Manama: An Egyptian couple who planned to get married during the Eid holidays celebrated their wedding in public on the Doha Corniche.
The highly unusual public celebration in the conservative Qatari society was attended by friends and colleagues as well as families enjoying a sunny Eid day at the waterfront promenade, one of the capital’s best known landmarks.
Maha Al Awadhi, in a white dress with a long train, and her groom, civil engineer Ubaid Zaki, in a black suit, exchanged wishes and pleasantries with them.
The bride, who works at Al Maha Academy, said that she was elated to celebrate her Eid wedding in Qatar, her second home, local Arabic daily Al Sharq reported on Sunday.
The groom was grateful to the “guests” for attending the wedding and prayed that those who were not married would celebrate their own weddings soon.
The Doha-resident Egyptian couple was more fortunate than another Egyptian couple who earlier this month wanted to celebrate their wedding at a shopping mall in Saudi Arabia.
The couple reportedly made waves at Al Dhahran Mall when they strutted the marble floor amid great fanfare.
Although the celebrations pulled several shoppers and “guests” in addition to the friends of the couple, the noisy procession upset the religious police and the party was eventually broken up.
The bride was allowed to leave the mall, but the groom faced questioning on the reasons for breaking local social norms.
