By Claire Balungi
In 2015, James Kakande met a special person who not only became his best friend but also his wife. Lillian Ruzindana and James met at the bar. He was with his boys and off they made towards the girls, offered to buy them drinks but the girls initially declined. When the boys insisted, together with her friends, Lillian, who was running for Miss University Beauty Pageant at that time gave the boys a condition. The boys would hurry for their phones to vote for Lillian who won the contest. 
Before long, James and Lillian were great friends and they’d later get engaged.
Like watching the ocean come to life before your very eyes, Lillian hoped and dreamed of a proposal as she’d been whispered to by the Holy Spirit, although she says she saw it coming. When that day came, Lillian said Yes.
Wedding preparation
The couple’s wedding preparations were affected by the pandemic. It was about that time the country had been hit by the pandemic. It affected a thousand orders and preparations including wedding preps.
According to Satisfashion Uganda, it took the couple seven months planning their Gusaba and wedding. Knowing their service providers was the stone that held the craziness down. “We are glad that we had our dream wedding despite the small number of guests present. The pandemic was a huge test. We had to consider what if scenarios,” admits Lillian
The bride had a rustic theme for her Gusaba.
Tying the knot
James and Lillian officially became husband and wife at Namirembe Cathedral on August 20, 2020. In her beautiful custom-made gown by STRAT Bridals, Lillian walked down the aisle to Elvis Presley’s “Can’t Help Falling In Love” done by musical artist, Joel Kisakye. It was a tear-compelling moment for both James and Lillian, how could they not cry…
The bride’s gown had been ordered from Europe and it arrived about four months to the wedding. It was everything she hoped it would be. James and his best man wore custom-made suits from Turkey.
A white Wedding
A great way to mark their marriage with a statement of Purity…the bridesmaids dressed in white; quite unusual for the average dress-up color for bridesmaids. As Lillian is no fan of much color, she had her bridesmaids in white so they could also shine.
“We hadn’t seen many bridesmaids in white, so we took on the challenge”- Lillian and James
Reception
The couple received their guests at Ndere Centre. Exceptional from their Gusaba which had a rustic theme, the couple had a white wedding done by Bloven Décor and Cakes. The happy bride says that the décor exceeded their expectation.
In an interview Lillian said “The most exciting thing about marriage is spending the rest of your life with your best friend; waking up with them besides you, praying together, doing things together and knowing that what you have is a gift from God.”
