00:00Like thousands of couples across Queensland,
00:05Praise and Aaron tied the knot last year.
00:08But unlike some others, they did it twice.
00:11In our Zimbabwean culture, we have our cultural wedding side.
00:15And then if you're also Christian, you do your white wedding side.
00:18Planning two ceremonies wasn't easy,
00:21especially when all of the costs started to add up.
00:24One week or two weeks before the wedding,
00:26like, I had a massive breakdown.
00:28We both did, and we're like, whoa, how are we going to do this?
00:32Before they got legally married in Hamilton, Brisbane,
00:36Aaron travelled to Sydney as part of their traditional ceremony.
00:40There, he took part in an intimate gifting practice with Praise's family.
00:45The first wedding is the dowry.
00:47We call it Rora and Shona.
00:49So my older brother's going through it.
00:51And that was part of the proceedings as well.
00:53So I had a really good understanding of what it entails.
00:56Pastor Gwaze helped negotiate their traditional union,
01:00a role he's taken up for other couples.
01:03I won't take away from the fact that it does bring in a bit of pressure.
01:08But if you come in with the understanding of why you're doing it,
01:12it gives the whole thing a new perspective,
01:15a better understanding of why it has to be done.
01:18Despite the added costs and stress,
01:20the newlyweds wouldn't have it any other way.
01:23It's beautiful. It's culture. Yeah.
01:25It's part of our identity.
01:26Yeah, it's powerful. Yeah, for sure.
01:29Allowing both of their identities to be celebrated.
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