We’ve Moved!

I find so amazing that with only 24 posts, and having been offline for well over a year, this blog still generates a minimum of 20 hits per day!  Thank you loving us. And since you do, please click the photo to  check out of brand spanking new Weddings {dot} Nairobi blog. 

We are in the beginning stages of getting and awesome blog going with all sorts of inspiration and ideas for the Nairobi bride and groom (and service providers too).  Not only that but we have an awesome directory in the works called “The Notebook” that will make finding the perfect service providers much easier.  And there are many other exciting things we are planning…check us out and come back often.  

Yellow Wedding Inspiration

I’m excited today.  I haven’t done a colour scheme post in a while.  Today, at the request of a reader who is planning her wedding for later this year, you are going to see lots of bright and cheery yellow.  Isn’t that perfect to brighten up your Friday afternoon? 

My favourite thing about yellow weddings is that you can use my favourite flower, the calla lily, in yellow!  I had over 200 calla lilies at my wedding (but they had to be all white .  And then there is so many other beautiful flowers you can use.

So today I’m using two amazing weddings as the basis for my inspiration.  A yellow and white wedding from Wedding Concepts and a yellow and black wedding from Wedding Obsession.  They are both stunning weddings and you should definitely check out all the amazing photos. 

Wow once I started looking around for yellow ideas, I got overwhelmed. If you are considering a yellow wedding scheme I would recommend doing a search on Google images.  So many amazing ideas.  So here we go!

Credits: Halter Dress; Royal Blue cushions and dress; Fan Invites; Draped Cake 

In addition to black and white, yellow goes beautifully with a number of other colours, include royal blue (as seen above), red, peach and grey.  I love the beautiful contract between the lemon yellow sashes and royal blue dresses above.  And what about the simple fan idea or invitations or programs (there is DIY instructions on the source site). 

If you are thinking about a softer blue and yellow colour scheme you should check out Prima Donna Bride’s blue and yellow inspiration board. 

Credits: Sunflower Cake; Polka Dot Dress; Invitations; Tablescape; 

I am totally in love with this polka dot dress.  I couldn’t imagine polka dot’s looking so amazing.  It would certainly make for fun bridesmaids dresses (or if you are a extremely adventurous and daring bride, why not wear such a dress yourself?).  And of course if you are thinking yellow and black, sunflower are a simple and inexpensive way to go for flowers. 

Now if you like the polka dot dress there is a cake you MUST check out.  (The source won’t allow me to post it here but it’s just a click away). Its totally amazing, I actually can’t begin to describe it so just click here and see it for yourself.  (And if you decide to have such a cake for your wedding cake, please, please, please let me feature your wedding    

Credits: Ruffled Dress; Aisle Decor; Flower girl;  Wearable Bridesmaids Outfits; Cake

I love this cake, so simple and stunning at the same time (and it goes so well with the feminine ruffled bridesmaids dress).  Oh I totally heart the flower girl with her white sash.  Check out the aisle decor with orange slices, such a great idea for a yellow wedding.  And how about the bridesmaid in their totally wearable outfits – wow.  (Ok I’ve stopped raving   Credits: Shoes and Purse; Both dresses are from China sites ;  Dessert Table

Personally I don’t think this needs commentary  

Now brides-to-be, I would love to save you some time.  Leave a comment telling me what your colour scheme and/or theme is and I will see if I can post some inspiration to help you as you plan. 

Wednesday Week Wrap

As we start our 4th week wrap, we first want to apologize about the reduced number of posts on Weddings.Nairobi – we have been having internet problems.  Secondly we want to say, thank you, thank you, thank you to all of you who are reading Weddings.Nairobi.  I’m always so excited to see how many hits we have each day.  It makes me happy  

Today we look at picnic weddings, amazing altar ideas, birdcage veils and a fun favour idea. 

Garden weddings have been popular for some time now, but the challenge is often making the altar decor special.  Many couples chose to have a few flowers on stands or even no decor at all.  Today I want to share a beautiful alternative. 

Credits: (top) Project Wedding, (bottom) Style Me Pretty

The thing I love about this idea is that it is so easy to personalize it and create your own unique look. 

Birdcage veils have been the rage for a while.  Sheilla, the lovely bride in our last real wedding      , looked amazing in hers.  Now Cap Classique has put together an amazing post about how to wear a birdcage veil and even included make-it-yourself instructions.  So if you’re thinking birdcage might be the way to go, check it out.

I love the idea of a picnic wedding.  You, your groom and your closest friends enjoying a day out in the beautiful outdoors.  So simple and easy.  Here are a few ideas I spotted around the web.    The first wedding which I totally love I spotted over at Cap Classique.  Click here to see many more wonderful photos of this amazing wedding. 

