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Africa Safari Articles > Kenya Safari Articles

Kenya – Paradise For The Perfect Wedding and Honeymoon By Felix Koskei.

A wedding day is probably one of the happiest moments for any couple. This is a day you would want to remain with you and be part of you for the rest of your life. This is a day when you commit to love and cherish and behold for richer or poorer till death do you part. It is a principal turning point in one’s life and all that everyone can pray for is a happy everlasting union.

A wedding within any culture or proportion does not come cheap. Weddings are very expensive in most parts of world. A part from making a big hole in your pocket, planning a wedding can be a headache if not a nightmare to a lot of people. By the time the big day comes, the couple and the organizing team will have burnt the midnight oil for several months.

Kenya has a wide range of wedding locations. You can have a wedding right inside the jungle wilderness amid the lions and elephants. One can also have a wedding in the sandy white beaches of the Kenya coast. A wedding can also be hosted in a 5 star city hotel with all the glamour anyone can imagine. A wedding can also be held in the country side surrounded my tradition and culture of that community. Be it a civil, traditional or a religious wedding, a wedding in Kenya is bound to be as stress-free and as hassle-free as anyone can wish for.

Holding a wedding in a foreign country has a lot of advantages. The most important aspect being the reduction in costs. Due to the reduced number in your guest list, expenditure will be reduced to a mere fraction. Secondly, the headache of planning and organizing the wedding will be lifted off your shoulders and this will be the responsibility of your travel agent. Your main task will be providing the required legal documentation and regular guidance on your preferences.

I recently organized a beach wedding in a five star hotel in the coast of Mombasa. For starters, what is required is the couple’s full documentation. This will include passports, birth certificates, letter from a church minister or doctor or a civil registrar confirming neither party is married; or proof of Decree of Absolute in case of previous divorce; or certificate of death in case of a widow/widower situation. Other required details will be full addresses for both parties, occupations, religion and addresses of the parties’ parents. Once the formal legal notification of the wedding has been filed, the nitty-gritty details of the wedding day begin to take place. For Kenya, the usual minimum residency required is 3 weeks, which is normally reduced to 3 full days excluding weekends and national holidays, upon receipt by the registrar of a letter signed by both parties.

A wedding in Kenya will normally come as a package. This will basically include accommodation, registration fees, civil registrar’s fees, registrar’s transportation to the wedding venue, wedding cake, sparkling wine, button hole and bouquet, flowers, fruits, decoration of the wedding venue, photography, videography, traditional dancers or a live band or a guitarist and witnesses (if required).

During the 3 days mandatory period when the wedding couple is in the country, they got a detailed briefing of all the arrangements that have been done and if there are any changes that are needed, then they will be effected immediately.

On the day of the wedding, the witnesses accompanied by the traditional dances went to pick the wedding couple from their room. Before they exit, there is a photo taking session. The wedding couple and the witnesses were then escorted by dance and praise to the wedding venue; which is right at the beach of the Indian Ocean. The venue is fully decorated with an arch and flowers with tables and seats. The guests are seated and the registrar or priest is waiting for the couple. As the wedding couple and the witnesses settle in their positions, the dancers provide a short entertainment interlude. Immediately after that, the wedding function begins as the priest or registrar takes over. Once the vows have been exchanged and the couple is declared man and wife, there is a moment of jubilation and congratulation as the entertainment continues. This is followed a photo taking moment in different selected locations.

The party then returns to the venue for the cake cutting and toasting. This is then followed by an entertainment interlude as the guests and visitors present their gifts to the newly weds.

A wedding in the jungle would run as smoothly as a wedding in the city in spite of the challenges involved. The priest or registrar shall come to the wedding venue and provide his legal services.

The wedding is then preceded by a honeymoon safari. On the honeymoon, the newly weds will have an exclusive vehicle and driver for their use. Game drives shall be open and can be done anytime the couple feels like going. A honeymoon suite shall always be reserved for the newly weds.

A wedding and honeymoon in Kenya is bound to a special and memorable moment for any couple. The detail at which the organization is done is immaculate and impressive. Within 12 hours, you shall be delivered with an album with the best photos well placed and arranged. You will also receive an edited high quality DVD of your wedding. The raw copy shall also be given to you so that your special day remains with you forever.

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