The big Wedding Finalists 2015: OUR BIG WEDDING EXPERIENCE

By Christopher and Maureen Mutabazi: Hi Jackie, hope you're well. I would like to take this opportunity to share our big wedding experience. It was around June 2015, when I and my wife heard big wedding adverts running on 91.3 capital FM. Being our favorite station we were always listening in so we didn't miss any information regarding how to apply etc.

Having introduced (customary marriage) in April the same year, we thought this was the best opportunity to get holy matrimony through the big wedding. This seemed a like dream which was never going to become true.

We wrote our story and I submitted it myself direct to capital radio offices to ensure that it got there.

The anxiety to be selected began immediately after submission. We prayed night and day to be among the top 20 finalists. My wife was about 8 months pregnant and to some extent we were worried that, we would not be selected, but we kept strong and praying. We kept our ears on radio every morning waiting for our story to be read. It was one morning, when Jackie Lumbasi unveiled letter number 10 and guess what, it was CHRISTOPHER & MAUREEN. This found me at work and immediately I called Maureen who was also listening.

Our story gained a lot of support on Facebook through lots of likes and comments.
We started mobilising family, friends, work mates and strangers to vote for us so we could make it to the final. There was a lot of pressure and tension. Voting started on a Friday after letter number 20 was read, we voted till Sunday mid day.

After voting we prayed that we make it to the top 5. We kept our hands crossed till Monday morning when I received a phone call from Jackie Lumbasi informing me how we were the 1st qualifying couple and also inviting us at Capital radio studio. 

We were so excited and overwhelmed. At that point we were preparing to go for work. However, we decided to honour Jackie's invitation because we knew how big and important this was. We called friends and family to tune in capital FM so that they could hear us live on radio. We arrived at capital as early as possible and we were directed straight to the studio. We were so happy to meet the entire Big breakfast crew and sharing a studio with them that morning. We had good time with them answering different questions concerning our love story etc. We were awarded with cartons Pepsi soda as one of the sponsors of the Big wedding. We called upon people on air to vote for us then left.

Immediately we started mobilising people beginning with those who voted us in the semi finals, we got representatives from different areas including, fort portal, Masindi, Jinja, Kampala, Malaysia, UK, US, Turkey, Dubai and so many places. Our photo was
posted on the Big breakfast page on Facebook and immediately so many people commented and liked the story, which gave us more courage.

Final voting for the winner started on a Friday when couple number 5 left studio. We went wild from that moment to ensure that we mobilized as many votes as possible. We bought airtime worth 500,000 to ensure that we had as many votes as possible. We spent sleepless nights voting, mobilising and monitoring votes on Facebook and SMS. It was a tuff moment that we went through given the fact that Maureen was heavily pregnant. But we didn't give up, in fact she was more courageous and aggressive. We voted till Sunday afternoon and kept in prayer throughout the night.

We had a sleepless Sunday night knowing that the following morning they would announce the winner. 

By 6am Monday morning, we were already on radio waiting for results till around 8.30am. Eventually Marcus announced that results would be released the following day because they were still compiling votes. Pressure and anxiety doubled on our side as we couldn't wait for the final results. People who had voted for us kept calling to find out whether we had won. But we told them to be patient. We kept in prayer throughout the night.

The long awaited day that changed our lives came. It was a chilly Tuesday morning at about 8.30am. I was in office with my work mates anxiously waiting for that one phone call to come to me. My wife was in a taxi on her way to work. I saw my phone ringing. The number looked unfamiliar, I picked and guess what, it was Marcus, I couldn't believe it. Before he said anything, people around me started screaming. He then told me how we had won the BIG WEDDING. I screamed on top of my voice than ever before. This was the best and greatest news I have ever received in my life. Immediately I contacted my wife to give her the news only to realise she had been contacted before me. She was so joyful and speechless. We spent that whole day celebrating and thanking the Lord for the miracle.

The preparation for the big wedding started which was supposed to take place on the 31st of July, 2015. We met the Big breakfast crew to plan with them. In the meantime, my wife was expecting any time. It was a big worry for us and the organisers but this didn't stop us from proceeding with preparations. We even met a doctor to try an induction for my wife but it wasn't the Best decision. We kept praying at least she gives birth 4 days before the wedding So that she could have some strength for the big day.

We started church counseling sessions at Christ the King, met some big wedding sponsors like Harrison collections to select the best garments for both the bride and her maids as well as the groom and groom's men. It was fun every day as preparations went on. We couldn't wait for so many things in the package such as the Kasiki at wink, the big wedding day, the trip to South Africa among others. Both our families were filled with joy and excitement, they couldn't wait for the big wedding. This seemed like a joke to most people both family and friends who got the news that we had won a fully paid for wedding. Everything was paid for including wedding rings, church fee, choir etc.

Amidst all the excitement, we still had one challenge of Maureen's pregnancy. She was expecting any time, and we were worried she could give birth on the wedding day. We made a request for change of date for the wedding day. Surprisingly, it was extended to 12th August, 2015. We thanked God and kept praying she could give birth as early as possible. It was a season of fun, excitement and tension. We were rewarded with a very wonderful and memorable Kasiki sponsored by WINK BAR for both the bride and groom at separate days. It was fun, we invited family and friends. People drunk and ate to capacity. We had chance to interact with some the best radio presenters in town such as Alex, Gaetano, Jackie Lumbasi, Olanya among others.

