Have you watched this Youtube Video

Most of the stuff does not apply to us guys but hilarious nonetheless

Calling on Future Brides, Past Brides, Potential Brides

Hello readers,

Did you use a wedding planner? Are you using a wedding planner? Are you planning to use a wedding planner? Do you have a friend who used a wedding planner?

I want to do a blog post on wedding planners in Kenya so if anyone is interested, please email me on ciikusblog@gmail.com

The eventuality of whether we shall have the blog post depends on how many emails I get.

 

Thanks and Happy Monday!

And since posts without pictures are not that awesome:

Source: pinterest

Feature Friday

I am so excited to be posting this wedding. When I saw the pictures on facebook I was floored! This will probably be a two part feature! AAAAHHHHHH!!!! So awesome!

Congratulations Flo and Mr. . Cheers to happiness and forever!

How did you meet?

We knew each other from childhood. We didn’t start dating (seriously) until 3 years ago.

How did he propose?

My birthday was on a Monday, so the Saturday before, he treated me to a full spa day and I thought it was the best birthday gift ever. We later on went out for dinner to a lovely restaurant by a river where you sit and watch the sunset and all the while I was thinking he really is stepping up his game . I ordered desert (he said we should order the chef special because he heard it was really good –trickery!) and voila!  Lovely cheese cake with the text “will you  marry me?” and ring and I freaked out, cried, laughed … amazing . It was perfect…

Wedding facts:-

• Date: 23rd December 2011
• Ceremony: Immanuel AGC Church, Kericho
• Reception: ITC, (International Training center – Unilever) Kericho
• Guests:  approx. 1200 ( probably more yikes!)
• Color scheme: Light Pink and gold with white & dark pink (fuchsia & duo) accents

Cake

Phyllis Kariuki  - Cake Couture”
Her number is; – -0722-514816
Her email – pnmagero@yahoo.com.

Main cake & parent’s cake – Fruit cake

Pre- packs – red velvet

Grade – B+

Phyllis was not my first choice, my wedding planner had recommended a different vendor and we went ahead and booked said vendor without sampling or tasting – big mistake brides! In October, I went into panic mode as I looked at some cake pictures of the vendor we had booked. I realized I did not quite like her decoration skills even though (after sending my sis to taste her cake) her cakes were very tasty. I had been given Phyllis’s contacts before so I asked her to do a sample cake which she did for FREE and she was able to replicate the picture I had given her amazingly well. Her sample cake however was not as tasty as vendor 1. So I had a tough choice to make, cake that looks meh – but tastes really good or a cake that looks amazing and tastes meh lol! Second choice it was! Main Cake looked fabulous but was quite dry, the red velvet pre-packs were yummy!  The cake set up was perfect, couldn’t have asked for more

Venue

Ceremony: Immanuel AGC Church, Kericho

Amazing church, right opposite Barclays Bank Kericho.

Reception: ITC, (International Training center – Unilever) Kericho

Best venue ever, large field, very green with amazing tea scenery.

LOOK! AT! THAT!

Hair & make up

Grade – A-minus

Hair and makeup done by Muthoni Njoba & Shiro Wanyoike of “ The Make-Up lounge in Westlands: www.muthoninjoba.com/

Muthoni’s make-up skills are amazing, I have seen many wedding where brides look pale, bridesmaids look like dolls and I dreaded this. So after a lot of research and asking around, I was referred to her and I was not disappointed. She works with Shiro who is amazing when it comes to styling. They both do a lot of work for True Love so they are tried and tested . All the bridesmaids loved their hair and make-up. I loved mine too.

They did not get a perfect score because they were supposed to stay for the photo session and do touch up’s which they did but for a bit and they had to leave so am dinging them a few points.

Honorable mentions – Information you will definitely need as a bride, but is not always readily available.

