Salah Fetouri, 43, had been waiting for years for a payrise so he could afford to marry. But inflation and insecurity have combined to keep the civil servant, and his six brothers, all single for the same reason.

Bridal fortunes

Salah Fetouri, 43, had been waiting for years for a payrise so he could afford to marry. But inflation and insecurity have combined to keep the civil servant, and his six brothers, all single for the same reason.

Bridal fortunes

“I cannot afford the wedding because the main costs have increased quite dramatically,” Fetouri told Correspondents.  “The wedding hall rent has risen and is as high as 10,000 dinar ($7,000 approx) in Tripoli,” says Fetouri. “A beauty parlor now charges no less than 1,500 ($1115 approx) dinar for a bride’s services,” adds the frustrated husband-to-be.

Fetouri’s salary was recently raised to 600 dinar ($460 approx) after it had remained 210 dinar ($162 approx) for years, but the raise has been accompanied by a huge increase in prices.

Marriage of inconveniences

The rising cost of weddings is eating away at the social fabric of Egyptian unions, yet young people remain determined to satisfy tradition and not cut corners.

“I am ready to pay any amount of money to get the look I have always dreamt of, even if I am going to have huge debts,” said Souad Farjani, who was getting ready for her wedding at a beauty parlour. “Some salons accept being offered jewellery as a mortgage or debt collateral.”

Marriage, says Farjani, is a once-in-a-lifetime experience and the young bride-to-be says she has been saving 200 dinar ($150 approx) a month from her salary so that she can help her fiancé with the wedding costs. Most grooms however, in line with tradition, cover all costs themselves.

Brides will be brides

A beauty salon owner says men are often willing to cut on costs, but women expect the best.

“When men find out that the price of a particular commodity has increased by a quarter of a dinar they ask why, but the world of women is a different story. Our customers focus less on the make-up brand the salon uses than on the special services, such as a single air-conditioned room with lunch included,” says Aisha Jafari, owner of a salon in Tripoli. A bride, says Jafari, asks for special services and pays whatever the cosmetician asks for.

“Beauty parlours will never refuse providing such services for large amounts of money as long as women pay willingly,” says Jafari.

Beauty is in the eye of the expensive wedding parlour owner

Souad Omar, the owner of another beauty parlor, concurs with Jafari. Omar’s salon charges 1,200 dinar ($924 approx) per bride and a large number of customers say it is the expensive price tag that attracts them.

Omar says she always advises low-income brides to go to affordable salons, but they refuse and try to pay the cost of the best salons any way they can.

“The brides’ fear of taking a risk and resorting to cheap or unknown beauty shops encourages increased prices which can make the wedding a nightmare for a couple,” says Salah Fetouri, the civil servant and groom-to-be.

An expensive affair

But it isn’t only make-up and grooming that is bankrupting wannabe spouses.

Apart from the costs of beauty treatment and renting a wedding hall, which have skyrocketed in western Libya in particular, other costs such as photographer fees, food, drinks and invites take their toll on hard-up young couples. A bride’s dress alone, for example, can cost 1,500-3,500 dinar (approx $1150-$2690) to rent for one night.

Wedding dress cost thousands of dollars to rent

Renting a wedding hall, in some cases, can cost as much as 10,000 dinar ($7695 approx). Despite the expense, Abdussalam Mahmud, owner of a wedding hall in Tripoli, says “the prices are commensurate with the quality of life in Tripoli, where the price of everything is high.”

Mahmud points out that there are affordable halls, but people always want the best services. “Our customers ask for very special services: re-decoration at their expense, a private photographer, a reception meal or dinner. Some even ask for a specific band. We also have a nursery and game rooms for children, things unavailable at cheap halls,” says Mahmud.

A cut above the rest

The owners of other halls say the problem lies in a culture of imitation and ostentatiousness, with weddings vying to outdo each other at any cost. In some cases, brides ask for halls to be redecorated before and after meals, says a wedding hall owner who preferred to remain anonymous. Other luxury additions are also often requested.

City officials say there is little they can do to regulate what is essentially a cultural phenomenon. “How could we prevent a hall from raising prices while citizens look for facilities at the highest cost?” says Omar Tarhouni, chief of the Municipal Guard Service.

Too powerful a trend to regulate

“Even if we set the prices, well-off citizens will offer extra money to distinguish themselves from others. And those willing to imitate them and show off will follow in their steps. The only winner is the service provider while the biggest loser is the groom who is demanded to pay all costs,” adds Tarhouni.

Amidst the pressure of wedding preparations, civil servant Salah Fetouri has dismissed the idea of getting married and is focusing instead on paying for treatment for his sick mother.   “If living conditions or wedding costs decrease, I could get married in a few years,” says Fetouri.

For others, the sky is the limit.