No kiss as wedding takes 30 minutes, costs only Sh20, 000 (PHOTOS)
When Kennedy Mureithi and his better half Pauline Waithera commenced their wedding plans in August 2019, they had envisioned a magnificent ceremony that will forever be etched in their love history books.
They had prearranged to invite tens of guests, be ferried to church in flamboyant vehicles, hold the splendid ceremony and feed attendees with the best food ever among other major plans as they sought to keep the memories of the day they would exchange vows.
Contrary to earlier plans, their wedding that happened at ACK St Andrews Church in Thika, Kiambu County on Monday was attended by less than fifteen people and took less than thirty minutes to complete.
Empty sits across all rows in the entire church painted a picture of none-attendance despite the mega church having the capacity of accommodating more than 1,000 worshippers.
Among those present were four members of the clergy (two male and two females), both parents of the bride and representative parents of the groom, a handful of other family members and friends who were ferried in five low-end vehicles.
Parents of the bride missed the ceremony as they were unable to get a permit allowing them to travel to Thika which is part of the Nairobi Metropolitan area currently under a 21-day lockdown.
They, among other friends followed the wedding proceedings that were televised on Facebook and other social media platforms.
Even the present attendees were put under strict guidelines and were required to stay a distance from each other, be in face masks and sanitize before they got into the church.
In the confusion precipitated by the dawn of Covid-19, the unusual wedding lacked the common dramatic flair that is witnessed in most wedding ceremonies.
Donning face masks, the bride and her groom interestingly sat a considerable distance from each other.
The event that started at around 9:30 am had been completed by 10:00am with the couple having signed all the requisite certificates, taken the marriage vows and preaching done.
The two unfortunately did not kiss as expected by the attendees.
According to Mureithi, change of wedding plans happened about three weeks ago when the adverse effects of Covid-19 started being felt in the country.
Mureithi however said that they could not postpone the wedding as doing so was equivalent to breaking their covenant with their maker.
“There is no way we could have postponed the ceremony as that could have left us at war with God. We could not break our covenant with God,” he told journalists after the ceremony.
On her part, Waithera who termed the ceremony as ‘the best ever and unique’ said they will not be moving for honey moon as it will put them at the centre of bad blood with the directives issued by the Ministry of Health.
“This was the best wedding. I feel my desire fulfilled and I could not expect more. We will not be going for honey moon as that is currently against the directives issued by the government. We will proceed to our respective home,” she said.
Unlike in other weddings, the two only had lunch with their best couple in an in-house arrangement as plans to have a reception were thwarted by the current Coronavirus situation.
The two said that though they envisioned receiving gifts from friends, their true friends have been supporting their marriage endeavor by sending them money on their respective phones.
The only gift they received is from the ACK church which was presented by one member of the clergy.
Mureithi revealed that the wedding cost them less than Sh 20,000 for the lunch, certificate and other church logistics.
Peter Kamau Mwangi, the representative father of the groom who also happens to be a reverend said that the wedding met the normal weddings threshold and urged potential couples to consider minimizing their budgets to avoid running such ceremonies with debts.
“A wedding is not the number of attendants, expensive vehicles or the food taken. A wedding is all about the exchange of vows and any additional event is only meant to colour the ceremony. I want the young generation to note this and avoid loans while intending to marry,” he said.
