By Esther Nantambi
Michael Aboneka, a lawyer and activist who sued Watoto Church over “stringent” marriage laws tied the knot with his fiancée, Lydia Kobusinge last Saturday at La Jolla gardens, Kisaasi-Bukoto. Earlier this year, when Aboneka expressed interest in wedding at Watoto North in Ntinda, he was asked to present a letter of consent (blessing) from the parents of the bride-to-be, a pastor’s endorsement of fitness for marriage, evidence of HIV status tested at one of the specified hospitals and a counselling report issued by the respective hospital. When he was asked to do all this, Aboneka wrote a petition addressing the unlawful requirements to wed. The hearing of this case is yet to set off.
Aboneka thus had an entirely out-door wedding. The ceremony was quite private as no media was invited to cover the event. The couple stressed that they did not want any media coverage. My Wedding was however able to get a few details of what we were told was a beautiful wedding.
Two places were decorated in La Jolla gardens, one for the wedding and the other for the reception. After the official ceremony, the guests crossed over to the reception area.
The ceremony was commended by its attendees for having excellent service providers for the food, decor, cake, and excellent time management. The wedding ceremony started at 11:00am and the reception was done by 6:15pm.
If the comments of one of the weddings guests is anything to go by, Aboneka loves to play by the law. Allegedly he drew fully detailed contracts for each service provider, clearly outlining his expectations, which if not fulfilled, would attract ramifications. This to some attendees was the reason each service provider stepped up and did their best.
Another of the guests said everything was highly organised and exotic, “They owned their wedding. It felt like you were in their world. You could see that the wedding was about the bride and groom and not what tradition dictated.”
The couple also sang for each other. “Lydia has a beautiful voice. She sang Bless the Broken Road by Rascal Flatts for him. Well, Michael is not as gifted but he also did a song for her,” commented a guest.
Here is a little bit more of what we learnt happened.
The vows
The couple exchanged their own marriage which is unlike the culture in Uganda where many just go with the olden outlined vows of the church.
The cake
The cake had cupcakes with different flavours so people got the chance to eat any flavours they wanted.
Wedding interactivity
When entourage went for photo session, the wedding guests were treated to a cocktail and snacks. At The guests then had lunch soon as the entourage returned before the rest of the function proceeded.
Wedding meetings
The couple did not do any wedding meetings. What they did however was to take invitation and pledge cards to their friends and family. You would give in the money or send it as you wanted.
” He only sent messages to remind us that the wedding was in a week’s time. It was mainly you to demand yourself.” commented a guest.
My Wedding has contacted Aboneka about how they went around the requirements of almost every church including having an HIV test, letter from the woman’s parents and so on. He is yet comment on this. We shall bring you more details as they unfold.
Wishing Mr. and Mrs Aboneka a lovely marriage
