A Wedding in Kenya

Today I was privileged to go to a colleague's wedding. It was the smallest wedding I've ever been to, but def one of the nicest! I spent yesterday getting to know Chell and doing some pampering as she has recently moved over to Kenya to be with Tim. She then asked me to do her make up for the wedding, I was so nervous, barely slept! She couldn't sleep due to worrying about her cooking. Both fears were fortunately unfounded! We ate well and she looked fab! They are a v sweet couple, and today has been such a lush one!

Tim and Chell about to set off to marry!

We all traveled into town together, post make over! It was such a treat to be driven and I loved the sightseeing! The ceremony was next to the President's office so it was cool to see all the posh cars there. We kinda overestimated how bad the traffic would be so were an hour early.....but the view from the window was parliament so I was snappy happy which helped temporarily distract from my hunger. Toby and I foolishly skipped brekkie as knew the feast which lay in store (Chell's cooking is unbelievable!), but we both wanted to eat each other's arms out of insane hunger and sitting around! 

Parliament building, Nairobi

Of course, this is Africa, so expecting an on time ceremony was perhaps a little unrealistic.....the waiting continued. We were there for nearly two hours. We were put into a little waiting room which had a small section cornered off. I loved it-it was like a preening room, with a big chair and mirror! The waiting room filled up quickly, Toby amused himself with his man bag and a spinning chair. The rest of us enjoyed people watching and guessing who was getting married to who. Some of the outfits were amazing! Incredible hats that looked quite spacey, as well as proper formal attire accompanied with a baseball cap. I so wanted to take pics but didn't think it was appropriate so use your imagination and keep it random and it'll be about right!

Simple things....

When we were finally called in for the ceremony, the registrar spoke so fast it was really difficult to understand him, and he didn't even attempt to say Chell's name-he just pointed at her, was so funny! It lasted about 2 minutes, but was actually really moving. Any marriage ceremony and commitment is significant and so the location and duration I guess is irrelevant. I was surprised by how much it made me think about the enormity of marriage, and also to be filled with respect and well wishes for this new married couple. 

There was definitely an attempt at decorating the room! Love the pic of the first president-it adorns every public place.

Meeting of very different cultures and races

After the signing we had a swift photoshoot and then drove back to a friend's house for a lil reception. 

It was such a happy, relaxed afternoon. Chell had prepared an absolute feast, and we all brought various things to surprise and treat the couple. There were just six of us. In all honesty, an interesting group of six people, but the dynamics were great and it was so lovely to get to know certain colleagues better. 

Wendy pouring the champagne...one of the many drinks courses!

Mala and I

Cutting the cake