BEGINNING:

Grace and Kakai met in campus, “We were both at the University of Nairobi where we were studying law and we also happened to be classmates.

I was attracted to Grace but I was not in the dating mood at the time,” Kakai says. After graduating they found themselves working in the same building and still remained good friends. They later on went to further their studies and still kept in touch. They started seriously dating in 2008.

PROPOSAL:

Kakai never formally proposed to Grace. They just started the wedding plans with Grace having no ring. “ I wanted to give her a ring mainly for formality so I made reservations for dinner on a Friday but I forgot that she was to travel to Mombasa that same day. I ended up proposing a day before on a Thursday when we had gone out.” Kakai says.

“I expected the ring which actually showed some seriousness and yes! he did go down on one knee.” Grace adds. The dinner reservation is still pending to date.

FASHION:

Grace wore a halter neck gown from Afro Elegance, “I loved my gown because it made me look smaller and did not need any jewellery”. For shoes she had two pairs of Jimmy choo shoes, a heeled pair for the church and yellow wedged pair for the reception. She bought the shoes from the States.

Kakai and his five groomsmen wore the same normal grey suits, which they bought from Delvis Exclusive.

Their five maids wore yellow flowing dresses, which were made at Lacasa. The dresses were beaded with purple crystals to bring out the theme colour.

SETTING THE DATES:

Grace and Kakai had planned to wed on the 4th of December but they pushed it to November 6th because the grooms brother who was on the line up was getting married on that date and Kakai was the best man.

WEDDING THEME:

Their venue Karen Blixen that is a museum was the perfect place for the theme they had in mind.“We had a vintage theme because of our love for the oldies and so the old machinery that is ancient at Karen Blixen provided the mood and match for our theme. Our wedding tables were listed according to various old movies like out of Africa, which was shot at Karen Blixen.

We had a vintage car to transport us. For entertainment we chose Maroon commandos who are good at playing songs from way back in the old days. We had makuti fans as gift favors for our guests which were placed on every seat.”

GUEST LIST:

They discussed and decided to split the guest list into two. It was a cards only wedding and they invited 400 guests.

STICKY SITUATIONS:

Grace and Kakai started their wedding plans early and hired a planner a year to the wedding because Grace is never around. She works in Tanzania.“We hired a planner to make things easy and we gave her the vision we had for our wedding and the budget.

However two and a half weeks to the wedding we had to look for another planner because the previous one also plans events and she had an event that she was planning at the same time as our wedding. She could not be able to fully focus on our wedding. It was not easy for the new planner to understand our vision but we were very fortunate because she was able to catch up fast and worked at ensuring that our day was a success.”

GRACE’S CONTACT BOOK

1. Flowers and Décor, House in Bloom
2. Bride’s gown, Afro Elegance
3. Groomsmen attire, Delvis Xclusive
4. Video/ Photography: Naiko
5. Venue, Karen Blixen

“I was so grateful that instead of being called fiancée, I would be called a wife. to me, that was so important…it brought so much joy in my heart. I was looking at my answered prayer.”

When renowned gospel artist Rufftone born ‘William Smith Mwatia’, wed his long-term girlfriend, gospel musician, Krystal born ‘Susan Mwaura Njoki’ their fans finally breathed a sigh, as they had followed this lovebird’s affair for years.

They walked down the aisle among family and friends at the Kenya assemblies of god church, buruburu, on the Saturday of July 26, 2014 dead sure that it was a confirmation from god that they were meant to be. For Krystal, it was a little girl’s dream coming to fruition. a moment to be overjoyed.

“I was so grateful that instead of being called fiancée, I would be called a wife. To me, that was so important” she says adding that, “it brought so much joy in my heart. I was looking at my answered prayer.” for Rufftone, the moment dawned for him when slipping the ring into Krystal’s delicate fingers.

