The Sunday Mail
Prince Mushawevato and Andrew Moyo
And if you had other plans for Saturday March 28, shelve them — the day belongs to The Sunday Mail Bridal Gala.
Zimbabwe’s finest musicians, among them Jah Prayzah, Tocky Vibes and Baba naMai Charamba will grace the event, which is set to be held at the Harare International Conference Centre (HICC).
Every year hundreds of couples give an arm and a leg to put together the best wedding ceremony they possibly can. And The Sunday Mail, as the biggest family newspaper in the country with a thrust to support family values, has been providing the opportunity for those wedding to share the biggest day of their lives with the rest of Zimbabwe.
The glamorous event has over the years captured the imagination and attention of all through a well-planned entertainment programme.
The gala, which has been running since the 70s — has in recent years established itself as the premier Bridal Show in the country. Each year has come with a different set of surprises, which has resulted in the number of attending audiences massively swelling. And this year’s edition is no different — an assortment of activities have been lined up.
Before the crowning of a new Bridal Queen, Baker of the Year, Photographer of the Year and subsequently the musical jamboree — a Bridal Expo will take place on March 27 and 28, at the Rainbow Towers gardens.
The Expo, which is a precursor to the bridal gala, is a platform for individuals and companies who sell or provide bridal services to showcase current trends in bridal wear.
New this year are counselling sessions, cake baking lessons as well as wedding decor lessons.
Entry for visitors to the Expo is free while the music show on March 28 will cost only US$5.
Tickets are currently being sold at Star FM studios, Rainbow Towers Hotel and at Herald House (corner Sam Nujoma Street and George Silundika Avenue) in Harare.
The Bridal Gala stage will see Tocky Vibes and Jah Prayzah going head-to-head in a contest that will set the record straight as to who is better between the two. Tocky, who has faltered on the imposing HICC stage before, will be out to prove that he deserves the Outstanding Song and Outstanding Album awards he snatched from Jah Prayzah at the Nama awards last month.
During the previous year, Jah Prayzah had harvested four Nama awards thus regaining lost pride is certainly the lanky artiste’s mission at the moment.
The Bridal Gala encounter will be the first for Jah Prayzah and Tocky Vibes in the capital following a nasty brawl last year which almost saw them exchange blows.
The show also comes barely a month after Jah Prayzah thrilled thousands of music fans at the giant auditorium where he sampled some of his new tracks.
The same event will provide Baba naMai Charamba a platform to take their latest offering WeNazareta to even greater heights after the effort saw them perform, for the first time, in Australia and is being marketed by music giant Sony.
The gospel power couple believes the project surpasses the standards that they have set themselves before, a point they are set to prove when they take to the stage this Saturday.
The other artistes on the line-up are Alexio Kawara, Mudiwa Mutandwa and Prudence Katomeni-Mbofana. They need little or no introduction — they have always lived up to their billing through delivering top drawer acts.
And tasked to usher the audience from one platform to another on the main day (March 28) are popular Star FM presenters Phatisani “Mkwasha Mboko” Sibanda and Kudzai Violet Gwara aka KVG.
The duo’s 1500-1800 hours slot aptly called the 3-2-6 (3pm to 6pm) Express on Star FM, is the most listened to slot across all radio stations, according to the latest Zimbabwe All Media and Products Survey (ZAMPS).
Despite their undoubted mastery in mesmerising audiences through hard-hitting but sometimes rough social commentary, the duo’s obligation will be made easy by a star-studded line-up of performing artistes.
A world class opening act will kick-start proceedings — the production will feature a combination of poetry, music and dance — dancehall clarks, acrobatics, ballet and traditional dances.
Last year, just as in the previous years, lucky brides had an opportunity to be featured in The Sunday Mail Leisure as Brides of the Week and subsequently as Brides of the Month. Votes by readers throughout the year have been pushing them towards the ultimate prize of Bridal Queen 2014.
Zimpapers business manager Charity Gwata-Chirume said The Sunday Mail Bridal Gala is the biggest event of its kind in the country and the organisers always put effort to make sure the brand grows with each passing year. “Exciting programmes have been lined up for the show and we are encouraging people to come in their numbers. The show will definitely be a success. We have already secured a reasonable number of sponsors but some are still coming on board to ensure the success of this spectacle,” said Charity Gwata-Chirume adding, “In short I can safely say we are now ready to host the event.”
Tickets bought for the event will also be used for a raffle draw where one lucky couple will win a free wedding voucher.
Several sponsors have already pledged their support for the free wedding and these include National Foods Limited, Exquisite Fragrances, Rose Bridal, Jan Jam Fashions, Kenny Chris Wedding Stationery, Harusi Gardens, Harare Agricultural Show Society, Just Wedding Cars, Tonjis Hiring and Sunvalley Audio Visual.
The lucky couple who won last year’s wedding voucher, Shadreck and Fortunate Sadziwa, tied the knot last October at Serenity Village in Ruwa.
Contestants for The Sunday Mail Bride of the Year competition are drawn from across the whole country.
Entries are collected weekly from recently wedded brides who submit their photographs as well as that of their wedding cakes to enter the competition.
An in-house committee selects the loveliest among the Brides of the Week to feature as the Brides of the Month. The 12 brides will then be put to a readers’ vote and one with the highest number of votes will be crowned Bride of the Year followed by the first and second runner-up in that order. The same format is used for the cake competition.
The other nine finalists don’t walk away empty-handed, they get consolation prizes.
