We thank God for the blessing & favour that He has granted us, to enable us, out of nothing that we have done, to be privy to such grand love stories. We thank God that He has enabled us to use this gift that He placed in our hands to be a blessing to such wonderful people as Bevan & Abby…When I think about all this, this saying by Erma Bombeck comes to remembrance
Today, we have the pleasure of sharing with you Abby & Bevan’s Love story…this is what Bevan had to say about their love story…
‘If there were ever such a thing as a secret agency that predetermines and orders the course of events in our lives then they were well and truly earning their pay when it came to Abby and I finding each other.
On a whim, Abby had elected to leave her world in Kenya and join an airline to see the world and take on a plethora of new challenges.
Meanwhile, from the other side of the planet in New Zealand, I had set out around the world climbing the industry ladder of driving big metal tubes that scream through the sky with wings attached.
Both our decisions and paths, as if scripted straight from The Hero’s Journey Mono-myth, had led us to not just the Middle East, but the same country and the same airline.
Two to three years later on a typically hot pre-summer day early in May we were both enduring a rostered airline duty we all dislike – the “sit at home and wait for the possibility of being called out at short notice” duty. Known to us as “standby”
The calls came. Bags packed. Uniforms on. Out the door. Pre-departure briefing done. Immigration cleared. Aircraft fuelled. Passengers onboard. Brussels here we come.
Eight hours or so later we were clambering out of a bus and heading into the lobby of a hotel. Once inside the rest of the crew dove deep into discussion to finalize the details of the most important of tasks that must be organised once we hit a hotel – “where are we all going out for dinner”
A very sleep deprived Abby and Bevan on the other hand had finally made eye contact.
Using all our small talk and pick up line skills we were debating whether, once we got to our rooms, we would fall asleep faster if we just fell on our beds or if we had a long hot bath or shower first.
Peer pressure being what it is however, we were overheard and any plans of a long night of catch up sleep were well and truly quashed.
Ergo, an hour later we found ourselves showered, changed and back downstairs in the quaint little hotel lobby bar, wine in hand and starting our journey down the road of falling for each other…
A late evening wander through the small side streets around Grote Markt led our group to a great little local spot.
Fantastic food. Great conversations. Perfect company. A first kiss and a hand in hand stroll under a magical European night sky back to the hotel well after midnight.
Our life together could not have started more romantically.
Many have told us it was fate.
Many have told us it was just meant to be.
Maybe it was a secret love plotting agency.
Or maybe it was good ol’ Serendipity…
You decide.
For us we are just super happy and madly in love.’
~Bevan
You may remember Abby & Bevan from their engagement we shot a while ago at Sovereign Suites…You can check out the story here.
The A-team that helped Abby & Bevan pull off their dream wedding…
Ceremony :: Enashipai Resort & Spa
Reception ::Enashipai Resort & Spa
Photo-session ::Enashipai Resort & Spa
Bridal Gown :: Maggie Sottero
Bridal Shoes :: Casadei
Wedding Co-ordinator :: Arune Ngare
Bridal Jewellery :: Swarovski
Groom’s Outfit :: Massimo Dutti
Maids’ Outfits :: Abu Dhabi – lil couture shop
Make Up Artist :: Make-up By Koby
Hair :: Vincent’s
Cake :: Sky Fusion
Catering ::Enashipai Resort & Spa
Decor :: Infinite Planners + Wedding Floral Centre
Band :: Gogosimo
MC :: Michael Oyier
Our morning, like every other wedding, started with the early chipping birds…
Loved their choice of footwear
Abby’s choice of gowns for her wedding
This has to be the most creative wedding invite ever created
Vincent works his magic on the girls
Koby dolls up our gorge bride, Abby
Maria stuns in her bridesmaids gown
The girls assist Abby to fit into her Maggie Sottero gown
Isn’t she adorable?
Nothing matches the warm embrace of a mother
Now we all know who was 1st on the line when God distributed beauty 🙂
We left Nairobi & headed for Naivasha…
Meanwhile…in Naivasha the guys were just awakening
Bevan & his sister Toni getting ready…Toni for today, was masquerading as a groomsman. Pretty cool huh?
Bevan & Toni’s folks were here to help their son get ready…Parents are truly God sent.
Making sure brother looks dapper on his big day
Bevan & the ‘Groomsmen’ 🙂
Finally we arrived at Enashipai and hang out a bit before heading out to the ceremony
Wedding Programme on fleek!