He describes it as a moment that resurrected his sense of responsibility: “I felt something going through my body, and I pray that I’ll be the man she wants me to be.” and the kiss? We are curious to know how it was: “when I kissed her, I lost five years…I became five years younger,” admits Rufftone. And Krystal is beside herself with giggles.

Rufftone chose to go all white just like his bride, while their bridal party adorned fuchsia colored gowns and the groomsmen decked grey suits with white shirts and fuchsia ties.

Krystal and Rufftone met at a music-recording studio, where Krystal all green and naïve in the music business had gone to seek for a producer who could record her music. Rufftone had just released his hit single then, mwikulu, upping him into celebrity status overnight, but Krystal did not even recognize him! Her beauty, patience and understanding spirit on the other hand blew Rufftone away once he got to know her.

It was selfies photo moment for the bride!

Photography by Brian Mwando

Venue : Boma Hotel

He fondly calls her spice; “she spices up my life” discloses Jimnah Mwaura Thuku, a Digital Marketing Specialist at Deloitte, about his new wife Noreen Mugasia, an IT Specialist. Noreen and Jimnah met at an audition to join a praise and worship Band -Students Arrive Movement (SAM) Africa Band- back in 2009. Noreen auditioning for a place in the band, and Jimnah as one of the judges and he thought he heard an angel. “I was drafting some notes, then she sang, with a very angelic voice. I heard her voice, the voice was so sweet. I raised my head. I thought – this is just heavenly” Jimnah dots on the memory. “I noticed him, not because I was attracted to him, but because when I started singing he raised up his hands.” she laughs. And laughter fills the room. “Because he looked like a joker, and I thought, really?! You are supposed to be judging, not to show emotions! I actually thought I was in the wrong place. He was wearing baggy clothing!” she narrates defending her then nonchalance.

So as a matter-of-factually, she went to audition for a husband, we ask, and Jimnah is quite pleased with that insinuation and forces her to say yes – she admits, yes. Many chats later on g-talk and coffee dates, these two love birds became inseparable. “Jimnah is very humorous and I like his mad dancing skills and his caring nature” Noreen lovingly describes Jimnah. “Noreen is beautiful, she sings like an angel and has a big heart” Jimnah equally responds. In February 2013, Jimnah asked Noreen to be officially his girlfriend; and in November 2013 he proposed to her.

Proposal

While, having dinner during one of their many Thursday date-nights, at a Chinese restaurant where they had had their first date on her birthday – Jimnah proposed to Noreen.Noreen narrates: “After we had eaten, he told me to close my eyes. When he told me to open my eyes he had placed a deck of cards on the table, which he had made into a booklet. On top of the cards were written the words ’52 Reasons Why I Love You.’ She started reading the reasons and became teary eyed by the time she reached reason no.25; but still Managed to read till reason no.52. She almost didn’t Read turn the last page after reading the last reason, Because there is where the four-magical words were Scrawled across. “when i did open the last page, it had the words: ‘will you marry me Doreen Musimbi’ i threw The book at him and started wailing” she explains Laughing. Needles s to say that jimnah was totally Embarrassed at this time. But he finally managed To calm her down enough to get down on his knees And ask for her hand in marriage. She said yes to The applause of the other diners at the restaurant. “my surprise worked, and it was simple and precise, And she liked it,” jimnah states triumphantly. “after a few days she told me thanks for giving her A story, because not many ladies get to have a story During their engagement.”

Theme

Both lovers of music, it was no wonder that they Settled for a musical-themed wedding. “we both love music so it was a no brainier. To us, Music is key because we are both musicians” explains Jimnah. Noreen adds: “and plus i am not a Girly bride. For me what mattered the most during The wedding was that people dance a lot and have Fun. If anything else went wrong i would have been Okay with that. They didn’t have to sit on fancy Seats; they didn’t have to eat five star food; but Would have been much traumatized.” And it helped that most of their friends are also music Lovers and love to dance. For their décor, they decided to go with neutral Shades of black, silver and white, a bold decision For to follow for wedding colours. And blue, to make Jimnah happy. And not being a lover of flowers, seeing She’s not girly-girly, they went for something different: “we had this idea of using alps instead of flowers at The reception. The tents would not be draped- only They had to be very white. So we chose hexagonal Tents because they look really nice even without Drapes. At the church we substituted flowers with Linen.       