I also loved the bales of hay as seats that I also spotted at Cap Classique.  For more that wedding click here.  And finally there is the sweet backyard wedding from Style Me Pretty, with those amazing and colourful bridesmaids outfits (those will definitely be worn many more times .  Check out more from that wedding here. 

And while we are talking about picnics and the beautiful outdoors, I saw a simple favour idea over at Project Wedding that I loved (actually at one point I tried to convince my now husband that we should do this for our wedding). 

I hope this Wednesday Week Wrap has brightened the middle of your week and given you some inspiration for your own wedding.  Enjoy the rest of your week.  I’m off to celebrate my baby boy’s 6 month birthday (I can’t believe he’s already 6 months old).  Maybe I’ll even post a few pictures of him later . 

Marriage Monday

Today instead of sharing thoughts from a married couple I want to repost something I saw over at my big brother’s blog.  It is a letter written to Ann Landers (a popular columnist in the states for many years), that he read on his favourite blog – A Holy Experience.   I think its quite an interesting idea to keep the flame burning in marriage.  

“Dear Ann Landers: Last weekend, we celebrated my parents’ 50th wedding anniversary. This morning, they left on a long-awaited trip to Hawaii. They were as excited as if it were their honeymoon.

When my parents married, they had only enough money for a three-day trip 50 miles from home.They made a pact that each time they made love, they would put a dollar in a special metal box and save it for a honeymoon in Hawaii for their 50th anniversary.

Dad was a policeman, and Mom was a schoolteacher. They lived in a modest house and did all their own repairs. Raising five children was a challenge, and sometimes, money was short, but no matter what emergency came up, Dad would not let Mom take any money out of the “Hawaii account.” As the account grew, they put it in a savings account and then bought CDs.

My parents were always very much in love. I can remember Dad coming home and telling Mom, “I have a dollar in my pocket,” and she would smile at him and reply, “I know how to spend it.”

When each of us children married, Mom and Dad gave us a small metal box and told us their secret, which we found enchanting. All five of us are now saving for our dream honeymoons. Mom and Dad never told us how much money they had managed to save, but it must have been considerable because when they cashed in those CDs, they had enough for airfare to Hawaii plus hotel accommodations for 10 days and plenty of spending money.

As they told us good-bye before leaving, Dad winked and said, “Tonight, we are starting an account for Cancun. That should only take 25 years.”

– Loving Daughter in Abilene, Texas“

 

*Photo Credit: SW Photography

Happy Weekend

The weekend is finally here.  However for me that might not mean what it means to most of you.  The weekend is my husband’s and my busiest part of the week.  But its the part I enjoy the most.  It also means that another couple is most likely moving from engaged to married!  And maybe a few are getting engaged.

So as the weekend approaches I leave you with a few fun ideas.  Here’s to a happy weekend!

I have a thing with unique setups, especially circular ones.  While my wedding was a very traditional church wedding in a old stone church that seats about 300, my dream wedding would have been in a tiny chapel (think the little chapel on the side of the mountain on the road to Mai Mahiu) with no more than 30 guests.  I think my love of intimate weddings is the source of my obsession with circular ceremony setups.  So when I spotted this one over at Style Me Pretty, I couldn’t resist. Next I wanted to share a great DIY.  I’m so sure if I had of seen this before my wedding, I would have spent hours using the technique on some of my stationary (as if hand stamping double hearts on 200 envelopes wasn’t bad enough . Its called salt embossing and its so cool.  My hubby loved the idea so much that he already tried it out.  He went to the extent of adding food colouring to the salt and water mixture and it worked great.  The instructions are over at Project Wedding.

And last but not least, brides did you know you don’t have to go all white on your wedding day?  If you don’t want to be left out as your bridesmaids glow in your colour scheme, but you aren’t feeling the coloured sash idea that has been in style for sometime, check out this lovely bride I spotted over at One Stylish Bride!  

Wednesday Week Wrap

Can it possibly have been three weeks since Weddings.Nairobi started.  Wow.  I’m having so much fun looking at pretty weddings, looking for local trends, pouring over international wedding blogs and just enjoying all the beautiful wedding ideas I see.  I have such a long list of things I saw this week and loved that I don’t even know what to share today.  But I think I’m going to have to share some of the mouth watering dessert ideas I’ve been seeing on practically every other wedding blog.  I think if I had my wedding to do over, I would have to try to some form of the dessert/candy/cookie bar idea.  But before we look all the yummyness, here are a few other things I saw and loved:

Fingerprint trees – I love this alternative to a guest book (who ever looks at there guest book again anyways?).  We have amazing artists right here in Nairobi who could draw the tree skeleton. Such a tree definitely would back a beautiful piece of art for your home and give you plenty to talk about.  We spotted this one over at Rock My Wedding

 

Pinwheels and Waving Wands: Here are a few fun ways to add lots of colour to your decor. 

