Student of the Year

WEDDINGS IN THE UAE Every nation has its own way of celebrating their festivals or personal occasions. These anniversaries are indeed very essential and important in the culture of every country in the world. Some people have different ways of celebrating their rituals and their dear parties. In the UAE, for example weddings have another different story. Have you ever asked your grandparents about their wedding? Weddings were different in the UAE in the past.

In the days before the discovery of oil, the majority of people didn’t have much money and they lived in smaller towns and villages where everyone knew every other. Unlike today when a wedding is a very expensive party for one day, weddings in the past often lasted for many days and the whole community took part in them. One day I asked my curved back and toothless grandmother about how she got married from my grandfather. Her cracked face smiled and produced a laughing sound . She didn’t hesitate to answer me with pleasure as I am

Some people who are 80 years old now remember when a dowry cost Dh 60 and Dh 40 would pay for a whole wedding. The family of the bride and her women neighbors made the wedding dress in a tent near her house , In the past , these dresses were very colorful and were sewn with a hand . It took several days to sew the bride’s clothes, so women had a chance to visit. They often sang while they worked. When they the clothes were ready, they perfumed the clothes with incense and then stored the clothes in a wooden trunk.

Then as now, henna decorations were very important for a beautiful bride. The groom’s family prepared the place for the couple to live . The mother of the groom even made a cradle so that when the couple had their first child , the baby’s bed would be all ready. A tailor made the groom’s colored kandoora. Even the man wore henna sometimes in the past. Food was as important in the past as it is now. However, in the past, the families got together to make large amounts of rice and meat that were served at the wedding.

Since houses were smaller in the past, weddings were often held outdoors in small tents and both men and women attended them. The men danced and the women sang old songs about love and happiness. Wedding traditions change with time. Recently, more people have chosen to have their wedding parties in traditional tents set up near the houses instead of having them at luxury hotels . Some young Emiratis prefer to have their weddings in tents because it makes them feel more committed to heritage and traditions and it helps them save money and feel more private.

Tent dealers are very happy with the increase in their business. On tent dealers once said more than 50% of their clients have been UAE nationals who have hire tents for their weddings . Another company said that they charge 25,000 Dhs for tents with full service for 1000 guests. It is a recent habit to have wedding parties in a 5-star hotel. A lot of neighbors and relatives could not attend the wedding if it was in a hotel.