Why you should consider having your wedding on a weekday

Sophia Adhiambo Dongla and Steven Dongla. Because they wanted to avoid having a cliché wedding, they settled for having it on a Friday. PHOTO | COURTESY

What you need to know:

  • Olwangu recalls that planning was easy because we were not in competition with any event or another wedding that day.
  • Mutanu says that their relatives had other functions to attend on most of the Saturdays, so having the wedding on a Monday proved to be convenient.

Do people have weekday weddings? And is it okay to have one? Most people who Google workweek weddings seem to be wondering, if top searches on the topic are anything to go by.

Maybe you are one of them. Or perhaps a friend sent you a card with an invite for a Monday wedding, and after double-checking the said date you wondered why anyone in their right mind would want to celebrate their big day on a lazy Monday afternoon.

Well, here is the news for you; Saturday weddings are so 2008 that you may want to press on your upgrade button.

According to data from a 2018 survey conducted by the wedding-planning website The Knot, approximately one in five global weddings took place on weekdays for the past seven years.

'Why?' You may ask. The top reasons range from the need to secure a dream venue, settle for a favourite date, lower costs, shorten the guest list and the yearning to make the day meaningful for the couple.

"In the past five or 10 years, we've seen couples really move toward this idea of doing something that represents [them]," says Catherine Masitsa, chief executive officer and founder of Samantha Bridals Kenya.

Sold on yet? If you are still digesting the news, perhaps the testimonies from these four couples will hasten your thoughts.

VENUE AVAILABILITY

Tom Olwangu (Tours and Travel Consultant) and Diana Olwangu (Accountant) are in their 30's

Wedding Date: Thursday, November 30, 2017

“Ours was on a Thursday and we couldn't have chosen it on a better day.

It was complicated because we couldn't manage to set our wedding date on a Saturday because, in our church, it's usually hectic to book a date, especially during the last quarter of the year.

We also had a wedding committee who helped us in the planning and raising part of the amount.

We had a guest list of 300 people and we were surprised that 350 guests showed up for the wedding.

Tom and Diana Olwangu. They settled for Thursday as their wedding day since they were unable to set it on a Saturday due to their church's hectic schedule. PHOTO | COURTESY

It was amazing to see friends put their schedules on hold just to attend our big day. It being a weekday, service providers were more relaxed and we got great discounts that enabled us to cater for any extra guests.

TRAFFIC

You can plan for a weekday wedding within a week, especially if funds are available. Planning was easy because we were not in competition with any event or another wedding that day.

However, the biggest challenge was the heavy traffic on the day. Another qualm was that an organising committee member forgot that the wedding was not on a Saturday. He had to work overnight to make up.

On a hilarious note, some of our relatives confused the days and came to the church on that Saturday and found another wedding.

They even proceeded to the reception without realising that they were at the wrong wedding.

Thursday worked for us. We are also proud to have saved Ksh100,000 from our initial budget of Sh520,000, Diana says. "I am just glad I managed to wed the love of my life," beams Tom.

CONVENIENCE

Thomas Obare, 28 (Supplies Business) and Nancy Ombati, 28 (Hotelier)

Wedding Date: Friday, May 3, 2019

"Our wedding took place at Kisii Cathedral and the reception thereafter at Kisii Sports club.

The wedding cost came up to Sh1.4 million and we used our savings without getting any contributions.

Our main aim was to ensure that we picked a convenient date for all our guests. The presiding priest was also held up so we had to work with the church’s calendar, and that’s why we picked a Friday instead.

We had planned to have the mass at 10am but that was not the case at Nancy’s home was in Keroka, which was 50km away from my homestead. Unfortunately, we got to church a bit late as we left Nancy’s home at noon, but everything went smoothly from there on," shares Thomas.

Thomas and Nancy Obare. Their wedding took place on a Friday. PHOTO | COURTESY

"We were already late for mass and found the guests a bit anxious. Luckily, the presiding priest understood and we proceeded to have the mass at 2pm and by 4pm we were already at the photo session, which was the same venue as our reception.

We didn’t feel much of a difference, and we would urge more couples out there to be open to having their weddings on other days apart from Saturdays," he advises.

GUEST LIST

Lilian Mutanu, 31 (Risk Management Consultant) and Antony Mbithi, 31 (Realtor)

Wedding Date: Monday, August 12, 2019

“Our big day was on a Monday and we remember our parents' friends complaining by saying, ‘Why can't they just change it to a Saturday?'

They were sceptical at first but they ended up supporting our decision. They became curious to see how the day would turn out.

We also had to keep reminding people that the day was going to be on a Monday and not a Saturday.

We felt that we didn't want a large crowd at our wedding and thought Monday would be ideal.

Our relatives also had other functions to attend on most of the Saturdays so doing the wedding on a Monday proved to be convenient.

The vendors were available because weekdays are usually not so busy for them, and we were able to get good discounts too.

Lilian Mutanu and Antony Mbithi. Their wedding took place on a Monday. PHOTO | COURTESY

We also felt relaxed as everything was running smoothly without so much pressure. It was also quite memorable since most people are not accustomed to weddings on odd days.

My most memorable moment was when both our parents blessed our union before the speeches were made. It was by far the most special moment throughout the entire day," Antony concludes.

UNIQUE DAY

Sophia Adhiambo Dongla, 31 (Lawyer) and Steven Dongla, 33 (Chef)

Wedding Date: Friday, October 20, 2017

“Around our wedding date, the country was going through uncertainty because the Supreme Court had just annulled the elections in September and the new election date had been set for October 17, 2017.

We were worried, hoping that the elections wouldn't interfere with our plans. After a lot of consulting, we decided to move the date to October 13 which was still a Friday.

Since we had already planned for the 20th, we had to make adjustments by calling the service providers and informing them on the new date.

However, we informed them that if the election date were to change then we would have it on our dream date, which was October 20, 2017.

God answered our prayers, as the election date was pushed to October 26 and we were able to do the wedding on the 20th.

Our budget was Ksh450,000 and we managed to raise it. The service providers were flexible and were ready to work on that date; especially since we had informed them in advance.

We also made sure we informed our guests that the date was already confirmed to avoid any confusion.

CLICHÉ

We were happy that our seven months of preparation was finally paying off, and we ended up saving Ksh50,000 as we managed to negotiate for better rates with our service providers.

We chose the date to celebrate all the shujaas (heroes) in our lives such as family and friends who were with us when we started the journey of courtship.

Since it was on Mashujaa Day, we were a bit worried because the President was meant to address the nation at Uhuru Park and the church was near State House (AIC Milimani).

We were afraid that the Presidential motorcade would block our way. Luckily, we were on time.

As we look back on our special day, we wanted to avoid having a cliché wedding and that's why we settled for having it on a Friday.

Initially, the people from our village had mixed emotions about it and kept saying that it's not normal to have a wedding on another day apart from Saturday, but with time they accepted it.

Therefore, if you are planning to have a wedding soon then you should consider having it on an odd day because it's much simpler to plan and if you prefer a lesser crowd, then it will work to your advantage. Gone are the days when people stuck to traditions or what is the norm.”