Important note: Information in this article was accurate in 2008. The state of the art may have changed since the publication date.
Sunday Times (Johannesburg) - January 6, 2008
Lauren Cohen
The Treatment Action Campaign chairman married Dalli Weyers in a romantic picnic setting in front of about 300 guests at the Imperial Yacht Club in Lakeside, near Cape Town.
Judge Edwin Cameron, complete with glitter eye make-up, officiated. He had applied to become a magistrate in the Wynberg district for the day so he could conduct the ceremony.
Guests at the cheerful and relaxed occasion included Cape Town mayor Helen Zille, cartoonist Jonathan Shapiro, axed deputy health minister Nozizwe Madlala-Routledge, Judge Dennis Davis and former South African high commissioner Cheryl Carolus.
The wedding invitations bore the slogan "safe sex, antiretroviral drugs and rock 'n' roll" - a play on the sex, drugs and rock 'n' roll mantra of the '60s and '70s.
Weyers spoke to the Sunday Times ahead of the wedding on Thursday, shortly after he finished hunting for the perfect pair of formal shoes to wear on the big day.
Achmat, 45, had a "hen night" picnic with his female friends at Kirstenbosch National Botanical Garden on Wednesday, and both men had bachelor parties organised by their friends on Thursday.
"My best man is a friend of mine from Rhodes, Gareth Lloyd, and Zackie has two best men, Kieran Reid and Michael Mbikiwa, who are sons of long-term friends," Weyers said.
The couple had planned to have a civil ceremony, but recently decided to get married under the amended Marriage Act because "marriage sounds a bit more weighty", Weyers said.
"We decided that the marriage statement as a same-sex couple was a profound one and we want the union to be seen as equal [to those of heterosexuals]," he said.
An ever-growing number of friends' children were roped in as ring-bearers and flower girls.
"That's the great thing about gay weddings - there's no rule book, you make it up as you go along," Weyers said.
Rose-petal confetti was scattered over the newlyweds after they had said their "I do's" to much ululation from the 300- strong crowd.
Former British High Commissioner Ann Grant was master of ceremonies.
Local artist Karen Zoid, a keen supporter of the TAC, performed at the reception.
"Zackie and I are big fans of Karen and one of her beautiful love songs, Engel, is very apt for the two of us," Weyers said.
Dressed in matching outfits of jeans and black tailored jackets, the pair said their vows under a gazebo.
Achmat's purple shirt was chosen for his love of the colour, while 25-year-old Weyers confessed his blue shirt had been selected "because it brings out the colour of my eyes".
"Right from the beginning we decided the reception would be an informal picnic. With such a throng of guests we wanted it to be laid-back so we recommended guests wear jeans and a nice shirt."
At the reception, guests were given picnic boxes from Kalk Bay's Olympia Cafe, consisting of spinach quiches or smoked chicken with mini ciabatta, hummus dip, cheese sticks, boiled eggs, cupcakes, Florentines and fruit.
Guests were seated on picnic blankets under the shelter of a Bedouin tent, with views of Zandvlei on either side.
The wedding cake took the form of a tower of chocolate brownies with two figurines - a king and a cowboy - depicting the grooms.
Once the formalities were done with, boerewors rolls were served to sustain partygoers while they danced.
Weyers was doing his master's in political science at Rhodes University in 2005 and was involved in HIV/Aids campaigning when he met Achmat, who is HIV-positive.
"Our friends have taken ownership of our big day, which was what we wanted all along. Everyone's excited about this momentous occasion and realising what it means to family and friends brings an expectation that Zackie and I have to live up to," said Weyers.
The honeymoon will be spent at a friend's lodge in Lesotho and visiting Weyers's mother Delina at her Free State home.
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