Some couples leave their wedding reception in a stretch limo. Others may opt for a more traditional horse-drawn carriage. Nadia Hussain and Salem Al Muraikhi chose something rather different — and caused a social media sensation in the process.
The newly-weds, who are members of the Emirates Riders biking community, climbed aboard Harley-Davidson motorcycles festooned with flowers and netting. They roared off from Al Raha Beach Hotel in Abu Dhabi with more than 60 bikers joining them in their celebration.
------------------------------------
Read more from our blog: Abu Dhabi couple celebrate biker wedding
------------------------------------
Nadia, 29, astride a Sportster Forty-Eight, was in an all-white outfit including a hijab, wedges and trousers under a tulle skirt, bedazzled gloves and an elaborate beaded jacket with spiked epaulettes. Salem, 32, was slightly less dramatic in wearing a neck scarf and black T-shirt with a skull motif. Road-safety campaigners will be pleased that the bride and groom wore helmets.
“My husband and I love riding our bikes, and so after we had our traditional wedding on Thursday with family and friends, we had this second wedding with our biker friends,” says Nadia. “We wanted to do something different.”
The couple invited the Jordanian website AmmanAlyoum to film the wedding, and video posted on YouTube on Sunday had been viewed about 800,000 times by yesterday. Not all the comments are positive, but the couple are unapologetic.
“I am fully covered, from head to toe, and I have nothing to apologise for,” Nadia says. “There were other women bikers with us, but they only picked on me because I was wearing a hijab.”
Salem agrees. “How did you expect my wife to ride the bike? In a long dress or thoub? That is not possible,” he says.
Such has been the internet attention that the couple have yet to manage to go on their honeymoon.
“Social media is a sword with two sharp edges,” Salem says. “It can make you famous and infamous at the same time.”
In the video, the couple celebrate with dozens of bikers from Abu Dhabi, Dubai, Ras Al Khaimah, Jordan, Oman, Germany, Kuwait and Saudi Arabia. They later lead them on a procession down Sheikh Zayed Road.
Nadia, who has been riding for four years to her husband’s two, says she has always dreamt about having a special — and very different — wedding.
“We had a lot of obstacles and difficulties to make it through this day, but thanks to God I did achieve my goal and had a successful biker wedding,” she says.
“I’m so happy that I’m the first who did a biker wedding, and I want to thank my husband who supported me all the way.”
The couple now want to be left alone.
“People will eventually lose interest and move on to the next viral video and forget about us,” Salem says. “So we just have to be patient and not let this ruin our special time.”
rghazal@thenational.ae
*With files from Fadwa Torbey
Emergency
Director: Kangana Ranaut
Stars: Kangana Ranaut, Anupam Kher, Shreyas Talpade, Milind Soman, Mahima Chaudhry
Rating: 2/5
Formula Middle East Calendar (Formula Regional and Formula 4)
Round 1: January 17-19, Yas Marina Circuit – Abu Dhabi
Round 2: January 22-23, Yas Marina Circuit – Abu Dhabi
Round 3: February 7-9, Dubai Autodrome – Dubai
Round 4: February 14-16, Yas Marina Circuit – Abu Dhabi
Round 5: February 25-27, Jeddah Corniche Circuit – Saudi Arabia
Mercer, the investment consulting arm of US services company Marsh & McLennan, expects its wealth division to at least double its assets under management (AUM) in the Middle East as wealth in the region continues to grow despite economic headwinds, a company official said.
Mercer Wealth, which globally has $160 billion in AUM, plans to boost its AUM in the region to $2-$3bn in the next 2-3 years from the present $1bn, said Yasir AbuShaban, a Dubai-based principal with Mercer Wealth.
“Within the next two to three years, we are looking at reaching $2 to $3 billion as a conservative estimate and we do see an opportunity to do so,” said Mr AbuShaban.
Mercer does not directly make investments, but allocates clients’ money they have discretion to, to professional asset managers. They also provide advice to clients.
“We have buying power. We can negotiate on their (client’s) behalf with asset managers to provide them lower fees than they otherwise would have to get on their own,” he added.
Mercer Wealth’s clients include sovereign wealth funds, family offices, and insurance companies among others.
From its office in Dubai, Mercer also looks after Africa, India and Turkey, where they also see opportunity for growth.
Wealth creation in Middle East and Africa (MEA) grew 8.5 per cent to $8.1 trillion last year from $7.5tn in 2015, higher than last year’s global average of 6 per cent and the second-highest growth in a region after Asia-Pacific which grew 9.9 per cent, according to consultancy Boston Consulting Group (BCG). In the region, where wealth grew just 1.9 per cent in 2015 compared with 2014, a pickup in oil prices has helped in wealth generation.
BCG is forecasting MEA wealth will rise to $12tn by 2021, growing at an annual average of 8 per cent.
Drivers of wealth generation in the region will be split evenly between new wealth creation and growth of performance of existing assets, according to BCG.
Another general trend in the region is clients’ looking for a comprehensive approach to investing, according to Mr AbuShaban.
“Institutional investors or some of the families are seeing a slowdown in the available capital they have to invest and in that sense they are looking at optimizing the way they manage their portfolios and making sure they are not investing haphazardly and different parts of their investment are working together,” said Mr AbuShaban.
Some clients also have a higher appetite for risk, given the low interest-rate environment that does not provide enough yield for some institutional investors. These clients are keen to invest in illiquid assets, such as private equity and infrastructure.
“What we have seen is a desire for higher returns in what has been a low-return environment specifically in various fixed income or bonds,” he said.
“In this environment, we have seen a de facto increase in the risk that clients are taking in things like illiquid investments, private equity investments, infrastructure and private debt, those kind of investments were higher illiquidity results in incrementally higher returns.”
The Abu Dhabi Investment Authority, one of the largest sovereign wealth funds, said in its 2016 report that has gradually increased its exposure in direct private equity and private credit transactions, mainly in Asian markets and especially in China and India. The authority’s private equity department focused on structured equities owing to “their defensive characteristics.”
Moving%20Out%202
%3Cp%3E%3Cstrong%3EDeveloper%3A%3C%2Fstrong%3E%20SMG%20Studio%3Cbr%3E%3Cstrong%3EPublisher%3A%3C%2Fstrong%3E%20Team17%3Cbr%3E%3Cstrong%3EConsoles%3A%3C%2Fstrong%3E%20Nintendo%20Switch%2C%20PlayStation%204%26amp%3B5%2C%20PC%20and%20Xbox%20One%3Cbr%3E%3Cstrong%3ERating%3A%3C%2Fstrong%3E%204%2F5%3C%2Fp%3E%0A
