One of biggest television events to date in Zimbabwe takes place this month (April) with the launch of Our Perfect Wedding Zimbabwe, the first local version of this internationally-successful reality television series.
Liz Dziva, publicity and public relations manager of MultiChoice Zimbabwe, said the show would launch on Zambezi Magic(channel 162) at 9.30pm on Thursday April 18, with Zimbabwe’s Independence Day a suitable platform for the initial episode of a series that will help take Zimbabwean television content to new heights.
Our Perfect Wedding is being produced by Zimbabwean production company Ngoda TV, which was commissioned by DStv’s Zambezi Magic channel to undertake the full series production, while the presenter is singer Adiona Chidzonga, a former Zimbabwean representative on M-Net’s Idols Africa show. Production is well under way and is being worked around selected couples, who applied to be considered for inclusion when a call to action was made public earlier this year. The 13-episode season will end on July 11.
Said Ms Dziva: “Our Perfect Wedding is an original concept from South Africa’s Mzansi Magic channel, with Zambezi Magic having already undertaken a successful Zambian series before moving it into Zimbabwe. Kenya has also enjoyed its own version on DStv’s Maisha Magic East.
Each week during the 13-week run a Zimbabwean couple will be featured as they tick off their wish lists ahead of their marriage ceremonies, aiming at having the perfect wedding experience with the help of the programme organisers.
Zimbabwean viewers now wait to see which 13 couples will be featured, with all planning and execution of each of their weddings being focused on in the episodes in which they star. The show focuses on a mix of content features and human emotions to bring the highs and lows of the planning and the final joy of the couples after they marry.
Ms Dziva said Zambezi Magic was created to offer Zimbabwean film-makers a platform for ever-increasing amounts of local content, and the Our Perfect Wedding Zimbabwe series will be the biggest local achievement on the channel to date, opening the door to even more local content in coming months and years.
“This is without doubt one of the most exciting Zimbabwean TV events to date and we have no doubt it will achieve huge success in Zimbabwe and in other territories in which Zambezi Magic is shown, such as Zambia,” said Ms Dziva.
“We are looking forward to showing viewers all the excitement and fun of weddings, and to see something of how our fellow Zimbabweans live and spend their lives, adding to the sheer Zimbabwean excitement of this show.”
Her enthusiasm was matched by that of Timothy Okwaro, M-Net’s director of East and Southern African channels, who said: “Across Africa, we love a good celebration and a wedding is a celebration of the best kind. There’s nothing like watching a happy couple taking a walk down the aisle to pledge their love for one another in front of their loved ones. I’m particularly proud that this show will bring viewers across Southern Africa the Zimbabwean version of wedding celebrations. That’s how we, on Zambezi Magic, continue to tell our stories.”
Viewers are encouraged to join the conversation on their social media platforms with #OPWZim and tagging @ZambeziMagic to share their thoughts with other viewers.
After the premiere of Our Perfect Wedding Zimbabwe on April 18, the series will run at 9.30pm each Thursday and it can be streamed live on DStv Now online or by downloading the DStv Now mobile app.
