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Bride: Emmy Chirchir
Groom: Dr Josea Rono
Wedding date: December 24, 2013
Number of guests: 350 to 400
Ceremony and reception venue: Dinham Gardens, Tigoni.
Budget: Sh1 million
First date
Emmy: We met in the lobby of a hotel in Germany. I was attending a conference and he was ‘on vacation’. Our first date was along the River Rhine in Germany on a cool summer evening as we soaked up the sun and licked on our dollops of ice-cream.
The proposal
Emmy: It was in an ‘up-market’ restaurant where we had a lovely dinner although the rain was pounding heavily that night (probably a sign of blessings). He was overly excited and I suspected something, but I did not think it would be the proposal. Nevertheless, I was ecstatic when he asked and managed to blurt out a yes!
The story behind the wedding
We were keen to invest more in pictures and video, which we felt were more long lasting and we would keep as memories. We organised to have a ‘day before’ photo shoot so that we would not have to rush through our wedding pictures on the actual wedding, thereby, breaking some ‘wedding traditions’, which dictate that a bride is not supposed to be seen in the wedding gown before the wedding. This meant spending a little more on photography and video as compared to hiring glamorous cars or a band.
In hindsight
Emmy: It is important to save and plan early to avoid stressing family and friends with fundraising. We opted to print the programme on one A2 paper and positioned at the entrance to the wedding venue instead of printing a one for each guest. Similarly, we designed our own wedding cards, did more online invitations and only printed cards for our parents and people who we figured were not online. All this saved us about Sh80,000. In short, be practical! Most importantly, commit your plans and your suppliers to God.
Josea: There is not much we could have changed. We both had our dreams of the wedding fulfilled. We probably would have loved to do more DIY stuff and create more unique stuff that would have better defined us.
Memorable moments
Josea: When Emmy walked down the aisle. She looked stunning and beautiful — even though I had already seen her in the dress.
Emmy: For me it was exchanging the vows! Never have words rang so loudly in my head and so deeply in my heart. The weight of the words and the joy of finally marrying the perfect one for me had me in tears. It was a really emotional affair. For the first time in my life, I saw my parents dance together.
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