Fashion

The bridal party made up of the bride’s best friend From campus, her younger sister, groom’s sister, and Bride’s sister-in-law had long flowing silver and black Dresses. The best maid’s dress was black with a black Sash, while the bridesmaids’ dresses were silver with Black sashes. The groomsmen had grey fitting suits, Black shirt with a slim black tie. Jimnah’s suit was Black-fitting suit with a black shirt and a sky blue tie.

Vows

They describe their vows as ‘sincere and straight From their hearts’ as the vows were the couple’s own. And what more could a couple ask for than a lively Wedding party! In the couple’s own words, ‘our Crazy bridal team!’ they turned up the fun, right From the morning of the wedding- dancing down The aisle, to the photo-shoot which made the bride And groom cherish their company, to the reception Where the team embraced the spirit of the music Theme.

“our vows were sincere and straight” Guest list Jimnah and Noreen worked with 800 people, majority From Jimnah family, who are big on events. For Them, every opportunity is an excuse to celebrate Unlike Noreen family, she explains: “whether my family turns up or not is not a big deal For me, and i wouldn’t even take offense if someone Didn’t come. But for them [Jimnah family] celebration Of events is a big deal. Any occasion is a big Deal” with a budget of kshs.670,000 it was a tall Order indeed, but they managed to feed everyone And still have left overs. “we had a lot of mutual Friends and family who sponsored some items on the Budget” says jimnah.

Reception

But not only did their wedding party embrace the Music, their guests at the reception also brought Their game dancing to the DJ music mix rasping From the speakers. Of course following closely and Eagerly into the steps of the bride and groom who Were also fully committed to their musical themed Affair. Jimnah summarizes the whole reception as entertaining: “the music, the dance was fun! Plus, we Seeing our friends and family have fun was cool too! You should have seen some grandma boogie!” He Quips adding that, “we will never forget our friends And all the help they accorded. They literally ran The day!”

Noreen’s contact book

Cake: cakes of Kenya

Décor: sunflower tents

Venue: St. Faith, ACK Rongai

Reception: Clarence Mathemi Ministries (CMM) Grounds

Photography: Photoshop Kenya

Azita and Boniface met in the office! “We met where we worked in the same UN agency in Iran. “ She says. However, with strict dating policies both at the office and in the bride’s country, la téléphone was the way to go! “ You may call us the telephone couple.” Boniface says. But with a common interest in one language, theirs was The French Connection!

Proposal

Boniface’s time to leave Iran came and free to express their love at last, he proposed! “I proposed twice. First in Dubai on a boat cruise.” He says. “We were visiting Dubai and he hired a private boat! It was nice you know, with the city lights reflecting on the water and I said Yes!” Azita smiles.   As if that was not enough, Boniface proposed again in Kenya, this time surprising her with a rock in the wine glass at dinner. “ On both occasions I went down on my knees.” Says Boniface.

Fashion

Azita wore a three-piece corset-wedding gown with boning. The semi nude bodice gown had a ruffled A-line skirt giving her the picture perfect princess look. “I bought the dress in Iran. I had already booked a gown in France but when I went home I found a better one and settled for that one. I bought the accessories in Geneva, Switzerland where we live.” says the bride. To complete her look, she carried a peach Lilly bouquet.

The maid of honor and her three bridesmaids all wore simple long dresses and the groomsmen adorned black suits from Delvis Xclusive “I wore the suit bought in France (Annecy). I bought the shoes and watch in Geneva, Switzerland” Boniface says.

