When New York-based wedding designer and planner Preston Bailey was first asked to work on a wedding in the Middle East more than 20 years ago, he admits he was shocked. The actual customer had seen his book in London and asked.
“These weddings are very special for the simple reason that most of my clients are exposed to extraordinary luxury and talent,” says Bailey. “They hire us [because] they will love to see a design that has never been done before. They are incredibly creative, not only in decoration, but also in art and technology installations taken to another level. “
Weddings in the UAE are often lavish, even considered exaggerated by Western standards, and it is a fast-growing segment of the luxury wedding industry. Budgets can range from $ 80,000 to $ 250,000, on average. However, culture and number of guests play a role: Some local Emirati weddings attract more than 1,500 guests, and weddings at multi-day Indian destinations in Dubai and Abu Dhabi can be six figures or more. It is this group of high-end clients that wedding professionals see the opportunity; So much so that Engage Summits hosted a luxury wedding conference in Dubai in March 2020, bringing together 250 attendees from 31 countries to see what weddings in the UAE are all about.
“It’s amazing to see how advanced the entire wedding events business in the Middle East has become,” says planner Colin Cowie, who has hosted events in the United Arab Emirates, Saudi Arabia and Qatar with his company Colin Cowie Lifestyle. . “There is an incredible infrastructure where they can do anything, build anything, and hire anyone. They want the cache; They are very brand and class conscious. “
The key is transformation: turning a basic room, such as a hotel ballroom or industrial structure, into a dream country. It’s packed with top-notch amenities, like millions of imported flowers for massive installations, fine-dining chefs, elaborate desserts, and theme bars for everything from designer perfumes to cheeses from around the world. Everyone can live in a temporary structure built specifically for the wedding. For Bailey, he has created ceilings with millions of hanging crystals and entire floors made of fresh flowers.
It is not an easy task. Alsalih has reserved places weeks in advance for the construction of huge facilities, including theater-style stages for the bride and groom to sit. Food is an important element, so fantastic culinary displays are expected, as are flower arrangements, with couples spending more than $ 500,000 on flowers alone to bring them from Africa or Holland. Each and every wedding should be truly unique and personal in the close-knit community that is the UAE.
The destination wedding business is also growing. Vandana Mohan, founder of The Wedding Design Company in New Delhi, India, says the United Arab Emirates has become a major market for Indian weddings thanks to its proximity to the country and its wide variety of hotels and resorts; there is always one that fits the budget. However, beyond that, the UAE is home to many Indians who live and work among the expat community. Indians are comfortable there and, he adds, it is easy to find Indian food for the celebration. In addition, the visa process is fluid.
Cowie shared that some of the luxury weddings in the UAE are not that different from other high-end weddings in other parts of the world in terms of services, but it is the scale that is truly mind blowing and sets them apart. Their most recent event in the Middle East had 4,500 guests and lots of custom décor items. “The scale of creating that kind of luxury for 4,500 people makes weddings a million-dollar event,” he says, noting that sometimes it’s more. “The level of quality and service is much more sophisticated, much more chic and much more elegant than what we are doing in the West. They want the best and are willing to pay for it. “