HAVING a single wedding reception celebration is more difficult than for a Carmel to enter in an eye of a needle to some. It causes some brides to lose weight and, for some grooms it empties their wallets. So how about having a double wedding reception? Is this calling for double trouble?
Wedding planning in Zambia has always been the kitchen party organised by the bride’s family a week or month before the wedding ceremony, which is organised by the groom’s side.
Now we have a wedding ceremony followed by a kitchen party and later on a wedding reception in the evening.
The kitchen party is meant for a woman entering into marriage and not some already married.
Why not start with a kitchen party in the morning, marriage blessing in the afternoon and reception in the evening? The latter is a food for thought.
A kitchen party is always held where the bride grew up from and she is well-known at the same place. The wedding ceremony and celebrations are conducted where the groom’s parents are.
This happens when the bride and groom are from different towns.
Balance the celebration among the bride and groom’s family members.
If the bride and groom are from the same town well then all the events can take place in their home town unless you want a destination wedding then you can have them out of your home town.
In the world of weddings there is something new every day as to the way bride’s and groom’s plan their nuptials. Victoria Muleya and Josiah Masiya added a touch of glamour to their wedding celebrations.
They had their kitchen party on a Saturday and their first wedding ceremony and reception on Sunday in Ndola.
The wedding ceremony was held at Twapia Church of Christ and a colourful orange and apple green reception at Ndola Skills Training Center at 16:00 hours.
The bridal party consisted of two flower girls and two page boys.
Five groomsmen and five bridesmaids danced vigorously as they entered with the main step. What can be said is, they are enjoying the days of their youth indeed and they are as energetic as the music they are dancing to.
What a generation to remember! Years ago when l was among the bridesmaids we had a lot of people that danced off tune and where pardoned for such. But now being on the lineup is as competitive as a job interview.
Many are called but a few are chosen to be part and parcel of the bridal party.
The speeches were so informative and educational, the father of the groom reminded the guest that there are three things money can’t money, a virtuous women, wisdom and love.
The father of the bride thanked all guest for celebrating with the couple who have brought two families together.
The guest of honor, Mr Kennedy Mukuka encouraged the bride and groom that love is a strong ingredient to a successful marriage.
Love is not a story with a good ending. Whatever differences God must be put first in order to enjoy marriage.
He continued to say that everything God created he said “this is good but for marriage and beauty he said this is very good”.
Victoria and Josiah had their first wedding reception in Ndola to cater for the bride’s family and friends based in Ndola.
There second wedding reception was held in Livingstone where the groom is well known and based there.
The parents to the bride, very close relatives and some members from the line up attended the Livingstone wedding.
The Livingstone wedding had its matron, bridal party, decorator, caterer, invitation cards and master of ceremonies. It’s having a full wedding twice.
They planned with the relatives and friends in mind who could not afford transport and accommodation fares. The couple never wanted the friends from Ndola or Livingstone to be told that it was a memorable wedding. What they know is that seeing is believing.
You might be thinking is it worth it, very expensive or one can buy a plot and build a house.
Another person may think the money can be used to start a successful business. Judas, the disciple to Jesus would have complained bitterly that the money spend on a double reception could have been given to the poor.
To Victoria and Josiah it was worth it to spend their money on a memorable double reception wedding.
One man’s love is another man’s poison that’s what they say.
A bride and groom to be might say well this is a brilliant idea and would love to do the same.
The reality is that it is very costly and both can be poorly planned in an effort to cut down the cost on food, venue, décor, mc and cutting the guest list.
The chances are high that the guests will scramble for food and the venue will be one size fits all. When having another wedding in a different town, costs must be shared equally.
Here are some ingredients which can be added to have a memorable double wedding celebration.
You can use the same decorator, they can give a good discount because you are using them for two events.
Business is about negotiations, pick a good deal which will work well for your budget and the decorator.
Many brides think the charge should be less when the colour theme for ceremony and celebration are the same.
The reason they give is that the same items can be used for both events.
Having the same colour items does not mean they can be used for two different halls.
The time management is poor, the ceremony goes beyond the given time causing many to just go straight to the celebration venue.
The décor has be done in good time so that the guests don’t have to wait for the decorator to finish. Using the same item is also inconveniencing unless the same venue is used for both functions.
Some can be used while others are good for a wedding ceremony only.
The guest list must be strictly by invitation to avoid confusion and shortage of foodstuffs.
When the guest list is known even the sharing of meals is done orderly.
Organising a double reception wedding should not be done as a competition.
Bride verses groom’s family, to see who is who. Each family trying to prove a point that they are well to do.
This must not be the case.
The first reception can have 200- 250 invited guests while the second reception can have 100-150 guests. It will still be called a wedding anyway.
Discuss how much such a wedding will cost, the same wedding gown can be, you can swap this time. The gown you wore at the first wedding ceremony can be used for the celebration.
The groom will always say this suit can be used again.
They don’t care whether the guests recognise it or not the wedding goes on. Same suit is fine but just change the shirt to be wore.
For those lovely photos in the album just add a few touch up by playing around with colour.
Different colour and wedding theme can be used.
Going through the same wedding routine can be so boring and leads to a lot of unnecessary mistakes.
Bring life to the second celebration as though it is the first celebration.
Enjoy it as the bride and groom so that even the guests will have no choice but to follow suit.
When giving speeches at the second reception avoid referring to the first reception, the invited guests in the second reception will be different from those in the first reception.
Treat the two functions independently.
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