Wedding Theme

In trying to find a theme for their wedding, Azita and Boniface drew inspiration from their wedding venue. “We finally chose the theme in line with the venue: a golf resort. We had the wedding in a golf resort. We had golf cocktail after the main reception for close friends and family where we played golf while we passed time for the wedding dinner.

We had golf balls printed with our names and wedding date as the wedding favours, we went to the reception in a golf cart.

For good measure: we played golf during the honeymoon too!

Guest List

With guests arriving from far and wide, they then drew their guest list. “We arrived at the final list after discussions with our various families and friends. About 130 guests turned up. Since the number was not so big we tried to call or email all for confirmations. Parents did the same with the guests they invited. Relatives from out of town were accommodated by various friends and relatives.” They say.

Sticky Situations

“Kayamba Africa provided the PA system for the wedding service and the reception all through to the evening party. There were some problems though in the preparatory phase. They mixed up the dates despite us going to inform them of the revised date. They did not wear the costumes we chose and even what they finally wore was not uniform. Their DJ mixed up the music during the wedding ceremony and slept during the evening party and had to be woken up. The entertainment during the reception though was, as the group is known for: superlative. The hotel did not complete the podium over the pond on time. Otherwise all the rest went well.” The bride and groom reminisce.

Honeymoon

After their first night at the honeymoon suite at the Windsor Golf and Country Club the newlyweds went off to Kuredu Island, the Maldives. “The journey was fantastic. We had our travel agent, Travel Care Ltd, based at Hilton house propose several land or Island resorts in the Indian Ocean. We did not want to travel too far after the tiring preparations. We discussed the various options and came to a common destination: the Maldives. We loved it and spent our time Swimming, snorkeling, parasailing, dancing, novel reading, badminton and playing golf. The highlight of it all was when all the guests at the hotel were invited to a “white party”, a romantic dinner by the beach. It was awesome to have 1000 people dinning by the beach. The parasailing too was hilarious.

Hindsight

“The secret of our successful day was the bride, a meticulous planner and tough negotiator. It was great to have worked with a golf theme and pure teamwork, dedication and determination of both of us saw our planning process through. Having everything within the same venue was convenient and to save money, we decided to plan everything ourselves hence we did not hire the services of a wedding planner. All went well but if there is one thing I would do differently is having a different entertainment group.I had panned my wedding one year in advance and I wanted to have the best wedding which I think every couple has the right to have especially if they put much time and effort to it.   All in all having the tradition that women receive the couple at the reception was fantastic. According to my family (bride’s) and my friends who had not seen this kind of tradition, it was fabulous and beautiful. When the women came and sung happy songs it brought dynamism and excitement to the atmosphere. It was just unique and unexplainable.” Azita says.

Flowers and Décor :Classic Functions

Video/ Photography: Digital Eye

Venue :Windsor Golf & country club

Beginning
“There lived a God-fearing girl with a fashion acumen and taste that marveled me” narrates Erik Okoth “she was my church mate, but she looked unapproachable’ he continues while stealing a glance now and then at Linda-the woman made from his rib. Eric and Linda finally met and struck friendship during one of their common church forums which would lead them to building fond memories of each other every time they parted way from the weekly church conventions, Linda carries on, “Eric is very persistent and he never gave up on chasing after me, he asked me for a date three weeks to the day so that he could be prepared for whatever.”

Their first date ignited a flame that saw them embark on their journey to matrimony; a tea date over a spoken word session titled I will wait for you seemed to be the last arrow for cupid-struck Eric, “The spoken word was very deep not knowing that indirectly he was hinting to me that he will indeed wait for me. We laughed about anything and everything and the friendship we had built for the preceding months moved a notch higher.

The Proposal
The sun was high up in the sky, casting dancing shadows on the ice cold waters of the swimming pool below; on the farthest corner of the pool’s deep edge, the love birds took a dive hand in hand. This was one of the favorite pass times for the last year they had been in courtship. “Then without a warning or any discussion, Eric said we need to go for a drive to Lake Elementaita; he said the weather was changing, I tried to make further inquiries into the sudden change of mind but didn’t get anywhere. We changed and took a drive to a lodge along the lake, it was around 4:30 in the evening.” Reminisces Linda of the beauteous memories that marked his proposal.

