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
