By Maria Immaculate Owechi
Each day that goes by, wedding decoration is becoming more expensive. Having décor that is worth Shs2.5- 3.5 million is nowadays considered just modest. People have put much effort into it to the extent that they spend Shs5 million- Shs50 million and more on only that section of the wedding.
Although they get to have a beautiful ambiance at the ceremony, almost everything is lost in the end and all that is left are mental pictures of how beautiful the environment was.
Because of this, some couples have scrapped paying extra garden money for photos off their list. Couples have now resorted to having an earlier photo-shoot within their décor before the guests get to occupy up the hall.
This concept has been seen in some Ugandan celebrity functions like the second wedding anniversary of Talent Africa boss, Aly Allibhai and his wife Sylvia Namutebi, the wedding ceremony of former KCCA Director Jennifer Musisi’s daughter Esther Chanelle, and the recent Kukyala of songbird Rema Namakula.
On 11 July, 2019, Christopher Galukande, the CEO XCY Events got married to, Nuru Nabbumba, a physiologist. The two had their reception décor worth Shs50 million and they couldn’t just let all of it go to waste. They decided to have a photography session before the guests arrived for the reception.
This can however be a bit tricky to pull off so we put together some tips that can help you put the concept into action;
Let your photographer know in time.
Edgar Kaddu, the owner of Timeliness Photos, Kasubi says this concept is fairly new so telling your photographer in time will help them take off sometime to do a bit of research on how to do well. Alternatively, hiring a photographer that has ever done this is the way to go because they will be creative enough to guide the couple on which poses are legit for the photos.
He adds that the same photographer can even assist in suggesting which unique décor the couple should invest in.
Invest in the decor
Galukande advises couples that in order for this concept to work, they need to invest in having beautiful and unique décor;
“The goal here is to show off the beauty of the day, therefore mediocre décor might not do the trick.”
A person may also choose to have a personalized touch to the décor like, singer Rema Namakula who opted to have a phone booth Decorated with a bunch of roses of different colors, and her fiancée’s name Dr. Hamza Ssebunya ‘s name was written on top of the booth indicating that she was maybe making a phone call to him.
Privacy is of utmost importance
The norm of any wedding ceremony is that the guests are at the reception venue before the bride, groom and their entourage are. However, If you are taking your photos at the reception, you have to find a way to be there first. You can enlist help from the proprietors to assist in the smooth operation of the session.
For Galukande’s wedding ceremony, he reveals that the hotel provided a back door for them to access the premises and also exit after.
He adds that the ushers strictly followed the instructions to not to allow any guests until they finished taking their photos.
To keep the guests busy, the guests enjoyed a cocktail in a tent outside the reception first.
This concept is actually highly recommended for it saves time, cuts costs on hiring another location and provides the needed privacy for well-organized photos.
However, it may not be easy to follow through the plans if the decorator does not finish on time or the ushers struggle to keep the guests away. But if you can follow the scheduled activities, it is very achievable.
