Garden Weddings

The weather in Nairobi was awesome until last week. It's the unpredictable rainy season that has taken over. The extreme heat though not the best for ones health, has been ideal for garden wedding. Ask any bride or anyone attending a wedding or outdoor event in Nairobi and the majority would rather the sun anytime than a cold, drizzly, cloudy or worse yet heavy rains for outdoor events. Despite the weather or season garden weddings are not about to loose popularity in Nairobi anytime soon.

Which brings me to today's discussion: Garden Weddings. A lot has been said about them I would not like to copy and paste the information on today's blog. However I want to consider something that attracts me to them. Lush gardens. There are grounds that are well taken care of  that you just want to stare at them and not cover them with tents during your wedding.Then, there are those with dry grass that isn't attractive but still great for a rustic look.

As unpredictable as the weather is, there is need for plan B  when it comes to your garden wedding. The tricky bit is that October to December have always been a high wedding season in Nairobi, so it would be hard to have another venue or an indoor specifically available due to high bookings. So instead of looking for an alternative indoor venue how about working with your selected garden wedding?

Its a norm for many people in Nairobi to hire many tents for the ground which include: one for the bride, three for the wedding guests, one for the cake, gift and food tents. These are normally many tents and most of the time the arrangement is usually a standard one not allowing much room for creativity. The verdict? It's about time marquee tent made a come back this season. The main reason is that most of the garden wedding venues don't have an option for indoor events.

When working with a marquee tent, you can leave the walls open to allow as much natural lights as possible and only close it if it starts raining. The advantage of it is that the guests are protected from the rains. Another thing about a marquee tent is that it gives you option to set up the place as best as it suits your taste.  The space in the tent is usually big enough to allow a huge dance floor and one need not worry on how to get everything under the tent. So go on, have a stress free wedding day.

To say "I DO"

Some 7 months have passed since I wrote anything on this blog. It wasn't out of writer's block, lack of time or any excuse that one can think of. I just took a break to recollect my thoughts and ideas. I love working in the wedding and events industry and despite the challenges I have seen in it, I look forward to a lot of adjustments with time . I believe I have gotten better by learning from the best so far.

My article today is inspired by a song with a similar title by James Onohan. Quite a lovely song for walking down the aisle. With many acceptable ways of doing so in Kenya becoming acceptable and people no longer raising an eyebrow on how the couple chooses to do their vows. I will consider 3 that a majority of weddings fall into:

 Civil Ceremony

It might actually look cheap but the Civil ceremony is getting popular for various reasons. One being that some cannot afford a huge wedding and this allows them to cut costs on expenses associated with their big day. This to some saves them the hustle of dealing with the bridal team, booking a religious ceremony and meeting the legal requirements for using the venue. Not forgetting cutting the costs of decorating the venue. Later on they gather for a ceremony at a private venue for a few guests wich can be in a hotel, or restaurant, private home or any other preferred/ desired destination.

Aonther reason why some choose a civil ceremony is that they want to spend alot on their honeymoon. They may select a destination that they require; do a small ceremony for those closest to them or surprisingly none at all. Then spend the money on honeymoon. Those who choose to this are mostly lovers of travelling and want to have enough cash as possible to travel to one or more destinations at the same time.

Religious ceremony

A big majority of Kenyans get married in a religious Institution. This can be in a church, mosque, temple or any other available in the country. All of this religious institutions have varied rules and regulations that have to be met . A few are:

1. An extra deposit to be paid that is not refunded if the couple are late in starting their ceremony.
2. No petals to be used on the aisle.
3. The couple must leave the venue as clean as they found it.
4. Some only allowing their members to marry in the venue or requiring one to convert before being allowed to marry at the venue.

Whatever the restrictions available, its normally important to know all of them before the couple commit and pay for the venue, to avoid embarrasing situations where a vendor is stopped from bringing in what's already paid for as it's not accepted at the venue.

Garden ceremony

One way many end up saving on wedding costs is to have everything done in one place. One thing Nairobi is not short of is venues that can allow you to do both your ceremony and reception as one packaged venue. This saves on the time spend on travelling from one venue to the next. Most of these always have lovely gardens that the bridal team along with their team can enjoy photo shoots. It's always good to make sure the venue has enough packing for your cars and guests incase they usually allow more than one wedding on the same day and that the security is excellent for you.

