With year-round sunshine, beautiful beaches and first-rate luxury hotels, it's easy to see why the UAE is chosen by so many couples as their wedding destination. Proximity to Europe, Africa and much of Asia adds to the country's appeal, helping to strengthen its position as one of the world's most desirable wedding destinations.
According to the results of a recent survey, however, the UAE isn’t just home to a large number of weddings, but to large-sized ones, too. Daphne Cota, the exhibition director of The Bride Show, which conducted the survey and hosts the wedding fairs Bride Abu Dhabi and Bride Dubai, says it’s no surprise that the number of couples spending Dh500,000 on their big day has doubled since 2013.
“In local culture, big is best when it comes to weddings or any other celebration,” she explains. “Emiratis like to lay on big feasts with a large guest list to match. They also tend to be much more elaborate with their catering and like to create extravagant, fairy-tale set-ups.”
Size matters
But it’s not just Emiratis who prefer big weddings. The survey, which was completed by 2,410 women of various nationalities, found that almost half of UAE-based couples will see more than 250 guests attend their nuptials, while 19 per cent will see more than 500. The figures are almost identical to those of 2013, indicating that big weddings are still very much in vogue.
Figures from Dubai’s Madinat Jumeirah appear to support this, with more than a third of the venue’s weddings in 2014 catering for 200 to 250 guests, and nearly half for 500 guests and above. Weddings for 100 to 150 people made up just 18 per cent of last year’s total figures.
A spokesperson from the group’s wedding and special events team suggests the couple’s nationality is a key influence on the size of celebrations. “Some countries, especially the UAE, are known for their generosity, opulence and tradition of celebrating with close family, relatives, friends and acquaintances,” he says.
Paola Mattiacci, the managing director of Dubaiwed wedding planners, agrees. “It’s cultural,” she says. “For Arabs and Indians, a large wedding is a sign of power, wealth, good luck and blessing, and so they naturally invite hundreds of guests.”
Typical Filipino weddings are also large, with a high number of extended family attending, as well as members of the local community, giving celebrations the feel of a town fiesta.
Whatever the nationality, however, couples must set a budget of at least Dh1,500 to Dh2,000 per person, says Mattiacci. “Dinner, favours and additional services such as flowers, transportation and entertainment are included. This figure is a minimum; anything less and you cannot expect real quality.”
In Abu Dhabi, the Shangri-La Hotel Qaryat Al Beri hosts mostly Arab weddings for up to 200 guests. Matthias Emperhoff, the director of events, says the budget depends not only on the nationality but also the attitude of the couple. “There are people who want an extravagant, expensive wedding, and you will see this in the decoration, favours, number of guests, menus and entertainment. Then there are those who prefer simpler weddings in a beautiful venue with family and close friends only.”
Compared with the cost of weddings overseas, the UAE is generally more expensive, but, says Cota, “there are always exceptions to this and it really depends on the culture and on individual couples”.
Dream dress
Floral arrangements, which in western weddings generally include the bouquet, bridesmaids’ posies, hair accessories, groomsmen’s buttonholes, table centrepieces and other decorations, are a major expense. So too is the catering, which for Arab weddings might include a five- or sometimes seven-tier cake with intricate icing, meticulously applied by hand.
Photographers, stationers, hair stylists and make-up artists all add to the final bill, but not, perhaps, as much as the bride’s gown. Reflecting the wide range of budgets in the UAE, more than 200 respondents said they would spend more than Dh30,000 on their dress, while 6 per cent said they would spend between Dh30,000 and Dh50,000.
What’s more, 55 respondents said they would pay Dh50,000 and above. “This marks a slight drop in numbers since 2008,” says Cota, “but although the trend is towards more graceful, effortlessly elegant gowns, there is no compromise on cost and the figure is picking up again.”
