Sunday 03 / December / 2023
Muscat: Nearly 3,500 people attended group wedding organised by Nidaa charity team in Bausher.
The Nidaa charity team in Bausher organised its third annual group wedding on June 29, 2018. The event took place under the patronage of Mohammad Al Khalbani, Minister of Social Development.
Thirty-two grooms from the Sultanate, including from Quriyat, Amerat, and Al Batinah participated in the group wedding at the Oman Convention and Exhibition Centre. “The event was carried out in accordance with the team’s commitment to social responsibility, which aims to help young people, encourage them to marry, help them to pay for it, and relieve them the challenges they may face in pursuit of it, to enable them to form families based on love, affection, peace, and compassion,” said Malik Al Yahmadi, board member of Nidaa Charity Team.
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Group weddings are not usually carried out on such scales, therefore, it was important for the Nidaa team to make sure the event was successful.
“It was very important to offer successful experiences, as many men are still not comfortable with the idea of a group wedding, and so we wanted to show people how such an event can be well organised, “said Faiza Said Abdullah Al Rashdi, Chief Executive Officer of Nidaa Charity Team.
Regarding the weddings, engineer Mohammad Al Busaidi, Vice Chairman of the board of Nidaa, said, “This event gives young men the opportunity to focus on other matters, such as building a house or buying a car, rather than spending a large sum of money for an event that only lasts an hour or two.”
“Such events are also important in building bonds between communities, as many members of society will be present to celebrate the marriage,” Al Busaidi added.
“We realised, through our encounters with families, that many men decided not to get married because they were worried about the expenses. That is why we decided to begin organising such events,” Al Rashdi added.
The group wedding was not simply a ceremony for the 32 grooms, it also included gifts to help the grooms jump-start their married lives. “The main partner of the event was SalamAir, which provided two free tickets for each groom to choose from four destinations for their honeymoon. Khamis shoes also provided a OMR20 coupon for shoes for the groom’s big day, in addition to the discounts from travel agencies and shops that sell traditional Omani attire,” said Al Rashdi.
The conditions to participate in the group wedding included this being the groom’s first wife, or only wife, in the case of divorce or death, in addition to paying a joining fee of OMR30.
“We prioritised men from low income families,” said Al Rashdi.
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The second group wedding was held on July 7, 2017, when 44 men registered to be married.
Dinner, halwa and coffee were provided by the convention and exhibition centre to the guests after the ceremony ended.
“Three halls at the exhibition centre had to be opened to accommodate the guests. This is now considered to be one of the most prestigious group weddings, thanks to the services provides, the location, and the honoured guests,” said Al Busaidi.
“ We were very happy about the response we received from the men involved, who were proud of participating in such an event,” Al Rashdi said, adding “We hope next year we will reach our goal of 50 grooms.”
Video courtesy: Nidaa
