As we sit here and relive our story, we find ourselves overwhelmed with no idea where to start. Evidently, the best place to start would be the very beginning, February 2004, the date that marked the beginning of our story.

Our love story is one that was so perfect and true that one would say it was our favourite possible sequence of events.

Our meeting place was somewhere I (Dineo) would have never predicted I would find the love of my life at. Believe it or not, we met at a public phone in Sunny Side. I was using the public phone oblivious to the fact that lepara was listening to my conversation the entire time and his first impression of me speaking my home language, Sepedi, was what charmed him. I never knew that being myself, the typical Pedi girl, would be the thing to attract someone to me.

I believe it goes without saying that this was truly love at first. To be honest, I (Dineo) tried to fight it initially but the moment I found out he too was Pedi, I was like: “mo okare ke popile”. It had always been my dream to marry a Pedi man.

We started off as friends and maintained this for about 3 months before he confessed his love for me and how he wanted me to be his wife. I immediately shared the same sentiments because I too loved him.

Four years later, uncles were sent by his family, the Phelanes, to my family, the Choshanes, to ask for blessings for my hand in marriage. From that point onward, we were only met with an abundance of blessings as our love formed the foundation of an everlasting union.

Years later, our family grew as we were blessed with two beautiful children: Oratilwe and OJ.

We ask you today to come and join us as we celebrate our love. Though 21 years later, for us this only constitutes the embark of new love-filled beginnings.