Wedding industry professionals and divorce lawyers have had their say on the introduction of an online wedding service in Abu Dhabi, with some hailing it as a "clever, modern" innovation.
It was announced this month that couples can get married using the Tamm app for Dh800 ($217) from anywhere in the world. Ceremonies can be held in person or remotely over a secure Webex link.
All parties – including two witnesses and the licensed officiant – are able to join the video call using their smartphone or desktop, with guests also able to join remotely.
The service, launched at the Gitex technology exhibition in Dubai, is to be overseen by the Abu Dhabi Judicial Department. It is available for UAE citizens, residents and visitors.
Welcome move
Rhiannon Downie-Hurst, founder of wedding inspiration platform Bride Club ME, described the introduction of online weddings as “clever, modern and long overdue”.
“For many couples, especially expats juggling cross-border paperwork, this will make the legal side of marriage far simpler and that’s a welcome move,” she told The National.
She believes the initiative could be a boost to the wedding events industry, because it helps to streamline the administration process for couples so they can focus on the experience of getting married.
“I honestly believe this won’t change the way people celebrate weddings,” she added. “Signing documents online doesn’t replace the experience of walking down the aisle, hearing your first-dance song or enjoying good food and entertainment, surrounded by family and friends.”
Ms Downie-Hurst also said the move may fuel an increase in destination weddings in Abu Dhabi. “Paperwork might move online, but weddings will always be about real people, real moments and real emotion – and no app can replace that," she said.
Tasneem Alibhai, founder of a wedding planning and events company, was less enthusiastic about weddings being condensed to "a few clicks".
“For me, this isn’t even about how it affects the wedding industry,” she added. “It’s not that I’m a planner and I want every wedding to be big or elaborate. You can have a small, intimate ceremony and still make it meaningful.”
Divorce concerns
Madeleine Mendy, a divorce lawyer in Dubai, said the move marked a positive step forward for paperless government services, but expressed some concern that it could lead to more divorces among foreign residents.
"Marriage should remain something that people take time and effort to go through,” she told The National. "The institution of marriage is an important one and making it available through two or three ticks on an application takes away from its importance for some people. People must be careful and should attend classes on the importance of marriage and its legal ramifications.”
Since the introduction of Abu Dhabi Law No 14 of 2021 on Civil Marriage, the judicial department has registered at least 43,000 civil marriage contracts, state news agency Wam reported in August.
More than 10,000 civil marriage applications were submitted by foreign residents to the Abu Dhabi Civil Family Court in the first half of this year, representing an increase of about 20 per cent compared with the same period in 2024.
Meanwhile, the number of divorces cases heard at the court has increased steadily over the years.
The court has handled more than 1,000 divorce cases involving expatriates of all faiths since it opened.
Typically, divorces at Abu Dhabi Civil Family Court take less than a month to be finalised and only one court session.
Ms Mendy said couples should be wary of "quick and lightly considered marriages" and urged those considering a digital wedding to “take proper legal advice and take the time to inform yourself before making such a big decision".
“For example, if the marriage is later dissolved at the Abu Dhabi Civil Family Court, the husband may be exposed to a division of assets that he would not face in Dubai or in his home jurisdiction,” Ms Mendy said. “It also means there is automatic equal custody of the children upon divorce, which does not happen in Dubai, and which some mothers are not comfortable with.”
To further enhance the process, couples could be required to complete a short course on the legal consequences of marriage "so at least they are aware of what they are signing up for", Ms Mendy said.
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.”
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