Egyptian vs Kuwait Wedding

30 Dec 2009  11 Comments

I made a quick 2 day trip to Cairo last weekend to attend a wedding. It wasnt the first time i attended an Egyptian wedding but it put into perspective the differences between weddings in Kuwait and weddings in Egypt for instance. From the beginning of the wedding procession or “zaffa” , the bride and groom were dancing all the way down with each other, and friends and family would effortlessly jump into the circle with them and do the same. They were also surrounded by a band with their drums and instruments, as well as 2 dancers with candlestick headpieces doing a balancing act while vigorously “shaking it”. It wasnt only down the aisle, it was from outside the ballroom and this whole process was about 30 minutes long as they would take their time and stop in certain places. Everyone was ecstatic and having a great time and there was no alcohol being served, it was just a natural high. Inside, the party and dancing continued til the early hours of the morning. Women/ladies with head scarfs were dancing without a second thought, and the bride and groom also pitched in. Men, women, and children were on the dance floor and some people did not stop the whole night. It is always a fun experience to go to a wedding like this. I dont remember the bride and groom sitting down for more than 15 minutes which was to take some pictures with friends and family. Now we go to a Kuwaiti wedding. For the men it is like you are giving your condolences. You walk in and shake hands usually with the father of groom, groom himself, and the father of the bride. Sometimes you just do that and walk out. Other times you hang around and mingle, some have dinner and then you leave. If you stay from beginning to end its a whopping (sarcasm intended) 2 hours to 2 hours and a half. The women in Kuwaiti weddings do their part of dancing in their respective weddings, but for most the time the bride is sitting down just watching and snapping shots.  Its a big difference, but what i felt is that the bride, groom and invitees, were all having a lot of fun in Cairo, as it is more of an obligation to go give your blessings in a Kuwait wedding than a source of fun. This is in relation to the traditional segregated weddings in Kuwait of course. “To each his own.”

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Triple-A

  • http://lendmeurear.wordpress.com lendmeurear

    I am totally against those types of weddings; why would the bride and groom begin their new life together fi ma39iyat Allah? Most Egyptians living in Egypt have misconceptions regarding fun. I don’t necessarily have to have a good time by dancing through the night!

    And regarding those dancing hijabis, what a waste and mocking of the headscarf! Most likely they cover their hair out of cultural beliefs instead of Islamic ones. It’s the same when you see the Egyptian streets swarming with hijabis wearing tight clothes showing all the curves of their bodies. What’s the point? Hijab isn’t a head covering only, it’s concealing your body, it’s modesty.

    On the other hand, one can’t deny that not all Egyptian weddings are like that.

    Personally I prefer the Kuwaiti wedding, although I believe it can be spiced up a bit ;)

    • http://uptill1.com Triple-A

      well like i said to each his own, some people enjoy life in different ways i guess, i didnt mean it like the egyptian wedding was a bad thing, on the contrary, they are enjoying themselves and having fun in their own way. and its their choice. as a person invited not getting married, i enjoy the egyptian style though. hehehe

  • Dalal H

    I beleive the groom and bride should both enjoy their own wedding, I remember in my wedding when it was time for the bride to dance, i made a deal with my husband that i will pull him with me and we dance together. it was a small house wedding. Anyways.. I guess i got too excited with my dance i forgot to do that! while i was dancing i can see he was a bit too excited and very happy, i thought my dance was really good!! but no apparently he was waiting for me to come get him to dance and get his groove on! lol miskeen and now all we have are pix and video of me dancing and him on the edge of the “kosha” waiting to get up :) hehehhehe..
    this “kosha”sitting and watching everyone enjoy your wedding and having fun and you just WATCHING from afar is like torture, you can look but you cant touch! Damn it! :)

    • http://uptill1.com Triple-A

      hahaha im glad you enjoyed it, and personally think the couple should enjoy their wedding in whatever way they see appropriate. if that entails belly dancers for some or just sitting doing nothing for others, so be it :)

  • http://stormintcup.wordpress.com/ Miss Good Egg

    lol I’m glad you had a fun experience. I’d love to get the chance to see weddings from other cultures. I agree with Dalal, the most important thing in a wedding is for the couple to enjoy and celebrate the union. It doesn’t matter what they do as long as they are having fun and cherishing it.

    As for the Kuwaiti weddings. I don’t like the way it’s done to be honest mainly because it contradicts the point I mentioned earlier. The weddings are mainly orchestrated to please people and not really the couple themselves. 9 out of 10 brides I talk to find their wedding day hectic, tiring and nerve wrecking. Plus there’s very little interaction between the bride and guests. I personally would never do a traditional wedding like that. I prefer small house weddings where you spend a whole week working on the decorations yourself. You can get help from designers but I feel the more you’re involved in the process itself of baking and decorating, the more memorable it is for you and your loved ones. Skip out the dramatic entrance and just walk around with both families there for a small dinner, chit chat and simply a great time :)

    • http://uptill1.com Triple-A

      yeah but from a different point of view alot of ppl especially in this part of the world concentrate the most on the “dramatic entrance” like you mentioned! hehe if the bride and groom have fun, i guess thats what matters.

  • http://www.withsummerlove.wordpress.com Summer

    True!
    A bride never really has fun in her own wedding in Kuwait. The sad thing is that the bride spends more than six months preparing for a, 6 hour or less, wedding to have no fun at all.. While in Egypt they possibly spend half the time and money to prepare for a wedding. They’re the ones that have fun in the end!

    btw,I love the way you wrote this!

  • Nino

    I really agree with Triple-A that Kuwaiti weddings are boring ,it’s only show off for both families
    Spending all there savings to please every one except them selves. All arab countries enjoy There daughters and sons weddings in there own simple way except the G.C.C families ((misakeen))…….

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