I often chide myself for being a procrastinator, and for having the concentration span of a gnat. Look at this blog page I started, for example. When the spirit has moved me I have managed to pen thoughts and return religiously with follow ups. Then a long hiatus follows until the spirit makes its way to my brain and fingers and after some coaxing, gets me penning again. 

So here it is, my next instalment. Nothing earth shattering has happened, nor am I looking for an outlet. I just feel like… Writing. I am now into the third shoot of my second season of Our Perfect Wedding and what a ride it has been. I spend just about every weekend away from my family, I am meeting people from all walks of life and my comedy career is giving me the stink-eye. I have barely written new gags and am too tired to knuckle down to a decent brainstorm session to create those signature Tumi Morake-esque punchlines. But I am happy. I am enjoying the drop in adrenalin. 

Our Perfect Wedding is one of those shows which Black Twitter convenes over and places on the trending list. And now here I am, placing myself in the line of fire. 

Gone are the days when I flew below the Black Twitter radar. (A few times I decided taking this gig on was a bad idea, how does anyone follow in the footsteps of the bold and animated Brenda Nxoli and the people’s princess, Phumeza Mdabe?) But alas, I had a long argument with self and it ended with self saying “But what do you have to lose? It can’t be money because comedy is your bread and butter, and this is an opportunity to extend your fan base.” Thus, began my journey on one of Mzansi’s most popular shows.

I love weddings, I weep at some and dance at most. It is a celebration of love, and as a wife still deeply in love with her husband, I thrive on seeing people in love. On a  show like this one, you play the balancing act of  showing love and the superficial bulls**t that comes with weddings. As a proud Black woman, I decided I never want to look down on my people or mock them. If they are going to be on TV and I am going to lose 3 days of my life, following their love journey, I am going to celebrate them. That was ME, then there was what the people who pay for this show want: ratings, drama, entertainment.  It is, after all, reality TV, you need a pull. These priorities and mine aren’t mutually exclusive but the scales will tend to tip in the direction of one more than the other.   Please note, my decision to work on this show was not financial, otherwise I would have walked away. (TV generally doesn’t pay as well as stand up, I’m sorry).  So I felt this gave me grounds to fight harder for my integrity. Being the loud and boisterous woman I can be, I have truly benefitted from  learning to channel my energy appropriately and be discerning with my moments.  We’ll joke light heartedly, but if the couple isn’t in on the joke, I am not interested.  What social media does with the wedding though, well.  That;s another story. These people are ungovernable, but what I do give them props for, is that they will acknowledge, jealous down, the love, the warmth and “magazine worthy” vibe, of most of these weddings. 

I have rather enjoyed my time on this show thus far. It has been a humbling experience. To see the lengths couples will go to just to impress people, and the kind of classy weddings you can still have on a budget. To seeing how families can truly come together in weddings and be challenged by them at the same time. It made me think back to my own wedding and a dramatic morning that led to my father not walking me down the aisle. Now THAT’S drama lol! This show has serious entertainment potential, especially as a talking point on the tussle between tradition, religion and Western culture.

Hopefully, if the spirit is up to moving me in the direction of another blog posts I shall share a few of the things that have particularly tickled or perplexed me as I hop from wedding to wedding. That said,  I hope all these couples who want their weddings on TV for whatever reason remember the simple adage: A wedding is a day, marriage is a lifetime.