• Nails and Beyond– This is for all brides abroad like me who have no clue where to start when it comes to nails in Nairobi..:-). They hooked me and my bridesmaids up!  They are really good at mani, pedi and acrylics. My nails were done by Nyambura and she did an amazing job. However, the french mani/pedi is not like what it is here in stato so I wouldn’t recommend getting this done
• Tony Airo’s salon  –  I did my hair in the states 2 weeks before the wedding so it needed a lot of TLC for it to be wedding ready. Tony Ayiro’s salon repaired & washed (scrubbed my hair with a toothbrush) my hair to perfection. info@tonyairo.com, Website:-http://www.tonyairo.com/ Location: 1st Floor, Lyric House. Kimathi Street, Nairobi
  

• Norfolk hotel laundry – After travelling with my dress for 16 hours it was a mess…I was freaking out and wondering what and who would steam it and NOT ruin it (you know after hearing all the horror stories). Norfolk laundry steamed my dress, did it with short notice and they did a fab job. Love them

Catering

Sunshine Hotel kericho – I heard the food was good & tasty lol, I didn’t eat much , and they had enough food warmers (important). They served the usual pilau, chapos, stew, chicken etc. We actually bought all the food and all they did was cook and serve which made the catering fee cheaper.

Ciiku Says:

Oh how beautiful is this wedding?

Now, you just have to wait to see the rest of the pictures. I was blown away when I saw them on FB!

See you next Friday for Part 2

Feature Friday

Today’s feature post is a surprise wedding anniversary and comes from the lovely Wa Makeri. It is a wedding related event, yes??

Let me also mention that I already have a feature friday lined up next week from one of my readers and I am hoping to show pictures from my SIL’s wedding as well. Good things for 2012 I think!

Anyway, onto today’s feature. I copy and pasted what she sent so this is all her thoughts:

CONSPIRACY THEORIES

I love surprises.  While they are not the easiest events to plan, there is such an air of mystery and excitement around them that the memories created are indelibly etched memory.  In addition, the need for secrecy involves a fair share of untruth – making such occasions the only time that lying becomes acceptable.

The only thing I may love more than surprises is working with friends to make such an event happen.  I am very passionate about customer service, and will often pick service providers on the basis of their customer service.  I am equally passionate about helping people I know grow their businesses, to the greatest extent possible.

This may be the biggest motivation for me to write this article for Ciiku’s blog.  While I believe that experiences with service providers may vary from person to person, I am certain that the best service providers in the world will not base the quality of their service on the person that you are or on how high up the societal ladder you are.  This, then, is an unreserved recommendation of any service provider whose name is found on this blog post.  Happy reading!  And may you experience the realization of your dreams as you plan for your weddings and your marriages.

I will indicate the relationship/kinship with each service provider, in case any prospective bride reading this is the DIY kind.

Date of Event: December 2011

Event: Surprise 30^th Wedding Anniversary for The Folks

 Event Organiser:      Uncle M.  Relationship – Son of the Couple

This young man is not an event planner, so no contacts (or photos hehe) will be provided.  However, I will say that if you have someone reliable and committed to the success of your event, please take advantage of the skills that they are able.  My brother coordinated EVERYTHING.  The text messages, the cake, the food tasting, the programme…etc etc etc.  I want to give him a special commendation for being patient with me; because there are many times that I promised to do things for him and came through after the last last minute!

Venue and Food:       Milele Guest House – South C – No relationship to the couple

We stumbled upon this venue by accident.  Our original intention had been to have my cousin cater for us.  Unfortunately, we were unable to find a hall we could rent without having to pay for food.  That said, Milele Guest House have good customer service and our guests enjoyed the food.  They placed no restrictions on us regarding our function and were at hand to provide any extra information that we needed.

What the bride reviewer says:        This venue is great for a small indoor/outdoor event.  The room should comfortably seat 150 to 170 people and manage your venue/food costs.  Some of the menus come with free use of the room!

Contact: + 254 725 253 777

Extra Décor:              Miujiza Events – Gladys was the folks’ flower girl

My aunt called me to find out if I needed help with the décor, and offered to provide centerpieces for each table.  Each centerpiece was lovingly crafted by this wonderful woman who often goes out of her way to make sure that our family functions run flawlessly.  I loved each of them.  The purple material that formed the bed for each centerpiece was also provided by Miujiza Events.

Contact: (Available on request)

Entertainment:          Beat Clef Entertainment – Friend

Tom may be the service provider we’d known for the shortest time.  I had met him at a wedding in September (he was the DJ and did a fabulous job), and I asked him for his card.  He was certain that we’d met before, but couldn’t remember where.  I gave him extra points for remembering me, because I think it shows an interest in people – and that is a basic minimum for me in my pursuit of unforgettable customer service.  Anyway, his website promises unrivalled customer service and I dare say this is THE BEST customer service I have ever received from a DJ in Kenya.  And I have worked with a couple.  I should also say that during the course of our preparations, we experienced everything he promises his customers on his website.

