THE BRIDE
PAULA
I’ve always known that to call him my ‘best friend’ was an understatement. There’s a better word for it.
A man of character, he knows the meaning of giving and self-sacrifice. A man of deep insight, he has made me understand life in all its different angles, all its sides.
He has helped me value who I am, the way he sees me gives me confidence and encourages me to be better. He sets examples and pushes you to your full capability. I don’t only speak for myself, but I speak for all those he’s influenced. He’s taught me so much about what a person should be; in giving more of yourself and in loving, you truly live!
I give credit to the wonderful man that he is to his family and me.
At the age of 16, he lost his mother, being through a difficult life, I recall understanding his deep connection with his mom because of this. She was his example of self-sacrifice, a true ‘master in giving’. His whole family is admirable, and seeing how he values them made me love him even more.
He’s a person you can’t help but be drawn to, you can’t help but enjoy his company. His demeanour is quiet at first, it’s only because he first listens to you. He is calm, patient, and collected, he’s not easily rattled — something I appreciate if you know how I can be.
His friendship is unmatched, I am blessed to have him in my life. I recall our deep conversations, which I could only describe as our ‘soul to soul’ and make me feel safe.
The moment I met you
was the moment I realized that you have exactly the face I have been dreaming of all my life. Being with you feels like a dream. I wonder if I am awake or I am still dreaming.
THE GROOM
TYRONE
My God is an awesome God. Along came a girl that completely changed the way I thought about the one I wanted to be with.
She was kind, beautiful, intelligent, good-natured and feisty. She felt like ‘home’, I felt so comfortable around her, that feeling I can only describe as joy.
So beyond my understanding, logic and reason a little to let you know how it all started.
I left South Africa to go on a journey and find myself, and along with that the woman of my dreams.
I was working on board – a boat with many different nationalities and interesting people but this was about a year into my journey traveling the world, along came this woman who I never in my wildest dreams thought would take my eye, and not only that but live in the same town as me in South Africa. Can you believe it?? A town that you could almost throw a stone across (just to give you an idea about how rare this was). From knowing this, I knew she was the one without any doubt.
Trying to explain certain events in my life inevitably leads to laughter, at times hysterically, and then tears.
But she did. She cared for me, even as I failed to care for myself. She only wanted goodness for me, even as I shunned it. She understood me, amid my own confusion.
She did not judge me, but always had kind words. And she loved me, even as I felt unlovable. And I love her, with all of my being. I’ve heard people advise prudence because loving someone makes one vulnerable, and susceptible to being hurt. Rubbish. No such cautions here; for her love gives me strength, inspiration, joy, courage, and hope.
Her love makes me feel as if nothing is impossible!
Thank you
for coming to my life, thank you for making me see the beauty of life, and thank you for making me feel loved.
OUR STORY
(as told together)
Even before the romance, this was in our vocabulary.
We are grateful to remember that our love is rooted in true friendship. We first met in a small town on a boat in the south of France called Toulon.
For the two of us, it started on a road of many evenings sitting by a curbside talking about all that we feared, all that we have wondered about in life, our interests, back to home in South Africa, what we wanted to achieve in the future- just opening up our hearts and letting each other look into one another’s souls.
For some reason we were just drawn to each other, our ideas were different but our desire to be better than we were, it was absolutely the same! It was in those late-night discussions when we felt our hearts truly ‘met’ for the first time.
Knowing that another person understands you so completely, especially when you feel like your a ‘mess-up’ in your head.
It is this joy in our hearts that made us say “I love you” as friends – you just can’t help but loving a person. Knowing that everything suddenly makes sense in life.
The admiration, love and respect we have for one another grew, and today, these 3 words run deeper than ever.
We can truly say that our love is — God Sent.
