Ron Kawamara, the CEO of Jumia Uganda and Cynthia Tumwine Kawamara, a media personality and publicist, tied the knot at St John’s Cathedral in Fort Portal, a town that is very dear to them, last December.
When did you first meet?
We met at a team building at Adventure Park Busika, we have known each other for three years now.
The engagement
He invited close family to the place where we first met at adventure park, and surprised me with a proposal. It was such a beautiful day.
How did you plan the wedding?
We just looked at each other for our strengths and used our great partnership, skills and team work. We also had an amazing group of loved ones and friends who helped us greatly. We had 1000 guests and planned the wedding in about 8 months. We held our reception at Mountains of the Moon, which we chose because of its well tamed and beautiful gardens.
The Décor and Theme…
The theme colours were white, gold and burgundy. Burgundy is my favourite colour and we wanted white for the fairy-tale effect. We also went with the natural green theme so as to keep it real and not too out of this world so to speak. We worked with Sylvia from Wedding niceties who understood our vision entirely and executed it to perfection.
Which part did you want to WOW the guests?
We wanted our entire wedding to be fun so we concentrated a lot on entertainment and flawless synchronization of the program. We didn’t want our guests bored for even a minute.
Any challenges you faced planning?
The biggest challenge was doing a destination wedding. The cost obviously went up because we had to factor in transport and accommodation for most service providers impacting our budget.
Tell us about the gown
The gown was made by the super talented Sheba Kassami of SKP Clothing Line. It was an amazing experience designing the gown with her because in addition to being so creative and fabulous, she is my cousin and that made it personal. We shopped the fabrics together and she hand beaded everything herself. By the time we were done, the whole SKP team is like family to me now. We even had a huge dance celebration after the gown was finished. The best part is, my husband loved it. She also made my changing gown.
The entourage
I had 4 bridesmaids and groomsmen, best man and maid of honour.
Did you attend any wedding shows in preparation of the event?
All these pieces were able to come together because of everyone that worked with us on this wedding and we are so grateful. To tie them together, we did have a wedding planner Brian Seruyyigo and Mariah Kavuma, who executed so many things seamlessly from the wedding launch to the Kasiki and finally to the wedding.
The CakeThe cake was baked by Nester Buga of Nescare Confectionaries, who put in all her time to make it beautiful and personal. To be honest we had a lot of close family as service providers because having people we trust involved, was very key.
The beauty
Serene Beauty did hair and makeup for the whole team. I am not much of a makeup person and she understood that. I wanted to be stunning but still maintain a natural look. I must say she is super professional and we have become good friends since we share a lot in common.
The entertainment
Janzi Band kept us on our feet, and the super talented DJ Kasbaby, who is also my cousin, kept the party going till 4am. We have such a fun wedding trailer video by Paramount Images because of those guys. Paramount also took our wedding pictures.
The nerves
Cynthia: I didn’t have wedding nerves, I was actually quite excited. But also having my family around me; my mum, sisters, cousins and close friends made me feel calm. His meticulousness and need for order contributed a great deal to our beautiful day too.
Ron: None. I was very confident and more concerned with the flow of events. I was involved in the preps till the night before the wedding.
One moment that will last with you forever
Dancing with my dad as my husband danced with my mum-in-law and they handed us over to each other.
(Aww this is so sweet).
Song for the first dance
Excess love by Mercy Chinwo. It’s our favourite song. It’s a true testament to our love for God and each other.
(And a cord of three can’t be broken)
Anything you would change about the event if you had to do it all over again
Nothing, it was more than we could ever dreamed.
The song you walked down the aisle to
Jesus is Beautiful
Favourite details
We had a video of our love story made by James of Paramount Images, so people were able to learn everything about how we met and why we were drawn to each other. We played the famous shoe game that got everyone laughing. We got surprise videos from our loved ones in the diaspora.We had fireworks to launch the after party.
(Haha, talk about being extra…)
And I sang and rapped to my husband and our guests.
(Oh! Now we remember seeing you in a rap competition once)
The photo session
It was done at St. John’s Cathedral, as well as Nyaika Hotel Gardens and a later one at Mountains of the Moon.
Advice to future grooms/brides
Be clear on what you want and you will execute a dream wedding. Combine both your tastes and strengths during the planning stage. And never be shy to ask for help especially from friends and family. We couldn’t have done it without them.
Service providers
Reception: Mountains of the moon
Decor – Wedding niceties
Makeup and hair – Serene Beauty
Cake –Nester of Nescare confectionaries
Gown – Sheba Kassami of SKP Clothing Line
Bridesmaids’ dresses – Hers Ug
Entertainment – Janzi band and Dj Kasbaby and Tonix
Sound –Swangs Avenue
MCs – Kenneth Kimuli (Pablo) and Mugume Araali (crouch)
Cars –Mighty car rides (Harold)
Wedding planners – Brian Seruyyigo and Mariah Kavuma
Food – Amagara Bistro
To feature, send us an email to weddings@satisfashionug.com