My favourite part of working with Beat Clef was the emails!  Attention to detail and a sense of humour.  You can never go wrong with those.

One of the other things I quite enjoyed was that he didn’t use a song that seems to be on replay for cake-cutting ceremonies.  He used Ben Githae’s Kaba Kwiyaria (It is better to ask God to speak your needs to God, otherwise your blessing may go to other people – loosely translated)

Anniversary Gift:     Portrait of the Couple– Artist is a friend

When I was in university, a friend of my father’s painted a portrait of us.  We were still young, and maybe that’s why my mum looked so miserable.  However, there was the additional travesty of assigning pink fingernails to my father and preferably forgettable images of my brothers.  We had one family friend who always asked for permission to laugh whenever she walked into our living room and found the portrait hanging in its esteemed place.  It has since been replaced by a landscape picture (hopefully that’s what they are called).

The portrait was a deliberate attempt to give my parents hope in artists.

No pictures, but contact details are available on request.

Cake:  Sophy’s Catering – Aunt Sophy was the Folks’ Best Maid (Oh … and the folks met at her wedding!)

Aunt Sophy lives about 200m from our house, so we’re there whenever we can, hoping to find some cake or other.  And she always has some cake or other!  Everyone who talked about the cake thought it was delectable.  I’d never tasted a buttery fruit cake before, but I loved the combination.  I’m not a fan of fruit cakes – they are often too dry for me.  This one was a pleasant surprise because first, it was buttery (and I love butter) and second, it was moist.

Speeches and MC:    Family and Friends

I am certain that all oration during the event was executed with finesse.  The speakers were sincere (perhaps because most of them were ambushed into the assignment) (because they were close friends and family and love the couple as much as we do).  They also stuck to their time limits.

I encourage any bride reading this to make sure that you pick your speakers (couple’s advisors, cake matron, vote of thanks etc) early, to give them time to prepare.  Please ensure that they are aware of the time limits allotted to them so that you’re able to keep your event running on time.

 Photography:            Gibel Photography – Friends

What do I say about these guys that I haven’t already said here? Well, this couple is going places!  The Mister is the quiet man in the background who captures moments in such remarkable style that the photos tell their own stories.  The Missus is quiet too, but not with me.  She kept me on my toes by asking accountability questions – how is the planning going, what have you accomplished, what’s still outstanding … questions that I didn’t often want to answer, but were important for the planning and eventual success of the event.

I had promised them that I’d be at Milele Guest House at 1830h on the day, but a spanner was thrown into the works and I arrived at 2030h.  She helped us tie up all the loose ends and made sure that all the moments we wanted to remember were captured.  Remarkably.

How long did it take them to give us a DVD of the event?  12 days

All photos that have been provided for this review were taken and edited by Gibel Photography.

Having seen all these people I know personally come through for us during this event, I can say without a doubt that it’s not about popularity, price or experience.  It’s about commitment to what they hold dear as service providers.  I will also say with some experience that if you look out for the signs, you can know what to expect from your service providers based on your interaction with them.

Have a lovely weekend, everyone!

Nice write up, yes? I do not think I need to add anything

Less for the Dress

I got an interesting email from one of my readers and I would like to pick all your brains.

Have you ever thought of buying a dress online?

Why or why not?

It is cheaper I agree but personally, I would love to try a dress on before I buy it.

Speaking of which, what are people’s thoughts on renting dresses?

The business is very big in Tanzania.

 

Feature Friday

Ideally, I should be posting a wedding today. But I have none to post. So I can going to direct you to Bella Naija Weddings Section. And maybe inspire some of you to send weddings my way.

 

2-0-1-2

Happy New Year everyone and especially 2012 brides.

Hope planning is going super well and no need to panic just because January is here. Just breathe in and out… and be easy. It will be well.

I am hoping to get MANY wedding reviews since December was jam packed with weddings [hint! hint!]. So please, all November and December brides, feel free to email me reviews of your wedding vendors. Let us all help future brides.