Now anyone who has been to Elementaita cannot fail to acknowledge the bewitching scenery as the sun sets into its western horizons, “the place is just beautiful, the air is breathtakingly fresh-it has the perfect panorama for romance in the wild” remembers Linda with a half-smile breaking on her face. Eric would then suggest that they go up the cliff for a perfect view of the lake below, unknown to Linda, lurking behind the rocks were waiters laden with fresh bouquets and sparkling wine, a few meters away her favorite song filled the air with a charming sensation and before she could take in the whole set, Eric was down on a bended knee, “I freaked out and asked him to get up, my mind was frozen, I couldn’t make out anything from his gesture! He stayed on his knees till I kept quite… it was like we were just the two of us against the world. He asked me by my full names to be his life partner and his companion … to be his wife. I was too overwhelmed and I hugged him and said a big yes!!!! The engagement ring was too gorgeous I kept looking at it the entire time. The waiters then clapped in cheer and the music went loud. We were in the middle of a bush …. It was too great; the sun’s last rays were fading off into the forest around us, making the perfect setting. That is why we ended up having a forest wedding

The Plan
Inspired by the scenic setting on their proposal, Eric and Linda decided to have a forest wedding, a natural setting untainted by human activities and other factors. The décor set up would be in line with the wild theme and her entrance would be on the saddle back of a horse. Her brother would then carry her to the altar!

We had the best photographers I must say; our photo session was adjacent to the wedding venue near a small river, unperturbed by our presence,  a herd of cows  grazed by the river gorge, making for very captivating backdrop, we had an evening photo shoot at Sunbird lodge in Elementaita, to capture the magical sunset.

Fashion
Cinderella was my favorite fairy, and when it came to my dream dress; it had to be nothing short of the princess! I went for a ball gown with a corset that fit my petite figure perfectly.

To give a burst of color to the forest, my girls wore the brightest orange in carpet sweeping gowns while my best maid went for a happy and fun-filled hot pink. We had disagreement on the type of shoe to wear due the setting of the location but later reached a consensus-it had to be a wedge for both support and comfort. The colors seemed to reflect the sunrays falling through the trees. Instead of flower bouquets-which I think cliché- my bridesmaids used dried flowers that looked very elegant. I however would have loved to carry my favorite bouquet of white lilies but they had not opened on the morning of the wedding, hence I had to carry the roses. Above all, my bridesmaids made my day; bursting with life, beautiful and supportive to the last day, this gave life, color and warmth to the wedding.

Funding the plan
We made a bit of savings for like three months, our friends and family did play a major role in financing the wedding. Since both of us are people friendly, we listed almost a hundred of our friends and they gave generously which met almost half our budget, our church – Lake view AGC enormously supported us. We had a committee of very committed guys who went out of their way to ensure the wedding took place the way we had envisioned it. I can confidently say for a wedding to run smoothly and the bride and groom to be stress free you need a team of committed guys. They really gave their best. My mother was my pillar throughout the planning.

Decor and set up
We wanted something out of the norm, and the moment we saw the venue we realized it fell in place with our forest wedding theme. For a forest set up, I was very particular with the setting because one small hiccup would make the entire setting lose meaning. I met the décor lady and her ideas were extremely unique; she absolutely shared in my dream, and together we had a harmonized vision of the event. I couldn’t wait for the end creation of our imagination!
Come the wedding day and my decorator set to surpass my expectations! It was like a fairytale, the aisle was laid out in orange linen, while pieces of the same gaily swayed to the winds from the tree trunks, the walkway was lit in light balls and as the horse gently trotted down to my altar, every blade of the grass underneath seemed to rise up in honor of this life changing occasion!
At one point, one of the tree branches broke away from the tree almost hitting some of the groomsmen! We however picked up from the shock first enough to resume the ceremony without disruption.

