Cape Town - It's not every day that you get to have a Cabinet minister attending your wedding.
That’s exactly what happened to 19 lucky couples who had Home Affairs Minister, Aaron Motsoaledi, as their guest of honour at the annual Valentine’s Day mass wedding on Robben Island yesterday.
Motsoaledi was in top form, reminding the couples that “you should not marry the one that you can live with but rather the person you cannot live without”.
To make the occasion even more special for one lucky visually impaired couple, Frankford Williams and Cindy Mullins, they were issued with the first braille wedding certificate issued at a wedding on Robben Island.
The couple attended the same school and both share a love for blind cricket and were thrilled with their braille certificate.
Visually impaired couple Frankford Williams and Cindy Mullins. Picture: Tracey Adams:/African News Agency (ANA)
“I have so many certificates. Now, when I touch my wedding certificate, I’ll know exactly what I’m touching,” said Williams.
The pair had been dating for 13 years and finally tied the knot on Robben Island.
“Everything about him is so special,” said the blushing bride when asked what she liked most about her husband.
Khaya Fokwana and Anita Nyezi-Fokwana with their 7-yr-old daughter, Dimpho Nyezi. Picture: Tracey Adams:/African News Agency (ANA)
Another couple, Anita Nyezi-Fokwana and her hubby, Khaya Fokwana, said they decided to tie the knot on the island to start a new history of love.
“This is the place where Madiba was imprisoned for 27 years. The place has a sad history but we want to make it a place of love. We hope that our marriage lasts for 1000 years longer than the 27 years Madiba spent here,” she said.
Anita works for Home Affairs and admitted that she only started on the idea for her dress once she found hubby’s suit.
Robben Island Museum (RIM), in partnership with the Department of Home Affairs (DHA), hosted the annual Valentine’s Day mass wedding on Robben Island on Friday, 14 February 2020. Picture: Tracey Adams:/African News Agency (ANA)
“I am more of a tracksuit-and-takkie kind of guy. Anita loves all the glitz and glam,” said Fokwana.
The Valentine’s Day weddings on Robben Island started in 2000 and so far, 308 couples have exchanged vows there.