A new craze is seducing couples across Uganda in a quest to show off newfound wealth for status. In a race to outdo their neighbors, brides and grooms are going to extremes on their big day. Ugandan weddings are now big business—big dresses, big venues, and big bills. I’m on the shores of Lake Victoria, here to witness one of the biggest weddings in Kampala in recent weeks. Over half a million couples are getting married every year in Uganda, but in a country where the average annual income is just over $700, many people are spending a small, and sometimes unaffordable, fortune on their wedding.
"You feel like your husband can provide, you feel like you really made a mistake."
Rita Sekumite is an up-and-coming wedding planner in Kampala. She started her own events company three years ago. Rita is meeting Viola, a bride-to-be, for a very special appointment.
"You've done the embroidery. No? Wow! Something...yeah, I know... big, complicated. We shall get there. It looks so nice! I love the hook that just holds your waist so nicely. Breathe. We are going to try it until we get you what you want."
"It's very nice. How much does that crown go for?"
"Two hundred thousand only."
"Wow, that's about two hundred thousand."
"I don't believe you."
Rita is one of an estimated 130 wedding planners in the capital. "You can do a lot better than that. I think we shall get it for you, for your mother." Wedding planners, bridal salons, and a range of new businesses are all profiting from the new, more modern approach to getting married: the big white wedding.
"Okay, so we’ve fallen in love with this gown. If you wanted to just buy it and take it away, how much would it cost?"
"Four point five million, about one thousand five hundred dollars. But that would be perfect."
Rita’s workload is increasing. She now usually works one wedding every weekend in Uganda. "Getting married is a big deal. It's an achievement. I would say since I started this business about three years ago, the wedding business has really changed a lot. It’s really a lucrative business right now. More and more clients are getting interested in wedding planning when they attend their friends' weddings, and they just turn out so well. And their friends are like, 'I got a planner!' and they’re like, 'I should get a planner for my wedding.'"
Rita has noticed a marked trend toward bigger, ever-more-lavish weddings. "Five years ago, you would talk to somebody, and you’re like, 'Look, eighty people are enough.' They'd be like, 'Yeah, it’s about me getting married today.' Eighty people? Are you serious?"
Joyce Nakata has invited 1,500 guests today. She’s getting married to her high school sweetheart, Ronald Kiswa. The couple had a traditional union ten years ago, but like many Ugandans, they now want a second ceremony—a big white wedding.
This morning, I’m on the shores of Lake Victoria, here to witness one of the biggest weddings in Kampala in recent weeks. It’s organized by Rosa Roots Events, and Rosa Roots organizes lavish, big parties. So, this is going to be huge. Rita has come to meet and observe one of the most successful wedding planners in the country. Over the last ten years, Rosa Roots has built a reputation organizing the most extravagant weddings.
"So, what are the figures? Roughly how much went into this wedding?"
"They spend like 300 million to 400 million shillings."
"Wow, that’s interesting. That’s about over $100,000. That’s huge."
"It took us like three months to organize this wedding. Rosa Roots is a big team, you know. This is the work of our duties every time. We have a video team, we’re like 20 people in total. The coordination right... the party... so it’s a big thing—like a hundred people altogether."
"Yes, that’s nice. That’s nice! Wow, that dress looks so beautiful on her. It complements her so well. I could say it goes for about eight million Ugandan shillings. All about. It’s about $2,500."
The couple moves on to Uganda’s oldest cathedral for their religious ceremony, as some of their wedding guests begin to pour into the reception. It’s expected to be huge. We even have national TV right here, capturing this lavish wedding. We have some of the biggest houses in Kampala over there, the Dicksons—lovely. It costs over nine thousand US dollars. You can imagine that! That’s really huge.
Gamble run... out of what a sham... be back at them when Yamaraja Karate... oh my... cam Lamborghini!
