We chose the greens of Kericho for our wedding day

BRIDE: Susan Mwende

GROOM: Ronald Kemoi

DATE: December 10, 2016

GUESTS: 800

CEREMONY: Africa Inland Church, Kericho Town

RECEPTION: Exotic House, Kericho

PHOTO SHOOT: Chagaik Arboretum, Kericho

BUDGET: Sh1m

FIRST MEETING

SUSAN: I had just been offered admission at the Jomo Kenyatta University of Agriculture and Technology (JKUAT) way back in 2008. We used to be allocated rooms in the varsity and it happened that one of my roommates was a Kalenjin (Ronald’s tribe by birth).

Ronald and my roommate’s elder sister were close friends, and so they used to come visiting her together. And that is where the chemistry began. Slowly by slowly, we became friends, got to know more about each other and the rest followed.

FIRST DATE

RONALD: It was an awesome date. We took an evening walk just within the college premises. I poured my heart out to her and prayed she would accept to be mine. By the time we parted ways, I knew she was in for it. Susan is just a lovable person. She is a charismatic individual, a big-hearted person and very beautiful woman.

SUSAN: Ronald is tall, dark and handsome. He is caring, a very understanding person and he loves me genuinely. With him, I never get bored because he always makes me happy. His character too is adorable. Above all, his way of doing things and making decisions is slow but sure, something that I love.

THE PROPOSAL

SUSAN: Ronald is a funny guy but doesn’t like a lot of publicity; he always used to tell me that his proposal shall be right there in his house, and when the day came, he did exactly that, but tried to pull a surprise. He invited me over to his house and I thought to myself that it was just any other normal visit. Little did I know what he had planned. As we carried on with our conversation over drinks and meals he had prepared, he popped the big question. And I just couldn’t say NO!

THE DRAMA

RONALD: At some point we had to postpone the wedding at the primary stages of planning. We saw God’s favour during the planning period, though we got a big let down from some service providers (tents and decor) on the material day.

SUSAN: Planning was quite difficult for me since I was working from Nairobi but a bit easier because Ronald was working on it from Kericho. My greatest disappointment on the actual day was the decoration of the reception and bridal cars.

Since I was planning from Nairobi, I actually made sure we went on the ground with the decoration lady and laid out the plan so well. She even did a beautiful demonstration during our pre-wedding; she knew that I like things perfect and I think that’s why she did her best but come the actual day, I was disappointed. The décor was a big mess, pathetic. I even wept and couldn’t even enjoy my lunch.

The person who was supposed to deliver the tents and chairs never did it as we had planned. But I still felt like if the decoration lady did her job well at least it could have covered the mess.

MEMORABLE MOMENTS

RONALD AND SUSAN: We had a lot of fun. We had a high-spirited bridal team that lightened up the wedding and most of thedetails fell in place save for a few disappointments that dimmed the glam. But we thank God for everything.

The church service was wonderful; it actually rained immediately after we exchanged our vows. Our DJ and MC matched perfectly well and this was a big plus for our reception after the big decor disappointment. Our friends graced the occasion, some of whom had to travel the day before and stayed with us up to the next day after the wedding.

SUSAN: That very moment just after exchanging our vows, prayers from pastors and pastor ladies, something did hit me so hard and reality checked in. Ronald and I were finally married and starting a new journey together! In the reception, the dances with my bridal party are something worth being one of my most memorable moments.

ADVICE

SUSAN: First and foremost, pray so hard that God will be in your plans. The devil is usually at work so strongly and without prayers, you can easily give up. Please do what pleases you and your spouse. Be bold in your decisions. Have a great plan about how and where to acquire your wedding finances from. Don’t just use service providers whom you have no much information about or rather done a background check about their work several times. Finally, your bridal team determines your wedding, choose wisely!

RONALD: Never rush things up; God always has a perfect timing to everything. God’s time is the perfect time. Base your relationship on true friendship, it never fails.

WORDS: Ivy Wamalwa

PHOTOS: Wilberforce Okwiri