Marvin and Bridget Mukalazi tied the knot at St Paul’s Church Namirembe Cathedral on 2nd November. They hosted their guests to a plush wedding bash at Lake Victoria Serena Hotel.
The wedding
It took us about 9 months to plan all our functions (kukyala, introduction and wedding). We had all our functions in the same year. My husband and I already had a vision of the wedding we wanted so we solicited different service providers until we got those that would help us to bring our dream to life.
My mum and mother-in-law were also very helpful in the planning of the functions. Given my busy schedule, my mum helped out a lot with the running up and down especially for the introduction and since she is a perfectionist with good taste I knew I could rely on her for a colorful function. We had 400 guests for the wedding. The reception was at Lake Victoria Serena Hotel.
(God made mothers)
The decor
We had white and gold with a dash of wine red and lots of flowers.
The wow moment
We wanted every part of the wedding to wow the guests (from the church to the reception). We wanted the guests to have a good experience at our wedding, we chose amazing songs in church, the sermon delivered by Bishop Henry Katumba was amazing (Fortunately for us the church was filled to capacity) and then we had a cocktail to usher our guests to the reception which gave them a chance to mix and mingle.
Since we wanted a classy wedding we chose to have Kitanda, Maddox, and DJ Moustey on the entertainment. We didn’t follow the usual protocols. Marvin and I had our first dance immediately we arrived at the reception and we also gave the first speech at the wedding. We wanted to be the ones to welcome our guests to the reception. We had a surprise memory lane from our family members that we too got to watch on the wedding for the first time (this was so emotional).
(Good for you, people hardly attend church)
Challenges ?
Our biggest challenge was in coordinating the dates between the days available at church and the reception venue. We had initially booked to have our wedding on September 28th only to realize that another couple had booked to have their wedding on the same date and time at Namirembe cathedral yet we had already booked the reception venue. We were thus forced to push our wedding to 2nd November which fortunately also doubles as my husband’s birth date.
The other challenge was with unreliable service providers particularly my makeup artist (name withheld). I booked him months earlier with cash only for him to to send me regrets a day to the introduction. This was the hardest part as I had to find another makeup artist at that point yet all the nice ones were booked. He promised me a refund which I haven’t got to date. Fortunately, a friend recommended me to Peter Russel who did a great job after all.
(It’s not a function if none of the service providers brings some drama)
Did you attend any wedding shows?
We didn’t attend any wedding shows since we already knew what we wanted.
The wardrobe
Wearing a Cinderella gown with a long trail was my child hood dream. I shared my dream gown picture with my husband and to my surprise he had the actual gown custom made for me from China with the help of his mum and brother.
The gown was delivered about 3 weeks to the wedding but surprisingly I didn’t try on any other gowns but mine. I patiently waited for it and it was worth the wait. I also don’t like bling so I went for minimal but rich stones on the gown
(It’s a very lovely gown)
The groom and best man had their white jacket tuxedo suits custom made from Turkey through Malachi wear and Wine tuxedo suits for the groom’s men to match the bridesmaids. The groom’s men were also dressed by Malachi Wear.
(You guys looked dapper!)
The cake
What’s the one thing you would change about this wedding if you had to do it all over again?
The guest list. We had to restrict numbers so we strictly invited according to the planned 400 guests leaving out a number of people we would have wanted to attend the wedding. Unfortunately, people don’t have the culture of sending regrets even when they are sure that they won’t attend. We ended up having fewer guests than expected.
Beauty
My makeup was done by Fayth presh and hair done by Victor (Am her stylist). The whole entourage dressed up from Urban by City Blue Hotel in Nakasero.
The groom and groomsmen had their haircuts done at Sparkles Salon Acacia Mall and dressed up from Urban by city Blue Hotel too.
Wedding nerves?
I spent the night before the wedding at the hotel with my sister Lynette who was also the flower girl. We spent the night talking and also prayed together. This helped me keep calm. My mum too did a great job to calm me down when I got to church.
(Aww, the innocence of children is indeed calming)
One moment that will last with you forever?
Bridget: Walking down the aisle with my dad and mum right behind me. I felt so blessed, loved and protected. My mum also made sure that the song I wanted to walk down the aisle to (Hallelujah by Alexandra Burke) was played.
Marvin: Cutting my birthday cake on my wedding
(Oh! This must have been emotional)
first dance:
We danced to Look at us by Vince Gill
Photo Session
We had our photo session at Serena Kigo which doubled as our reception venue. We took advantage of its beautiful scenery.
Advice to future grooms/brides;
Pray as much as you can. You can only plan but the implementation is by God. Take everything to God in prayer and finally follow your heart, you don’t have to do what everyone else is doing if you don’t like it.
Credits
Groom suit: Malachi Wear
Brides gown: In style Bridals
Changing dress/maid dresses: Norema Boutique
Hair: Victor (Am her stylist)
Makeup: Fayth presh
Décor: Ivy’s Décor
Groom’s birthday cake: Bake for me
Wedding cake: Gaudi Cakes
Venue: Serena Hotel Kigo
Tent: Photogenix
Photography and video: Dynamic Photography
P.A and Dj: Moustey Dj
Entertainment: Michael Kitanda & Maddox
To feature, drop us an email to weddings@satisfashionug.com
