Wedding Update

The wedding is 12 days away... I can't believe it. I thought I should do a post with some of the details for all you girls out there that love wedding stuff. Since the engagement, George and I have been slowly planning the wedding and I have had lists galore. We met with George's family when the wedding was six weeks away and everyone took a job to help us out. It has been so wonderful to have their assistance. Here are some of the details:

- The wedding is on December 4th at 11:00am. (People here work Monday - Saturday so we had to do it on a Sunday when most people could attend.)

- Our pastor friend who is performing the ceremony isn't able to sign the marriage certificate, so we have to get legally married by the registrar of weddings at the attorney general's office on Friday December 2nd. We have already filed the paperwork and will be there at 12:00. George's sister, Suzy, got married there, by the same person, in January when I was here visiting. George and I were the witnesses for their wedding, and she and her husband will be ours. Although we will be legally married, we don't consider ourselves married until our ceremony on Sunday. The one on the 2nd is just a formality.

- The wedding will be in Kibos, a suburb of Kisumu, on George's parent's house located on the Kenya Agricultural Research Institute.

- Our wedding will be small, simple and inexpensive. With the generous donations from friends and family, we have been able to plan a small, but lovely wedding at a fraction of the cost of a wedding in the US.

- We have invited about 75 people, but in Kenya, you never know how many will show up. Strangers may walk by, see a wedding and drop in. In fact, a few people we have invited have told us they each are bringing three others. Since we are having the wedding outside of town, we hope to keep the numbers down.

- Our colors will be black, red, white and silver. Here is what the chairs will look like:


- The bridesmaids will be three of George's sisters and a cousin. A neighbor of George's made dresses for them out of Kangas (Kenyan fabric) we picked out.



- George's groomsmen will be his brother, brother-in-law, and two friends. They will wear black pants and jackets, red ties and a white shirt.

- George is wearing a white suit with a black shirt.

- I found my dress in Kisumu. It's a long story, but truly a miracle that I found it. My brother's wife gave me her veil to wear.

- The bridal party will walk down to "I Will Always Be Right There" by Bryan Adams. I will walk down to the traditional "Here Comes the Bride." During communion, Matthew West's "When I Say I Do" will play (Thank you Monica for introducing me to that song!). After the ceremony, we'll walk down to "Jambo" a classic Kenyan song.

- Since my family isn't able to be here, George's parents will be walking me down the aisle, with permission from my mom. (George asked my parents for permission to marry me before proposing.)

- Our rings cost less than $4.00 (for both!)



- Our reception will be held in the same place as the ceremony. George's friend, Mark is the MC and his younger brother will be DJ. We'll eat, have speeches, cake, bouquet toss and then dancing.

- George's mom is making the cake for us.

- George's sister is coordinating the food. We'll have traditional Kenyan foods - chicken, beef, fish, rice, pilau, sakuma wiki, soda and punch.

- We hoped to be able to Skype the wedding so people in the US can watch, but the internet connections aren't good enough here. So, we'll take photos and video the wedding and send them to the US.

- We will be honeymooning in Nakuru for 5 days. (Again, thanks to family and friends for making that possible.)

I think those are all the major details for now. We are excited and counting down the days. We would appreciate your prayers for us as we continue with preparations and enjoying our last few days of single hood.