile has been busy catching up on his
schoolwork, and we have been settling into our home. This week we bought a
futon, a dining room table, and a washing machine, so our house is coming
together quite nicely. The days go by so fast. I am enjoying spending time in
my new home and organizing our things. I hope to eventually work at a clinic in
Manzini, once the paperwork all gets sorted. I need to have some type of a work
permit and a valid practicing nursing license for Swaziland.
These photos are mostly the ones from
facebook that you have probably already seen. When I get new photos from the
photographer I’ll try to share those with you.
Thanks for your prayers. Though this has
been a fun and exciting process, I sure do miss my family and friends back in
the States who were unable to make it to the wedding.
Thanks for sharing cousin! XOXO
ReplyDeleteWhat beautiful pictures Hannah! I'm so excited for you and that these last few weeks have been sweet. Although it doesn't even come close to comparing to talking to you in person, I thank God often for the blessing of technology. I am praying for you guys!
ReplyDeleteLove,
Ellen