Ready for an emergency?

Driving into town on Langata road and also Uhuru highway there have been for a while billboards advertising Amref flying doctors with one message reading; If your son falls from a tree who would you call? and what would you do if your wife gets into premature labor?. The words are not a direct quote but show the importance of their doctors (Amref) when emergency strikes,that is it shows that they are always ready for you.

So are you ready for a wedding emergency? I have in the past tackled the ones that have had to do with vendors but today I thought I look at one that is essential also. Personal disasters. 

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What do you need? A first aid kit. A quotation I got from firstaidlongs.com states "Doctors recommends us to have a first aid kit or medical kits. A first aid kit is a collection of supplies and equipment for use in giving first aid. First aid kits may be made up of different contents dependant on purpose. Common contents include items to help stop bleeding, performing CPR, and may contain some medicines."

Why do you need it? Well alot of disasters happen that get many unprepared: a bride who has picked up weight and  the wedding dress gets torn, its too late in the day to get a tailor and she needs to be sewn in it. Therefore a thread and needle will be a welcome addition to the kit. Wearing shoes for the first time blisters might result and a bandage would come in handy. Sprained foot? The list continues.....

As one prepares the kit individualising on whats needed for the day, remember to prepare who to be in charge of it, so that when an accident strikes, it comes in handy to save the situation and contribute to a fun filled wedding day....

"The Quotation Collector" Bride

The past year has had its fair share of challenges for me. I haven't been able to blog for more than six months despite my desire to do so. The economy in the country hasn't been the best and its been reflected so much on how couples are not willing to spend much on their wedding. But thanks to crafterminds on twitter, my zeal for blogging has been renewed and my need to complete my unfinished articles is greater now than it was a while back.

I thought I talk about a particular bride that continues to fascinate me until now. Well, I mentioned earlier on that the economy hasn't been at its best for a while and many couples have tighter budgets to work with but this particular bride gets my attention. I would like to refer to her as "the quotation collector" bride. Why so? She will go from vendor to vendor asking for a quotation price for her wedding. In order to get as many as possible she will always involve many individuals in her committee to help her do so. Her interest isn't in quality or reputation of the firm she chooses (whether they are known to deliver good services or not), but as the saying goes "may the best man win" or should it be the cheapest?

Why she fascinates me? A majority of them have the best ideas for their wedding and quite creative I must say. "The Quotation Collector" Bride always wants the best of it all but 80% of the ones I know have had to change their wedding vision completely or partially due to the fact the cheaper option would not necessarily respect it. This being February, I look forward to working with all sorts of bride for the year, but one I hope to be cautious around; "The Quotation Collector" bride, I hope to make some of them see a good wedding theme calls for good services from vendors which might not necessarily be the cheapest in the market. Let's see if I rise to the challenge better this year.....

Lessons from the royal wedding

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Its been at least ten days since the Royal wedding, viewed by many as the wedding of the century. Most brides keep their guests and the groom waiting at the alter but that wasn't the case with Kate Middleton. I will use the point that brides can be fashionably late as an excuse to my article that's late in its being published. When all is said, am interested in reviewing a few lessons I got from the Royal wedding.

It was an all white wedding. What I actually liked about that I have for the longest time tried to convince any of my bride to do that and now that Kate pulled it off, I might be looking at a first for me soon. Now, all that's left is a bride to convince on that direction.

The Ivory gown she wore that had long sleeves with flowing lace was lovely. Quite modest considering it was a Royal affair. A good idea for a bride to keep in mind when selecting a gown, its important to keep the guest list in mind, and though the maid of honor wore an ivory dress the attention still remained on the bride.

The wedding was a family affair. Kate's sister as the maid of honor, her father not only walked her down the aisle but stood by her before the vows, her brother doing the bible reading during the ceremony and she did her own makeup. The lessons here are:not necessarily a long bridal trail is the best and its good to involve family members during one's big day. It can help cement the relationship with them and doing your own make up can also be a good thing besides saving you on some cash. She wanted the groom to recognize her. The verdict you still look yourself as your make up application is based on your daily look.

