Celebrity Nuptials

Celebrity nuptials, like the colours of the rainbow, come in all shades. Some are bright and others are mellow, but the importance of the day to the soulmates is never lost. While some people opt for a small simple affair, others leave no flair, write CRYSTAL OKUSA and TONY MOCHAMAA lot of hearts were broken; dreams crushed and curse words thrown around the city by lots of young (and not so young) women when a well-built, handsome and eloquent investigative TV reporter said, "I do" to one woman recently.John-Allan Namu professed his love, and ‘made a decent woman’ out of one Sheena Makena at St Benedict Church, Tigoni, last Friday, on a cloudy afternoon, in the presence of a few family members, and close friends. The hushed wedding plans came as a surprise to many who had bet on the ‘life span’ of the relationship.Newly weds John Allan Namu and Sheena MakenaEarly last year, rumour mills spun dark tales about the relationship. When you are in the limelight it comes with the territory. The relationship however, took a positive turn publicly when in his acceptance speech of the CNN Journalist Award; Namu dedicated the special moment to his newly born son and his partner. Accusations had earlier flown that Namu broke the heart of his long term Ugandan flame, by taking a shine to Sheena.SIMPLICITYThe dignified Catholic ceremony where Namu defied all expectations was captured by very simple deco at the church. Hanging balls of white and pink roses were used to decorate both sides of the church, separated by the aisle that the pink dress adorned bride would be ushered through. A bride, as has been custom, is expected to wear a white gown during her wedding, but Sheena’s case was different, as she was bearing a rather big pregnancy of their second child, and therefore wearing white would be ‘abusing’ the purity of the gown. She opted for pink. Nonetheless, Sheena had a breathtaking sheen about her, complementing her make-up with her gown.The ceremony was scheduled to start at 1.30pm, but began rather late, but being a church service, nothing could be rushed. The priest took his sweet time advising the couple, as their immediate family members read them words of wisdom at the altar from the great book. A wedding without highlights that sends the congregation into bubbles of mirth is considered a dull affair. Sheena and Namu must have known that, as they gave their guests a commercial break from the all too serious church service. One cannot be blamed for confusing it for a botched rehearsal, as both lovebirds could not quite make out how to recite the holy trinity, whilst placing the rings. Men are poor at multi-tasking. Makena giggled, then had her own ‘oops’ moment as she placed the gold ring on the wrong finger. CHURCH SERVICEShe discovered this upon saying the "amen," forcing her to start the marriage vows all over, again. The couple eventually got their vows right, and it was time for altar gifts as is custom with the Catholic Church. To confirm the matrimony farther, the couple partook the Holy sacrament together, as the most sacred of bounds. Cars hit the road in a single file stretch, a sign that the church ceremony had indeed come to a close, and it was now time to indulge in the baskets of goodies that come with attending a wedding reception.The venue that welcomed us on arriving at the Limuru Golf Club grounds was clear indication that simplicity was, indeed, not the solo theme of the wedding. Lately, popular personalities have been having invites only weddings to keep gate-crashers away. Namu’s wedding was proof that this exclusivity is still taken very seriously, as the guest list was aligned in alphabetical order. If one’s name did not appear on it, the stunning girl-ushers at the door would politely tell one: "We are sorry your name is not on the guest list, and this is an ‘invites only’ wedding." Thankfully, Limuru is not a very accessible place for the groupies; hence this cold scene was not put into play.RUGBY FLAIRBeing a die-hard rugby player, the wedding had rugby affair flair to it. From Namu’s groomsmen to the chaps in the audience, one could easily spot the guys you usually see only on rugby pitches. The MC of the day, Juma Odemba, was just right for the wedding. In the chilly weather of Limuru, the MC did not have mercy on the ladies who had spruced themselves up in their light material minis. Odemba sent them out into the biting cold to go dance and welcome the bride. As their high heels sank into the wet ground, folks had a merry laugh! The MC’s favourite punchline was accusing the unmarried damsels of envying Sheena’s catch! Ululations rent the air as