Credits: Waving Wands spotted at Style Me Pretty, DIY Pinwheels from Cap Classique

Still More Signs: Can you tell I love the idea of using lots of lovely signs in wedding decor.  In case I didn’t show you enough ideas last week, here are a few more signs I couldn’t resist sharing

Credits: (left) Project Wedding (right) Style Me Pretty

We spotted these sweet little signs over at Style Me Pretty as well.

Now finally on to the yummys

Credit: Rock My Wedding 

Now I know some of these ideas are extreme, however the concept is amazing.  Instead of the traditional pre-packs or fresh cake pieces, why not serve your guests a few different options (maybe less messy options) such at cupcakes, cookies, or sweets.

Credit: Cap Classique

The best thing about this trend is that it allows you to chose treats that are your favourites, making the wedding even more unique and personal.  Credits: (top) Wedding Chicks, (Bottom) DIY from A Practical Wedding 

If your wedding is not a card only wedding and you are concerned that a dessert bar won’t work, try having the desserts arranged on trays or pre-wrapped and in baskets for your bridesmaids to distribute. 

Credits: Cupcakes and Tiny Cake from Wedding Obsession; DIY Macaroons from One Stylish Bride; Pie Pops from Wedding Chicks

Since most couples still want to have a cake cutting ceremony, you can go ahead and get a small cake just for cutting and serving each other or get two big cupcakes. (And just in case you didn’t know, saving your cake until your 1st anniversary is a thing of the past – actually most bakers include a 1st anniversary cake in their wedding packages). 

Credit: Rock My Wedding

Instead of giving your parents each a cake, you can have a box packed with a variety of goodies to take home. Or if you still want to have cakes you can get three small cakes: one for you, and one for each of your families; or a three tiered cake for the same purpose. 

We hope you get inspired by these ideas and make them into something uniquely personal for your own wedding.

Alex and Sheilla – Part 2

We hope you enjoyed all the old school glamour in part one of Alex and Sheilla’s evening wedding.  Today we want to share with you more of the details that made their day beautiful.  We also have lots of their special evening photo session photos to share. And Sheilla has offered a few words of wedding planning advice.

 

Our wedding planning was simple as my husband and I did all the planning ourselves. Small weddings are easy to plan .They have less logistical issues than large ones.

My own husband was instrumental from day one. I was lucky to have a very hands on groom to help with everything. He is very detailed and so he made sure everything was in place.

We decided to splurge on our wedding bands and honeymoon.

The only wedding day mishaps we had was a problem with my car. I ended up using a different car from the one that was in the plan. I would advice others to confirm all arrangements personally and in advance.

I would advise other couples that depending on the size of your wedding make sure you have enough time to plan. If you have a short turn around time, get a wedding planner or a few people that you can trust who will help you with the process. It can get taxing for the engaged couple. So delegate, delegate, delegate.

And never extend your wedding budget above you ability. Being in debt is not a good way to start a life together.

Venue: Zen Gardens / Bride’s Attire: Malaika Brides(Day Dress), Occasions and Days (Evening Dress) / Groom’s Attire: Meridian Creations / Bridesmaid’s Attire: 4U2 / Groomsman’s Attire: Meridian Creations / Catering: Zen Gardens / Décor and Flowers: MbiroNimo Enterprises / Cake: Bakings and Bitings / PA: Mbiro Soundz / Photography: SW Photography / Photo Session Venue: Zen Gardens / Stationary: MbiroNimo Enterprises / Wedding Planner: Rosemary Teka / Officiator: Pastor Julian Kyula (Purpose Centre)

We hope you have enjoyed Alex and Sheilla’s wedding loveliness. We have many more beautiful, unique and inspiring weddings we can’t wait to share with you. 

Real Wedding: Alex and Sheilla, 18th Dec. 2009

Alex and Sheilla got married on a Friday afternoon in December.  Their wedding was a beautiful intimate affair. 

The beautiful bride stopped by to tell us about their big day.

The first thing that comes to mind when I think of my wedding day is that is was perfect. It was intimate, short, sweet and exactly what I wanted it to be.

The colours were pinks and purples and the theme was old school elegance.

The day was very relaxed, seeing that the wedding was starting at five pm. I got ready leisurely and waited for the day to unfold. I had a peaceful day because I was surrounded by people who made sure I had no idea what was happening behind the scenes.

My husband and I saying our vows to each other was the best part of the day. If nothing else happened that day, that’s the moment I would keep. But to be honest I enjoyed many little moments that are too many to recount. Come back tomorrow to see more photos from Alex and Sheilla’s evening photo session and more of the decor details.  Sheilla will also be with us again tomorrow sharing more about their day and offering some words of advice about planning your big day. 

