No kissing babe! COVID-19 stopped me from doing what I had long yearned for: Kitengela man

Thirty eight year old Simon Mutuma rues missing the opportunity to kiss his bride, Mary Wambui, whom he tied the knot with on Saturday, April 18 at Kitengela PCEA Church.

Mutuma, who hails from Meru County, and 34-year-old Wambui, who hails from Nyeri County, exchanged wedding vows in a low key ceremony attended by a handful of guests. Their original plan was a mega function that had a guest list of 800 people and a bridal line-up of 40 close friends and relatives.

The outbreak of COVID-19 scuttled Mutuma and Wambui’s plan as wedding ceremonies have been limited to not more than ten attendees and the function shouldn’t last beyond an hour.

The newlyweds’ event lasted only 45 minutes, and was presided over by Reverend Michael Njigi.

“I always dreamt of exchanging wedding vows in a church setting, and that is why regardless the situation we currently are in, I still had to say ‘I do’ in church,” said Wambui.

“What I missed most during my wedding is the cake-cutting session. We couldn’t do that for obvious reasons, you know,” she added.

The groom, on his part, said he rues missing out on the opportunity to kiss the love of his life at the altar.

“I have always wished to seal our love with a kiss in front of the public. However, due to COVID-19 control measures, we couldn’t kiss. My wife had a face mask on, I also had one,” said Mutuma.

The couple, whose wedding was not attended by immediate family members, said there was little or no activity in their respective rural homes in Meru and Nyeri.

Their nuptial was only attended by eight people, including the best couple, two Kitengela PCEA Church elders, the officiating minister, a pastor and two church members. All the attendees wore face masks in compliance with the anti-COVID-19 measures stipulated by the Ministry of Health.