The modern bridesmaids

I was going through google trying to figure out what it means to be a bridesmaids  in images. I remember  watching a real wedding  on reality tv last year where two bridesmaids  didnt get along and it was stressful  to the bride. She had her planning  challenges  to deal with for her big day and the fact that two people  in her line  up just didn't like each other. One was her childhood  friend and the other was the one who introduced her to the groom. In the end she chose her mother for her best maid and the two just learned to get along  before her big day.

It might be the bride's day but having girls she can get along with is really important  for her own  peace of mind. I  am in a local facebook group where one  of the bridesmaids  felt the bride was indecisive on designs, color and cut of their dresses. She felt she had enough  of this and decided  in social media to declare  she'll  wear her choice for the day and not the bride's.  The response  she got from the comments section  was clear enough that many  believe its the brides decision  that should rule the day.

That made me realise that its important  to be good friends with the bride to be on her line up. You always  want the best for a friend and probably  you can encourage  her ideas and corporate  with them. The  planning  process is fun for the bride when she has the support  of her bridesmaids.  Imagine wanting to do spar treatment with her maids and even relaxing by the pool, might be all she needs to do with her girls to continue  enjoying  the planning  process.

More brides want something  different  for their big day. Whether she decides she wants her maids to have personalized  robes  that identify  her from the maids or even t-shirts, caps, bridesmaids  to wear tailored  ankara dresses, the  traditional  bridesmaids  dresses  or even suits to  her line up. These looks mean alot to a bride. When communicated well in advance, she can have happy girls at her line up. In the past when you were selected  to be a bridesmaids,  all you needed to do was get your measurement for dress taken pay up for the dress, shoes and make up and then wait for the big day and be done with  the event.  The  modern  bridesmaids, alot falls in  your plate. Next time we'll  continue  from there.

ps: the pics were all from google. I dont own any of them.

Real Wedding: Saturday, 24th March 2018

I have been MIA from blogging and the wedding industry for quite awhile. I love the industry. Been here for 10 years already running this business. At the 11th year the question is way forward....I'll know about that this next 6 months. What drastic changes to make and how to move ahead. For now, I'm still here.

This is my favorite bride this year. Talk about the perfect DIY bride and you have her in mind. Frankly, until this year, I thought it wasn't the right way for a bride to go but she changed my perception.

   

Most of the planning took place via whatsapp as she wasn't in the country by then. She was organized and fun to work with. Right down to the smallest detail, she had everything she wanted. Bought most of the things she needed and brought them to the country. By the time we met, my work was way beyond easy. 

Then came the evening of the wedding day, I joined the bride and her guests for set up for the reception. Its good to have reliable friends like she did who just help the event be such a success. Always lovely to work with a pleasant group of individuals.

For her guest tables besides the unique table set up, the names of guests were on each seat. It was a lovely idea as it actually puts on the spot anyone who comes to crush the wedding. Cities names were on each table to direct guests to the table that they would be sitting on. This represented the couples traveled to cities. When all details are in order, everything has a smooth finish right?

Sometimes despite our best intentions, certain things don't go as you had planned or even where many people are involved there is bound to be disagreements. But all in all, this was my best bride this year so far, very organised, easy going, reliable and an awesome planner herself.

The photographer of the day was Willy Muturi, most of this pictures were captured by him and am glad for his permission to use them. More about him can be found on his site below:

https://willymuturi.co.ke/

https://www.facebook.com/willymuturiphotography/

Best Wedding Facebook page/group of the year

 

I'm still on the Kenya wedding awards coming up. I must admit articles on this topic have dragged longer than I  would have wanted. I would like to apologize for that. Back to my topic. Almost every wedding vendor in Nairobi today has a Facebook business page. I love the idea since I remember in 2008, I had to meet a client with photo albums for them to go through and take time thinking about whether they want to work with me or not. There was a problem in the past with pictures being stolen by dishonest clients who would rather have a cheaper vendor do the wedding for them. It was sad that they had to use your ideas for this.

Printing out photos to keep in your album that serves as your portfolio made  the cost of running the business extremely high. There was also a chance to loose or damage your portfolio as you moved around with it. If you had a premises, clients could come and still view your work. A few similar challenges still existed with this and there was no guarantee they'd work with you. There were websites but few people would be bothered to look through them at your work, let alone contact you. I might be sounding off as negative but believe me, despite all this challenges, there were inquires that actually converted to good business.

