Benefactors arrange wedding for couple who wait 13 years | Rhewal

Benefactors helped organize Herman du Plooy and his bride, Antoinetta’s dream wedding. (Photo: Provided)

Herman du Plooy and his bride, Antoinetta, were finally able to stand in front of the pulpit at the Voortrekker Monument in Pretoria on Saturday after they had to wait 13 years to make this dream come true.

Barely a few months ago, Herman was still selling packets of popcorn on the side of the road for extra income. However, Jacques Papenfus van Moeggesukkel, a non-profit organization in Pretoria, noticed him and decided to intervene.

Jacques mainly made the wedding arrangements, as Herman was still unemployed at the beginning of the year.

“Jacques changed my and Antoinette’s lives irrevocably,” says Herman, who met Jacques in February this year.

According to Jacques, he knew that Herman was a man with whom he could walk a path.

Herman and Antoinetta were married at the Voortrekker Monument. (Photo: Provided)

“I have been involved in charity for years. Yet one day I realized that the Lord might be calling me to something bigger and I realized that I had to start looking more deeply at the world and the people around me,” says Jacques.

“When I met Herman, I asked him what he wanted most on earth. His answer was simply ‘to marry my fiance’.”

Jacques says he immediately jumped in and approached several sponsors to help with everything, from flowers and catering to a dress and a suit, and also the venue.

FC Pelser, communications officer at the Voortrekker Monument, became involved after Jacques and his team listened to a radio conversation about the monument.

“From the Voortrekker Monument’s side, we are a cultural home that believes in the community and the community that must stand together,” says FC.

“We regularly work with charitable organizations where we undertake various projects. When we were approached by Moeggesukkel we knew it was a good way to plow back into the community and sow a little hope again.

“Herman and Antoinetta’s story is one that touched many people and the Voortrekker Monument is truly proud to have been able to take part in it.”