Dubai: Inflation is adding its own costs to hosting a wedding in Dubai - but for the couples and their families there is no holding back as the city reinforces its status as the place to do big budget nuptials.
In fact, this Eid and the coming weeks will see more of them before the wedding season slows down - slightly - for summer. For now, though, it’s all about booking venues, hotels in full, and splurging on trousseau and jewellery in Dubai.
“We raised our prices slightly due to inflationary measures compared to pre-pandemic charges,” said Stefanie Heller, Managing Director of Jam Events, Entertainment and Weddings. “However, people are willing to pay any amount to have their dream come true.”
On average, this year, couples (or their families) are spending a minimum of Dh150,000 for a basic wedding. Mid-sized wedding dos start at Dh400,000 - and cross over into the Dh700,000 range. And then there are, of course, the uber-expensive ones.
“The most expensive wedding I threw post-pandemic was for a Bangladeshi family,” said Stefanie. “They spent Dh5 million on a four-day wedding party at the Four Seasons Hotel in Dubai.”
This wedding season, Stefanie organised 50 events, of which more than 20 were mid-sized in scale. And the next season is looking just as good, with market feedback saying that all the major venues are already fully booked from November to March next year. It sure does help to plan to advance…
Full backing from Dubai Tourism
Geography is also having a hand in stoking the boom in Dubai/UAE hosting weddings planned down to the last detail. Then, there is the already established ‘infrastructure’ - hotels and ballrooms - that come across as a major factor in helping couples decide where to get hitched.
Laila Suhail, CEO of Strategic Alliances and Partnerships Sector at Dubai’s Department of Economy and Tourism, said, “Dubai is home to more than 794 hotels, providing the perfect stay and space for guests to celebrate their union.”
According to Laila, “Since the pandemic, there has been an increasing demand for more intimate weddings, ranging from 50-100 guests. Same with larger scale weddings.
There is significant demand from locals and residents to host both traditional and unique wedding ceremonies in Dubai. With its stunning landscapes, distinctive destinations, unmatched culinary offerings and rich cultural diversity, many Emirati couples opt to have their wedding in Dubai and other locations in the UAE.
“While Dubai caters to each couple’s budgets, in general, we are not seeing any tightening of budgets with couples keen to leverage the emirate’s value-for-money offerings.”
Europe’s loss works to UAE’s gains
There are other advantages that are working in UAE’s favour. “There is still an ongoing struggle to get visas to Europe,” said Ronika Jinadra, founder of Awesome Events. “However, such issues don’t exist in the UAE. “This is a huge blessing for cross-cultural weddings like Indian- Pakistani weddings.”
Moreover, under the new expat family laws, couples of mixed faiths can obtain a civil wedding license in 24 hours. “The new law allowing non-resident couples to get a civil marriage in Dubai is transforming the UAE into something of a major attraction for quick-decision weddings,” said Stefanie.
Dubai is spoilt for choice when it comes to weddings. There are more wedding venues here (beaches, desert, mountainside, city skyline) than anywhere else.
Hotel rates are stable
Depending on the property type, the minimum cost for a two-day wedding at a five-star resort can cost Dh800,000 to Dh1 million if the wedding party intends to book the full property. Based on group booking rates, hotels on the Palm Jumeirah can charge a minimum of Dh1,500 a night for a room, said Ronika.
“Dubai is spoilt for choice when it comes to weddings,” she said. “There are more wedding venues here (beaches, desert, mountainside, city skyline) than anywhere else.”
Though the post-pandemic trend saw a need to host smaller group weddings, by October last, Ronika’s company was organising weddings that hosted over 1,000 guests.
“Ras Al Khaimah is another popular wedding destination with slightly lower room rates ranging from Dh800-Dh1,000, with hotel costs starting at Dh350,000 to Dh450,000 for a buyout of the property,” Ronika said. “Local weddings typically have a guest list of around 200, costing Dh300,000-Dh350,00.”
Dubai is adapting to the current economic climate by finding ways to offer affordable options to consumers. The Department for Economy and Tourism in Dubai reported that hotel room rates have remained stable, with an average rate of Dh609 in January-February 2023 compared to Dh623 during the same period in the previous year.
Options to customize
Hotel occupancy levels are on the rise, with a 84.4 per cent recorded during March, over 6 per cent higher than in the same month in 2022.
Hotels and other wedding venues also offer customised food and beverage packages to suit couples' budgets. Depending on the hotel's location, these packages are worth anything between Dh180 to Dh380, and rates have remained more or less consistent over the past three years, say vendors.
“The minimum spend (including sound, production, décor) for a wedding involving 10 guests would be Dh30,000,” said Ronika. “And for 50-60 guests, a wedding in Ajman could come up to Dh50,000.”
Vendor costs
The daily rate to book photographers and videographers in Dubai to cover a wedding and all the associated tasks can range from to Dh3,000-Dh10,000, a sizeable rise on the Dh1,700-Dh8,800 same period last year. Printers specialising in wedding invitations cost Dh8.95 to Dh17.90 per invite, and slightly higher than the prices in 2022.
In Dubai, couples plan their wedding two to three months ahead of the actual wedding date. They don't plan their wedding months or at least a year in advance.
Many couples opt to send out e-invites or create websites costing approximately Dh3,700. Hair and makeup artists charge upwards of Dh3,700. According to some wedding planners, costs for catering services at private venues have also increased by 7-8 per cent.
A 33-year-old fashion merchandiser, Venetia was in the final stages of planning her destination wedding in February 2020. “Nicholas and I wanted to marry in Lake Como, Italy. We had a budget of 90,000 euros (Dh366,737), and we’d invited 50 guests.”
After the pandemic struck, Venetia went into a wait-and-watch pattern with her wedding planner, hoping that her European summer wedding plans would still happen.
Months passed, and as European authorities imposed new travel restrictions in late 2021, the couple cancelled the Italian wedding and decided to have a beachside Dubai destination wedding instead.
As the UAE was among the only countries that had opened its doors to visitors and the only place where the Lusceres could invite their family members without issues, a wedding at a luxury hotel in Palm Jumeirah made sense.
The hotel charged Dh320 per person for the F&B package, meaning the cost of a reception for 100 people was around Dh320,000. Throw in flowers, the wedding dress, the photographer, and the cake, the Luscres’ spent Dh415,000 on the wedding.
It’s a plan of action that other couples and their families have been taking since then.