Numbers from The Wedding Shop in Dubai reflect this, as the managing director Adam Taylor explains. “Average spend across all the boutique’s brands is 18 per cent lower than five years ago. However, last year’s global spend marginally increased after the lows of 2013, one of the worst years for bridal retailers in two decades.”
Taylor says the average spend on bridal dresses in the UAE is between Dh6,000 and Dh21,000. Diala Abu Issa, the owner of The Bridal Showroom in Dubai, puts the figure at Dh12,500.
At the higher end, her most expensive gowns sell for about Dh60,000, approximately four times a year, usually to brides from Saudi Arabia. “The gowns are handmade in Spain or New York, and are heavily embellished with quality fabrics, such as tulle, lace and satin.”
Abu Issa says some UAE brides will spend up to Dh100,000 on their dream dress. Taylor puts the top figure much higher, at Dh200,000.
Not all brides are set on high-end designer gowns, however, with many preferring to focus their budget on other aspects, such as the food and venue. The Dubai-based marketing manager Christina Niessen married the German hotelier Frithjof Niessen in 2013 in her home country, the Philippines, and wore a Dh3,700 satin gown. “As long as the dress looked good on me, I was fine with the price,” she says. “I value more the church, reception venue, the decor and, most importantly, the catering.”
Mixed marriages
The survey results also showed that more than a quarter of respondents, like the Niessens, had a partner of a different nationality. Cota attributes this to the number of expatriates living in the UAE, saying that people won’t always meet partners from the same country and that couples are “more open” to mixed marriages than in previous years.
For the wedding industry, combined nationalities can produce interesting results, as different traditions unite. Middle Eastern and western couples, for example, have been known to mix the zaffa – the loud Arabian-music procession that announces the marriage is about to begin – with European-style confetti throwing, usually saved until after the ceremony. Other couples will spread their celebration over multiple days in the same location, dedicating one or two days to each partner’s set of traditions. The Niessens, meanwhile, chose two weddings, each in their home countries.
Interestingly, the results also revealed an almost-even split in choice of wedding location, with 46 per cent tying the knot in their home country and 40 per cent marrying in the UAE. Just 6 per cent said they would have a destination wedding.
The Canadian marketing manager Alka Winter chose to marry in Abu Dhabi in 2011, largely because of the location. “We had many close friends in the UAE who we wanted to invite and it was also central for our family to fly into. As busy professionals, we just didn’t have the time to plan a destination wedding,” she says.
Conversely, Joanne Al Samarae, an English/Iraqi writer based in Dubai, tied the knot in the United Kingdom last year, wanting to wed where the majority of her guests lived. “Once we found the venue, there was nowhere else in the world we would rather have married,” she explains.
According to Cota, the number of weddings in the UAE has increased significantly as the country has developed. This might explain the launch of Wedding Fashions, a new show to be held next month at the Novotel Fujairah, one of several bridal fairs popping up across the country.
It might also explain why Bride Abu Dhabi, currently taking place at Abu Dhabi National Exhibition Centre until January 31, and Bride Dubai, to be held at Dubai International Exhibition Centre from March 25 to 28, ontinues to attract large numbers, with visitors attending in their thousands.
The perfect proposal
Planning to pop the question? Consider one of these top five proposal ideas, courtesy of Dubai’s Proposal Boutique.
1. Hire a stadium – The 7evens or Sheikh Zayed Stadium are ideal – and spell out “Will you marry me?” in rose petals across the length of the pitch.
2. With so many concerts in the UAE, why not book tickets to see your loved one’s favourite artist play live and arrange to propose on stage in front of thousands of people?
3. Hire a limousine and ask your partner to find you using clues placed around the city. The final destination would be a beautiful set-up and the proposer on one knee.
4. Hire a helicopter and show your loved one spectacular aerial views before pointing to a huge “Will you marry me?” banner in the sand.
5. Watch dolphins from a private dhow in Musandam and propose on deck with the magnificent Hajar Mountains as a backdrop.
weekend@thenational.ae
