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A wedding is an incredibly special day on any bride’s calendar and the attention is usually all on her – what she’s wearing, her makeup, her hair. Yet these two Joburg sisters decided to share the spotlight on their special day when they tied the knot in a double ceremony.
Mulanga (26) and Tshedza Mulovhedzi (29) have always had a close bond. As children they did everything together, including being flower girls at a relative’s wedding. Mulanga has a picture of the pair as flower girls on her phone and told her fiancé, Steven Williams (32), that she would like to recreate it one day.
So when both sisters got engaged they decided to marry on the same day.
Mulanga married Steven and Tshedza wed Mpho Lebepe (42) at the Nandoni Riverview in Thohoyandou, Limpopo, in September.
“When there’s just you the attention is normally on you. It can be emotional but when you look on the other side and see two other people going through the same thing you're going through it makes everything very easy,” Tshedza tells YOU.
Tshedza was the first to be engaged and Mulanga’s lobola negotiations took place on 4 April.
The sisters, who live in Fourways, wanted to marry in a warmer season and agreed that September would be the perfect time.
The two planned the wedding together. They had the same colour scheme, used the same wedding dress designer and shopped for rings together.
However, they did have separate cakes to feed their 90 guests.
Because Mulanga’s husband is from the UK, his family couldn't all make the trip to South Africa but he was thrilled to have his dad there.
Although the sisters got dressed in the same room and had their makeup and hair done together, they walked down the aisle one by one.
Tshedza, who is the oldest, was the first to walk down the aisle on the arm of her brother, Mulisa. Their father passed away long ago and their mother, Naomi, accompanied Mulanga down the aisle while their uncle, Fulufhelo Mulovhedzi, handed them to their grooms and gave his blessing.
“It felt very good having my mom there with me down the aisle, seeing my husband and guests. It was a joyous moment for me,” Mulanga says.
“It was beautiful to watch because she looked beautiful. As an older sister, it warmed my heart,” Tshedza adds.
Tshedza and Mpho were the first to exchange rings and say their I dos first, followed by Mulanga and Steven.
The sisters laugh when they talk about how they both kissed their grooms at the same time.
“We did kiss at the same time, right?,” Tshedza asks her sister.
“We kissed at the same time but in the pictures you'd think it was at different times because Tshedza and her husband took long kissing,” Mulanga laughs.
“You know I had to pull away from my husband,” Tshedza giggles.
Both couples started dating in 2019 and often hang out together. Tshedza has one child from a previous relationship and one with Mpho. Mulanga and Steven don’t have children.
Mulanga, who studied civil engineering, will soon leave for the UK where her husband lives, while Tshedza, a housewife who holds a BTech in taxation, is looking forward to settling in to married life too.
At first, Mpho didn't understand the sister's dream for a shared wedding but when Tshedza explained that Mulanga and her husband would be leaving for the UK soon and they wouldn't be able to hang out anymore, Mpho was more than keen.
“He’s an African man so he didn't get it. I sat him down and explained to him that my sister and I do everything together,” Tshedza says.
Mpho certainly has no regrets. “Friends and family were in support of this rare occasion that proved to everyone that it is indeed possible to marry from the same family at the same time,” he says.
Steven too can't imagine their dream day any differently. “This was a special and unique occasion. I’m very grateful to have been able to celebrate both of our unions in this way. When I was told they wanted to have a joint blessing I wasn’t really sure how it would be, but I’m really pleased [with] how it turned out,” he says.
“Honestly, for me it was a beautiful moment. I couldn’t imagine doing it with someone else,” Mulanga says.