You may think Joyce and Ronald’s reception could rival a royal wedding, but the couple are part of a new wave of successful Ugandan entrepreneurs. They run two thriving retail businesses and a restaurant in Kampala, earning them an annual income of 800 million Ugandan shillings—about $200,000.
Five-star venues, production crews, fireworks, six-tier cakes, their very own thrones, and caterers serving a feast for all the guests. These are just some of the things couples across Uganda now request on their wedding day. Such demand is fueling the growing wedding industry. People like Rita, Rosa, and decorator Asha are all reaping the benefits.
"So, tell me, how much do you charge for such amazing decor?"
"We donate 50 million Ugandan shillings, roughly around $13,500 US."
"Do you think weddings have changed a lot over the years? From ten years ago, how have they changed?"
"Of course, they’ve really changed. Initially, we didn’t have all this. We didn’t have lighted tables. We didn’t have those flowers. We were importing from Nairobi. We didn’t have that art and creativity to really go and expense purchasing something from India or China to recreate that effect. So, we’ve really changed."
At a wedding where no expense has been spared, it’s no surprise the entertainment is a national treasure.
But not all couples opting for second ceremonies and big white weddings can afford it. Rita is meeting a couple who have been facing challenges since their two wedding ceremonies.
"So, right now I’m on my way to visit my old clients. I did their wedding last year. Moses and Joan, such a lovely couple, but right now they are going through some financial difficulties because of the expenses they had to incur for their wedding. They had to go into debt. It has greatly affected their marriage, so I’m going to check on them and see how they are progressing."
Father, in Jesus’s name, we thank You.
Moses is a 33-year-old pastor whose livelihood is dependent on community donations. His 27-year-old wife, Joan, is a new mom who works odd jobs when she can.
"Moses, tell me, why were you under so much pressure to have this big wedding?"
"First and foremost, because of my position as a pastor, as a man of God in the community, in society, and even in church as well, I had to give them what they expected from me. So, I wish I had listened to what you told me—the advice of taking a more minimal approach. But I had no choice. If I had a chance to do it again, I would really do it much better and at a more affordable cost, within my means."
Moses and Joan spent $10,000 on their wedding ceremonies, half of which went toward the bride price. They still owe $4,000 to friends and family.
"A few of them had to support me through it all. They had to give me some money. It’s been so challenging. Sometimes, you really feel like Hellboy. All these debts are sacred. I feel like my husband is now at peace, but my situation has been so tense, as a man, as a father, and as a husband. Also, as a pastor, sometimes you feel like you’re not worth it. You end up making sacrifices just to put food on the table. Like some days I used to tell my wife, 'You know, I’m fasting.' And we couldn’t even share a meal together. It has put many stresses on me, and a lot of pressure, even between my wife and me. With good stress, you can develop depression as well. You feel like your husband cannot provide, you feel like you made a mistake."
Nevertheless, sometimes we pray to get off the hook.
Issues certainly arise... O God, for the waters are coming to my soul.
As a leader of his community, Moses wants to know what can be done to prevent other couples from ending up in a similar situation. He has heard groups of politicians are proposing a change in the law to regulate weddings and support young couples getting married.
Monica Ahmad Inga is an MP leading the campaign. "There has to be regulation, indeed regulation of marriages, so that we don’t commercialize and make it a business per se. As a country, we have not moved fast enough to address the costs embedded in celebrating the various types of marriages—customary marriage, civil marriage, and church marriage. That’s why we are working together as members of parliament to streamline these types of marriages and provide for the basic requirements that are acceptable under the law."
"I'm really interested in hearing what parliamentarians are discussing about it."
The MPs are also proposing a legal change to the tradition of bride price in an effort to reduce wedding costs. "The first thing that we require is that bride price doesn’t have to be paid, and if it is paid, it should not be refundable, as it has been."
As couples across Uganda decide on how they wish to celebrate their marriage, they will each find their unique way of balancing tradition and the allure of the big white wedding.
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