Finally, two things I liked when Kate came in a Limo and left in a horse carriage; and her female guests adorned in hats. The former was an excellent choice to arrive in I've seen a lot of brides arrive late to the ceremony when a carriage is used when the distance from her departure point and the ceremony is far. As for the guest wearing hats, I saw fashionable hats nice ones and some worth being on the runway only. What's left is seeing how some of the trends she set will play out this year.

Gifting in weddings

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When most guests are invited to a wedding, its traditional or even polite to carry a gift along. The african weddings are just the best when it comes to this. Sometimes the individuals are starting out in life and both have never lived alone. Guest can gift them from beds, seats, kitchenware or anything they deam necessary to start out in life. Six years ago, a friend got married and his friends came together to gift him what was necessary to start life especially the big items. Each individually decided what was they would gift and that avoided duplication of items.

More individuals marrying or getting married in Nairobi have on most times lived alone and probabaly have the basics in life. At their weddings in Nairobi, couples opt for wedding gift registries which are available at supermarkets like nakumatt and also inara and many more others where the couple could select what to be gifted by their guests. When the items are reasonably priced then they could be sure of receiving alot of gifts indicated by them.

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Others choose to be gifted in "kind", which is usually cash. Two years ago, I planned a wedding for this couple that I really liked. They didnt follow the budget we agreed on and somewhere along the way as the planner, I couldn't be paid money owed immediately except for the deposit paid by them as they ran out of cash. We entered into an agreement for the payment to be cleared later. Since they were a wonderful couple they called and cleared the balance the next day. What made it possible for this to be achieved? They were gifted in cash.

Nairobi is slowly loosing the value of gifting the couple during the wedding. Most people are invited and they invite their own friends which is impolite to do so. Gifting the couple is a way to say thank you for the invitation to their day. It also shows gratitude to them.

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Another kind of gifting comes into mind. The economy isnt any better in Nairobi. Most brides are looking for the wow factor in their weddings but cannot afford due to the budget involved. This brings to mind gifting by vendors to their clients. Some have done the whole event or partial one as a gift. Why is this sometimes necessary? Well, its more of our Corporate Social Responsiblity. Its far fetched  to compare the two but am sure the point is clear. I remember last year where the bride had wonderful colors but a tight budget and it meant i had to gift her some things to achieve the theme I was working with. Its impossible to gift something to all your clients but some based on their situations and circumstances are worth it.

Finally being a christian, I will stick to the bible principle that "there is more happiness in giving than receiving". So gift a couple as a vendor or guest believe me it makes you happy.

Wedding Referrals

Its been close to three months since I penned anything on this blog. Am back now, driven by an urge to talk about something that is good about the wedding industry in Nairobi. Since there is alot of television shows and magazines locally that offer advice to brides and would-be brides, it has in a large way made weddings managable to many not only being armed by what to do but what to look out for the pitfalls to planning a wedding and how to ensure success of an event.

I have been working for myself for the past five years that I have almost forgotten what job application is all about. One thing I remember though is below the curriculum vitae (read resume if you prefer), is the need to mention referrences. Most organisations in Nairobi ask for two or three individuals who can refer you being not related to you directly.

When I finished college, many were stranded being its their first job application, so they would settle for a high school teacher, college lecturer and a third if asked-whoever fits the bill even though sometimes this havent seen them work, and their suitability to the applied position. A newspaper article I read a while back mentioned the need to let your would be referral know you will be using them- which is a polite way of doing so incase they decline to oblige and let them know what job you are applying to.

Back to the wedding industry, more brides are asking for referrals, which is a good thing. What amazed me is a bride who asked me for referrals as her first question. She hadn't seen my work nor spdiscussed anything with me, she got my contact form someone and her first question was: I hear you work in the wedding industry, do you have referrals?
Even by then I had no clue her wedding date or what she wanted from me and whether we could work along.

In job referrals, the article I read mentioned that many in Nairobi lied about their referrals and since most companies don't take time to call them up, they get a job they are not qualified and when a mess, theft or some other damage occurs that involves them, well even calling up the referrals might prove a shocker for what one would find out.

Its a good thing having wedding referrals but just a list of names, what assures you its not the wedding the vendor was a guest to, partof the planning committee or a family member or friend. The verdict: Do your homework well incase you have to work with referrals.

Then again, many wedding vendors have sites that not only include wedding shots of events that they have done but names of the individuals they have worked with. In this case, calling the referral helps you to put a face to the person and ask the relevant questions. What do you think?