An Emirati Wedding

The PR guy, Abdullah, who works on getting work visas for the Transpo Group invited myself, Jennifer, May (Hicham, the Principal's wife) and May's daughter, Eman to his wedding celebration. I have seen him about three times and only for very short amount of time so we felt very privileged that he asked us to attend this occasion. We arrived home at 1 last night and this was like nothing I've ever experienced before. Truly a fabulous honor and experience to have attended.

The gulf wedding celebration is held on 3 separate days. The first day, about a week ago when the contract is decided on and the marriage becomes official via Islamic Law. The second day is the men's celebration in which the guys in my office attended on Thursday night. The third day in which we attended was the women's celebration.

We did our research and read random strangers' blogs to try to prepare ourselves for what to wear and what to expect. There are no photos on the web only descriptions of what may happen. For the majority of the party only women were present so the Muslim women are in their ball gowns and out of there Abayas with their beautiful bodies and faces showing. Out of respect for their religious views, no photos were taken and I will have to describe what I experienced last night. I've placed photos that I've found on the internet that closely resemble some of the dresses that were witnessed although the dresses seen in person seem to have been more elaborate and exotic in colors and embellishments.

The event was held at the Ball Room at the Beach Rotana Hotel in the Tourist Club Area. The four of us girls exited the cab and entered a large room just outside of the Ball Room at about 9:30pm for the 9:00pm start time (Fashionably late). We saw ahead of us about 20 beautiful women in the most extravagant gowns I have ever seen in person lined up along both sides of the door. With no men present, May at this time felt it comfortable to remove her scarf from her head. Thank goodness she was here because she speaks and reads Arabic and confirmed that the sign outside the door was in fact for Abdullah's wedding. As we approached the women, May explained to the women greeting us that we were invited by Abdullah and worked with him. I followed May's lead and greeted each women by kissing first their left cheek and then the right. (In the weeks past, May has been saying good bye to me in this manner after helping her and her family get moved and settled into their new home. The last time she went to say goodbye, I first leaned on the right side not knowing any better and she went to my left which almost resulted in a kiss to the lips so she explained to me that you kiss to the left first. So glad that I learned my lesson before this night.)

Abdullah's sister was very quick to welcome us when she heard that he was who we knew. She asked us to follow her and she will show us to our seats. We entered the ball room and there was about 30 tables with half mannequin centerpieces decorated in flowers and feathers. This room was packed with about 350 guests. We walked along a red and gold carpet that lead from the back of the room to the front where there was a T-shaped stage. We started to get confused as she lead us all the way to the front right next to the stage. We had the best seats in the house. We were convinced that they would soon realize the mistake that they made by seating us here and we would soon be escorted to

the back but instead was treated like royalty throughout the night.

As we sat at our table, we were quickly greeted by Turkish coffee servers in a gold gown. Our empty glass was soon filled with water and our plate with hummus, tabbouleh and flat bread. Everything was happening before we could blink and it was difficult to eat the food before the next appetizer arrived but we managed somehow. :) The table was already set with Moutabel (an eggplant like hummus), potato salad, fattoush, tomato based eggplant, cheese filled pastries, and kibby appetizers. Then we were greeted by a plate of lightly sweetened syrup donut holes that could throw you off if you were expecting sweet and sour meatballs (like me). They spooned up Omani Sweets, which is like a date sticky pudding, onto our plate.

Note: This may be a long blog because I'm about 5 minutes into our night at this point.

There was definitely no shortage of food or non-alcoholic drinks at this party. We drank Turkish coffee, ginger flavored hot tea, apple juice, orange juice, tapioca hot tea, a cardamom flavored tea ... on to total about 10 unique drinks. Each drink served from a gold carafe held by a women and a tray with gold cups and saucers held by her assistant who followed closely behind. I noticed about 3 date and treat trays throughout the night completely covering the 3ft x 4ft tray that was beneath.

A bowl of smoking incense made it over to our table. We used our hands to wave the smoke to get a whiff. Then a bottle of pure perfume oil was brought over and we used the glass stick to place the wonderful smelling oil onto our wrists.