the newly-weds finally arrived for the reception. Dancing to traditional folk songs, the couple was on the front line, sharing the excitement of going against all odds. Makena was too happy to worry about dancing in her condition; she gave her husband a chini kwa chini competition.Contrary to the rumour mills, the couple did not meet at their place of work, before Namu jumped ship. The couple had known each other for over a decade, and the friendship, just like wine, had flourished over time. Rumours"People never knew the real story behind his relationships, so the rumours (that Sheena snatched John from his long term Uganda-based chick) were not entirely factual. I have known him for a long time and I can attest that she is good for him. They were good friends who got into a ‘dose’ and found they were soul-mates!" said a close friend of the groom.The Namu-Sheena wedding affair last Friday was a mixture of the simple (church) and the grand (reception). Most celebrities opt to go for one, or the other. Let us now turn the wedding album back into the past, and examine the contrasting wedding trends.The simplest wedding in our annals seems to have been that of Nazizi. Apparently, the couple decided on it one Sunday morning, and by Friday the lovers were at the Jamia Mosque, bila mos mos.Nazizi’s wedding was also the best-kept secret in town. But that’s no fun, and when the media failed to out the union, the showbiz cat herself spilled the beans.Vipul ‘Dawgy Dogg’ as he is called is a big boy, who however chose to have a small wedding. Best known for his love of Liverpool (and big pizza), Vipul got hitched outside the limelight.Decimal Records Producer Eric Musyoka is also another fellow who slipped quietly away to get married to his beloved. Looks like that notorious Nonini line in Keroro asking Musyoka to "chomoa verse ya mwisho" translated into the man unleashing wedding vows.CZAR NUPTIALSJohn Githongo, the worldwide known whistleblower on the phantom swindlers of Anglo-Leasing, also had a small weddo in Wundanyi. His bride was thespian Dr Mshai Mwangola.For Maqbul Mohammed, it was business as usual when the "he bull" decided to stop drinking the cow milk for free. With little ado, he organised a quiet weddo – and continued his multi-faceted life of Radio, acting and emceeing, with a wife now at home.Christ said blessed are the humble, and for the gospel-man, DJ Krowbar of Pilsner mix fame, he got into the mix of the wedding game with very little fuss, as he made a lady his missus at Nairobi Pentecostal Church in Karen.KJ, the comedian-turned-politician, was only going to have fun if his wedding was a big affair, though. And at Safari Park hotel some years ago, the jokes and laughter filled the air, as the lovebirds became one in front of a full house of local celebrities.Ditto the wedding of one Marcus Kwikiriza and Somoina Kimojino of whom some say have had a few bumps in the union. Carol Radull’s may be the first local celeb wedding whose shared bond (with her husband, Mike) was a love of the beautiful game – to be specific, football, to be particular Gor and Arsenal! They had a beautiful wedding down at the Coast, and divorce can only happen, it seems, if one defected from Arsenal, and the other swore undying love to "Ingwe."PRINCELYPrezzo, even though there are rumours that his is ‘on the rocks’ (and we’re not talking Scotch here!) had a very grand wedding to a lady called Daisy Kiplagat in Karen a couple of years ago.Out came all the bling – convoy of serious automobiles, the bride on a horse carriage, the works. A pimped wedding! Wyre, too, had a high-flying wedding to an air stewardess called Hanifa, and so far, it’s said, so good.But the nastiest break-up of the year must have been that of Nasty Thomas from his highflying wife, after he was busted in bed with her best friend. plush weddingIt doesn’t help that they had had a plush wedding, after which he quit music – an epiphany he got while on honeymoon in Dubai.And count on Abbas, our hip-hop maestro, to give us all the comedy marriage. The guy had two weddings, a ‘barbie’ one in Karen, then a ‘ghetto’ one at KICC, upon his marriage to some real smoky chick Baby G.But she soon fled from his arms, and was flown out of the country by her folks, as Abbas shrugged: "Gangstas don’t fall in love!"But, five years down the aisle, the wedding of MAMA winners Nameless and Wahu still takes the icing on the celeb wedding cake, for its picturesque splendour yonder at Lake Naivasha Country Club. But as Mr David ‘Kamonski’ Mathenge says: "Weddings are easy, it’s marriage that is the hard kazi."

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