Our November #BONAWeddings love story comes from Lindiwe (33) and Thato (36) Motsuminyana.
#BONAWeddings November winners: The Motsuminyana’s
Lindiwe wrote in to tell us how the high school sweethearts crossed paths. “We first met at taxi on our way to school, but we officially met and got re-introduced at my church by his cousin. We were brought together by fate, he was in love with me from the onset but I was not sure as we were both young at that time. He had asked me to give him 3 months to prove that he can be the kind of boyfriend that I wanted and that statement sealed the deal.”
The couple dated for 8 years from 1999. Lindiwe says “we had been dating since high school, and all the while he had hinted that 1 day he’s going to marry me, so a day after my 21st birthday (November) he sat me down and told me he will be sending his uncles in March the following year to pay lobola. So we got formally married in 2007, but we had the celebration in 2009.”
Their wedding ceremony was on 19 December 2007 where the groom-to-be also fixed a potential decor mishap. Lindiwe reminisces “the highlight of my wedding was that Hubby came to rescue after there were some hiccups with the decor lady. My husband with the help of his friends went and did the decor themselves. It was stunning! I couldn’t believe my eyes, but I had only found out all this information once we arrived at the reception venue. He told me he did not say anything to me as my hubby did not want me to stress too much on our big day. I will forever be grateful for him coming to the rescue on that important day of ours. He Is My Superman.”
The lovebirds also had to deal with a loss of power on their wedding day while guests were still enjoying the festivities because of heavy rain. “But the highlight was that people did not leave, they instead starting wedding songs, lit the candles on the tables drank and became merry.”
The couple celebrated 11 years of marriage this year and Lindiwe credits some of their longevity to both of them having laid back personalities. “We don’t fuss about a lot of things so living together and being in each others space was a smooth transition for us.”
Their romance has not been without its challenges and Lindiwe reveals “one of the most difficult challenges that we had faced was my mother-in-laws’ passing a few weeks after we had just gotten married, Thato was very close with his mother and he did not deal with it well. He had bottled up a lot of emotions and was no longer communicating effectively like we used to which brought a lot of tension and fights between us. We sought help from our pastor and we were able to start working through things and in time it became better.”
Lindiwe and Tom saying they keep their love alive by enjoying date nights, staycations at least 3 months at a secret location where they say they “just go and be just the 2 of us for a weekend.” The couple also says they show each other love by helping each other with everything, adding “there is no man or woman’s job in our household. We also send each other naughty messages, we have secret inside jokes and mostly we are best friends.”
Lindiwe and Thato’s secret for a happy marriage:
- Be honest with each other about everything.
- Communicate effectively and listen to each other
- Respect each other
- Have at least a few activities that you both like to do. It makes a stronger bond.
- Laugh, live, celebrate, congratulate, celebrate and support each other.
Lindiwe and Tom win a BONA hamper of goodies valued to R1000.
Our Wedding Suppliers
- Wedding Dress, accessories and bridal Shoes (Bride & Co)
- Europa Suits For Groom
- Europa Art (Shoes for Groom)
- Makeup By MUA_Boitumelo Mogapi
- Hair&Nails by Hair Goddess Creations
- Rings by Arthur Kaplan
- Wedding Transportation Mercedes Benz Boksburg
- Flower arrangements Bespoke Bouquet
- Venue: Thaba Eco Hotel
- Wedding Planner “Precious Weddings Events”
- Nangi Photography (Nangi Media)
- Music @MgqashiyoEntertainment
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