When Meghan Markle and her charming Prince Harry took the marriage vows inside St George’s Chapel, the audience applauded in approval and awe.
The fairy tale wedding was receiving similar admiration some thousands of miles away in the heart of Kenya at the British High Commissioner’s residence and at the Windsor Golf and Country Hotel in Nairobi.
More than 2,000 distinguished guests were following proceedings from large screens at the British High Commission’s Residence in Muthaiga, with men mostly in black tie and women adorned in bright coloured dresses and fancy hats in unspoken competition.
Among the guests were Senate Speaker Ken Kusaka as well as diplomats, development workers, businessmen, media personalities and cultural icons.
“It was very important to come here and witness with the rest of the world this amazing couple wedding in royalty,” said the Canadian High Commissioner Sara Hradecky.
She said her presence was recognition of the Queen as Canadian Head of State amidst serenading music from the national youth orchestra directed by Levi Wataka.
Sara was clad in a black dress with white floral prints and an exquisite hat to match. The British High Commissioner to Kenya Nick Hailey lauded the now Duke and Duchess of Sussex for their work in charity and used the occasion to recognise some of the guests involved in charity work in Kenya.
Outstanding work
“I am enormously honoured to count among our guests this afternoon Golda Ayodo, who runs the Golden Girls Foundation,” he said noting that in March, the queen gave Golda the Commonwealth Points of Light Award for her outstanding work, changing the lives of girls and young women in Western Kenya.
The Windsor event was attended by the who-is-who in the corporate world as well as the entertainment industry.
The guest list included Standard Group acting CEO Orlando Lyomu together with his wife Pauline, Laikipia Women Representative Kate Waruguru, Suzie Beauty founder Suzie Wokabi, Pinky Ghelani, Vera Sidika, actress Naomi Nganga and many others.
Couples were in plenty considering the sentimentality of the day. “We are getting married soon and came here to get inspiration on wedding ideas,” one couple said.
In preparation for the day, couples had to part with Sh1 million, which included an English brunch, a romantic night for two inclusive of dinner, champagne at the Windsor suite and a chopper ride to Mount Kenya along with breakfast as well as a meal prepared by an English chef.
Chef James Dennis from Soames Hotel, Nanyuki, was chosen to prepare the meal for this exclusive event.” This is different from any other event I have ever done. I came up with the menu by incorporating my English background and doing some research here and there. The meal was mostly a labour of love for me,” he said.
The event, which was a red carpet affair was hosted by Chero of Str8up and Micheal Gitonga of Morning Express and was aired live on KTN.
Back in Muthaiga, Richard Bayley, clad in traditional Scott Dress enjoyed the moment with his Kenyan fiancée Claire Kinuthia and could not hide his joy in witnessing “a wedding of our time”.
“As you can see in the service today the couple have a very deliberate attempt to include the rest of the world and change perception on how they represent the diversity in commonwealth,” he observed, adding that they are a representative of the future.
At the gold club, waiters had all hands on deck by making sure guests had delectable snacks and the very best of champagne considering Moet and Chandon was one of the main sponsors of the event. The day also served as an opportunity to network by those in attendance.
The menu was authentically English, but the best moment at the Muthaiga event was cutting of the cake by Mr and Mrs Hailey. “The cake is a replica of what was cut at the wedding in England, with ingredients including lemon and elderflower flavours, and decorated with flowers,” said the High Commission Head of Communications Alice Simpson, who had earlier invited guests to sample the black Bentayga Bentley model for royal weddings.
Of course the Kenyan Army brass band directed by Colonel Mkadia was in hand to serenade the guests with a rich Kenyan and English repertoire.
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