We counted days for the big wedding as we waited for the baby to come as well. It was a difficult time but thank God 3 days to the big wedding, my wife gave birth on the 9th of August to a bouncing baby girl at Nsambya hospital. This was double blessing; a sponsored wedding and a beautiful baby. Good enough it was a normal birth, so my wife gained energy so quickly. We named our daughter Capital because of the priceless gift of the big wedding from capital radio. We left hospital the following day to proceed with the preparations. We gave out 500 invitation cards to family and friends. Everything was set by 11th August. We had a wonderful dinner at Le petit village Kabalagala, in the same place my wife and her maids spent the night there. I had a sleepless night knowing that the following day was our big wedding, it was an unbelievable. I couldn't wait for morning to come.

Finally, the big day came. It was on the 12th of August 2015. I woke up as early as 6am called my wife just to find out how she and our daughter had slept. I had a sendoff meal with my parents at home then left to link up with my boys for saloon. From saloon we headed to Harris collections to dress up. That took us an hour while Globetek was busy taking every moment. The suits and shoes were classic and elegant. We took various snap shots as we waited to be picked for church. The bride and her group were doing the same in a different room. After sometime, 3 black range rovers arrived to take us to church. This became more exciting because they all decorated, "THE BIG WEDDING". 

This left the streets of Kampala in shock wondering what was taking place on a cool Wednesday morning. We headed to church, in a convoy and arrived at Christ the king church at about 11am. People had started arriving for the mass. In about 15 minutes the bride and her team arrived in black limousine well decorated. The mass began at exactly 12pm. It was led by Rev Fr. Kisembo who happens to be my uncle. I saw my bride walk in church with her entourage smartly dressed. I couldn't believe it, but it was true. Mass went well. We said vows and sealed it finally. Church was almost full to capacity surprisingly being a Wednesday. The choir did so well through out the mass. After mass, we had snap shots inside and outside church. We then left in a limousine to Serena hotel for studio photos at Globetek. We had as many as possible. Meantime we had our 3 day old baby who would breast feed in sessions as the function went on.

We left Serena at about 5pm and left for Seven Trees Kololo to join our guests for dinner. On arriving, we first took photos at seven trees beautiful gardens and had refreshments as well. The whole place was branded outside with banners etc. We couldn't wait to see what was inside. Eventually we were ushered inside the reception tent with entertainment from Irene Ntale. The decoration inside was so beautiful thanks to events warehouse and other sponsors. My wife couldn't help shedding tears of joy as we headed to the high table. The whole place was full of guests from different places. This was so amusing. 

The MC of the day was Oulanya Columbus who set the congregation into laughters every minute. We had a very beautiful evening coupled with fun, drinks from Pepsi and club, food from Seascallop restaurant, wine from Karuka wines, and a 5 tier cake from La patisserie among other sponsors. We had entertainment from BebeCool and Pastor Wilson Bugembe who made the function more colourful. We received so many gifts including an air ticket to Johannesburg South Africa from Rwanda Air. We had various speeches from people. The function was concluded with a dance from us. After we headed to Le petit village where we spent our first night as husband and wife. We had a very beautiful night, our room was well decorated, and there was a small bed for our baby. We had a wonderful breakfast and good facilitation till we left in the afternoon. Meantime we postponed our honeymoon till September since our daughter was too young.

We started our marriage life thanks to capital. My wife moved in with me officially some thing I had been waiting for a very long time. The big wedding was published in almost every newspaper, on TV etc. We got so many friends since then. We started working on our visas for the trip to South Africa with help from Rwanda air and capital radio who provided supporting documents. After a few days, we submitted our documents at the South African embassy and we got our visas after 2 days including our daughter's. We started organising for the journey. 

We were handed our tickets officially plus gift hampers by Rwanda air a day before we left for South Africa. We left for South Africa on the 10th of September, 2015 at about 5pm with Rwanda aircraft. We first landed in Kigali and after 1hr we boarded another aircraft to Johannesburg. It was a wonderful experience, we travelled in business class and had a wonderful treat from Rwanda air. We arrived in Johannesburg at about 11pm. We landed at Oliver Tambo airport. We were received by a gentleman called George with his team.

We headed to capital empire hotel Sun City about 15 km from the airport. We were received by a team of professional people who took us to our room gave us all the assistance that we needed. The room was so beautiful with world class facilities. We had a wonderful dinner and slept since we were very tired. The following day was well spent, first with a wonderful breakfast with lots of dishes, we had a tour around Sun City among other places.

The following morning we went garden court's hotel also in Sun City. This was the best with various swimming pools, Jim, spacious rooms with world class facilities etc. We toured Nelson Mandela memorial ground, with a very beautiful Mandela monument. Generally we had a lot of fun and good experience, I can't explain it all. But guess what, all this was fully paid for. We didn't spend any shilling. We returned to Uganda on the 15th of September. After a few days of our return, we received our wedding package from Globetek, 2 big photo albums, 4 portraits, 2 video DVDs among others at no cost. Globetek did a wonderful job captured every single moment, the photos are so beautifully hanged in our house.

There a lot I can say about the big wedding. For sure, I can write a novel. The aftermath of the big event came with so many blessings, first if all I finally married the woman of my life officially, we became famous, we got so many friends but the best of all is that 2 months after, I was promoted at work and my salary doubled. We are living a happier life than ever before, we plan together, and we have managed to put up good investments together. Our daughter will make 2 years on 9th August 2017 and we will celebrate our 2^nd anniversary on the 12th of August. Life is getting better and better. We are expecting another child before end of this year.

In conclusion, I would like to once again thank Capital FM radio and all the sponsors of the big wedding for giving us an opportunity to start a new life through a fully paid for wedding that so many people dream to have. We also thank God for his favour because about 500 couples applied but we emerged winners. The big wedding will always be part of our lives.