The Sunday Mail
Months have turned into weeks, weeks into days and now the days have passed the baton to the chiming clock as you count down in minutes.
BY Tendai Mbirimi – Bridal Writer
Without warning, the mind spins and hits a memory code, drifting miles back to a point when it all started.
Beulah Billie and Patrick Noble Mwanza in a mock wedding display at the Sunday Mail bridal expo
Often, we have dreams or a mirage of a marital paradise, at times which will never be. Anyway, that is a story for another day.
The exchange of wedding vows is an integral part of a wedding ceremony. It is a very romantic moment and often the perfect place for couples to express love publicly and an opportunity to reflect back as well as formulate a pact for future reference.
Wedding vows are like an anthem to a nation, bequeathing pride and identity while nurturing fidelity and dedication to the cause of the union.
At the occasion of the wedding of Bona Mugabe and Simba Chikore, it was very exciting and rousing when the couple opened up their hearts in front of everyone and expressed how deeply they felt for each other, in a very personalised and romantic way.
Simba started: “Bona, many men have professed their love before, but I promise you, you have never heard this before. Today I give you the hint of the rest of your life. The love I contain for you overwhelms me. I am helpless when you fix those big eyes on me.
“I love the way you talked on the phone with me for six hours, it’s like you invented conversation. No man ever found a wife until today.”
Bona responded: “Standing here today and about to become your wife, I look back at the journey that has brought us here. I remember one morning watching the sun rise at 5am from my bedroom window after spending six hours on the phone with you … from that moment I knew there was something special.
“I am not an open book to a lot of people, but with you I feel comfortable. You have given me confidence without arrogance, you have helped me become a stronger woman.”
From time immemorial, it has been the sacrosanct duty of religious leaders and celebrated artistes to craft wedding vows on behalf of the community.
Many such vows have become the traditional oaths that have been around for long and widely quoted. They resonate with the mind and become inviolable and default even to common sense.
Traditional vows appeal to many Christians because they express Biblical truth, which is more binding and more church-like, thus appealing even to those who nominally profess the faith.
However, it has become a recent trend for brides and grooms, whether marrying in a basilica or a judge’s chamber, to recite vows they would have crafted themselves.
The self-crafting of wedding vows started as a rebellion in the mid 19th century by American feminists, who married like-minded men, but thought traditional vows were unbalanced and “uncool”.
Writing your own vows, then standing up and reading or reciting them in front of a crowd definitely heightens the emotions at a wedding ceremony.
There is no personal connection in repeating pre-written traditional vows, thus by crafting your own, with an inclusion of a bit of your own uniqueness reflects well on your journey to the big day and your future promises.
Others still prefer a mixture of traditional-religious and add a flavour of their own vows to achieve a certain balance. Whichever vows you will choose for your ceremony, the best wedding vows are those that are meaningful and speak to your life and love story.
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