Can’t afford a grand wedding? You need not worry

By Alex Kiprotich

With only Sh1,750 a couple will walk into Sheria House and in less than ten minutes leave married.

And with the refurbished Marriage Room, room 212 on the second floor of Sheria House, Kenyans now have a reason to hang the wedding pictures in their living rooms.

The room is now decorated with purple, cream and white colours complemented with fresh rose flowers delivered every day a marriage is scheduled.

This is unlike in the past, when the only visible thing in the large room was a mahogany table and five chairs.

And at room 209 where couples pay the fee and book marriage dates, queues grow by the minute as both Kenyans and international couples book a date with the registrar of marriages.

And after notifying the registrar of their intended marriage, couples are given a date and say their vows before the Registrar’s mahogany desk now decorated to resemble a garden wedding.

Kenyans who prefer the civil marriage to the church altar cite a wide range of reasons from costs, convenience, privacy, and even avoidance of controversy.

Bul Deng Bul a Sudanese by birth but now an Australian citizen weaves his way through the crowd with his girlfriend Rachael Ajoh Biar a Sudanese to fill the application forms.

"There is no stress here and the process is short," says Bul.

"The only challenge I have is filling the forms correctly because English is a challenge," he says.

Those wishing to marry have the options of choosing either the ordinary license or special license.

For the ordinary license, the usual marriage procedure involves filing a "Notice of Marriage" form with the Registrar General’s Office and waiting 21 days. The fee is Sh200.

After the 21 days, the parties will do the final documentation for Sh1,550.

One party will book the Marriage date, which is either on a Tuesday, Wednesday or Friday and if there is no objection to the marriage raised during that time, permission is granted.

On the marriage date both parties go to the Registrar’s Office with two witnesses and they will be granted the Marriage Certificate.

Parties must be above 18 years. Evidence of termination of any prior marriages must be presented. Parties applying for the special license pay Sh6,250 and do not have to give out the 21-day notice.

However, the couple must state the reasons why they want an exemption from the waiting period and present an affidavit stating their marriage status. Marriages can be performed by a civil registrar or by clergy.

For Bul and Biar, they only needed their passports and an accompanying letter from their ambassadors to book their dates.

"This is great and I look forward to be slotted a date," says Bul.

Mr Jack Ochien’g and Ms Kendi Koki say civil marriage is cheap and less procedural.

Besides being friendly to the pocket, Ochieng’ said he chose civil marriage because they already have a two-year son and it would not be easy to get admission for a church wedding.

"Here nobody bothers if your other half is a virgin or not. As long as you follow the simple guidelines they have provided," he says.

He notes some of the couples, and especially the youth, opt for the civil marriage because parents do not approve some of their partners and the only way out of it is for a civil marriage, which is usually very private.

"Most of the youth who marry from outside their tribes face hurdles as parents refuse to approve and the only way out is civil marriage," he said.

Mr Daniel Ayiro says because of the commercialisation of weddings, it is always safe to opt for the civil marriage.

He says church or traditional weddings are too costly.

"The bottom line is legalising the union and at the registrar of marriages you are assured you have a legal document and not fake," he says.

Ms Susan Gatwiri says she can’t wait to take her vows in the refurbished marriage room.

She believes the civil marriage is as good as any other and says more and more Kenyans are opting for it because of its convenience.

"Some form of weddings demand so much and at the end of it you end up stressed," she said.

The Deputy Registrar of marriages Ms Wanjiku Mutaaru says there has been a marked increase of people opting for civil marriages.

"Our statistics show an increased number of people coming for civil marriages to solemnise their unions."

As a result of large numbers, Mutaaru says, revenue has increased and in the current financial year, they have so far raked in more than Sh10m from marriage services. She expects the revenue to increase even further with the refurbished room.