JEDDAH, 8 August — It was an evening to remember for all times to come.

The day was Tuesday and the place Jeddah International Exhibition Center.

The occasion was the community wedding of 25 young, visibly happy Saudi couples.

It was an event of the community, by the community, for the community. And 10,000 community members were there to bear witness and wish the couples happy married life.

On behalf of Makkah Governor Prince Abdul Majeed, Abdullah ibn Dawood Al-Fayez, undersecretary at the Makkah governorate, officiated as chief guest at the colorful ceremony, also attended by prominent city officials, businessmen and community members.

The huge ceremony was organized by the Charitable Society for Helping Youths to Get Married, its second mass wedding in Jeddah. “Last year we had 10 couples, this year we have 25 and next year, Inshallah, we’re planning to have 100 couples get married in a mass wedding,” said Nazik Al-Ghamdi, coordinator of the event at the women’s section.

With the wedding of the 50 young men and women, the society has helped 800 couples get married this year at an estimated cost of SR 16 million in the form of monetary aid, household items and gifts.

The charitable society was established in 1988 when community members, from religious leaders and judges to businessmen and university professors found the need to help young men and women of limited means get married and set up home.

“The society gave us a loan and some home furniture and household items,” said S.G.G., one of the brides whose husband found out about this year’s mass wedding through an advertisement and applied.

Sahar Ahmed, another bride, thought it was a great idea to help those who can’t afford to get married because of their difficult financial situation. The society also provides advise and counselling to would-be brides and grooms regarding marriage and arranges lectures and seminars by religious leaders and professional counsellors.

In the Saudi society, weddings have become costly and a financial burden to those who can’t afford the high dowry and all the ceremonial expenses from gowns to gifts and marriage halls, not to mention setting up home. This has led many young men to forego marriage or marry non-Saudis, leaving many Saudi women single in the process.

This social phenomenon has made the society’s goal of helping young men and women get married relevant, desirable and appreciable. In a matter of 14 years since inception, the society has helped 24,000 young men and women at a cost of SR240 million . The idea of mass wedding was greeted with enthusiasm last year which encouraged the organizers to have a bigger event this year and plan to have a still larger ceremony next year.

“We’ve been preparing for this year’s event since the end of last year’s mass wedding,”- said Al-Ghamdi.

The society’s efforts proved successful as Tuesday’s event was well organized and managed except for minor hitches, given the number of couples and guests as well as all the preparations and expenses for food, music and decoration.

For a larger mass wedding next year, the organizers need to inform people earlier about the event. Many of this year’s couples found out about the event only a week before and had little time to buy or rent a wedding gown and arrange for the bride’s makeup and hair stylist which they had to make do with themselves.

The atmosphere of the evening was full of joy and excitement. “It looks like we’re one big family,” said Jamillah Ali Mashrafi, one of the brides.

The ceremony began with a reading from the Holy Qur’an followed by a word of good counsel from Abdul Mohsen Al-Khayyal, former chief judge of Shariah courts in Jeddah and chairman of the society, greetings for Prince Abdul Majeed, honorary president of the society, and all the guests and thanks for all their help and contributions for the society’s cause, especially Unilever Arabia, the primary sponsor of the event, and Jeddah Chamber of Commerce and Industry.

At the end of the ceremony, all the grooms were given memorabilia by the Prince who also presented the sponsors with gifts.