2 weeks prior to the big day: Go to a tailor in Limuru to get fitted for your suit and pick up your shirt and tie. Yep, we all got matching custom-made suits for the wedding! I was actually pleasantly surprised with how well the suit fit, especially for the total cost of about $40. As an added bonus, our ties were black and gold - Go Dores!
Saturday, 8 am - Meet at the wedding site for convoy-preparation. Assuming that you have a functioning car, you will probably be called on to assist with transportation for the festivities. The "better" the car is, the more important people you will get to transport (mine was the 2nd best - more on that soon). About 10 drivers met in the morning to have an assortment of bright green ribbons and bows attached to our cars, and then we all headed out in a convoy towards the home where the bride was staying.9:30 am - Arrive at the temporary residence of the bride and her "delegation." The bride will have been preparing and getting dressed somewhere with 20 or 30 friends and family members, and it's the responsibility of the groom's "delegation" to earn the right to take her away (after previously paying a dowry of several cows and goats, of course). Our convoy brought along about 20 women who are part of Humphrey's family, and they converged on the gate of the house, singing and dancing for about 15 minutes before the bride's delegation decided the show was good enough to open the door. Then they sang and danced some more, until finally the bride came out and got into the best car. As the owner of the 2nd best car, I was given the privilege of driving flower girls and bridesmaids - in the end I pulled out with 3 bridesmaids (about 16 years old) and 10 flower girls (about 4-6 years old), all with big satin dresses, veils, gloves, and flowers. Remember, my car seats 7, so this was a record...
11:00 am - Return to the wedding venue - with a flourish of horns, dancing, and yelling - and start the ceremony. After a short delay due to a failed electrical connection, the groomsman, bridesmaids, flower girls (and little boys in suits), the bride's family, and the bride herself all lined up to march into the ceremony. The wedding was held in a big field with several tents, so we marched around the grass in step and ended up making a kind of "spirit tunnel" for the bride to pass through. Then we looked on as Humphrey and Frieda took their vows, exchanged rings, and talked with the pastor.12:30 pm - Pictures at the wedding venue, with every conceivable combination of guests that have the slightest relation to the happy couple. Also, instead of marching back out of the ceremony, make sure you dance out in step with the rest of the wedding party. If you aren't too used to Kenyan dance-marching (like some people around here), just follow Duncan and try not to look like too much of an American. Remember that of the 300 people in attendance, you are the sole representative of the good old USA...
1:00 pm - Load up the cars again and go to a "scenic" spot for official pictures. After rounding up all 13 of my female passengers, we headed a short way down the road to Brackenhurst for a whole new round of pictures. This included lots of pictures with all of the groomsmen and the wedding party, and it also included very awkward, posed solo shots of me with each one of the bridesmaids, who lined up for pictures with the only mzungu around...I was quite the spectacle to a bunch of teenage girls!2:00 pm - Return to the wedding venue for lunch and "presentations." We got back to the field, where all of the guests had already finished eating lunch. This put them in a great mood, so we spent the first 20 minutes or so all dancing around in a circle - think "Cotton-eyed Joe" to Kikuyu music. Then all of the wedding party took our seats of honor under the tent and were served a heaping bowl of rice, beans, stew, and chapati. While we ate, guests starting making presentations in honor of Humphrey and Frieda - some sang songs, gave speeches, or performed choreographed dances, while others carried up gifts like couches and giant cabinets (still not sure why they carried couches all the way out into the field, and I guess the couple doesn't have much say in their interior decorating).
5:00ish pm - Call it a day. I snuck out early at about 4:30, but the speeches and presentations were still going strong!
In the end, it was a long, tiring day, but I was really glad that I got to do it. Seeing all of the traditions that Kenyans include in their weddings, especially the weight that they place on families, was really interesting. It was also fun to share in the joy and celebration with so many of my Kenyan friends - almost all of the CFA staff from the Limuru region were present, and they really got a kick out of seeing me dressed up with all of the groomsman! This will definitely go down as one of those things that few foreigners will ever get to experience, and for that I am definitely thankful. Please join me in praying for Humphrey and Frieda as they start their married life - praise God for bringing them together and pray for many years of happiness and joy!
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