Her voice did melt my heart

I CHERISH YOU TO BITS. Daniel Ssenfuma, a videographer at NTV, and Rhona Kirabo, a journalist became one. The two lovebirds met at a work meeting and they have since never looked back. They wedded at St James Church in Mukono on January 28,2018.

How did you come to know each other?
Daniel: I met Rhona about three-and-a-half years ago. Because I’m a videographer, I sometimes do adverts. One day, I had to do an advert for some institution and I needed a feminine voice because I had failed to get the university girls who normally help me out. My mind turned to a media bureau in Mukono and it is where I met Rhona. Just hearing her speak confirmed she could suit the voicing. In fact, she did it next to perfect, it was approved.
Rhona: In 2015 , one evening after work, Daniel approached me to help him with a certain advert. I believe he liked my voice because I did it to the end.

How did you get close?
Daniel: Rhona is beautiful but I did not know much about her. However, we met more often because of the several changes that we had to make in the advert. The continuous meeting gave me chance to know her better. She is warm.
Rhona: Later, Daniel joined us as the NTV news correspondent making him part of the team. This brought us closer.
When did you propose to her?
Daniel: I do not recall that detail except the day she said yes after eight months in 2016. Can you imagine, it was through a text message? That night, things were not the same. I felt happy and it gave me more assurance that I would one day make her my wife. Because she likes cappuccinos, her acceptance gave me more reasons to take her out and open up more. The marriage proposal did not actually take her even a minute to accept.

How did you react to his love proposal?
Rhona: I had not planned to be in a relationship then and his persistence was so annoying that I started pushing him a way. However, in the process, I noticed his God-fearing and caring nature. I have a daughter that he loved so much and cared for; this triggered my feelings. After knowing him better, I gave him a chance and it worked out.

So when did you later accept his proposal?
Rhona: It took me about eight months to make up my mind and when we met again, he put a ring on my finger.

What do you like about each other?
Daniel: Rhona is reserved, beautiful, God-fearing, focused, loving and has a parental heart.
Rhona: Daniel is a true friend that I had never met.

What was the most exciting moment about your wedding?
Daniel: When Rhona accepted to go to my home on our wedding night. So seeing her coming out of the car, walking towards the house and hugging her for the first time sealed my dream. It is something I had longed for.
Rhona: When my in-laws came for me in the morning of our wedding day. I realised my dream to get married had finally come to pass. I also loved the decoration at the reception venue.

What was your colour theme?
Rhona: Peach which I blended with gold and white. It is a very nice and unique colour combination.

How did you raise the funds?
Daniel: Towards our wedding day, members of our families and friends had weddings which we had to greatly contribute to, so we ended up failing to raise money for what we wanted.

What kind of rings did you buy?
Daniel: We were advised to buy relatively cheaper rings for the ceremony because of our financial constraints. I’m yet to buy new ones which are made of gold and are more durable, they will also be blessed by the clergy.

What challenged you the most during the wedding preparation?
Daniel: Two days to the wedding, the transport service providers changed their minds, I think for a better deal. This left us in a dilemma but I was quick to think of a solution. I approached Hon Betty Nambooze who offered us three Mercedes Benzes.
Rhona: We were hard up on funds because many people made pledges but they did not fulfil them.

Who was in charge of music?
Daniel: We used Planet Sounds from Mukono. The music system was good but the DJ was not up to the game. This cost us Shs800,000.

What was the most expensive item on the budget?
Rhona: Food. We had initially planned for Shs20,000 per plate at Shs10m for 400 to 500 guests but the number exceeded. Thank God, with the help of friends, we managed to pull it off.
Daniel: A friend also gave me a full pickup of matooke which reduced the burden.

How much did your suit cost?
Daniel: I wanted something nice and affordable. My suit was tailored by my late father’s friend at Shs500,000.

Did you have any fears on that day?
Daniel: I was worried about the rain given the fact that we held an outdoor reception. I also thought that people would not honour their invites given that sometimes people organise weddings and guests do not turn up.
Rhona: The weather seemed unstable.

Were you disappointed in any way?
Daniel: Designated drivers disappeared and made me pay double. My bosses did not turn up even after giving them an invitation and sharing the programme. Also, when we went to change our clothes, the MC distributed the cakes.
Rhona: Seeing the people we had selected to help out at the reception seated instead of doing what they had promised.

Did you have debts after the wedding?
Daniel: We had a debt of Shs500,000 for the venue, music and food.

Where did you go for honeymoon?
Daniel: We agreed to have the first blessings in our house. I had to decorate the bedroom and the bed for my bride.

Were you hurt by Daniel’s decision to have honeymoon at home?
Rhona: No, I had been advised never to take the blessings away from our home. My husband is planning for a trip at a convenient time.

How critical was premarital counselling?
Daniel: Rev Edward Muyomba told us that there is no formula for marriage; we have the liberty to make it what we want it to be. He focused on love, talking with love and God amidst us nothing will ever fail.
Rhona: We were told to keep our love strong and to be supportive. I was told to be submissive to win favour and love. Never to discriminate our children and put God first in everything.

Given chance to rewed, what would be your centre of focus?
Daniel: I would look for a bigger church because many friends were deprived of the chance to witness us exchange our vows.
Rhona: I would only change the decoration setting, having different round tables in all the tents.