Nothing but love
A toast of some good ol’ Bottega Rose gold wine never hurt nobody
The ceremony set up was the semblance of a dream come true…overlooking the breath-taking Lake Naivasha
The decor was…for lack of a better adjective…Scrumptious 🙂
Our ride from the suites to the ceremony consisted of these super-cute golf carts
And the procession commenced
Finally, Abby accompanied with her parents, got to walk the grassy isle to her knight-in-shining-armour
It was really hard to fight back those precious tears…
Bevan’s folks were at hand to ensure that no manly tears were shed 🙂
And when they met, sweet, soulful pleasantries were exchanged
And two families were joined together to become one single unit
Very touchy-touchy vows were shared
Their marriage certificate finally gets signed in as law
I do not know whether these were tears of joy, I am yet to find out 🙂
Finally legal, husband & wife!
No idea what was so hilarious, but it got them pretty amused
Perfect 1st Kiss as husband & wife
Michael Oyier was thoroughly professional, funny & one of the best time keepers, MCs have to offer!
Finally, the great reveal….MR & MRS DODDS!
There were enough kisses to go round
This was one great celebratory recession
As a single heartbeat, the two families now harmonised as one
Abby & Bevan were gracious enough to provide their guests with a cocktail & some bitings as were finalised the mid-day portrait session
We had a brief but fun session with a backdrop of the amazing Acacia trees
🙂 The close-ups always do it in for me
Crazy team this was….crazy is good though!
Sister-in-love duties 🙂
Bevan & the girls on that high-fashion tip
We found some freshly chopped logs, where Abby the ‘guys’ slayed it 🙂
Abby with her bro
Cabin crew do make the best Bridesmaids 🙂
Hahahah loved this series right here, especially the one Abby attempting to hit Bevan with a baby-log 🙂
Chauffeured transportation courtesy of Bevan & Matt
Uh-huh bring it on ladies!!
“You’ve gotta dance like there’s nobody watching,
Love like you’ll never be hurt,
Sing like there’s nobody listening,
And live like it’s heaven on earth.”
― William W. Purkey
See y’all at the other side…i.e. the lunch place 🙂
We arrived at a beautifully laid reception, kudos to the decor team
And lunch was served…absolutely mouth-watering dish this was
Gogosimo literally brought the house down, definitely once of the best live bands we have in town
And then we walked in to much joy, fun & jubilationi
The speeches were brief, hilarious & sprinkled with tinges of emotion & personal stories
‘Did I hear someone mention Cake?’, the little girl said. Yep it was that time of day
Introducing their award-winning, personalised cake-topper
That cake was as tasty to the tongue as it was to the eyes 🙂
Who said that cake-cutting has to be cliche & text-book
Both sets of parents each got these cute cakes contained in these intricate china
Bouquet-toss always makes my day
3 loud cheers to the bridal team for accepting to climb up the waterfall, health-insurance notwithstanding 🙂
Aren’t these two just cut out for each other?
Bevan got to flex his pilot muscles & carry his bride to the lake shores 🙂
To our dismay, there was no golden sunset. It was a dull & overcast evening, but hey, it worked right?
Next we moved to Enashipai’s state-of-the-art club where they had their 1st dance
The club has a gigantic screen on the dance floor. They danced with ‘Ed Sheeran’s – Thinking Out Loud’ playing in the background
And then the family & friends joined them on the dance floor
Father-in-love & daughter dance
We had another bouquet-toss at the club & Toni was the lucky girl
And then we had the garter session
Hahahaha loved this shot right here
You can imagine our shock when Bevan came up with guy-boxers instead of the garter 🙂 good laugh we had
The 2nd time was the charm, and this time he came out with the garter
Garter toss & one lucky gentleman got to be the next groom in waiting
Hahahaha behold the gift they got, courtesy of ‘Ma fans’ :)…Too creative
After leaving the club we headed to their honeymoon suite for some last look portraits
The suite had been adequately prepared awaiting the newly weds
They had a change of outfit to something more casual & comfortable
A snippet of their intimate portraits
The groom admires his beautiful bride
And with these gorgeous images, we called it a night, an absolutely beautiful wedding it had been. Congratulation to the new life that you have just began, Abby & Bevan, may our good Lord guide & direct you always…
God Bless,
THE KIRUTHIs