7 COUPLES TIE THE KNOT, SAME CHURCH, SAME DAY

MANZINI - History was made yesterday when seven couples tied the knot at the same time at the Tree of Life Healing Church based at Bosco Skills Centre. (INSET) One of the couples, Nhlanhla Douglas Ndzingane and Nokuthula Vilakati, were chauffeured in a co

MANZINI - Simply unique! Uniqueness was best defined yesterday when seven couples tied the knot and their nuptials were officiated by the same pastor under one roof and at the same church.

For many, a wedding is regarded as special and they make sure that they make it the most memorable event by doing all in their power on the details like invitations, decorations and adding their own unique traditions and choosing their own venue and date.

However, the seven couples did things differently.  They cut the seven wedding cakes simultaneously and shared 21 bridesmaids and groomsmen.
The couples exchanged vows in style at the Tree of Life Healing Church which holds services at the Bosco Skills Centre in Manzini and is led by Pastor Thulani Dlamini.

Collective

According to Wikipedia, a ceremony where several couples are married at the same time is referred to as a collective or mass wedding.
The couples arrived at the church at around 11am chauffeured in different cars, which parked at the back of the centre.
The grooms who walked down the aisle were; Nhlanhla Ndzingane, Duncan Dlomo, Bhekumusa Maseko, Cyprian Ndlela, Mbongeni Ngwenya, Edward Sibandze and Nkosinathi Maziya.

They were joined in the union of love with their brides who were; Nokuthula Vilakati, Lungile Ginindza, Xolile Mkhwanazi, Nokuthula Mabuza, Thembisile Mdluli, Nontsikelelo Dlamini and Siphiwe Dlamini.
Congregants enjoyed praise and worship songs until at about noon when an announcement was made that the couples were soon to be ushered inside the church.

With awarding-winning singer and Pastor Benjamin Dube’s song titled ‘Yiwo Lawa’ playing in the background, the grooms walked in and each one of them first posed at the entrance, blew kisses to the fellow congregants and stood on the red carpet while waiting for their beautiful brides.

Songs including Luther Vandross’s ‘Here and Now’ and Cece Winans’s ‘I Know My Redeemer Lives’, were on full blast as each one of the brides was ushered in by their relatives as per the culture of marriage. After they had all walked in, the couples stood in two lines on the red carpet and responded to questions from the leader of the church. They were first made to respond to a question on whether they had accepted Jesus Christ as their saviour or not to which they all responded to the affirmative

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The second question posed to both the brides and grooms was whether they had received the Holy Spirit and allowed it to dwell in their souls or not and again they all responded to the affirmative.

Vows

The couples went on and exchanged their vows after which the pastor gave a sermon where he not only quoted several verses but also encouraged them to stick together in good and bad times.

“You ought to know that you get married once. You cannot come back next month and change your mind. This is permanent,” he emphasised.
After his brief sermon, the ceremony proceeded with the grooms getting closer to their brides. One by one they kissed them passionately while the attendees who had packed the hall clapped hands and screamed in appreciation.

After the passionate kisses, the couples were asked to walk to the front where they formed one line and were officially introduced as husbands and wives.
It would not have been a perfect wedding without a song fit for such a special ceremony and the chosen one was Nothando’s Hlophe’s ‘Yebo’, which was played on full blast.

According to Wikipedia, mass weddings are sometimes preferred for economic and social reasons, such as the reduction of costs for the venue, officiants, decorations, as well as the celebrations afterwards, which can sometimes be shared between multiple families.

In 2011, a collective wedding ceremony in India involved 3 600 couples including Hindus, Christians, Buddhists, Muslims, and Adivasi. 
Many of them were the children of poor farmers. In the Philippines, mass civil or religious weddings are a common phenomenon, and are often sponsored by government and charitable groups as a form of public service.

Benefit

 Local politicians and sometimes celebrities participate as common wedding sponsors at such mass rites, which enable couples (and by extension their children) to benefit from formal state recognition of their unions.

Parish churches also regularly offer collective Nuptial Masses for their low-income congregants, at times in partnership with the secular government of that predominantly Catholic nation.

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