The rising cost of living has forced many couple to scale down their wedding celebrations. But others are choosing to buck the trend and pay the inflated price for their special day. For these newlyweds, it's an opportunity to honour their heritage and religion.
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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.