The settlement of Ouwaira in north Al-Baha will witness on Thursday the first ever mass wedding in an Al-Baha village when 36 brides and grooms tie the knot in a ceremony costing the husbands-to-be a mere SR2,000. The occasion, to be attended by the regional governor of Al-Mandaq, has been organized by the people of Ouwaira who struck a tribal agreement to help young locals afford marriage. “Each groom will pay just SR2,000,” said village representative Sheikh Misfer Al-Tabji. “The tribal agreement was made three years ago and initially decided to hold three separate summer ceremonies for eight couples at a time, but then the villagers agreed to hold a single ceremony for them all to get married in one go.” The agreement also waives certain customs incurring additional expenses that made marriage prohibitive for many young men, forcing them to borrow or even forego the hope of marriage altogether. The cost of marriage for young men in the Kingdom commonly varies between SR60,000 and SR100,000.