The T-shaped stage in front of us had a back drop of turquoise and gold with a red and gold fancy sofa couch in the center. About 20 of the guests danced on top of the stage throughout most of the night. I have never seen so many sequences, jewels, appliques and bright colors before. I would have felt under dressed wearing an old prom dress to this event. This was a completely different level of sophistication. They wore makeup heavier than I have ever seen. Many of the women had henna decorated hands and arms and hair extensions. They were having a great time dancing. These were the most beautiful women I have ever seen with their large brown Arabian eyes and beautiful faces. Absolutely gorgeous and to see them without their veils was truly a honor to me.

Throughout the night, Abdullah's family members approached us one by one to say hello. His very friendly cousin and her daughter who had just arrived from England was very nice and inviting. She asked us to join her in dancing. At first, my shy side said no but I felt this would be insulting to such kind and generous people. Jennifer and I got up and attempted to move our hips in the same smooth motion that these Arab women so successfully mastered. A few more gulf weddings and Jennifer and I will learn these moves. We were in fact the only 2 blonds out of the large room of about 350 women so I'm sure all eyes were on us. After the song ended, we quickly sat at our tables. When you dance at a wedding like this, you are dedicating your dance to the new marriage so the groom (not here at this celebration) heard that we danced and was very thankful for it.

Abdullah's cousin kept pointing out and introducing us to other sister's of Abdullah and his mom. I leaned over and said "Wow, how many siblings does Abdullah have?" She counted on her fingers and thought in her head and whispered to me "There are 11 kids." I leaned over to May and said "I can't believe that his mom looks so great after 11 kids." She leaned over to me and said "she is probably not his dad's only wife." :)

With the exception of the young boys (under age 6) running around, there were no other men present. The two camera women (although one's gender questioned) took photos throughout the night of the bride. When other women posed for a picture with the bride, they covered up their hair with their scarves. A band played throughout the night never to be seen as they were located behind the scenes somewhere.

About an hour and a half into the event and the bride finally made her appearance. It took her about 15 minutes to make her way down the aisle and up to the stage. Her dress was very long and looked very heavy. Every forward step she made and someone had to drag the dress forward so she wouldn't step on and trip over it. Her dress was white and red and full of schwartzki crystals. The camera followed her along as she slowly approached the stage.

Once she made it to the stage, the photographers continued to take photos of her for the next hour at least. While she was being photographed, the dinner plates arrived at our table. Served to us was Mixed Grills (beef, chicken, and lamb), lasagna, tortellini, baked eggplant, and many other dishes.

As we were eating, a beautiful woman who had been dancing on the stage most of the night came up to us with a bag full of gifts. She said "Abdullah's sister told me to pass out gifts but start with the girls over there. They are very special guests." So she reached into the bags and gave each of us her favorite smelling perfumes. They were so welcoming to us. :)

Not long after we finished eating, a plate of chocolate cake, baklava and other sweets arrived for us to snack on (as if we weren't full enough). An Arabic song started to play in the background. Small laughs and giggles throughout the crowd could be heard and May translated the Arabic to English for us. She said that he is coming now. They are singing "Is that the sun I see? It's so bright. Oh wait, that's not the sun...It's Abdullah coming." Apparently, it was a poem that was written and sang for this event only. All the women started putting their scarves and abayas back on. You find yourself looking to see him coming over and over again. This probably lasted about 30 minutes before he actually walked into the ballroom. His pace closely resembled that of the bride. He took about 15 minutes before he made it to the stage where his bride awaits. I kept glancing up at her only once making eye contact and sending a smile her way. She was once overwhelmed with the attention of photographers, friends and family members and now stood looking very lonely. As the groom approached I was interested in noticing that she never really looked at him and he never really did the same. It was at this point that I was sure that this was an arranged marriage. When the groom arrived on the stage, his father and her father stood beside and the man marrying them talked for about 5 minutes in Arabic. May again translated that he talked about what great families that the bride and groom both come from. As they stood side by side (never touching or holding hands) photos were taken of the bride, groom and the fathers. At one point Abdullah leaned over and whispered something to his new bride and both smiled at each other and this gave me a sense of relief that this marriage can and will work.

The time was about 1am and our bodies couldn't handle any more food. Maybe the next Gulf wedding I attend, I will be sure to save room for the cake and see how their cake cutting compares to what I'm used to. We tried to sneak out which is rather difficult from the head table but others were leaving "early" too. I wished to congratulate Abdullah but nothing was moving super fast so I'll send my best wishes the next time I see him.

Truly an amazing evening that I will remember always. Thank you and congratulations to Abdullah and his beautiful new bride!