Then entered social media. More so Facebook business pages and even groups. They must have slowly gained popularity as its cheaper to reach masses than TV or even written media or wedding magazines can today. With the costs of buying internet bundles for the phone down and even internet access whether free access on public places or paid WIFI at home being affordable, it has become necessary to be online to find clients. Because of Online presence I must say, its the second source of clients for me after referrals.

images used from pexels.com

When I started having a Facebook page, I was in the school of thought that I needed numbers to grow my business and I felt bad when friends I invited to the page chose not to follow it. Now, I use it differently and am glad for the shift that I made. While numbers with real people who are potential clients or can help spread the word that you exist to their friends and others is a good idea: on its own, it doesn't mean more business for you. Having a Facebook page that people can turn to for ideas and also buy from you and actually engage you in communication, is a lot of work than I actually thought it would ever be.

How will the best Wedding Facebook page be determined? Will it be number of followers, how much is posted, popularity? I would love to know who takes this award. As for the group of the year, I already have one in mind. I'm biased on this. Wedding groups help you know other vendors too. They are a good source of business to business relationships. Its a win-win when it comes to that direction. On the flip side, a client looking for a vendor has to contend with alot of offers than they can handle. It takes time to find out the best fit for that individual. It on the other hand, saves time that you have to meet up with people who are not yet sure whether they want to work with you or not. My emphasis is on this issue as Ive had  my time wasted in the past. If it were up to me, it would be nice if the organizers split up the award of the Facebook page and group. They sometimes serve different needs.

Wedding Tent

Pic: The Nitty Gritty Ltd

As I continue to look forward to kenya weddings awards, my articles this month will be based on my favorite subcategories. Today, I'll borrow yet from one of the ones I highlighted last week. It was item number 4 on my list: Wedding Tent providers of the year.

For many years, garden weddings/ outdoor events has always meant hiring tents. It didn't matter to many how they looked like as long as they were pitched and used by their guests. Sometimes they were in deplorable conditions. In time, the white tents became what every client wanted. Since about 2006, many clients would ask for high peak tents. The previous types used for weddings now become what was used for funerals, and other social events.

High peak tents remained trendy for so long that when stretch tents came in, only a few weddings were interested in them. This was probably due to the high cost of hiring them.

Before stretch tents, the Dome tents already hit the market. Some looked at them as opportunities to hire a massive hall at affordable prices. It was more like bringing the outdoors, in. The good thing was that you could find a Dome tent that could handle all the way to 1,000 guests easily than could you find a venue indoors that could do the same.

With time, it has meant that any client is spoiled for choice. Whether they are interested in high peak, Dome, stretch,cheese or any other type of tent available in the kenyan market that I've not considered. Your budget and preference is only what can limit what you get.

Other factors can also come into play when selecting the right tent to hire for a wedding. The weather is something we really can't ignore as rains can dampen the outlook of a good outdoor wedding. That said, I can't wait to see who gets the award for the  Best Wedding Tent Providers of the year.

Kenya Weddings Awards

It's March already. The year is moving at a fast pace. I'm also glad to hear someone is organizing kenya weddings awards,  it will be a first I've seen and heard locally. Many categories are available to be nominated in. A few however, stood out for me:

1. Wedding vendor of the year.
2. Flower and Decor stylist of the year.
3. Wedding Planner of the year.
4. Wedding Tent providers of the year.
5. Best wedding Facebook page/group of the year.
6. Wedding of the year- A collective Award.

The first 5 caught my attention because they touched on services that I offer. That kind of recognition would in some cases bring more clients your way (a vendor's hope.) I would like to consider submitting for some of them (or all based on what's required.) The 6th one on my list however, got me thinking. It's not a category I'm disputing about. It's how it would be interpreted that mostly interests me. 

What would constitute a wedding of the year? Is it a famous person or family wedding? Could the creativity that goes into it make it a wedding of the year despite low or high budget used for the event? Last year, there was a couple in Nairobi who spend about way less than a ksh 1,000/= and caught the attention of event organisers who gave them a lavish ceremony that was valued at more than ksh. 3 million. Would it qualify as a wedding of the year? It might to some because the couple were focused on the marriage instead of their financial situation. To others, the fact that the wedding industry rallied behind them might qualify them too. I actually thought that one wedding would stand out to me as I started my wedding business 10 years ago, but how wrong I was in thinking that way has only been proved by the passage of time. Each wedding is unique in its own way. You get to work with different people with differing personalities. Some are easy going than others but there is always something to love or learn about doing an event for someone.

What would end up being a wedding of the year locally? I'll let the judges decide for themselves. Which reminds me, let me deviate abit from local weddings of the year and focus on the Royal wedding coming up in UK in May 2018. Meghan and Prince Harry's wedding are no doubt going to draw attention worldwide. A comparison to the Duke of Cambridge's wedding will also be inevitable. Sometimes, Royal weddings like that, end up setting standards of what's in for the wedding industry for the rest of the year.

For now, shall I safely say, that every bride married this year has the right to believe that she just had the wedding of the year? It's her day and she deserves to be over the moon.