I just watched an interesting MSNBC programme entitled More Couples Saying I do in Baghdad about how marriages are booming in Iraq and sure enough, the video features a very lively wedding taking place between a gorgeous young couple in their early 20s.
The young couple getting married swirl around, surrounded by champagne and cute taffeta-clad bridesmaids, before due to jet off to a honeymoon in Syria. You can see them cutting their wedding cake with a ceremonial sword while around 350 proud and relaxed-looking relatives smile warmly and boogie on down while the DJ cranks it up. The mother of the bride beams with pride as the happy couple chat to guests and float around the dance floor.
Marriage on our Minds…
The MSNBC programme explains how local authorities have statistics that prove Iraqi couples are rushing to get married because they feel that their lives are returning to normal.
Reporter Cheryll Simpson reveals that couples who put their lives on hold during Iraq’s turmoil are rushing to make up for lost time, getting married and sometimes even throwing lavish parties.
The marriage venue in the video is one of Baghdad’s most exclusive social clubs, whose members fled before the war and forced the club to close. Slowly but surely, it began to open for a few hours in the afternoon last year and things have gone so well it is now fully booked and will soon open till midnight.
Making a Splash
According to another article by Pat Dollard, hotel and social club owners are rushing to meet demand, and ballrooms are booked months in advance, costing up to $6,900 a night. Sheraton manager Mustafa Abdullah says his hotel now hosts about 20 weddings a month.
It would be naive to say that life is a bouquet in roses in Baghdad, but it is heartwarming to hear that couples feel they can express their love more freely.
“..war or peace, the young are young, they want to get married,” Monem Abdul-Rahim, father of Maysa, a 24-year-old Iraqi government clerk, married at the Sheraton Ballroom in April ‘09.
It’ll be interesting to see what happens next: you know what they say – after marriage boom – comes baby boom!