Pablo and Karen Kimuli

How did you meet?
Karen: We met at Watoto Church. We had always known each other, seen each other around. We shared a couple of friends. The actual “meeting” was at an overnight in October 2009. During the overnight break, we got to chatting. We bumped into each other again, had a chat. That’s how we became friends.

What attracted you to him?
Karen: I just felt comfortable. When you feel comfortable with someone and you can talk about anything and everything; that is what gave me the feeling that we were somehow connected. I liked who he was aside from being the artiste. I liked the ‘Kenneth’ part of Pablo. He is godly. He cares more about what God thinks of him than what people think. To me, that was enough. I didn’t need someone who would work so hard to impress me. To me as long as you impressed God, you would impress me.

Pablo: She is very principled and she will always do what her heart tells her to do. One of the things I find interesting is that she did not look at me as Pablo. She looked at me as Kenneth Kimuli. She did not pass as a fan. She passed as a friend. To me, that is what counted. She is a very hard person to make laugh. To me, I felt that this was the best litmus test.

The proposal
Karen: We met on October 24, 2009 and he proposed on February 14, 2010. In our chats, we had always talked about our dreams. My dream wedding location was the Golf Course Hotel out there by the pool. On Valentine’s Day in 2010. He took me there. I had forgotten what I had told him. He had asked me for a wallet photo. He told me he wanted to see if it could fit in his new wallet. That day, after we had eaten, he excused himself to go and bring his wallet. In my head, I was like, “who leaves their wallet in the car?” he went and came back with a backpack. He pulled out a glass globe that looked like a heart-shaped trophy. It had my picture on it. I looked at it and said, “This is a cute gift”, when I read the words and it read, “On this day, I propose, will you marry me?” It was quite unusual. I asked him why and he had to explain himself.

Pablo: That question is one of the hardest questions I have ever answered.

Memorable thing about the wedding
Karen: I got to give a testimony before I walked down the aisle. I had it recorded. I just wanted everyone to see it clearly that it was God who had brought me to that point. I had been through a very hard time in my life before that and I never imagined that I could come to such a moment.

Pablo: The most defining moment was when together with my family; sisters and cousins, we sang as a choir for Karen. We had our family song and we sang three special songs for her. From that day, we called it Korwizi Botanical Choir.

Another thing that I will never forget is that I got a call from Bishop Zac Niringiye before we walked down the aisle and he gave me a manly talk.

How did you choose the colours?
Karen: My colours were red, orange and yellow. I like bright, sunny colours. Orange is my husband’s favourite colour. We had to incorporate something he loves and something I love. I just wanted something bright and different.

What could you have done differently?
Karen: We probably should have ended the wedding celebrations at Golf Course hotel. Afterwards, we had a reception (more like a concert) at Capital Palace. It was fun but a bit tedious. Based on the stature of my husband, there were so many people. At times, you want something cozy.

Pablo: I don’t regret anything that happened. If I was to change anything, maybe Rev. Bamutungire’s wife should not have given birth on that day, because he was supposed to be one of those leading prayers and his wife gave birth and he did not come but that is something I can’t change.

The cake
The couple’s wedding cake was made was made by Karen’s mother, no articular cost can be attached to it. It was a fruit cake decorated in their theme colours.

Golden tips for organising a wedding
Karen: For the lady, do everything to please your family at your introduction, but let your wedding be tailored to a memory that you want to have and a dream that is yours; not so much about pleasing everyone. Small, intimate, exquisite weddings are the way to go. I’m into events and wedding planning. I always encourage the bride and groom to choose the three key things that they love and want for their wedding. Everything else should not matter. For me it was about the clothes, the cake and the (church) ceremony. As long as those went well, it did not matter.

Pablo: Do not budget beyond your means. Assume that you are to arrange this wedding without outside help. What would you cover and what would you leave out? In the event that things fall apart, then you know what is important. To me, the important things were church registration fees and food.

Wedding hitches
Karen: We had an interesting Mcee who disappeared at some point. We did not know where he was, so we had to have a backup plan. My husband had to Mcee at the wedding.

Golden tips for marriage
Karen: It is about being considerate and willing to compromise on some of the things that are your dreams and expectations. Above all, it’s about praying and trusting in God who brought you into it, to sustain you. His word says that “He who began a good work in you will be faithful to complete it.”

Pablo: One of the things I believe in is honesty. You need to be honest with your partner. You can run, but you cannot hide. No matter how bitter the truth is, you need to tell it because it will catch up with you.

Pleasant surprises
Pablo: I met a guy (some tycoon) when we were walking out of Golf course hotel. He said, “Pablo, you have wedded! He first laughed and then reached into his pocket and gave me dollars. Those dollars covered the honeymoon and even when we came back.

What was your wedding budget?
Karen: In my calculation it could have been Shs25 million. Though people believe it was more. To add to the hitches, at the wedding ceremony, because of the stature of my husband, we were supposed to have 400 people, but I think we had 750.

Pablo: One of the things we were blessed with was that most things that we would have spent money on, like entertainment, were covered. The venue was almost free. At Capital Palace, we only paid for the food. We did not pay for cars. We were given drinks. If you are to put the exact bill to it, the wedding cost about three times the amount of money we spent. My wife designed her own dress, but I think someone paid for it. By the time we finished the second wedding meeting, almost everything was covered.

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