We were married at 10:56 am (+3:00 GMT) on Wednesday the 28th, 2008.
TINDI’s version:
I was up by 5 am. I barely slept for more than four hours. I had butterflies in my stomach.
My phone rang at 5:05 am. It was my cousin Irene. She wanted to be the first one to congratulate me. She was! We talked for almost an hour. The conversation calmed me a bit.
By 6 am, my mother walked in singing. Her eyes were puffy, she clearly had been crying, happy to see my wedding day, but sad to see me go. It was emotional. Smiles and tears. Soon, everyone was waking up and the emotions were riding high.
The photographer came in at 8:30 or so. He quickly got into the swing of things by taking snapshots of me sipping my tea. The family was taken too. By 9 am, I was dressed and ready. My best maid, Harriet, was by my side by 9:15am. At 9:30 am, we were heading to the Attorney General’s office.
I remember walking off the elevator and seeing Andrew waiting beside his best man. He looked so handsome. My heart skipped a beat and I could hear myself thinking: THIS IS IT, GIRL!
By 10:57 am, we were man and wife. It was fantastic! I had to sign my wedding certificate and I had no idea what my new signature was going to be like! This one thing slipped my mind while I was busy planning this day.
By 12:00 pm, we had checked into our honeymoon suite at the Stanley and were sitting at a local pub, Kingele’s, waiting for the call to make our entrance at the reception. A couple of drinks later, almost 2 pm, we got the signal to get the party started at the reception.
We were met by both our parents along with relatives from the luo side of the family. They all greeted us with some luo traditional song. It was overwhelming. As we went through the house to the back where the guests were waiting, we were greeted by my coastarian side of the family, who were singing a Swahili song to welcome the bridal party. Unfortunately, for a minute or two there seemed to be a battle going on. Too funny! Even though the coastarians were outnumbered by the luos, they proudly out-song them!
Eventually, we got to our table, sitting along side our parents and Skookie, and prepared for a long blessing from the pastor. Fortunately, the pastor was brief when he spoke. Our tummies were grateful!
The food was great. The speeches a little long, but not as bad as it could have been. On the other hand, Harriet, my best maid did a hell of a job with assisting us with the cutting of the cake. Andrew was fantastic with his toast, making us laugh and get all mushy! However, the best part was when Andrew and I danced to our song, “Inseparable” by Will Downing. Now that was worth everything!
By the time we were done, everyone was on the dance floor and getting their groove on. In between the picture taking and small talk between friends and family, Andy and I were pooped!
Unfortunately, we had one more stop to make at the end of the reception: Andy’s parent’s home. It was almost 8:30 pm by the time we got to their home. The idea was that they were officially welcoming me into the family. It was a sweet idea, but I was too tired to appreciate it. I was not alone. My parents, aunts and uncles were present too. We ate, drank then listened to the family’s welcome. It mostly came from Andy’s mother and her women’s group. They prayed, spoke in reference to a verse in the bible and then gifted Andrew and I a bible. Again, a very sweet thought, but I was too tired to really appreciate it.
At about 11:30 or so, Andy and I made to our suite at the Stanley Hotel. The hotel room was sprinkled in rose petals… very romantic!
~ With peace, love and joy,
Tindi & Andy Amadi