Venue: Zen Gardens / Bride’s Attire: Malaika Brides(Day Dress), Occasions and Days (Evening Dress) / Groom’s Attire: Meridian Creations / Bridesmaid’s Attire: 4U2 / Groomsman’s Attire: Meridian Creations / Catering: Zen Gardens / Décor and Flowers: MbiroNimo Enterprises / Cake: Bakings and Bitings / PA: Mbiro Soundz / Photography: SW Photography / Photo Session Venue: Zen Gardens / Stationary: MbiroNimo Enterprises / Wedding Planner: Rosemary Teka / Officiator: Pastor Julian Kyula (Purpose centre)

Marriage Monday: Respect

Today I asked a friend of mine, Pastor Maina Gachau  to stop by and share a few thoughts about marriage from his experience in his marriage to Nzisa.  I hope you enjoy.

I do not claim to be an expert in marriage, but I sure am an expert in the one I am in. I have only been married to one lady all my life. I hope it will remain so. There are people around us whose marriages are healthy and growing. There are also those that are on the “rocks”, whatever that means.

My wife and I were in the same college but we did not meet until later. I guess the cliché, ‘it was meant to be,’ could apply here. Only that for us it is not as simple a statement as it seems. We believe that for us to be together it must have taken a divine ‘conspiracy’. I can call ours, a marriage made in heaven. We pray to keep it so.

In August we will be 4 years married and two lovely daughters later. We have learnt a few things through experience (which I think is a teacher if I can avoid, I would), observation (marriages around us, good or bad), reading (some, not all, of the tonnes of literature published on the subject) and watching Tyler Perry’s productions among others.

I will share a trivial treat from the stack accumulated over the years: respect.

When I was younger and single, an older man told me four things that are important when seeking a life partner. One of these four was respect. He said that one ought to be able to respect the other person for something. This was from the angle of admiration. I have come to appreciate what this means in marriage. I cannot unpack this adequately in the space here but I will attempt to make clear my point.

The African community is big on public displays. People are not generally publicly offensive. They most often would not tell you when offended by you and if they do, it will be in a roundabout way. This is sometimes called, ‘beating around the bush’. We are results of nurture in such a community.

I have come to appreciate that no matter how unhappy I may be at my wife, I need to be careful that I do not undress her in public. On the other hand, I do not know how I would handle being disrespected by my wife. But I know it would not be good.

How then do we ensure we do not disrespect each other? While this is not exhaustive, it has worked for us so far.

• Find reasons to admire the other person. Look for them in the ordinary and mundane things. Remember, you are your spouse’s number one fan. Life gives you many reasons to  dislike other people. It is harder to find reasons to like.
• Correct disagreements before they become big. We have noticed that disagreements can poison what we think about the other person. You never know when it will spring up. Nip it in the bud.
• Defend your spouse in public. Let people know you will not entertain any negative sentiments about your spouse. Be sure though to raise them with him or her in private for an explanation. This also means stepping in to cover your spouse in a potentially embarrassing situation. You can think of examples.

Remember not to be a hypocrite but to be careful to show respect for one another in the face of friends, family, colleagues and strangers. Honour begets honour.

*Pastor Maish is the Associate Pastor at Lifespring Chapel. To find out more about him visit his blog and to find out more about Lifespring Chapel visit their website.

What A Week

As the week comes to an end today, I can definitely say what a week it has been. 

I celebrated my birthday this week.  I am so wishing I had of taken a photo of the sweet breakfast tray my husband made for me.  Not to make anyone jealous but I just have to brag.  He out did himself with french toast, fruit salad and hot chocolate all arranged on a white serving tray. 

I’ve been lots of research and behind the scenes work so that we can take Weddings.Nairobi to the next level in a couple weeks.  We already have lots of fun stuff lined up – beautiful unique weddings and lots of insight into the making of those special days, hot fresh colour schemes, ideas for doing theme weddings, looking into what is new in the Kenyan wedding market (beside the awesome Stretch Tents, which you should definiately check out if you missed it) and hopefully alot more local content.  We will definately keep letting you know the international trends and the ways you can make them work and showing you lots of fun things we spot around the web. 

In the meantime while we keep up the hard work here are a couple of things I spotted and thougth I would share:

First the premier wedding blog – Style Me Pretty – which blows me away with their innovation and amazing ideas, has done an e-glossy.  A virtual take on those amazing bridal magazines (which in case you hadn’t notice cost as much as your wedding shoes!).  Its worth the download time – trust me.  Check it out here.

Secondly, is the Martha Steward Weddings Online Luxury Expo – basically a virtual wedding fair.  Who says you can’t take advantage of foreign expertise to plan your Kenyan wedding.  Weddings in the US and UK have been so unqiue, personalized and culturally sensitive that service providers from there are prepared for anything.  You can register here.