As churches urged followers to cancel mass weddings and adhere to strict regulations stipulated by Health CS Mutahi Kagwe on gatherings and church services, a couple in Nyandarua County stood strong, adhered to the measures and wedded in style.
The ministry on Friday March 13, suspended all public gatherings in the country after Kenya confirmed its first Coronavirus (Covid-19) case (Numbers rose to 110 as at Thursday, April 2). Additional measures were stipulated on March 22, as church services were banned.
However, for weddings, some churches directed members that they would hold a 30-minute ceremony with five attendees only. A move which Francis Gitonga and Veronica Njeri saw better than cancelling their wedding as aired by NTV on Thursday night, April 2.
The wedding which took place on Wednesday, April 1, excited Nyandarua residents, after it was deemed one of the few weddings held under the new laws and the first to be publicised.
Apart from the newly-wedded couple, the ceremony was attended by the best man and best maid and the officiating clergy at Redeemed Gospel Church, Nyahururu.
“At first, we had intended to hold our wedding on the first week of February, but when we approached our pastor at the Nyahururu Redeemed Gospel Church, we were told that another couple had already booked the date. That is when we settled for April 5.
“As it had been a long wait since I proposed to my lover on August 2, 2019, we decided to go on with our plans even after the cancellation of public gatherings by the government last month,"
The duo further detailed how they had to shelve their wedding plans to accommodate the new directive, fearing that they would never be married if the country went on lockdown.
"Though my plans were to give her the dream wedding, we decided to continue with our plans. We feared that the country could go for a total lockdown and thus forcing us to wait for longer," Gitonga stated.
"We were planning for a wedding with about 500 guests, but I was worried when the government announced the coronavirus cases in the country. I knew there was no way the wedding could proceed according to our plans. The best maid had to stay outside the church premises and was only allowed to come in during the signing of the certificates," the bride added, as photos indicated that the attendees adhered to the social distancing directive.
Their wedding ended up being a simple one, as opposed to millions splashed on the ceremony considered a milestone by many love birds.
"Some couples spend up to Sh500,000 in procuring services like outside catering, photography, seats and transport.
"Fortunately or unfortunately, ours was different as we did not spend anything close to that," the bridegroom revelled.
Video: NTV
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