Gallery

We don't have any photographs of the times we spent with each other in undergrad, but this is what we looked like on the day we first met.

After losing touch for over a decade, these were the first messages Anton and Mona exchanged.

When Mona and Anton met again, they discovered that they love the same quote from Annie Proulx's The Shipping News. Anton sent Mona a screenshot of the quote and used it, years later, to propose.

For a little over a year, Anton and Mona were long distance. They would visit each other between Joburg and Cape Town, staying in touch in between.

Anton and Mona's first road trip was in October 2021, shortly after they met - they travelled to Mona's close family friends in Pine Valley, eSwatini.

Their first Christmas together was spent at Mona's "family home" in eSwatini. Cass, her mother figure, and Bongi, her dear brother/friend hosted them in a place she calls home.

In January 2022, Mona visited Londolozi for the first time. Anton took her to his mum and dad's favourite jackleberry tree. It would be under this tree that Anton would propose years later.

In December 2022, Anton and Mona went to their future wedding venue for the first time. Anton's friends, Dillon and Maria, got married in a forest that Anton and Mona would never forget.

Mona moved to Cape Town in 2023. This gave her the chance to spend more time with Anton's family, who were always warm and welcoming.

Spending time at the Taylors' family home in Londolozi has been a wonderful way for Mona to get to know Anton's family.

Celebrating our friend Mari's birthday in the winter of 2023

In July 2022, Anton met Mona's mum's best friend, Aunt Beni - Anton had not yet met any of Mona's family so this was a big moment!

Aunt Beni's daughter, Diana, picked up Anton from the airport when he landed in London in July 2024

We got to do a school run with Helen, Mona's best friend since birth, and her daughter Marley

On the school run in Woking, we picked up Annabel and her daughter Ayla on the way - these everyday moments are special when you live far from those you love.

Another special meeting in London was with Shirin Taherzadeh and her beautiful family - Shirin and Mona were one of a few Persian families who grew up in Lilongwe

While in the UK, Anton and Mona got to visit Oxford and went to see Mona's old college, Linacre

Anton finally met a member of Mona's biological family when her younger sister, Vafa, came to visit Cape Town on her way home after graduating from a Masters in Europe

In October 2024, Anton and Mona got to go to Marrakesh for the wedding of Anton's good friend, Sadiq, and his lovely wife Car

Anton's extended family had a Taylor reunion in December 2024, when we got to spend quality time with aunts, cousins and their partners

At the end of 2024, Anton visited Malawi for the first time. He got a taste of what it was like for Mona to grow up there and met the rest of her family.

In Lilongwe, Anton got to meet Mahima, another maternal figure who took over their mum's clinic after she passed, and also got to visit Mona's family home

Father Christmas brought goodies for Mona's nephews and they had a delayed celebration together

Anton used to teach two classes at the House of Yoga and in the week before Kathleen's wedding, we got to do a 'family class' with their cousins

Kathleen and Tim's wedding at Londolozi was a highlight of 2025; this is also when Anton started planting the seeds for his proposal plan

Anton and Mona spent the summer of 2025 in the USA - they visited Anton's sister, Kathleen and her husband in Chicago, Mona's friend Safiyah in Montgomery and Mona's paternal aunt, Jina, in Vermont

Watching Tim play two games for the Chicago Hounds was a highlight of their trip

Another highlight of being in Chicago was Anton meeting the maternal side of Mona's family - here they are with her cousin, Shiva, and her daughter, Ayla

Anton got another trip to Malawi in August 2025 when Mona went to renew her passport. This is when Anton was experiencing the saga of getting the stone from Tehran to Cape Town.

Anton took Mona by surprise with a proposal under the jackleberry tree

Love under a tree