TABUK: Whatever the varying views on mass weddings, the procedure goes a long way to solving issues of expensive dowries and the high costs and extravagance frequently demanded for wedding celebrations on the part of some families. How many young people have taken on debt running into thousands of riyals just to enter the “golden cage”, debts which take years to repay and which turn their occasion of joy into a lengthier period of financial woe? Such circumstances can only support the concept of the mass wedding which comes backed by charities but which is strongly opposed by the traditions and customs of large numbers of families. Abdul Khaliq Bin Hamza Sihli, the chairman of the Prince Fahd Bin Sultan Social Center, says that mass weddings are “extremely important in reducing the financial burden of marriage ceremonies and in curbing the extravagance seen at some weddings”. “The initiative and support of Prince Fahd Bin Sultan, Emir of Tabuk, led to the backing of the biggest mass wedding in the Kingdom, which saw 2,000 young men and women marry, and the Social Center has plans to launch a fund for mass marriage to support young couples both morally and financially,” he said. Ali Ibrahim told Okaz/Saudi Gazette that the experience helped him in his marriage save considerable sums of money and escape debt, costing as it did no more than SR15,000 to get married alongside 18 of his relatives. Muhammad Isma'ail said he saved SR90,000 in his wedding with ten other couples, most of whom were also relatives of his. “It only cost SR20,000, and there's absolutely no shame in it,” he said. Suha Ahmad said she was willing to accept the idea because her husband-to-be was of “low social standing” and was unable to afford the expenses of a lavish wedding. “In the end it cost SR12,000 for a joint wedding along with 30 other people,” she said. Munira Awwadh said that mass weddings “give the opportunity for mass joy with relatives and friends at the same time”. “It also reduces the burden of costs,” she said. “When I and my friends got married it was the most beautiful day of our lives.” Turki Abdullah, however, ended up with a debt of SR200,000 when he got married in the normal fashion two years ago. “It all went to the costs of the ceremony and I'm still paying it off,” he said. “I'd recommend everyone to go for a joint wedding.” Sultan Hammad agrees. “I regret not getting married in a joint mass wedding,” he said. “My wedding cost me over SR180,000.” Muhammad Al-Balawi, Ali Al-Enizi, and Salim Al-Sihli all said that a lot of families like to show off and make a grand display of the costs of their weddings. “It gets to the point where it's a massive waste of money and where the people involved actually can't afford it,” they said. “Those people reject the idea of mass weddings and see in it some sort of shame.” Saleh Al-Balawi said that weddings en masse were an “excellent way of cutting the exorbitant costs we see at weddings these days”. “A lot of people delay getting married, and young people are getting married later and later because of the costs involved,” he said. Abdul Aziz Al-Shehri, a legal “ma'dhoun” or official authorized to conduct weddings, said that “mass weddings equal mass joy”. “It increases the affection and familiarity between couples and their relatives, relieves the husband of the threat of debt, and is a blessing from Allah enabling one to live one's life with no financial obligations hanging over one's head,” he said. Maha Mahya Al-Deen, a sociology researcher, said that many couples live in very restrictive financial circumstances, crippled by debt that lasts long into their marriages. “Joint weddings go a very long way to lessening that problem,” she said.
