And The Bride Wore...

I finally got to go to an Emirati wedding!

I've been invited to a few but didn't really want to go until I actually knew the people getting married. I guess it's a bit weird (from a UAE standpoint, anyway), since everyone gets invited and a few people were baffled as to why I wouldn't want to attend the wedding of a total stranger.

Anyway, the bride was one of the ladies I work with at one of my schools. She is Emirati, from a good family, and quite possibly one of the most beautiful people I've ever seen in my life ... one of those ultra rare people who just looks like an actress, or some visitor from a planet of pretty people. The best thing about her, though, is that she is also very nice. She's the type to link arms with you in the hallway, or say something funny. She's also a brilliant teacher and, as a very wealthy Emirati who is still working as an independent woman (perhaps not anymore, now that she's married), she was also a great role model for the students. Most of the teachers here are from Jordan, Syria, Egypt, and the Emiratis don't tend to stick around in teaching -- it's a demanding job that doesn't pay as well as some of the civil servant posts they can get instead.

When I heard she was leaving school to get married, I knew that this would be "the" wedding to attend.

I went with two other teachers to the wedding, dressed to the nines in a purple caftan with gold embroidery (really, I kid you not). I spent somewhere in the neighbourhood of 45 minutes on my makeup, since I knew that everyone would be super glam.

We arrived at the wedding hall, which was enormous, and set up with about a billion tables, each absolutely full of gold plates. The focal point of the room was a big stage/runway set up, where a woman sang loudly in Arabic, while 2 20-something girls in long tight dresses and jingle belts danced traditional dances (like the hair dance, the camel dance, and a bit of belly dancing -- but in long sleeves and high necks, no bare midriffs here!). The music was louder than a nightclub, with each of us shouting directly into each other's ears to be heard.

Within seconds, the wait staff (an army that possibly out-numbered the guests) had us seated and served with coffee, water, juice and tea in gold-rimmed glasses. We also had our appetizers, a plate of some kind of weird jelly thing, bread, and 3 kinds of chocolates, with custom labels. I learned that the point of the evening was to eat and drink, watch the stage entertainment and wait for the bride.

In one corner, a big projection screen showed a non-stop loop of perfumes in glass and pearl bottles, and close-ups of jewellery -- large pendants, diamond earrings, a row of watches in their silk-lined boxes. These were, I learned, the bride's gifts, set up in display cases and filmed for our benefit (at some weddings, all the gifts are on display, and you walk around and look at them). Anyway, her gift room looked like the inside of a jewellery shop. The teacher I was with told me that this was one of the most luxurious weddings she'd ever been to --as both families are rather important.

As we were in the women's section, it was a great chance to see everyone without their abayas and sheylas, and all dressed to the nines. It seemed that everyone had gone to the salon that day and had their hair and makeup done. Dresses were absolute dream creations - everyone from the smallest 5 year old to the oldest woman looked like a princess. Most of the dresses would have been custom made, so nobody needed to suffer the embarrassment of showing up with the same dress as her cousin. I sat with other staff from the school, and realized that, in some cases I was seeing my co-workers' hair for the first time - very few women were veiled or in hijab. Even if the non-Emirati style was more subdued (and what you'd expect to wear yourself to a wedding), everyone had cracked open the makeup case for the evening...

The teenagers were taking turns getting up on the runway and dancing their way up and down it. Each one of them was dressed as if for prom or, say, the Oscars. It was a very glittery night.

The wait staff came through, removing our plates of appetizers and filling the table with plates of rice with herbs and spices, a plate of curry, a rather strange glob of grey slop (errrr harish? or something -- wheat boiled with chicken broth), and a large platter of meat. The meat was, of course, camel. I knew that Ty would never forgive me if I didn't at least taste it, so I held my plate out for a slab (by the way, it's stringy). After that, we got plates of dessert, more coffee, more tea, hibiscus juice, and the tables were cleared, and two ladies came to every table with a selection of perfumes to try.

As everyone checked their watches, the teenagers started up their dances again, and everyone turned their chairs so that they could be ready for the bride's entrance. At midnight, a voice over the loud speaker began reading a poem for the bride. And finally, the double doors of the hall opened, and she entered, led by her brother.

Her dress was an amazing concoction of strings of crystals and frothy tulle that looked like it had been sewn right onto her body. And I think that sucker was heavy too -- she took two mincing steps at a time, at which point two Asian ladies in black suits pulled her hem forward and arranged her long sparkly train. Then, another two steps, and then another arrangement, and so on, until she was finally up on the runway and walking towards the back of the stage. It took her about 15 minutes to get from the door to the end of the stage, at which point her brother, obviously not wanting to be the only man in the room, sat her on a beautiful white couch, and walked briskly back to the exit (which only took him about 15 seconds....).

But, it wasn't over yet. She now had to stand up and, taking mincing steps, walk all the way up and down the runway (another 10 minutes), waving and smiling and kissing as her helpers arranged and shifted the hem and the train with each step. Installed back on the couch on the stage, we had a chance to go up and hug and kiss her (and of course, I wanted to see her dress up close....) and wish her good luck, before heading home.

You know, you hear all about brides being "princesses" on their wedding day, but this was really the truth. My friend was absolutely beautiful in her gorgeous dress.... and it was truly something to be seen in real life. I'm so glad that I got to see one of these lavish weddings -- and am doubly glad that it was someone I actually knew.