Saudi avoids wedding bill in open-air ceremony

Manama: A Saudi man, keen to avoid exorbitant expenses, celebrated his wedding in an open-air ceremony on the corniche of the Red Sea resort of Jeddah.

“I was shocked by the expenses I would have to pay if I celebrated the wedding in a hall,” Abdullah Abdul Adhim, the groom, said: “As I was unable to use a hall, I thought about holding the ceremony in a public area that would cost me nothing. I simply did not want to start my married life with debts and financial issues,” he said, quoted by news site Al Marsad.

The wedding party was hosted on the afternoon and ended with the sunset. However, it was only for male relatives and friends.

Women, in line with the tradition followed in the Gulf countries, celebrated the wedding with the bride in a nearby restaurant.

“One of my friends paid for the restaurant expenses,” the beaming groom said. “I deeply thank my bride, Maryam, for accepting to celebrate the wedding on the Corniche, and I am grateful to her family for not opposing the idea. Many of my friends said that they appreciated the public wedding ceremony and that they would emulate my example,” he said.