We had to give a three months’ notice to the attorney general’s office to allow them confirm that we were both single. Since it was a garden wedding we also had to get a license from the Attorney General’s office to hold a garden wedding which we got three days before the wedding from Sheria house, quite crazy. We had no idea of the hassle and protocol involved in getting married!

Venue: Kivuli Garden & Forest -Nakuru

Photography: Ideas Unplugged

“Our theme colour was all white. I’ve always wanted an all white wedding and when I explained it to Richard and our parents they fell in love with it too. We also wanted a garden wedding and I think white looks lovely in a garden.” Shiru adds.

Setting the dates
“We wanted to have a day that was sunny because we wanted a garden wedding hence we picked February because it’s a warm month with little chance of rainfall.

In the beginning
Shiru and Richard met through a mutual friend who played matchmaker. “I was working in Nyeri and Richard had just come back from Glasgow, we were both single and she thought we’d be good friends. She introduced us to each other, we talked on the phone for a while, finally had a first date and the rest as they say is history.” Shiru recalls.

Proposal
Richard proposed in the comfort of their living room on a Sunday afternoon. “We’d talked about getting married for a long time. Richard had actually taken me to try different rings, first to know my size and to know which cut or stone I’d like. I didn’t know he’d bought the ring. He proposed then and there in the sitting room. I was so happy and of course said yes.” Shiru says.

“My shoes and accessories were from my mom’s shop, Jayelle.”

“My necklace though was my something old, borrowed and blue, it was given to me by my Mother in law.”

Fashion
“I bought my dress from Pronovias. It’s a bridal shop based in Spain. I’d been looking for dresses on the Internet and when I came across their site I loved every dress I saw. The only problem is that they had not opened a shop in Sub Sahara. I couldn’t shake the dresses from my head though. A month later I surfed the net again and to my happy surprise they’d opened a store in South Africa. My siblings go to school and live in South Africa, so we planned to go see them as we went to the shop. The experience was amazing. I tried on different dresses and finally found one that fit my personality. It was still simple yet uniquely beautiful. So they fit me from my veil, bolero, the dress and even the under skirt.

Richard wore an Italian suit, which he got courtesy of Jayelle. His watch was from Dubai and his cufflinks were a gift from Shiru’s mother. They had diamonds. The couple had five bridesmaids, six groomsmen and one flower girl. The whole bridal lineup was dressed courtesy of Jayelle. The maids had ready-made dresses, coffee in colour. The groomsmen had suits that were from Turkey. The parents wore different outfits, from different places; the bride’s parent’s outfits were from Jayelle while the groom’s parents wore outfits from London.

Guest list
The couple initially wanted a small wedding, which they could afford of 200 guests. But their parents did not want to leave any one out. So they settled for a guest list of 1000 people, 900 of who RSVP.

Honeymoon
“We spent our first night at Safari Park Hotel, then jetted off to Spain for two weeks. The journey was fun and we really enjoyed ourselves. Spain is rich in culture and very beautiful. We visited museums, did city tours and of course shopped and drank lots of wine. We stayed in three different cities and used the train to go around. The food was amazing, a bit different from what we are used to but very nice. The highlight of our trip was the visit to the football stadiums: Camp nou and Bernebeu. We took a picture at one of the football stadium with a champion’s league trophy and Richard was over the moon.” The couple says.

Photography by: Emmanuel Jambo

Venue : Safari Park Hotel

Fashion: Jayelle

Esther’s dream wedding was a wedding in a grand castle, in a large ballroom with lots of lighting and flowers. Her guests gently swaying and twirling to the soft music emanating from the walls of the ballroom. And to complete the picture she’d be wearing a lovely Cinderella-type/ball gown with a long train. Well, for her real wedding she got something close – a garden wedding at the Marula Manor, Karen.

