Young couple speaks of highs and lows as they defy Covid-19 odds to wed

Ancent Mutua and his wife Zipporah Mwangi pose for a photo after their wedding. The wedding was conducted at Emmanuel Baptist Church in the absence of parents and friends who were locked out due to partial lockdown in Nairobi. [Photo: Courtesy]

Ancent Musee Mutua, a web designer and his wife Zipporah Wambui Mwangi, an engineering surveyor will never forget Friday, April 10, 2020.  It was a day they achieved their dream amidst clampdown posed by the ban on social gathering to combat the spread of Covid-19 into the country.

Mutua got to Emmanuel Baptist Church, Kinga’ra road in Nairobi dressed in his best suit and properly groomed for the occasion. Zipporah, dressed in her gown was eager for the historic ceremony as she was poised to meet her husband to be despite the difficult circumstances.

The couple had issued an apology to the family members and friends who would be locked out of the venue because of the ban on social gathering and partial lockdown in Nairobi.

They said: “We are stoked to be a wedding today (10th April 2020). Yet sad that we won't get to have you physically witness.  Nonetheless, we look forward to the big celebration once the corona pandemic is over.”

“For now though, we only request you to send us your wishes here. We will be happy to read, and possibly print them as well. Asante sana.”

The couple poses for a photo. [Image: Courtesy]

Mutua and Zipporah, both 25, were determined to formalise their marriage even in an empty church-it called for huge sacrifice.  The couple talked to Standard Digital to provide more insight into their experience. 

1. Congratulations on your wedding Ancent.  Was it a dream come true for you and your wife Zipporah?

Asante sana. Absolutely. It definitely was. It is easy for one to think because of the circumstances surrounding our wedding. It is less of a dream come true but no, our wedding day was absolutely God-honouring and fantastic. We thank God.

2. How did you arrive at a decision of going on with the wedding despite the Covid-19 restrictions which threatened your preparations?

I do not think there is a how we are just grateful that we got to deal with one uncertainty at a time. That is, church gatherings were banned earlier on, so we dealt with the fact that we were no longer going to have a 400-guest wedding. Then Kenyan borders were closed soon after, and we dealt with not having some of our close family and friends come.

Then, the biggest blow came four days to our wedding; that the Nairobi Metropolitan area was being closed, meaning none of our parents would be able to come. My parents live in Kitui while my wife’s parents live in Kajiado. My wife’s brother is in Naivasha while her sister now lives in the States. This literally meant that none of our nuclear family would be able to come.

3. Due to the partial lockdown in Nairobi Metropolitan area, your parents weren’t able to walk you down the aisle, how did that make you feel?

This was for us the most difficult reality. We had gotten over not having our friends, and not having a ‘reception’. But parents and siblings? Never in a million years had we thought we could have a wedding without our parents.

We called our parents, and thankfully, by that time they had already started talking about it amongst themselves, for instance, my parents had already called Zippy’s parents. We wanted to hear their opinions and feelings first and they assured us that we have their blessings, and they would be happy if we went ahead with the wedding. We, of course, thought it through and agreed with them.

It felt unconventional, especially because they have always had our backs and loved us and our relationship. But I think this explains why they were happy to see us tie the knot – even in their absence. Such selfless love!

4. (Question to Zipporah) How did it feel to walk down the aisle with perhaps some friends and family members locked out of the venue?

I wish they were there. It obviously felt a little awkward but the joy of seeing my groom patiently waiting for me at the end of the aisle was an encouraging reminder of God’s patience towards His bride- the church.

While it had always been my dream to walk down the aisle along with my parents, the gospel was my biggest encouragement as I braved my reality. Keeping the most important things important, the very act of walking down the aisle itself was still, very exciting.

5. (Question to Ancent) Did the Covid-19 measures affecting weddings change your budget, if it did, how?

Oh yes! I mean, obviously a smaller wedding meant a smaller budget. Even though we weren’t going for a high-end wedding, and weren’t even excited about the budget cut – purely because it literally meant that we wouldn’t have friends over, the budget reduced significantly.

Oh. And it meant we could serve our guests pizza!!

6. How much would you have used or was planning to use on normal days?

Our initial budget was about Sh430,000. That reduced to about Sh70,000 (Because we still had some décor and photography for keeping memories).

7. If it proved to be cheaper, would you recommend for couples to go the same path on normal days?

We obviously wouldn’t recommend deliberately locking out friends and family, but we would definitely encourage everyone to keep the essentials essential. There is definitely more joy and wisdom in not breaking the bank, or straining your friends with fundraisers just to blow cash in a single day. Yes! Go for a cheap wedding!

8. On the specifics, how was the wedding conducted? Did it involve decorations and marching squad synonymous with regular weddings or it wrapped up after taking vows?

We held a church service, with décor and photography, my wife and I were in full wedding regalia. We only had our best couple in the infamous “bridal party”. She walked down the aisle alone, with her maid of honour a couple of steps behind.

We sang hymns, our officiating pastor preached the gospel then led us in exchanging our vows and rings, sang some more hymns, then danced out and took photos outside.

We then had pizza and danced the afternoon away. We thought we’d wrap up soon after the service, but we literally had much more fun than we had anticipated. We actually left the wedding venue in fear of the curfew catching up with us.

9. What are your plans for the honeymoon, given the restrictions that have paralysed travels?

I had planned for us to travel for our honeymoon but was quick to switch plans up. I booked a hotel within Nairobi but after seeing the spread of the virus, I cancelled the booking because of the risk involved and booked a safer apartment where we are now lounging and having fun at.

(X)  Any regrets, lessons learned or parting shot those planning a wedding as at now?

We have in these times learnt that the way to brave storms is to have something to hang on to, something that is sure and steady. For us that is Christ. He is our sure and steady anchor, and we have seen in recent times that all other ground is sinking sand. We have truly seen that whatever our God ordains is right, He never will deceive us. We are not any less happy now, than we would have been with our 400-guest wedding; even though we are looking forward to hosting a party after the pandemic is over.

To everyone planning a wedding in these uncertain times, you need to truly be on the same team with your spouse. But we can confidently say we’d root for you to GO FOR IT. God is most glorified in us honouring Him in purity and holiness than in hosting the biggest wedding reception money can buy.