For her bridal team she decided to go with coral, while the junior bridesmaids adorned champagne. She was fortunate to get those particular shades from her vendor Blooms and Drapes Events, and she bought all the choral material that they had! “I decided to settle for subtle and happy colours that will blend” explains Esther. “My bridal team were so excited and I could see them standing together, their colours blending well.  They looked like they just walked out of a magazine… Beautiful!”

10 months is how long it took them before they could finally decide on their colour scheme. They even attended two Samantha’s Bridal Weddings Fairs to get ideas. In the end they decided to go with a fairy-tale-themed wedding of coral and champagne colours with accents of navy blue, and baby’s breath as the main flowers.

“At the ceremony area were cascading white drapes, over garden chairs and the arbor. The reception was an elegant statement of a mixture of gold and white chiavari chairs by Lily of the Valley, with champagne table overlays, baby’s breath flowers all under hexagon tents. I like the idea that we were not going to drape them, that’s what I really like about the Hex tents. I was very happy with the outcome,” Esther describes.They [vendors] exceeded my expectations. I was really blown away” Eric admits.

“I decided on this [theme] because as a little girl I pictured my wedding with white flowers. Coral and champagne blend well together and navy blue is Eric’s favorite color,” Esther explains Marula Manor where their ceremony and reception took place offered enough room for creativity with its vast manicured ground and angelic flowers on the patio.

Esther Shwashwa, a marketer and Eric Chachi met in December 2005 at a mutual friend’s birthday party. “We clicked after maybe talking for two or three hours. I gave her my watch as a way of making sure I see her again” quips Eric. Sleek as he was, he needn’t be as Esther had already set her heart on him: “Immediately he walked in, he had this crazy Santa hat and I was impressed. He just took over the room; he was himself. I told one of my friends, that guy is going to marry me,” recounts Esther

In December 29, 2012 the time was ripe with their friends and family alike eagerly anticipating a decent proposal. Eric decided to throw a party for his friends, who he had let in on is his little secret. Of course Esther was invited, and over a game of monopoly Eric pretended to have dropped a monopoly piece under the table. He asked Esther to help him retrieve it. She obliged and went under, and by the time she came up Eric had assumed his position on bended knee, as he flashed the engagement ring on her face with the proposal ‘Will you Marry Me’. “Her legs gave way” Eric laughs explaining, “that’s when I gave her the ring; she was completely caught off-guard!”

A shaken Esther finally recovered and said yes, although she was more concerned over the state of her un-manicured nails. “I hadn’t done my nails… but I wouldn’t change anything how it happened!” she quips back

 Soon after they had to set a wedding date. They had to compromise on a date since Eric wanted a wedding at the end of the year while, Esther favored a wedding at the beginning of the year. Their middle ground hence became August 2014.

What drew Esther to Eric she says is his “zest for life, his caring, kind and loving nature”

Venue: Marula manor

Photography: Wedding Affair photography

Decor: Blooms and drapes events

What started as a chance meeting at a party through a mutual friend led to a lovely spectacle of an unyielding love being sealed before God and man alike.

Their wedding theme was Live,Laugh, Love.”we wanted the wedding to be a fun way to start our wedded life so we wanted laughter with the people we love (our guests) to mark the beginning of our life” she says.

“It took a very short time before we became an item. Less than a month; the chemistry was undeniable” Rodah narrates. It was a usual valentine’s getaway, or so she thought, until they were called up on stage to read their love note, one of many that were placed on every couple’s table, each one with a different message. As soon as Rodah finished reading the note, she turned around only to find Anthony on one knee holding out a ring.

As for the vows, Rhoda says, “what stood out was the thought of how binding this is, for better for worse; it made me feel good to be saying this to the man of my dreams.” When asked what she would do differently if given the chance… “Maybe have a longer day if possible (Laughs). It was too short!”

Venue:Consolata School

Words: Anne Nduku